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2.3 turbo swap. Any advice?


Turbroke

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I have a 1990 2.3 Ranger with 375,000mi. on the engine. Block is fine, but the head is shot. (still assembled) I have an 87' TC 2.3 with intake and exhaust (turbo) manifold. (on the stand) I'm having a hard time deciding what route to take for this conversion. :icon_confused: So far, I'm leaning towards rebuilding the Ranger block and adding the TC motor's head, forged pistons and intake and exhaust manifolds. I also want to use the stock Ranger alt/power steering bracket/components as well as the stock ignition packs. This is a first for me and I would appreciate any advice I can get from y'all who have done this before. I want a nice job, but have a tight budget for this project. I guess what I'm looking for is the path of least resistance and unnecessary expense. Would a straight up motor swap make more sense? Is it possible to mount the stock bracket to a TC block? Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.
 


scotts90ranger

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I just made a long reply to your other post :).

I did forget one thing though, relocate the oxygen sensor to the down pipe, O2 sensor bungs aren't that expensive and makes it easier than butchering the heater box more than you have to (you have to...). On the heater box go to Harbor Freight and get yourself one of those soldering iron type plastic welders ($15 or less and handy) and notch the bottom of the box like in the picture below, put some of the screen stuff on the patch and use a heat gun to get it to bend over better. As you can see I had to redo mine, that fiberglass stuff fell off of the first attempt and it got kinda melty...

 

Turbroke

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Thanks Scott, I really appreciate your experienced advice and the time you spent replying. Projects like this go so much smoother when you can get some perspective from someone who's already been there. What is the advantage of using the stock intake? I assume you just swapped out the injectors and bolted it back up, and from what I can tell, the only major engine components you swapped were the TC's head and turbo/exhaust manifold. Thanks again. Hope you enjoyed Vegas!
 

scotts90ranger

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I used the whole turbocoupe engine, just used the accessories and ignition system off of the Ranger engine. I used the stock air filter because it is sufficient (same filter used on the 160ish hp 4.0L engine) and it was the cleanest install I could come up with that got nice cold air from in front of the radiator. The stock dual plug intake will not work as the ports are different, stick with the turbo stuff there, I just made that bracket for the ignition module out of some 1/8" plate aluminum
 

scotts90ranger

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It's really not that hard to do what I did, do your wiring research before you jump in and I'm not sure you will have too many surprises.

Oh, on fuel lines I just got some 5/16" and 3/8" high pressure fuel hose and double clamped that over the bumps on the rail and at the fuel pump, it's been working fine although I would have preferred to use factory stuff Ford didn't use lines that converted well for me...
 

Turbroke

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USING STOCK EEC? In reference to "Dave R's turbo swap page", he mentions using the stock computer for minimal boost (5-6 psi) Has anyone done this??? Also, I assume you can modify the stock wiring harness with the addition of VAM, ATM etc. I really want to do this swap as easily, minimal amount of work and inexpensively as possible for now. I'm moving to greener pastures in southern Oregon come August, and plan on driving the truck there where I will complete the performance upgrades. (LA3, T5) Is there an easy way to make this turbo motor run acceptably till I get there? Salvage parts are worth their weight in gold here in east TN! LOL It sucks!!!
 

scotts90ranger

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The wiring changes to the Ranger harness are pretty minimal, I think it's around 10 wires that need to be screwed with, an afternoon project... all the advice I've been giving has been based on using as much of the Ranger stuff as possible to make the swap easier. Trying to use the Ranger computer would save you maybe 2 hours of work if you had a plan setup beforehand.

I wouldn't bother with the T5 swap unless you are planning on 250HP or more, the M5OD you have will live just fine, mine has been...
 

