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- Joined
- Dec 10, 2008
- Messages
- 627
- Reaction score
- 12
- Location
- Warrenville IL
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 5.0
- Transmission
- Automatic
Most of you already know that I have a swapped ford ranger, for those that don't here is the build, costs, pics, its story, etc.
Back in Sept 2008 I purchased a 1998 Ford ranger std cab with an automatic 2.5 4 cylinder, and Stepside bed for $800 to daily drive as I had recently lost my mustang, and wanted something more reliable, with better mpg than the SHO Taurus I had picked up shortly after I had lost the mustang.
The ranger served me well, but eventually I got 'back into a civic' about march of 2009, and I had also let a friend borrow the ranger until its transmission failed that august. At this time I had already sold the civic and was driving around in a 2001 taurus and wanted a real 'project' again.
*edit*
Since there are all these posts about "I want to make my ranger fast" Let me clarify VERY specifically why I went the route I did:
I had a 98 ranger with 200K+ on it, 4 cylinder automatic, with a dead transmission... THIS is why I decided to turn it into a project (Since I've been very brutal to people lately about 'don't waste your money')
I've learned my lesson over many years of wasting money on projects, "Go big, or Go home"
I purchased a 1996 Explorer as a 'donor' to start the project, and started tearing into it before scrapping the shell:
Once that was gone I tore out the old 4 cylinder and sold it off.
And it was then time to start figuring out how to get the new heart into the ranger:
At this point, there was a bit of a sudden 'change of plans' as I ended up stumbling on a 1998 2wd 5.0 with 86K in my local yard, they sold me the whole bundle for $450 *motor and trans*
Parting out the AWD explorer I made about 800 total (so $300 profit give or take). I kept the rear end *3.73 with disk brakes*, Radiator, ECU, and all the wiring I could pull off of it.
Upon researching I found that the explorer rear ends would require welding on new shock perches. A member of Chitownracing.com *Another local forum* Offered me a 2003 Ranger FX4 Level 2 rear end (4.10/8.8/31spline/Posi) for my Explorer rear end + $50 on my side (He wanted the disk brakes for his 5 lug mustang), so I jumped on it.
At this point I had the engine, trans, and rear end, an ECU, wiring, and the platform. I sent the blue prints for the engine brackets to a friend at a local machine shop, where he fabricated the pair
After discovering that nearly all aftermarket motor mounts did not work for this application, I found a Ford Parts dealer *Green Ford... In ohio, there is a post about it somewhere* that sold the correct 4.0 SOHC Mounts for only $40 a piece, so $80 for the correct brand new motor mounts.
At this point I dropped everything in, and found that the 4 cylinder automatic trans cross member bolted RIGHT UP to the 4R70W 2wd transmission, the custom brackets and 4.0 SOHC Mounts all worked perfectly. I confess I dented up my front core thanks to the fan clutch as I could not remove it.... I ended up ditching the water pump completely and replaced it with a new one since I feared I had damaged it when putting everything into the truck ($60)
Additional items I had to purchase as I threw them out, or were damaged otherwise, Powersteering hose for 98+ 2wd V8 Explorers ($25) Radiator hoses for 2wd V-8 explorer (98+ this is important) ($30)
Due to the space, I opted for an Electric fan, and found that the best CFM for the buck was the fan out of a 3.8 92-95 Taurus. $22 and a junkyard trip later, I was in business. The shroud trimmed slightly covers the majority of the radiator, and I ran the fan off a switch on the 'low' side all summer and never had any heat issues despite only running a single fan. I will be getting a beefy relay so I can run on the high-side this season.
The wiring was a bit of a project, but in the end, the harnesses I had from the 96, and the harnesses I got with the 98 engine were enough to get everything working correctly.
