Brett's 4.0L SOHC Swap

Okay, the time has come to start this swap. While everyone was off goofing around in Moab over the weekend, I pulled my old 4.0L and 5spd from my sport.

Here are the details:

The patient - 1994 Explorer Sport 4.0L ohv 5spd manual 151K miles
The donor - 2004 Ranger 4.0L sohc 5spd manual 7K miles


My plan is to use as much of the original 94 electronics as possible. Yes, I could wire in the 04 electronics and computer, but I just don't want to. I'm trying to keep this swap simple so it "could" be done in a weekend.

Other details to sort out are:
Oil pan
AC
Front Dress
Fuel Line
Vaccum lines
Electrical

Pictures will follow shortly as I take them.

If anyone has done this before and can share their expience, please post in this thread. I believe that this has been done before, but as far as I know, there is not much documentation for a 1st gen 4x4 chassis. I know some ranger guys have done this with some 2wd trucks. There is very limited knowledge about this swap in the early trucks. Sure anyone can swap in 5.0L's with all the adaptors available. Let's hear about the experiences with 4.0L SOHC swap.


I would like to keep this thread on track with useful information relating to the swap. PLEASE do not post dumb comments like "where are the pictures" or "wow, this is cool". Please keep those to yourself.

Thanks,
Brett

Time spent pulling drivetrain and cleaning up = 8hrs. Total time = 8hrs.

 

[jfman]

Any increase in power ? Gas mileage ?


Nice swap btw

 

[EMG7895]

Are the sohc and ohv tranmissions pretty much identical? Could they be a good semi bolt in replacement for an a4ld/m5od?
f14crazy:your avatar scares me.

 

[snocross1985]

Brett, any updates? Pics?

 

[Trckmagik]

We need pics guys. Your freaking killing us.

 

[410Fortune]

yeah no kidding mr Brett hahaha
he's been driving it for a bit now, but consumed by Mustang projects
I will put my camera in my truck and drive over there for pics soon if he doesnt post em up!

 

[Brett]

Sorry guys. I'll get to finalizing this someday. I may start a new thread from scratch.

The conversion works really well. There are some bugs that worked out, but overall I have been happy. I've put about 5,000 miles on the swap with no major issues.

Brett

 

[F14CRAZY]

yup its been a while since I've been here, but that tach was actually just on my desk :

 

[Hokie]

Sorry guys. I'll get to finalizing this someday. I may start a new thread from scratch.

The conversion works really well. There are some bugs that worked out, but overall I have been happy. I've put about 5,000 miles on the swap with no major issues.

Brett

Will the SOHC still make the 210hp with the '94 engine controls? Are the knock sensors still enabled? I'd be worried about pinging with a 10:1 engine at altitude on that 85 octane stuff y'all can get in CO

 

[410Fortune]

same power, that truck screams with the 5 speed
It runs pretty much like a 2004 Ranger.

 

[Brett]

Will the SOHC still make the 210hp with the '94 engine controls? Are the knock sensors still enabled? I'd be worried about pinging with a 10:1 engine at altitude on that 85 octane stuff y'all can get in CO

I don't know the HP rating w/o running it on a dyno. Maybe the next dyno day with the mustang club, I'll do it. Running the stock 94 computer doesn't seem to mind. I got a minimal amount of pinging during the summer w/ 85 octane and 90+ days. Run some 87 octane through it and the pinging was all gone.

Brett

 

[fobrnno]

i can get a good used sohc motor at a good price, but does any one know how a rebuild a4ld will hold up behind this motor? it sound like a easier way too get an extra 40+ hp then modding a OHV motor and breaking the bank.

Brett
how much wiring change over was there from the two motors? and what wires needed the most work to get it running?

 

[Brett]

i can get a good used sohc motor at a good price, but does any one know how a rebuild a4ld will hold up behind this motor? it sound like a easier way too get an extra 40+ hp then modding a OHV motor and breaking the bank.

Brett
how much wiring change over was there from the two motors? and what wires needed the most work to get it running?

There are some good a4ld writeups on this site. Do a search under the transmissions section.

My suggestion for the wiring is to get some of the helm manuals for your donor and swap vehicle. I didn't have a problem with the wiring or electronics b/c I have a pretty good through knowledge of Ford Electronics. There is no way I could cover the details on every possible combo. I can say that the 04 ranger and the 94 explorer share a lot of similar electronic functions - i.e. camshaft position sensor, egr, etc. that the pre 94 (non-CA) trucks do not have. In these earlier cases, you would need to figure out how to eliminate them from the 04 engine.

Brett

 

[Nick26]

I assume you used the newer 5 speed but did you happen to compare them while they were out to see if the older one would have worked or vice versa(trying to find out if the hd would work behind a 99 ohv)? I know you said they were the same length, was the bellhousing the same bolt pattern and the input shaft the same spline/width/length? What about the clutch, hydraulic line, and pilot bearing?

 

[410Fortune]

they looked pretty damn similar to me, even the transfer case is basically the same case in 2004
I believe he used his 94 master cyl and hyd line and it just plugged into the 04 5 speed and slave cyl.

 

[Rick]

I was never interested in this swap until I found this site: http://www.supersixmotorsports.com/

I guess it's great news that the Explorer SOHC engine is now being used in the '05+ Mustangs. There will undoubtedly be a whole bunch of go fast goodies available soon.

 

[410Fortune]

Rick, those guys are awesome, the SOHC conversion I think you will find is becoming very popular out there in AZ and So Cal. Lots of built 3 speed C4's with SOHC's in the race trucks, pretty sure Camburg has done a couple for customers now


After driving Brett's I can say it would be worth it for any ohv owner to look into when the time comes, if I wanted a 5 speed I may have tried it before Brett (with his help). Doug was one of the first I believe when he went from OHV to SOHC in his supercharged Ranger, at least to use the OHV PCM to run the powerplant.
I know some Ford techies were building hybrid SOHC/OHV blocks in there trucks since the SOHC appeared in 97.
The SOHC 4.0L has been in thew V6 cars for a while hasn't it or is it just in the 05+ Stang and Ranger based trucks?
Hopefully Supersix will stick around

brett's conversion is super nice, he truly figured it out and made it factory like, it is a really tight fit though in a gen I

 

[white96x]

Rick, those guys are awesome, the SOHC conversion I think you will find is becoming very popular out there in AZ and So Cal. Lots of built 3 speed C4's with SOHC's in the race trucks, pretty sure Camburg has done a couple for customers now

ya thats true, in fact when Camburg raced the Baja 1000 in their Edge they did it with a SOHC V-6.

 

[410Fortune]

their edge came with the SOHC before the build, but it did get abuilt c4 trans I believe in place of the old 5 speed it had??
something along those lines, that Edge is a sick ass truck I'd drool all over it! I just wish Camburg would develop a LT IFS kit for us 4x4 guys

 

[Rick]

I bet the 4.3L stroker motor would be a load of fun That motor should make some good torque.

 

[white96x]

ya thats what i meant, i was going to say that they ran it with the stock SOHC but it did have some modification to it, but anyways ya it did have the C4 it place of the stock 5 spd....they keep talking about doing a 4x4 LT kit but they've been saying it for so long i wouldn't hold my breath...sorry to get so off topic w/your thread brett