SC Motor in a 4x4 Ford Ranger???

SeanMatteson

Registered User
I've got a spare motor (complete) out of a '90 SC automatic. My brother owns a '99 Ranger extended cab 4x4 with a tired 4.0L and an automatic tranny. We're looking at swapping in the spare motor that I've got, complete with blower and IC. It looks like I'll have to find an appropriate AOD, from a four-wheel drive Ford vehicle.

Does anyone know if this swap has been attempted before, and if so, can you offer any tips? I seem to recall there being someone on these forums in the past who was driving something like this. Unfortunately, I can't remember the guys screen name, and my searches aren't helping.

If you can provide some useful information, it would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Sean
 
No real useful information towards the swap but have a few links that may help you. Ranger Power Sports is a good place to start - Generation Edge is another good place. Most of the people I've seen on Generation Edge have 98+ Rangers where RPS has more of a variety of years.

Hope they help and good luck.

-Andy "Melon"
 
Another site to try is www.therangerstation.com

While it could be done, it would be some work.

The 4.0 and the 3.8 are each from a different family engines. The 4.0 is a Cologne V6 and the 3.8 is basically a 5 liter with the back 2 cylinders hacked off.

Motor mounts will be different, bell housing is diferent. Length is likely different so the driveshaft will need to be different. Also getting the transfer case to bolt up might require an adapter.

Check around the links though as someone is bound to have done it already.
 
Thanks, Mike and Andy!

Actually, I could have sworn there was someone around here who had done a similar swap. I just can't remember if theirs was a 4x4 or a two wheel drive Ranger. Either way, I'd love to talk to that guy!

It looks like I should be able to get an AOD from a 4x4 that will bolt right up to the back of the motor, and that will bolt right up to the transfer case. That would mean no change in the driveshafts. I'm planning to use the wiring harness and computer out of the SC. The motor mounts shouldn't be too much of a problem since most of the aftermarket swap kits are for mounting 302 or 351 Windor motors into the Ranger. As was pointed out here, the 3.8L SC motor is much like these with the rear two cylinders chopped off.

I've copied down the links, and my brother and I will review the information soon.

Best regards,

Sean
 
Sean, that poster is ChaseTruck754. I hosted some pics of his truck for him:

super_3.8.jpg


More pics:

http://www.thundercoupe.com/images/scranger/4banger.jpg

http://www.thundercoupe.com/images/scranger/6-00-fpside.jpg

http://www.thundercoupe.com/images/scranger/no-eng.jpg

http://www.thundercoupe.com/images/scranger/wiring.jpg
 
the early 1990 rangers had the same trans 4X4 as the SC 5spd, the shifter on the Ranger was closer to the engine,SC's near the tailsection, the transfer case bolted right up to the SC trans once the tailsection is taken off, but this was the 3.0L motor, the 4.0L has a different bellhousing, the automatic bellhousing's 3.0L and 4.0L can easily be interchanged but I'm pretty sure the 5spd can't, so you may have to get an older 3.0L 5spd 4X4 tranny (which is a SC tranny with a different tailsection), my 2 cents
 
Here is a link to a website with probably the same pictures.

He's right about most people bolting up a 5.0 rather than messing with another v6. Makes sense to considering the costs of dealing with the SC motor compared to a 5.0.

But good luck.

Search these forums for the username ChaseTruck754 and you'll find a few posts from him and his results. One includes his e-mail address if you have any questions.

http://www.whitmarshconsulting.com/others/chasetruck754.html
 
George,

That's the truck I was thinking of! ...Thanks.

Any idea as to whether ChaseTruck754 still frequents these forums? I'll try to grab his email address (as suggested by Mike) and go from there.

Best regards,

Sean
 
Mike,

I haven't been able to find his email address. Do you remember what the thread was about? I do have some questions for this guy, but it looks like our project might be significantly different, due to my brother's truck being a '99, and a 4x4.

Best regards,

Sean
 
He may have used to go by a different name. This may have been under the old ez board though. I'm not sure. I think he was having trouble with emissions, with carb numbers for headers and stuff even though it passed the sniffer test or something.

Jeff
 
I've seen ChaseTruck754's truck in person as he lives close to me and we traded some parts a while back. I may have his phone number at home. Anyway, he's running a T5 out of a Mustang and at the time I saw it (about 6 mths ago) it was not yet finished, although the engine and trans is in. He was having electrical problems if I remember correctly. I'll try calling him and point him in this direction. EDIT: His is 2 wheel drive.

Mike
 
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Sean ... I'll just throw in these two stumbling blocks without providing solutions ...

How will an early 90s SC motor do for passing an emissions test in a 1999 vehicle, which is also supposed to be OBD-II ? Or is that not a concern in your brother's location ? And second, the 4.0L motor currently would have an A4LD or 4R55E tranny behind it ... these have a different flange onto the transfer case than an AOD would use (also mentioning that you need a 4x4 specific AOD, or the parts to change it over as well). But the guys who've done a 5.0L / AOD 4x4 Ranger swap should be able to answer that part.


cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
35th SC[/i] [B]...EDIT: His is 2 wheel drive.[/B][/QUOTE] [Color=Green]I was aware of this said:
...And second, the 4.0L motor currently would have an A4LD or 4R55E tranny behind it ... these have a different flange onto the transfer case than an AOD would use (also mentioning that you need a 4x4 specific AOD, or the parts to change it over as well).

I've gone through some of the information available online, and it looks like you can get an AOD out of a Ford 4x4 vehicle that should bolt right up to the back of the SC motor, and directly to the transfer case on the other end. I'll need to do a little more research in order to know which applications would satisfy this, but I'm thinking that's the least of my concerns. Of course, we'll want to use an AOD that would be similar to the '90 SC's AOD in regards to gear ratios, etc. Our plan is to fit his truck with the wiring harnesses from the '90 SC, including the EEC and all.

Thanks, Ed and others! This is some great information. Even if you're not providing answers, you're at the very least helping to illuminate all those things that we should be concerned with before we get into the project over our heads.


Best regards,

Sean
 
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Thanks, Thomas! ...I'm guessing that would require the use of an EEC tuner, and that alone might blow up the budget of this little pet project. The reason I'm looking to swap in the SC motor is because I've got a complete spare, from top to bottom, including all wiring harnesses and the EEC, etc.

...Besides, my brother's truck is out of warranty, and if it was sporting an SC motor under the hood, maybe I could help him out with repair work, instead of him having to take it to a shop most of the time.

Best regards,

Sean
 
Ed,

BBK is only listing the kits for the '89 to '97 4.0L Rangers and Explorers. Did anything major change between '97 and '99 on the Rangers?

...I guess another option would be to get a stock style rebuild done to his 4.0L, including a little port-work on the heads and intake stream, and then buy this kit. I wonder how well the stock transmission would stand up to the extra power though.

Anyway, thanks a bunch for diggin' that up for me!

Cheers,

Sean
 
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