I have a 93 ranger and i want to do a 302 swap but i don't know where to start looking for parts I know there are some things that i will have to upgrade but we can come to that later i guess lets start with the cross member where can i find the right one and what do you think would be the best one if im going to be putting any power behind it

 

Welcome to the forum

4 Cyl engine needed the engine cross member, V6/V8 wouldn't use it.

Good "been there, done that" articles on V8 conversions here: The Ranger Station - Conversion Index

Best bet is to find a '96/'97 V8 explorer as a donor vehicle, '98 and up can be used you have to deal with PATS(passive anti-theft system) in the '98 and up V8 computers, and Returnless fuel system.

Or you can ditch computer and use carb and distributor setup with any 302/5.0l engine.

Your 7.5" rear axle can be used but won't last long if you use the V8 power much, so swap rear axle for an 8.8" when budget allows, they are found on all 4.0l Rangers and most 4x4 Rangers


Your 1993 dash has mechanical speedometer, uses a speedo cable.
So you need to use a transmission that has speedometer cable hook up, these started disappearing from transmissions in the mid-1990's
Transmission cross member will need to be moved/swapped but not hard to do.

 

I have a 5 speed manual transmission i was told those can useal mount up to to 302

 

You were told wrong, no maybes on this one.


You will have an M5OD-R1 trans in a '93 Ranger 2.3l
Confusion often comes from people looking at just a transmission model number, the M5OD-R1 was used in Rangers with 2.3l, 2.5l, 3.0l, 4.0l engines, but they are not interchangeable between different engines, a 3.0l trans won't fit on 2.3l or 4.0l engine.
The M5OD-R1 doesn't have a detachable bell housing, so your current trans will only fit on a 2.3l or 2.5l Lima engine, because they are the same block, 2.5l is just a stroked 2.3l.

And the M5OD-R1 was never used with a V8 because it wouldn't handle the power, same as 7.5" rear axle.

The Ford 302/5.0l engines used the M5OD-R2 which is a larger and heavier duty manual transmission.
And again someone may just look at M5OD and assume they are all the same, they are not.
R2 also doesn't have a detachable bell housing so to use it with a 302/5.0l engine it would need to come from a vehicle that had a 302/5.0l engine, and a 2WD as well.

These are often referred to as the M5R1 and M5R2 transmissions

The M5R2's, that have speedo cable hook up, will also have the shifter farther forward than current M5R1 in your Ranger, so you will need to cut a new hole in the floor for the shifter and get the shifter arm heated and bent so it doesn't hit the dash

 

Thank you all but back to the original question what cross member or engine mounts sould i use to support the engein

 

Did you read thru the V8 conversion articles in the link I posted?

This is one of them: Ford Ranger V-8 Engine Swap

And as said in first post, "4 Cyl engine needed the engine cross member, V6/V8 wouldn't use it."

You have a 4 cyl engine, 2.3l, so have a cross member, it would be removed if you were to install a V6 or V8 engine, because the V6 and V8 are wide enough to reach both frame rails, so no cross bar needed.
4 cyl is not wide enough so needed the cross bar