For the ECU, The truck was able to run off the 96 ECU, but it ran pig rich, and got maybe 8mpg, Return style ECU, but returnless fuel system ($60 for injectors and rails off a 99+ Explorer). I quickly picked up an ECU off of a 2001 5.0 ($40 from my local yard), and a buddy sold me his Sniper Tuner (Delta Force tuning company I think its called now) for just $100. With the tuner, I disabled the PATS out of the 2001 ECU, changed to the 'canned premium fuel' setting, I raised the 3-4 shift point by 1000RPM (Which bumped it from 3500-4500 as the shift governor is in the ECU, not mechanical), and I raised the shift firmness to the middle 'setting' in the tuner *Firm*. This tuner could have also changed the fuel system settings from Return style to returnless as well, so I could have run the 96 ECU had I known this and saved myself the $40
At this point I needed to switch to the correct CPS Sensor and Spindle as they changed in 1999+ ($37 from Rock Auto), and I adjusted the wiring accordingly in the engine harness. With everything above, Last november the truck cut a 14.848 with a 2.08 60 foot on a pair of mustang cobra wheels (03-04's with some crappy 275 width Kuhmo's on them)
Current build totals:
Profit-
$250 for old engine and transmission
Costs-
$800 For the truck (98 Stepside/Std cab ranger with 2.5 4cyl/auto)
$450 for 'low mileage' 1998 5.0 and 2wd 4R70W from wrecked explorer (Jyard)
$50 + 3.73 rear end for Ranger 4.10/8.8/31 spline trak-loc rear end (Member of local webforum)
$100 Engine Mount Brackets (Local Machine Shop)
$80 Engine Mounts (Ford Parts Dealer)
$60 Water Pump (Autozone)
$30 Taurus Efan and switch/wiring to make it work (Jyard)
$40 2001 explorer 5.0 ECU to switch to the returnless fuel system. (Jyard)
$60 Fuel rails and injectors to switch to the returnless fuel system. (Explorer Forum)
$100 Sniper/DeltaForce Tuner (member of Local webform)
$40 2001 cam Syncro and CPS sensor.
$30 radiator Hoses
$40 Brand new Trans cooler (I could have re-used what I already had, but oh well)
$20 Clamps/heat shrink/solder/etc
$200 Brand new rear leaf springs (Because one of mine had cracked
$25 Power Steering hose
--------------------------
$1325 Total cost minus the truck
$2125 Cost of Truck and Swap
Made about $600 back from parting out the explorer, and the old engine and trans out of the ranger
$1525 Total Investment.
Realistically, there are lots of other nick-nacks I'm sure I bought, but there are lots of things other people may not need (Power steering hose if I had kept the old one, Re-used the trans cooler, leaf springs since mine were broken, etc, etc) So minus the profit from the old engine, and the explorer I parted out, Its still only about a $2000 project including the price of the platform.
Other Modifications:
$450 DJM 2/3 Drop kit
$45 K+N Panel filter
$30 Explorer Sport Gauge cluster (White faced with Tach)
$280 Custom exhaust from the headers back, 2.5 off the collectors, Merge to 3inch into Flowmaster 40, 2, 2.5inch out on the muffler out the side. (Local Exhaust shop, bent normally, and regular mild steel tubing)
$1000 - Modifications (I'll round up, because I'm sure again I have other nick-nacks)
All in all the truck is visually not in the best shape, which does make me a bit sad (No rust aside from the tailgate, just dings/dents/etc) and I plan on buying a clean shell next fall to swap everything over. I doubt there are any kind of sponsors that would help get the truck visually re-done, and I am not going to drop 3-5 grand into a professional re-doing the truck if I can find a clean shell for under $1500.
So all in all, I have about $3k into the project as it sits, and would do it again in a heart-beat. The driving manners of the truck are AMAZING, and it feels/drives like it came this way from the factory minus the shift firmness which I can turn down if it really bothered me, and the exhaust volume.
Thank you Dave(Member of RPS and TRS) again as always for the help you have offered me through this project, and It looks like my truck will be the first roots blown 5.0 98+ 2wd Ranger, so it will be an interesting season.
Thank you BrianB (RPS/TRS) for creating the designs for the motor mount plates
and thank you to everyone for the input of the community in general from all of the forums I participate on.
UPDATES
Fuel Pump Install:
Installed a Walbro 255LPH Fuel pump in the tail to feed the blower:
Autometer Phantom Boost gauge, and AEM Wide-Band UEGO:
New wheels:
Dyno with Blower and 30lb Injectors
Truck ran a 13.9X @ 95mph, 1.99 60 foot. Byron Raceway in IL (The track is Flat for those thrown off by the picture) with only 235whp(Most likely its about 245-250) and 300wtq.
