I'm trying to hook up an engine on a project that I inherited. The body is a 1998 2wd auto 2.5 ranger. The previous owner dropped this engine in and never finished hooking everything up. I also have a 2000 2.5 ranger that I drive that I'm using as a guide. I'm not sure if the engine he dropped in is the same as was pulled out, and if not I need to figure out how to move forward. So far 90% of the things i hooked up went together no problem. Here are my concerns

The water pump is directly connected to the hose, no plastic piece that jams into it. There is no place to hook up the temp sensor clip, there isn't a temp sensor on it, at least where it would be on my 2000 (right above the water pump).

There also doesn't seem to be a cam position sensor or crankshaft sensor to hook up to (again at least not where they should be according to some previous help i got on this forum)

I'm pretty new at engine work, Any advice would be appreciated. I'm getting ready to finish up and turn the key, Just can't figure out what to clip these last few clips into. I found out with my 2000 yesterday that the crankshaft position sensor is pretty necessary when starting the truck, haha.

 

Bummer.

From what I read here, "There also doesn't seem to be a cam position sensor or crankshaft sensor to hook up to"

he has used a 1994 or earlier 2.3l Engine, they used different computer and crank sensor(main sensor)
Not interchangeable with 1995 and up computers
1994 and earlier used a Hall Effect sensor
1995 and up used a Variable Reluctance sensor
The signals from these are totally different, there is no convertor or circuit that can be made to make these work interchangeable

This is why he didn't finish project, probably found out he was spinning his wheels because he couldn't finish it when he got to the part you are at now.

2.3l and 2.5l are exactly the same engine externally, 2.5l has different crank and longer connecting rods, a stroked 2.3l
Same heads and blocks
Same intakes and exhaust same valve covers and cams

Best bet would be to find a used 2.5l(1998-2001), or 1995-1997 2.3l

You "may" be able to swap front engine cover and crank gear setup to current engine, so you can add correct Crank sensor for your 1998 computer.
Have never read a write up on doing this so do not know if it will work.

Cam sensor shouldn't be a problem.
But crank sensor is the Big Kahuna of sensors, engine will run with any other sensor broken or unplugged, but not without crank sensor

 

Ahh, that makes a ton of sense. I was afraid of that. It only has 70k miles on it so I'm not too disappointed. I always wanted to attempt a motor swap so looks like now is the time. Nice wheels and tires on it so I guess it can be a parts car for my 2000 if I can't find a used motor. thanks for the info

 

Well the 1994 or earlier 2.3l you have is worth money to someone with a 1994 or earlier Ranger.

And someone with a 1994 or earlier Ranger may have bought a 1995 or later 2.3l/2.5l and is in the same boat you are, so a trade.

If you are far enough along, starter motor hooked up, you could do a compression test on the engine to see what you have.
One spark plug removed from each cylinder for the test, and charged up battery, you want fast cranking speed, to get valid psi numbers
Throttle propped open, you want good air flow

Expected would be above 150psi

Potential buyers like it if you have those numbers

And a 1998 2WD Automatic Ranger is a very good candidate for Explorer V8 swap................

 

Thanks for the tips, are there any other sure fire ways to confirm this is an older 2.3? I just want to make sure before I pull it.

I did find a low milage 96 engine for sale. That should work?

This will be my first engine swap so I'm trying to keep it simple.

 

Here is an image of the 2.3l Lima engine with distributor in place: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...erformance.jpg

1995 and up shouldn't have that distributor hole, some early '95's might

Here is image of 1994 and earlier Crank(CKP) sensor location: http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...0821111337.jpg

Inside timing belt cover, there is a disc on the crank that the Hall effect crank sensor "reads", notice the wires going behind back cover of timing belt, they will come out on drivers side, if you see those wires coming out it is a 1994 or earlier 2.3l Lima engine.

Here is a drawing of the 1995 and up CKP sensor location: http://repairguide.autozone.com/znet...528018edd2.jpg

Lower part in image is a side view of front engine cover, and this should look like what you have on your 2000 2.5l, passenger side external hook up of the CKP sensor

This is the image of the crank pulley: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lBWYwu0ZWhc/hqdefault.jpg

On the back you can see what "looks like" a gear, it is not, it is called a Tone Wheel, and has 1 missing tooth on purpose, the 1995 and up CKP sensor "reads" this tone wheel, each tooth is 10deg apart, so 36 teeth = 360 deg, full circle, the missing tooth goes passed the CKP sensor when #1 piston is at Top Dead Center, that how timing for spark and fuel injectors are set


Found this image of 1995 and up crank/timing belt: http://www.therangerstation.com/foru...pictureid=2963

You can see the end of the CKP sensor sticking out thru the black cover for the tone wheel


Yes, 1996 should be plug and play with 1998 Ranger