302 swap sport

[CDW6212R]

I think 1996 everything will be OBDII, 95 was a year that Ford mixed OBDI while also having the OBDII port under the dash. My two 95 Crown Vic's were both like that.

 

[delexploder]

Yes my 96 was like this , i sold it to a friend who has passed it around between his kids so i do see it around from time to time , ill try to see what the build date on it is

 

[410Fortune]

95 is last year of EEC-IV, all 96+ explorer are EEC-V or OBDII

The RANGER has a weird year in 96 some of them are still OBDI some of them are II, the scanner will tell you if it can talk to it or not.

All 96 EXPLORERS however are indeed OBDII

Installing that 01 mounty RWD drivetrain into the 96 Sport is not that hard, you just need to do some wiring, a couple of modifications to the instrument cluster wiring, add the 01 PATS to the 96, and swap fuel pumps and lines.

You do not have to strip it down to the body harness/dash doors carpet, etc????

Both trucks have the C115 42 pin plug in the engine bay, this is where all the magic happens to make any 95-01 Explorer use any year 5.0 V8.

I usually disable or completely remove the 4WABS systems from my builds

 

[302nitrous]

So I found the title. The orange one is a 98.

 

[CDW6212R]

So I found the title. The orange one is a 98.

That's very good, you don't have to change any of the fuel system beyond the engine swap.

If you want to keep ABS, you'll need the 98 ABS module, and the wiring from it to the rear diff(ABS sensor). You can repin a bunch of wires in connectors to maintain the older 96 dash and all the vehicle wiring. But to me it's much easier to just swap the dash and the body harness, so it's all plug and play. I've done both, re-pinning and swapping big parts. Figuring out individual wire functions is way more tedious to do, and every mistake can be hell to trace down later.

 

[302nitrous]

That's very good, you don't have to change any of the fuel system beyond the engine swap.

If you want to keep ABS, you'll need the 98 ABS module, and the wiring from it to the rear diff(ABS sensor). You can repin a bunch of wires in connectors to maintain the older 96 dash and all the vehicle wiring. But to me it's much easier to just swap the dash and the body harness, so it's all plug and play. I've done both, re-pinning and swapping big parts. Figuring out individual wire functions is way more tedious to do, and every mistake can be hell to trace down later.

What I don’t understand is why it’s a return style fuel system. I thought 98 started returnless.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

nope, that was 99. my 98 is return

 

[vroomzoomboom]

I usually disable or completely remove the 4WABS systems from my builds

more info. i had pm'd you asking this, but didnt get a response. how can it be removed? will it trigger a abs light? if i am not wrong abs is also part of the cruise control system, if removed will the cruise control still work? how do you run the brake lines after the block has been remove?
would like to know more. i am going to be battling a space issue soon under the hood, and if i could remove this, it will more then likely solve all the issues.

sorry for hijacking your thread 302nitrous

 

[302nitrous]

The rear end already has the speed sensor in it. So I wouldnt be able to just swap the drivetrain over, fuel system, and engine harness and call it a day? I would need to change over thr abs and all that?

 

[CDW6212R]

The rear end already has the speed sensor in it. So I wouldnt be able to just swap the drivetrain over, fuel system, and engine harness and call it a day? I would need to change over thr abs and all that?

The 98-01 computer needs the 98-01 ABS module, the VSS comes from that, which is what conditions the ABS signal into a VSS signal. The VSS does not go directly from the ABS sensor to the PCM, it goes to the ABS module, which conditions it and send it to the speedometer, and PCM.

People who swap a SBF into a non Explorer have that issue with using a 98-01 PCM, they end up swapping to a 97 302 Explorer PCM, and that different engine harness etc. Those take the VSS from the back of the trans, or the TC if it's 4WD/AWD. I don't know of anyone who has managed to use a 98-01 computer and not use a 98-01 ABS module(and figured out how to produce a VSS signal for the PCM). Doing that would be a big discovery, some/we have discussed it, but nobody yet has found an answer.

 

[410Fortune]

Sorry I missed the PM? weird
I completely disable and remove all underhood remnants of the 4wabs system
I build brake lines to plumb around where it used to be, this requires a simple brass block from Summit or jegs allowing you to split the front brake line from the master into the two lines needed for each from caliper.
98-01 I delete the bulb from the dash by blacking out the hole it sits in. If you remove the bulb you will get a warning chime on 98+ trucks. 90-96 trucks this is a non issue as the VSS is still in the tailhousing and you can delete as much of the RWABS or 4wABS as you wish. My 88 BII all of it has been removed even the wiring pigtails.....

98-01 The ABS speed module can stay in place and the codes can be in the system, the light will be illuminated but ABS will be disabled and the pump is removed from under the hood.
This removes at least 20# of equipment and opens up a big space on the drivers fender skirt for more goodies.
Ill post up some pics, first time I did this was on a 1940 Ford F1 body on 97 Explorer chassis to clear the fender. I liked it so much I started deleting our personal trucks or customer builds.