Turbroke

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Good to know about the T5. I have no plans of exceeding the stock TC 200hp, 15 lbs. boost that my stuff is capable of. It's PLENTY for my purposes. Thing is- my impending re-location out west is putting a major crimp in my already limited budget for this build. (I'm driving this sucker out there! lol) I'll finish it there in OR where I'll have a great deal more time and money. Looking for the easy/cheap path for the interim. Don't have the big VAM, LA3 EEC, or anything else but the motor, intake/turbo-exhaust, and whatever is on the stock Ranger for the moment. Seems there is a way, still researching.
 

Turbroke

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I'm trying to use the stock DIS with the TC block as scotts90ranger advised. Can anyone tell me how they made the crank position sensor work on the TC block? I assume you must drill and tap the holes for the sensor bracket, but some assurance would be appreciated. Does the shaft/pully that drives the distributor have any function with the DIS? Also, scott90ranger, you're right about trying to mess with the stock EEC. No value in trying to use it temporarily. Penny wise and dollar foolish; both time and money wise.
 
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scotts90ranger

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Take the front cover off of the Ranger block and a piece of cereal box or something similar and make a template for the 3 bolts holding the crank sensor bracket on, you'll have to make a hole for the one stud for the crank sensor first then go from there. for location purposes cut the cardboard to mate up with the bottom of the block (where the block and oil pan meet) then stick a center punch or something in the outermost bolt holes that attach the front cover and the other two bolt holes for the crank sensor. Now take that template to the turbo engine and stick bolts in the outer two holes (or otherwise stabilize the template) and carefully mark the 3 holes for the crank sensor bracket and drill/tap them for 6mmx1mm threads. For the one alignment pin it's hard to find 6mm roll pins in the states without going to specialty places so just get a 6mm bolt with a shoulder, cut the head off and loctite that in the hole...

That's what I did, the only other thing you'll have to do is put the front cover up to the turbo engine and notch the 1 bolt hole on the cover that doesn't line up.

That's what I did 5 years ago and it's been working just fine

If you need a computer I have a PC2 ECM in my spare parts that works just fine that I'm not using, I'd let it go for much less than the $125 that NAPA will want... you'll still need a small VAM but it'd help a little...
 

Turbroke

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Thanks again Scott. Appreciate the ECM offer, but there are several LA3's, and VAM's on ebay at any given moment. Shouldn't be too hard to get when I'm ready. While on this subject, did you simply make a cover for the distributor shaft hole? The aux. shaft on the turbo motor is useless with the DIS, no?
 

scotts90ranger

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Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
6
Tire Size
35"
No, it drives the oil pump... use the stub thing that's in the Ranger engine, it's held in with a distributor clamp and is just a simple little thing
 

Turbroke

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Roller cam swap

I'm ready to put the Ranger roller cam in the TC head, and was wondering if the Ranger lifters have to go into it also. It makes sense, but I could use a little advice. Cam, roller followers and lifters, or no lifters?
 

scotts90ranger

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Engine Size
2.3 Turbo
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
6
Tire Size
35"
the lash adjusters are what you are talking about I imagine (the things that sit in the pocket opposite the valve), it doesn't matter as they're all the same.
 

Turbroke

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Never attribute to malice things that are better explained by stupidity.
the lash adjusters are what you are talking about I imagine (the things that sit in the pocket opposite the valve), it doesn't matter as they're all the same.
Yes, you're right. I noticed they were spring loaded after I made the post. I'm still not sure what the benefit is...nobody seems to agree on that; however, I did notice you can turn the roller cam by hand. Can't do that with the flat tappets. Scott, I noticed you didn't bother with an intercooler. Are you running an LA3 computer? I understand the LA3's are calibrated for an intercooler and I'm still not committed to any particular comp/air setup. I'd love to hit the stock 88 TC, 190 hp mark, but less work and "close enough" would appeal to me at this point too. I have to get this truck running...after that, there's plenty of room for future improvement. I guess what I'm asking is can I run an LA3 without the intercooler. I do plan to add one next summer once I get to Oregon. Thanks for lending a hand during this project! lol You've really made it less stressful for me. Hope I can repay you one day.
 

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