malachipclover
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2016
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 1
- Location
- Michigan
- Vehicle Year
- 1999
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 3.0L
- Transmission
- Automatic
Hey guys I posted here last summer about pulling the old blown up 3.0 out of my Ranger in preparation for a 5.0 swap. A lot has happened since then, and I figure it's time to start documenting and sharing with everyone. About a week after Christmas of '17 I ended up finding and buying a 5.0 Explorer. My brain is failing me at the moment but I am pretty sure it is a '97, if not it's a '98. Had a 5.0, 4R70W, and AWD. It was already lifted on 35s so I figured I could transfer a lot of those parts as well. For $850 I think I got a pretty great deal.
At the beginning of this summer, I tore down the Explorer just before I had to leave for college. After that it just sat for about 2 months until this past Friday when I went home for labor day weekend. I worked hard all weekend and got the 5.0 in to the Ranger. I pulled the motor, trans, and t case out all as one unit. The Explorer is going to be junked anyway, so I cut the front rad support out to make room to pull the engine. The Ranger's rad support was so badly rusted that it wasn't doing anything anyway, so it was cut out as well because it already needed to be replaced. The body mounts were not connected at all because the metal above them was completely rusted away in some places. I also took the intake off of the motor to aid with clearance. I tried to keep as much of the wiring as possible attached to the engine so that I would have less to keep track of upon reassembly later.
I did not have a lot of the clearance issues I read about other people having, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I did have to put a driver's side Expo motor mount in the Ranger as the studs are inverse of the Ranger's. Unfortunately I was not able to use the one out of the Explorer because one of the nuts was too close to the engine block to work with, and I ended up rounding it off so I had to remove the stud with an oxy-acetylene torch. The new one was I think around $30 from O'Reilly's, and requires the front axle to come out to get at the stud through the frame. I did not need to pull the axle all the way out, however. I took out the 3 bolts holding the axle in, then removed the CV shaft from the passenger side of the axle and let the axle swing down. This gave me enough room to replace the motor mount. The passenger side mount was left alone, as well as the plates on both sides of the engine block. I did not have any issues with the Explorer oil cooler, it fit in with plenty of clearance to the steering box. I also didn't have any oil pan to front axle clearance issues either. On my Ranger there was a small power steering radiator in front of the steering rack that was slightly in the way of the front lower edge of the oil pan. For now I just removed it, and will worry about relocating it later. The upper line going in to it is butted right up against the side of the oil pan now as well.
I will post pictures later if anybody wants to see.
At the beginning of this summer, I tore down the Explorer just before I had to leave for college. After that it just sat for about 2 months until this past Friday when I went home for labor day weekend. I worked hard all weekend and got the 5.0 in to the Ranger. I pulled the motor, trans, and t case out all as one unit. The Explorer is going to be junked anyway, so I cut the front rad support out to make room to pull the engine. The Ranger's rad support was so badly rusted that it wasn't doing anything anyway, so it was cut out as well because it already needed to be replaced. The body mounts were not connected at all because the metal above them was completely rusted away in some places. I also took the intake off of the motor to aid with clearance. I tried to keep as much of the wiring as possible attached to the engine so that I would have less to keep track of upon reassembly later.
I did not have a lot of the clearance issues I read about other people having, which I was pleasantly surprised by. I did have to put a driver's side Expo motor mount in the Ranger as the studs are inverse of the Ranger's. Unfortunately I was not able to use the one out of the Explorer because one of the nuts was too close to the engine block to work with, and I ended up rounding it off so I had to remove the stud with an oxy-acetylene torch. The new one was I think around $30 from O'Reilly's, and requires the front axle to come out to get at the stud through the frame. I did not need to pull the axle all the way out, however. I took out the 3 bolts holding the axle in, then removed the CV shaft from the passenger side of the axle and let the axle swing down. This gave me enough room to replace the motor mount. The passenger side mount was left alone, as well as the plates on both sides of the engine block. I did not have any issues with the Explorer oil cooler, it fit in with plenty of clearance to the steering box. I also didn't have any oil pan to front axle clearance issues either. On my Ranger there was a small power steering radiator in front of the steering rack that was slightly in the way of the front lower edge of the oil pan. For now I just removed it, and will worry about relocating it later. The upper line going in to it is butted right up against the side of the oil pan now as well.
I will post pictures later if anybody wants to see.