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2.3 turbo swap


Applegonebad

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Hey guys. I have an obd2 95 ranger and ill be doing a turbo engine swap. For an engine I have a 87 tbird 2.3. I also have tbird ECU. I was wondering what to do for an injection harness, i don't have the tbird harness. I don't think the old school harness will connect with other systems on the truck. That is if the injection harness even connects with anything other than engine :dunno:. Also I got the tbird 2.3 for free. Only term was I had to dig it out of a hoarders garage. The engine sat on the floor for 15 years. Is it even worth pulling the head and seeing the rusted cyl walls? Do you guys think the project is ****ed? One more thing. Will the stock ranger flywheel bolt up to the tbird 2.3?

 


redhurricane

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What engine is in your 95 now? assuming you have the 3.0L V6, no the stock flywheel will not be compatible with the 2.3. the stock fuel rail will also not work, and likely the snap lock fuel line fittings will be of different sizes as well. Harnesses can be had out there, still some online resources for used, or Detail Zone for new.

a fel pro 8993 head gasket is $12. Pull the head, you're still going to want to know if the head is cracked at the valve seats which MANY are. If the cylinders are ok you are out $12 bucks. If the cylinders are rusted (and I suspect they are) you can probably sell what you have as is and still recoup all of your costs. Depending on where you are in the world, there's people still looking for builder turbo 2.3 blocks and heads.

I see no benefit in trying to swap in an engine that potentially needs a complete rebuild. without taking the time to actually look at it. But that's just me, I prefer not to do things twice.
 

Applegonebad

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my 95 has the 2.3. So my ranger flywheel wont bolt up?
 

ghunt81

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IMO without knowing anything about the engine upon buying (which it sounds like you don't), I wouldn't feel comfortable with anything but tearing the engine down and going through it. Engine looks pretty good but who knows how many miles are on it and what else is going on.
 

redhurricane

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my 95 has the 2.3. So my ranger flywheel wont bolt up?
Yes, if you have the 2.3/2.5 lima it will bolt up. Same crank. Your 2.3 injection harness will work on the injector rail, as they are nearly identical. You will have some pin outs to change on your harness to use the TC computer- do you have an auto or manual trans? which computer? LA3/LB3, PE series??

Other things to consider-

DO you have emissions to deal with in your state? Some states require on engine swaps that the engine be of the same year or NEWER model year than the chassis you are putting it into.

If it were me, I'd be pulling the head to see if you even have a usable longblock at this point. Where are you located?
 

Applegonebad

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Yes, if you have the 2.3/2.5 lima it will bolt up. Same crank. Your 2.3 injection harness will work on the injector rail, as they are nearly identical. You will have some pin outs to change on your harness to use the TC computer- do you have an auto or manual trans? which computer? LA3/LB3, PE series??

Other things to consider-

DO you have emissions to deal with in your state? Some states require on engine swaps that the engine be of the same year or NEWER model year than the chassis you are putting it into.

If it were me, I'd be pulling the head to see if you even have a usable longblock at this point. Where are you located?
Located in wisconsin. I'll be pulling the head asap. I can't see much through spark plug hole. I'll need to pull it and do a total rebuild anyway. I've got an LA3 so I'm good there. m5od in the truck right now. If I do the pin outs and modify my stock harness how will I ever add the connection for the VAM and boost related sensors? Seems like the pin out isn't a terrible job. That is if it doesn't turn into a nightmare like most wiring jobs do. Anywhere I can get a FULL gasket and rebuild kit online? I haven't found any inexpensive complete kits online.

Along with the 2.3t I have a better clutch going in. Grip force stage 2 for ranger. Hope it'll transmit the torque. Should be enough considering it a 4 banger.
 

redhurricane

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If you have to bore oversize on the cylinders, cheapest forged pistons you are going to find in the right compression ratio are still going to be $500-600. Complete rebuild kits are not around, you have to piece it together. wrist pins are press in, not full floaters. You can easily spend $1200-1500 to rebuild to stock levels. VAM and boost controller signals can be added to the main harness, might have to do some scratch wiring. Or spend the money megasquirt and get rid of the vam and boost control like I did. map chip is integrated into my ECU.

You still have not addressed the emissions side- are you exempt? From what I googled, pre-96 are exempt. You might want to make sure that is the case still.


http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/rnew-plts/emissiontest.aspx
 

Applegonebad

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If you have to bore oversize on the cylinders, cheapest forged pistons you are going to find in the right compression ratio are still going to be $500-600. Complete rebuild kits are not around, you have to piece it together. wrist pins are press in, not full floaters. You can easily spend $1200-1500 to rebuild to stock levels. VAM and boost controller signals can be added to the main harness, might have to do some scratch wiring. Or spend the money megasquirt and get rid of the vam and boost control like I did. map chip is integrated into my ECU.

You still have not addressed the emissions side- are you exempt? From what I googled, pre-96 are exempt. You might want to make sure that is the case still.


http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/dmv/vehicles/rnew-plts/emissiontest.aspx
**** if i have to hone the free engine I'll just sell it and pick up a new one on craigslist. Seen complete for $250 before. However if the block is good can I use a stock tbird injection harness?
 

Applegonebad

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So just harness and ecu in place of existing harness and ecu? No wiring?
 

ghunt81

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Well, really, if you're putting in a used engine I would think you would want to hone it and install new rings anyway...

I had a 145K 2.3L turbo out of an '84 Thunderbird I rebuilt years ago, all it got was a hone and new rings and bearings and it was good to go.

If the engine is on a stand why not go through it while you can? 2.3's are dead simple anyway, you can't really screw them up. I accidentally ran mine with less than 5 psi oil pressure for about 10 miles right after rebuilding it (had a leak in a remote filter mount, the engine was tapping by the time I parked the car), and I still put 30K+ more miles on it with no issues until I sold the car.
 

Applegonebad

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Well, really, if you're putting in a used engine I would think you would want to hone it and install new rings anyway...

I had a 145K 2.3L turbo out of an '84 Thunderbird I rebuilt years ago, all it got was a hone and new rings and bearings and it was good to go.

If the engine is on a stand why not go through it while you can? 2.3's are dead simple anyway, you can't really screw them up. I accidentally ran mine with less than 5 psi oil pressure for about 10 miles right after rebuilding it (had a leak in a remote filter mount, the engine was tapping by the time I parked the car), and I still put 30K+ more miles on it with no issues until I sold the car.
The hone costs money. That's my issue. I'd probably pay someone to do it right. I'm guessing the block needs a hone and gaskets.
 

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