L&L Kit or is there a cheaper way?

[cgrey8]

Looking on the L&L website, I see they sell a kit for converting Rangers.

http://www.landlproducts.com/302RangerBronco2wd.htm

It includes:

Engine Mounts
Custom Oil Pan
90° Oil Filter Relocator
2wd Headers

They are asking a grand for all this. Can you get these parts cheaper from other vendors or is this the deal to go with?

Since my donor engine is from a 97 V8 Explorer, will I need another oil pan? The factory pan is aluminum and appears to be humped like it's a rear-sump setup. Are there still clearance issues with the Explorer Pan or will it work as-is?

Chris

[cjcnomor4]

A mustang pan will work just fine. Check Malcolm's pics thats what he used, thats what I used. You dont need to spend the extra money on the pan. My 98 motor came with a stamped steel pan, but everything I've seen or read says to use a fox body pan. You need a different oil pump pick-up tube too. L&L's oil filter adapter is really nice. Billet aluminum, I'm gonna make my own hoses from braided stainless hose, but the hoses that come with it look good too. I may end up getting their headers too (see header clearance post). Their mounts claim to be bolt in but dont line up with any of the holes in the frame of my 95. I think Malcolm had to modify his too. You will also have to modify the part that bolts to the block on your 97 engine. theres a hump with a pipe plug that gets in the way on the drivers side. Are they worth the extra money? I'm not sure. L&L got me on the bolt in-no drilling or welding. I dont have access to a welder (and my welds never look good) so I got them. Now the engine has been in and out 5 times now just trying to line everything up. I will probably call L&L next week to find out if I can drill holes in the mounts and keep the warranty or if they have a better idea.

[cgrey8]

cjcnomor4, you mention the Mustang oil pan working, but what about the 97 V8 Explorer's Factory Aluminum oil pan? Will it work as well or is there advantages to changing the pan out?

I mentioned in another thread about the notch with the plug in it. I remember reading Malcolm's website where he shows how he ground out a place on his engine mount to make room for that driver's side block notch. Let us know what they say about that. In my opinion, they shouldn't put out a product for a premium price that won't work as-is AND is advertised that it will.

I'll have to go through whether the headers, relocator, and engine mounts individually are cheaper than the kit. If it's a difference of $50 or so, I'd probably get the kit anyway and hold onto the pan just in case the aluminum factory pan ever gave me a problem...that is assuming it is confirmed that the Explorer factory aluminum pan will work in the Ranger.

As for the welding, I'd like to avoid welding as well. I don't have a welder either and even if I did, my welds are pretty crappy too.

Chris

[cjcnomor4]

I never tried the explorer pan, I just went with the mustang pan. I think the sump on the rear of the pan is too big to clear the I-beams, but I dont know for sure. I'll let you know what L&L says about the rest.

[MalcolmV8]

You shouldn't need the oil pan as stated above. On the oil filter relocation kit what I did was just purchase the canister and adapter. I sent the hoses back. The hoses are very industrial and look like they will never leak but they are so stiff and hard to work with it was impossible to make them work. Plus been a fixed length you have very limited places you can install your oil filter.
What I did was purchase some -10 steel braided hose and some -10 AN fittings and make my own hoses that are the exact lenght and placement I was looking for.

Their motor mounts as stated above do not seem to be a simple bolt in. However welding is not required. You should be able to line up the motor, mounts, and adapter plates and then just drill new holes in the Ranger's cross member. When the motor's lowered and in place just shoot some grey spray paint over the adapters (or some marking compound). Pull the motor and mounts and you will have a nice shadow of where to drill.
As you guys noticed on the site I had to grind away at one of the mounts to clear a hump in the block. At the time I called L&L and they assured me future mounts they sold would include clearance in thier mount.

Their headers are top notch and I highly recommend. Their price is on the steep side but I don't know of anyone else who makes such nice flowing headers for a V8 Ranger. They do not come with EGR provisions but they will ship you the headers uncoated so you can drill and weld in an EGR bung to your liking and then ship them back to be nickel plated. They offered this to me but I'm not running EGR.

