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AHenry014
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2024
- Messages
- 30
- City
- CT
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Engine
- 2.5 (4 Cylinder)
- Transmission
- Automatic
In this thread, I'll be documenting my 1998 Ranger 2.5/auto --> 5.0/manual swap along with any questions I have along the way. The truck was "Pepe's" truck, my late grandfather-in-law. When he sadly passed away at ~98 years old, the family mulled over what to do with it. His "little blue Ranger" had some rough years and we all knew it needed some attention. Instead of sticking it at the end of the driveway with a for sale sign, I stepped it to take ownership of it since it had such great sentimental value. I've had the truck for some time now and have made some marked repairs and improvements to it; drivers floor pan repair (rear glass leak, Sherman 576-40L fit nearly perfect), 4/5 DJM lowering kit, 1997ish Mustang GT wheels, custom side exit exhaust, etc. The truck has been a blast to drive, but lets be honest, its SLOW, and I've never been one to leave anything alone.
An LS swap was floated, as I've done a couple of those in the past. I actually have a "spare" cammed 6.0 sitting in the garage that was meant for my third LS swap, but I had a hard time doing "the same old thing" again. I wanted something different, something new to me. Now that I have evolved into a father of two, my free time has decreased to next to zero, so I also needed something that wasn't going to take months on end to complete. After some brief research, a 5.0 swap became the obvious choice. It's certainly not a novel idea, but the last time I spent any time on a SBF was over 20 years ago, so it satisfies my desire to try new things.
After doing my research here in the tech library and across various threads, I kept an eye out for a suitable explorer or mountaineer. I had several saved on FB Marketplace until the "perfect" one popped up, a 1999 Mountaineer, 184k miles, runs/drives, brakes no good, rust throughout, etc. A couple items in the listing justified the list price of $1400; OBX headers (NLA), DUI Firepower ignition kit ($289), and that it was listed as being RWD. I was initially set on manual swapping the Ranger during the engine swap, but figured this would be a drop in solution from radiator to rear axle. Unfortunately, it turned out to be AWD, and it didn't run very well (seemingly missing on one or two cylinders). I was able to talk the seller down quite a bit due to the unknown reason it was running poorly and that it was misrepresented as a RWD truck. Got her home and started digging in. One of the spark plug wires (#8) was not a DUI Livewire and failed testing with no continuity. I also found cracked porcelein on #4. A set of Motorcraft plugs and Motorcraft plug wires later, and it seemed to be running on all 8 again. There is a lot of the Mountaineer that I can resell, which I hope recoups most of the initial investment cost.
Now to the swap strategy. Its a '99 Mountaineer, so I am good to go on the fuel system and speedo (assuming the rear axle checks out before being swapped into the ranger). As for the PATS, I have no issue swapping the bits into the Ranger to retain it, but since I'll be going manual, the auto trans bits will need to be tuned out. In my research, Drag Radial Performance seems to pop up quite frequently. I'm going to ask him to take care of the PATS at the same time to simplify the swap. I'll report back with any comments and pricing using his service.
As for the trans, I have landed on two options:
1. The easiest seems to be the M5R2 F150 4.2 trans. I've read that its essentially bolt in, the shifter location is right, the clutch hydraulics are shared with the ranger, etc. The only "downside" I have read about is that it is a truck trans, and will shift and feel as such; long throws, delays into next gear, etc. I assume it will drive similarly to the ZF5 in my cummins swapped brick nose or the NV3550 in my LS swapped Jeep. Not a deal breaker by any means, but something to keep in mind.
2. A friend of mine has a fox body T5 world class available. I have yet to put eyes on it, but am told he bought it new and it was only used for a couple thousand miles. I've never driven a T5, but have a feeling it shares a similar "feel" to that of the T56 I had in my LS swapped BMW. I have read that if you want it to drive/shift in a more "sporty" way, then this is the way to go. I haven't come across a photo of where the shifter comes up through the floor using this transmission, but have read its a lot further back than the OE Ranger location, somewhere just in front of the seat. Looks like I'll need a hydraulic clutch kit for it, which I see available for around 250.
Any thoughts on the trans options above?
I will certainly post back with progress, questions, and of course, photos!
Thanks all.
An LS swap was floated, as I've done a couple of those in the past. I actually have a "spare" cammed 6.0 sitting in the garage that was meant for my third LS swap, but I had a hard time doing "the same old thing" again. I wanted something different, something new to me. Now that I have evolved into a father of two, my free time has decreased to next to zero, so I also needed something that wasn't going to take months on end to complete. After some brief research, a 5.0 swap became the obvious choice. It's certainly not a novel idea, but the last time I spent any time on a SBF was over 20 years ago, so it satisfies my desire to try new things.
After doing my research here in the tech library and across various threads, I kept an eye out for a suitable explorer or mountaineer. I had several saved on FB Marketplace until the "perfect" one popped up, a 1999 Mountaineer, 184k miles, runs/drives, brakes no good, rust throughout, etc. A couple items in the listing justified the list price of $1400; OBX headers (NLA), DUI Firepower ignition kit ($289), and that it was listed as being RWD. I was initially set on manual swapping the Ranger during the engine swap, but figured this would be a drop in solution from radiator to rear axle. Unfortunately, it turned out to be AWD, and it didn't run very well (seemingly missing on one or two cylinders). I was able to talk the seller down quite a bit due to the unknown reason it was running poorly and that it was misrepresented as a RWD truck. Got her home and started digging in. One of the spark plug wires (#8) was not a DUI Livewire and failed testing with no continuity. I also found cracked porcelein on #4. A set of Motorcraft plugs and Motorcraft plug wires later, and it seemed to be running on all 8 again. There is a lot of the Mountaineer that I can resell, which I hope recoups most of the initial investment cost.
Now to the swap strategy. Its a '99 Mountaineer, so I am good to go on the fuel system and speedo (assuming the rear axle checks out before being swapped into the ranger). As for the PATS, I have no issue swapping the bits into the Ranger to retain it, but since I'll be going manual, the auto trans bits will need to be tuned out. In my research, Drag Radial Performance seems to pop up quite frequently. I'm going to ask him to take care of the PATS at the same time to simplify the swap. I'll report back with any comments and pricing using his service.
As for the trans, I have landed on two options:
1. The easiest seems to be the M5R2 F150 4.2 trans. I've read that its essentially bolt in, the shifter location is right, the clutch hydraulics are shared with the ranger, etc. The only "downside" I have read about is that it is a truck trans, and will shift and feel as such; long throws, delays into next gear, etc. I assume it will drive similarly to the ZF5 in my cummins swapped brick nose or the NV3550 in my LS swapped Jeep. Not a deal breaker by any means, but something to keep in mind.
2. A friend of mine has a fox body T5 world class available. I have yet to put eyes on it, but am told he bought it new and it was only used for a couple thousand miles. I've never driven a T5, but have a feeling it shares a similar "feel" to that of the T56 I had in my LS swapped BMW. I have read that if you want it to drive/shift in a more "sporty" way, then this is the way to go. I haven't come across a photo of where the shifter comes up through the floor using this transmission, but have read its a lot further back than the OE Ranger location, somewhere just in front of the seat. Looks like I'll need a hydraulic clutch kit for it, which I see available for around 250.
Any thoughts on the trans options above?
I will certainly post back with progress, questions, and of course, photos!
Thanks all.
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