And the next stage of the build:
Back in Sept 2008 I purchased a 1998 Ford ranger std cab with an automatic 2.5 4 cylinder, and Stepside bed for $800 to daily drive as I had recently lost my mustang, and wanted something more reliable, with better mpg than the SHO Taurus I had picked up shortly after I had lost the mustang.
The ranger served me well, but eventually I got 'back into a civic' about march of 2009, and I had also let a friend borrow the ranger until its transmission failed that august. At this time I had already sold the civic and was driving around in a 2001 taurus and wanted a real 'project' again.
*edit*
Since there are all these posts about "I want to make my ranger fast" Let me clarify VERY specifically why I went the route I did:
I had a 98 ranger with 200K+ on it, 4 cylinder automatic, with a dead transmission... THIS is why I decided to turn it into a project (Since I've been very brutal to people lately about 'don't waste your money')
I've learned my lesson over many years of wasting money on projects, "Go big, or Go home"
I purchased a 1996 Explorer as a 'donor' to start the project, and started tearing into it before scrapping the shell:
Once that was gone I tore out the old 4 cylinder and sold it off.
And it was then time to start figuring out how to get the new heart into the ranger:
At this point, there was a bit of a sudden 'change of plans' as I ended up stumbling on a 1998 2wd 5.0 with 86K in my local yard, they sold me the whole bundle for $450 *motor and trans*
Parting out the AWD explorer I made about 800 total (so $300 profit give or take). I kept the rear end *3.73 with disk brakes*, Radiator, ECU, and all the wiring I could pull off of it.
Upon researching I found that the explorer rear ends would require welding on new shock perches. A member of Chitownracing.com *Another local forum* Offered me a 2003 Ranger FX4 Level 2 rear end (4.10/8.8/31spline/Posi) for my Explorer rear end + $50 on my side (He wanted the disk brakes for his 5 lug mustang), so I jumped on it.
At this point I had the engine, trans, and rear end, an ECU, wiring, and the platform. I sent the blue prints for the engine brackets to a friend at a local machine shop, where he fabricated the pair
After discovering that nearly all aftermarket motor mounts did not work for this application, I found a Ford Parts dealer *Green Ford... In ohio, there is a post about it somewhere* that sold the correct 4.0 SOHC Mounts for only $40 a piece, so $80 for the correct brand new motor mounts.
At this point I dropped everything in, and found that the 4 cylinder automatic trans cross member bolted RIGHT UP to the 4R70W 2wd transmission, the custom brackets and 4.0 SOHC Mounts all worked perfectly. I confess I dented up my front core thanks to the fan clutch as I could not remove it.... I ended up ditching the water pump completely and replaced it with a new one since I feared I had damaged it when putting everything into the truck ($60)
Additional items I had to purchase as I threw them out, or were damaged otherwise, Powersteering hose for 98+ 2wd V8 Explorers ($25) Radiator hoses for 2wd V-8 explorer (98+ this is important) ($30)
Due to the space, I opted for an Electric fan, and found that the best CFM for the buck was the fan out of a 3.8 92-95 Taurus. $22 and a junkyard trip later, I was in business. The shroud trimmed slightly covers the majority of the radiator, and I ran the fan off a switch on the 'low' side all summer and never had any heat issues despite only running a single fan. I will be getting a beefy relay so I can run on the high-side this season.
The wiring was a bit of a project, but in the end, the harnesses I had from the 96, and the harnesses I got with the 98 engine were enough to get everything working correctly.
