State Inspection question

Has anyone had issues with a state inspection after an Expo swap? Not worried about passing visual, just the electronic portion.
I'm in Texas and while the restrictions are fairly lax, I'm concerned about a VIN discrepancy between my Ranger and the Expo ECU.

Thanks for any info!

_Rick

coda said:

Has anyone had issues with a state inspection after an Expo swap? Not worried about passing visual, just the electronic portion.
I'm in Texas and while the restrictions are fairly lax, I'm concerned about a VIN discrepancy between my Ranger and the Expo ECU.

Thanks for any info!

_Rick

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I am in Florida and we currently don't have vehicle inspections but we did several years ago. At the time I had a 1993 Ranger with a brand new 1995 5.0 crate motor from Ford Racing. It used the OEM 1995 Mustang fuel injection and a A9L computer from a 1993 Mustang. It had cats and passed emission testing without issue. The printed results were well below acceptable standards and the vehicle was never questioned.

Jbrown1238 said:

I am in Florida and we currently don't have vehicle inspections but we did several years ago. At the time I had a 1993 Ranger with a brand new 1995 5.0 crate motor from Ford Racing. It used the OEM 1995 Mustang fuel injection and a A9L computer from a 1993 Mustang. It had cats and passed emission testing without issue. The printed results were well below acceptable standards and the vehicle was never questioned.

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Thank for the reply. Sounds like a pretty sweet setup.

The A9L, being non-vinned and the 93 Ranger being pre OBDII worked in your favor.
My concern is that the VIN of the 2001 truck and VIN of the 1999 ECU will not match in the system, thus throwing up a red flag.

coda said:

Thank for the reply. Sounds like a pretty sweet setup.

The A9L, being non-vinned and the 93 Ranger being pre OBDII worked in your favor.
My concern is that the VIN of the 2001 truck and VIN of the 1999 ECU will not match in the system, thus throwing up a red flag.

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I am not sure how Texas manages their testing but back when Florida performed the emission testing they didn't look at the ECM. They verified the cat was in place with a mirror and placed the sniffer in the tail pipe. That was the extent of the test.

How do they verify the VIN on the ECM? By label or do the plug in?

My new set up is a 99 Ranger with a 01 Explorer ECM and 5.0 V8. But like I said, no more inspections in Florida.

I have to wonder what the procedure is when the computer fails and you replace it with a new one. I'd imagine that a receipt would be sufficient as proof of replacement. In your case you replaced a non working computer with a working one. You don't need to tell them it wasn't working because you switched motors.

Jbrown1238 said:

How do they verify the VIN on the ECM? By label or do the plug in?

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Yup in Texas they plug in and check for DTC and emission systems readiness state. Never had an inspector raise the hood or even look for a cat. Where I'm concerned is if they actually check for VIN to match the door jamb sticker (they scan this in at time of inspection). Crazy how different things like this are state-to-state.

alwaysFlOoReD said:

I have to wonder what the procedure is when the computer fails and you replace it with a new one. I'd imagine that a receipt would be sufficient as proof of replacement. In your case you replaced a non working computer with a working one. You don't need to tell them it wasn't working because you switched motors.

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Good point.
With so many V8 rangers running around, I doubt it's a big deal, I'm at the end of my parts collecting stage and about to start my build...just trying to make sure I have all bases covered.

Thanks for the input, fellahs

Not sure it would matter as people often swap out engines and computers, computer has VIN but it certainly is not THE VIN.
That is on drivers door label, under windshield in corner and stamped in several parts of the frame, that is THE VIN.
For vehicle registration.

In some states you do have to change to a "Damaged Title" if engine is not the stock size that came with vehicle, doesn't have to have original engine but must be same size/model of engine.
Any V8 won't qualify in a Ranger, lol.

alwaysFlOoReD said:

I have to wonder what the procedure is when the computer fails and you replace it with a new one. I'd imagine that a receipt would be sufficient as proof of replacement. In your case you replaced a non working computer with a working one. You don't need to tell them it wasn't working because you switched motors.

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To which they could come back, "so it wasn't working because the emissions system was tampered with?"

It is best to talk with whoever does any inspections before you invest in an engine swap.

We can guess all we want but it all comes down to the guy actually doing the inspections.

FWIW my mother's Explorer was sideswiped a few years ago and had the drivers door replaced... when that happens they don't get a new door sticker.

Probably best to talk with an inspection station. Pennsylvania technically requires you to have a special title for pretty much any modifications, but nobody follows that (or at least thats how I understand it all).

Had a father/son project where we did a 5.0 swap in a Ranger for my dad awhile back. No inspection station ever questioned it. But they don't plug a scanner in or anything either.


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet

Here pre 95 vehicles only get a safety inspection. Post 95 obd2 vehicles get plugged in a checked for emissions readiness in the ECM only. Both only get vin checks from the registration to the main windshield vin. If they match, no one cares otherwise. I have a 5.0 swapped 96, and it won't pass until I vin Swap it to appear to be a pre 95 model. It's easy, and no inspection jockey will know otherwise.