i'm working my way through swapping a 5.0 into my 98 ranger (formerly a 3.0), the new drivetrain came from a 97 explorer, i bought the whole explorer and still have everything so i can get any and all parts that i need, i just have a few questions for those that have done this swap before, i guess i'll continue to add questions to this thread as i'm sure i'll have more as i get deeper into the project

i went to swap throttle cables today only to find that the explorer cable is designed to snap into a square hole in the fire wall and the ranger has a round hole for a round cable holder, do i need to get a cable from a different model year or should a do a little sheet metal work to solve this problem?

i'd like to know if i have to swap the trans shifter cable or not?

have you done anything to beef up the 4r70w? when all is said and done the engine is predicted to make about 350hp at the crank and i wonder if the trans will hold up, i'm planning to put a shift kit in it, maybe a new converter, a B&M cooler in place of the stock auxiliary cooler and maybe a bigger pan if one is available, any other suggestions to help this trans hold up?

what did you guys do as far as fuel lines go? my ranger is a returnless system, i read that i can get the fuel rail from a different model year explorer so that i don't have to run a return line, i also wonder what you guys have done about the fuel pump and regulator, i was looking at a trick flow pump made for mustangs but i'm not yet sure if it will work for my application or not

i read that i need to swap in the explorer battery cable harness, i was looking at it today and i was totally lost, no idea where to start, can someone point me in the right direction?

i have a BW1354M that i bought before the 3.0 died but never got to install, my plan for now is to get the advance adapters piece to mate it to the 4r70w, i saw that there is already a removable panel in the trans tunnel i just wondered if my manual shifter will end up there or will i need to cut another hole further back?

thats all my questions that i have for now but i'm sure i'll have more later so i'll keep updating this thread, again its a 98 ranger 3.0 recieving a 5.0 from a 97 explorer, and i'll toss up a couple pictures, everyone likes pictures

 

I can't help too much..

On the square hole. Just make it square or make a round to square grommet. The loading within the cable is all taking place at the end fitting and the end of the outer sheath. The mid section doesn't matter as long as it's not kinked.

On the tranny.. IMO I'd up the pressure per circut vs just a global pressure raise. Increase it by about 15-20psi and you'll not hammer it too hard on the shifts. (you'll have to figure out how to do this.. I don't know if the "shift kit" just raises pressure globally or if it's per circut / load)

A returnless system requires a specific pump and a PCM with fuel pressure sensors to make it work right. Personally I'd not try to accomidate a returnless system unless everything was already in place.

Rich

 

thanks for the advice, i'll prob do basically what you said and make a patch panel for my firewall to make the hole match that of the explorer so i can just put the stock explorer throttle cable in, as for the fuel line i'll look into both options, i maybe be able to get a returnless fuel rail and matching PCM from a newer junkyard explorer but i'd rather just run the return line instead, again thanks for the advice