For the ECU, The truck was able to run off the 96 ECU, but it ran pig rich, and got maybe 8mpg, Return style ECU, but returnless fuel system ($60 for injectors and rails off a 99+ Explorer). I quickly picked up an ECU off of a 2001 5.0 ($40 from my local yard), and a buddy sold me his Sniper Tuner (Delta Force tuning company I think its called now) for just $100. With the tuner, I disabled the PATS out of the 2001 ECU, changed to the 'canned premium fuel' setting, I raised the 3-4 shift point by 1000RPM (Which bumped it from 3500-4500 as the shift governor is in the ECU, not mechanical), and I raised the shift firmness to the middle 'setting' in the tuner *Firm*. This tuner could have also changed the fuel system settings from Return style to returnless as well, so I could have run the 96 ECU had I known this and saved myself the $40
At this point I needed to switch to the correct CPS Sensor and Spindle as they changed in 1999+ ($37 from Rock Auto), and I adjusted the wiring accordingly in the engine harness. With everything above, Last november the truck cut a 14.848 with a 2.08 60 foot on a pair of mustang cobra wheels (03-04's with some crappy 275 width Kuhmo's on them)
Current build totals:
Profit-
$250 for old engine and transmission
Costs-
$800 For the truck (98 Stepside/Std cab ranger with 2.5 4cyl/auto)
$450 for 'low mileage' 1998 5.0 and 2wd 4R70W from wrecked explorer (Jyard)
$50 + 3.73 rear end for Ranger 4.10/8.8/31 spline trak-loc rear end (Member of local webforum)
$100 Engine Mount Brackets (Local Machine Shop)
$80 Engine Mounts (Ford Parts Dealer)
$60 Water Pump (Autozone)
$30 Taurus Efan and switch/wiring to make it work (Jyard)
$40 2001 explorer 5.0 ECU to switch to the returnless fuel system. (Jyard)
$60 Fuel rails and injectors to switch to the returnless fuel system. (Explorer Forum)
$100 Sniper/DeltaForce Tuner (member of Local webform)
$40 2001 cam Syncro and CPS sensor.
$30 radiator Hoses
$40 Brand new Trans cooler (I could have re-used what I already had, but oh well)
$20 Clamps/heat shrink/solder/etc
$200 Brand new rear leaf springs (Because one of mine had cracked
$25 Power Steering hose
--------------------------
$1325 Total cost minus the truck
$2125 Cost of Truck and Swap
Made about $600 back from parting out the explorer, and the old engine and trans out of the ranger
$1525 Total Investment.
Realistically, there are lots of other nick-nacks I'm sure I bought, but there are lots of things other people may not need (Power steering hose if I had kept the old one, Re-used the trans cooler, leaf springs since mine were broken, etc, etc) So minus the profit from the old engine, and the explorer I parted out, Its still only about a $2000 project including the price of the platform.
Other Modifications:
$450 DJM 2/3 Drop kit
$45 K+N Panel filter
$30 Explorer Sport Gauge cluster (White faced with Tach)
$280 Custom exhaust from the headers back, 2.5 off the collectors, Merge to 3inch into Flowmaster 40, 2, 2.5inch out on the muffler out the side. (Local Exhaust shop, bent normally, and regular mild steel tubing)
$1000 - Modifications (I'll round up, because I'm sure again I have other nick-nacks)
All in all the truck is visually not in the best shape, which does make me a bit sad (No rust aside from the tailgate, just dings/dents/etc) and I plan on buying a clean shell next fall to swap everything over. I doubt there are any kind of sponsors that would help get the truck visually re-done, and I am not going to drop 3-5 grand into a professional re-doing the truck if I can find a clean shell for under $1500.
So all in all, I have about $3k into the project as it sits, and would do it again in a heart-beat. The driving manners of the truck are AMAZING, and it feels/drives like it came this way from the factory minus the shift firmness which I can turn down if it really bothered me, and the exhaust volume.
Thank you Dave(Member of RPS and TRS) again as always for the help you have offered me through this project, and It looks like my truck will be the first roots blown 5.0 98+ 2wd Ranger, so it will be an interesting season.
Thank you BrianB (RPS/TRS) for creating the designs for the motor mount plates
and thank you to everyone for the input of the community in general from all of the forums I participate on.
UPDATES
Fuel Pump Install:
Installed a Walbro 255LPH Fuel pump in the tail to feed the blower:
Autometer Phantom Boost gauge, and AEM Wide-Band UEGO:
New wheels:
Dyno with Blower and 30lb Injectors
Truck ran a 13.9X @ 95mph, 1.99 60 foot. Byron Raceway in IL (The track is Flat for those thrown off by the picture) with only 235whp(Most likely its about 245-250) and 300wtq.
And the next stage of the build:
Last edited:
, going back to get the white-faced gauge cluster Friday also.
