Dunk67
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 10
- Points
- 3
- Location
- NJ
- Vehicle Year
- 1988
- Make / Model
- Ford Bronco II
- Engine Type
- 2.9 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
The wife recently picked up an '88 Bronco II which she loves but is underwhelmed by the the 2.9. She wanted a 302, we settled on a 4.0 for ease of install while retaining factory air conditioning. A wrecked '94 Ranger came up for sale locally so we picked up the engine, engine wiring harness, engine bay/ECU harness with relay box, ECU, air box, and M5OD as well. The truck is a 2.9 EFI with A4LD. The goal is to have a more or less new 1988 truck the way it should have been built with a bit more power than they did in '88. A practical daily driver with occasional light trail use.
I an not an EFI kind of guy so while the engine/trans rebuild and swap part of this is straightforward enough, the electrical part to make it run is intimidating when I look at this massive wiring harness laid out on the floor. Granted after staring at it a bit I realized about half the girth of the harness is for headlights and other bits that we'll likely keep the original harness mostly intact for. I could use some help identifying those wires to figure what needs to connect to what. I'll need to pick up a electrical manual for each truck, from reading a few threads it seems they changed wire color and location a lot through the 80s and 90s. Other problems I see are the Bronco II battery and ECU being on the passenger side, while the Ranger had it all on the driver's side. I'd prefer to keep it all factory-ish and as clean as possible,though the Bronco II engine bay is 10 lbs of stuff in a 5 lb bag already. Are the Ford type plugs and crimp terminals available anywhere to build new connectors and harness or to make an adapter harness between the engine bay and body wiring?
The wiring will be the hardest part, but so far as the traditional stuff what should I do for any engine upgrades? I've read the 4.0 heads have thin castings that can crack if overheated like the early 2.8 and 2.9 heads so I'm expecting to rebuild the bottom end and buy new casting heads ready to run. What headers will fit the 4.0 in a Bronco II? Any performance or durability upgrades that are easy to do while it's apart?
I an not an EFI kind of guy so while the engine/trans rebuild and swap part of this is straightforward enough, the electrical part to make it run is intimidating when I look at this massive wiring harness laid out on the floor. Granted after staring at it a bit I realized about half the girth of the harness is for headlights and other bits that we'll likely keep the original harness mostly intact for. I could use some help identifying those wires to figure what needs to connect to what. I'll need to pick up a electrical manual for each truck, from reading a few threads it seems they changed wire color and location a lot through the 80s and 90s. Other problems I see are the Bronco II battery and ECU being on the passenger side, while the Ranger had it all on the driver's side. I'd prefer to keep it all factory-ish and as clean as possible,though the Bronco II engine bay is 10 lbs of stuff in a 5 lb bag already. Are the Ford type plugs and crimp terminals available anywhere to build new connectors and harness or to make an adapter harness between the engine bay and body wiring?
The wiring will be the hardest part, but so far as the traditional stuff what should I do for any engine upgrades? I've read the 4.0 heads have thin castings that can crack if overheated like the early 2.8 and 2.9 heads so I'm expecting to rebuild the bottom end and buy new casting heads ready to run. What headers will fit the 4.0 in a Bronco II? Any performance or durability upgrades that are easy to do while it's apart?