[plowboy34]

cgrey8, I do not believe the Explorer pan will work near as well as the fox body pan. I have a Explorer pan that came with a engine I purchased and they are alot deeper than the fox body pans. My fox pan sits very close to I-beams and I believe the Explorer pan would hit just from looking at it. I must add I used the home made motor mounts so I could set my engine as low as possible. Just a note, fox bodies are not just Stangs. You can use any double sump pan from the early 80's on, they were on T-Birds, Cougars, Stangs, Capri's, Lincoln Town Cars, Continentals, etc. They are a dime a dozen in junk yards. Although since you are getting the Explorer stuff it may work if you use the Explorer mounts. I have never done a conversion that way but I have been told more than once that it is pretty much a bolt in thing, again I have never done one, just been told and you know how that can be.

cjcnomor4, I checked with L&L about there headers fitting the "P" heads and they say they will. I HAVE NOT purchased any yet so I do not know for sure but that is what they say.

[cgrey8]

That's sortof what I suspected. It does look thick through the center, and I do plan on using aftermarket mounts to get the engine as low as possible.

Currently, it's such a pain to get the top 2 bolts of my 5-speed tranny. That's mainly because the tranny is also the bellhousing so you are trying to work around the transmission to get to those bolts. To get to those bolts, you have the option of pulling the wheel wells to get to the bolts OR you can use a trick a tranny guy taught me. Since the motor mounts are rubber, you can remove the transmission crossmember and let the tranny hang. He said that deflects the engine enough so that a socket with extensions can get right in on the bolts. I'm sure there are other such tricks that people have figured out.

I was really pleased when Malcolm reported back in a different thread that he had no trouble at all getting to all his bell bolts. The only trouble he had was getting the bell out once it was off the engine. He said a dent in the tranny channel fixed that.

As for a Fox Body Factory oil pan vs. the L&L pans in the Ranger Conversion kits, what's the difference other than L&L charging a premium?
Is the L&L made shallower in the center?
Are they more heavily notched for clearance to the suspension's I-beam?

Chris

[cgrey8]

Regarding the L&L (or anybody elses) 90° Oil Filter Adapter, I already have an oil filter relocation kit on my truck. All I really need is the adapter. I don't need the hoses, the other end of the adapter kit that holds the filter or of the fittings. All I need is the piece that fits against the engine. Does anybody sell JUST that one piece with O-ring/gasket/whatever they use?

I've looked in Summit and Jeggs, and the only thing I ever see is the complete kits.

Chris

[plowboy34]

I do not know the exact differences in the pans. I have never personally seen a L&L pan, but I do know I would not pay the price they want for a pan when the fox body one works great. It fits like it was made for it. That's all I have to say about that....

[cgrey8]

You've sold me...

[Hardhead]

I bought my 2 pieces at seperate times I dont have the manuf. right now but I will get it and let you know it isn't as good quality as L&L but I haven't had any leaks.

[Hardhead]

Try transdapt.com part #1413 for the adapter that goes on the block and they have the one for the filter also I think I payed $15 or $20 a piece

[cgrey8]

That's exactly what I needed. That'll save me a few dollars for sure. Those kits that include the 90° adapter aren't usually cheap. I called a TransDapt dealer and they sell the part for $18.99+tx. That ain't bad for a specialty part. But I have to agree, it's not as pretty as the L&L adapter. Oh well, I'll get over it......uh...I think I'm getting over it. Yep, I'm over it now.

If other people are interested in this adapter, here's the page that takes you straight to the oil adapters on this website.

http://www.tdperformance.com/pdfs/21-23 ... ection.pdf

It's on Pg 2 of 3 in the PDF. All their stuff appears to be layed out in PDFs which isn't as convenient, but is easier for those that don't want to learn HTML.


From my oil filter relocation kit, I've found that the O-rings do eventually get brittle and don't seal worth a crap anymore. It only takes about 2 years too. That's probably why the kits recommend you change the oil hoses every 2 years so you'll replace that O-ring as well. I have to admint, I let mine leak for about 6 years. I was in college and didn't have the time to do anything with it. It was easier to just put a 1/2 quart in every month or so.

When I finally got around to replacing the hoses which by this time were also leaking around their fittings, I replaced the O-ring too and it was like a stiff piece of plastic. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was plastic it'd hardened so badly.

When I screwed the adapter back to the block, I used some silicone gasket seal around the adapter. It won't leak now, I hope...

I wish I'd thought to do the same thing to the hoses, but I was in a hurry. The hoses are starting to leak around the fittings again, but it's not near the leakage I was getting from the bad O-ring.

For this conversion, I'll likely use the braided hoses with threaded ends (like most other people do) so I don't have to worry about that anymore. It's a higher cost, but it does add a more professional look to the vehicle when people peer under the hood, not to mention, they won't leak.

Thanks again for that info, I'll look over their website and see what other goodies I may be able to come across from there.

Chris