98 was the START of returnless, not all 98+ are, like the sport trac, 2001 still was return style........ so there are exceptions. Some 98 5.0L are still return, by 99 they are all returnless

302 nitrous, sounds like a plan. You will need to do some simple wiring at the instrument cluster to change tach from v6 to v8, otherwise going from 01 to 98 is very straight forward 5.0 conversion (99% bolt in/plug n play)

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Sorry I missed the PM? weird
I completely disable and remove all underhood remnants of the 4wabs system
I build brake lines to plumb around where it used to be, this requires a simple brass block from Summit or jegs allowing you to split the front brake line from the master into the two lines needed for each from caliper.
98-01 I delete the bulb from the dash by blacking out the hole it sits in. If you remove the bulb you will get a warning chime on 98+ trucks. 90-96 trucks this is a non issue as the VSS is still in the tailhousing and you can delete as much of the RWABS or 4wABS as you wish. My 88 BII all of it has been removed even the wiring pigtails.....

98-01 The ABS speed module can stay in place and the codes can be in the system, the light will be illuminated but ABS will be disabled and the pump is removed from under the hood.
This removes at least 20# of equipment and opens up a big space on the drivers fender skirt for more goodies.
Ill post up some pics, first time I did this was on a 1940 Ford F1 body on 97 Explorer chassis to clear the fender. I liked it so much I started deleting our personal trucks or customer builds.

would you mind making a how to thread on this? i am interested in doing this, but i dont want to hijack this thread.

 

[302nitrous]

Okay so I’m not really understanding the 4 way abs. Do I need to actually do anything with it going from a 99 too 98 can’t grasp the concept of why I couldn’t just leave it alone. Would I need to change the dash harness out from my 99 too my 98?

 

[CDW6212R]

Okay so I’m not really understanding the 4 way abs. Do I need to actually do anything with it going from a 99 too 98 can’t grasp the concept of why I couldn’t just leave it alone. Would I need to change the dash harness out from my 99 too my 98?

410Fortune has done many of the 302 swaps. I'm going by what I've learned here from others.

You said this vehicle getting the swap is a 96 Explorer, not your "other" 99, yes?

Eliminating ABS would simplify some things. But the 98-01 PCM's need the VSS signal which comes from the ABS module. Those 98-01 ABS modules are unique, they "condition" the rear ABS signal into a VSS signal. That's also where the speedometer gets the speed signal from, the ABS module.

That's why I suggested swapping the whole dash harness, since you have the matching set from the donor vehicle. If the dash is still in good shape, swap the whole dash. Or else you can make individual wire changes to mix the older 96/97 wiring with the later wiring. Ford made major wire changes during 1997, bunches are different for 98-01 compared to the older wiring. Decide which are the better parts, and what will be easier for you to do, to make the swap work.

 

[302nitrous]

410Fortune has done many of the 302 swaps. I'm going by what I've learned here from others.

You said this vehicle getting the swap is a 96 Explorer, not your "other" 99, yes?

Eliminating ABS would simplify some things. But the 98-01 PCM's need the VSS signal which comes from the ABS module. Those 98-01 ABS modules are unique, they "condition" the rear ABS signal into a VSS signal. That's also where the speedometer gets the speed signal from, the ABS module.

That's why I suggested swapping the whole dash harness, since you have the matching set from the donor vehicle. If the dash is still in good shape, swap the whole dash. Or else you can make individual wire changes to mix the older 96/97 wiring with the later wiring. Ford made major wire changes during 1997, bunches are different for 98-01 compared to the older wiring. Decide which are the better parts, and what will be easier for you to do, to make the swap work.

I’m swapping the v8 2wd platform from my 99 explorer sport too a 98 explorer sport

 

[302nitrous]

I’m swapping the v8 2wd platform from my 99 explorer sport too a 98 explorer sport

A friend of mine said the only thing I would need to do is swap the gauge cluster from my 99 and swap to return style fuel rails. Everything els should be fine. I’m just curious as to how true this is.

 

[CDW6212R]

A friend of mine said the only thing I would need to do is swap the gauge cluster from my 99 and swap to return style fuel rails. Everything els should be fine. I’m just curious as to how true this is.

That is not a big problem, that's very close to all of it. The older 96/97 wiring is where the problems get really big.

You can handle the V6 tach circuit by swapping the cluster you already have working right, or alter the other one. The fuel system is tricky though, in 99 there is an extra or different sensor on the fuel tank, and the one fuel line instead of two. The under hood relay/fuse box is different also. I defer to 410Fortune and others who have done it, they can say if it's easier to swap components or rewire certain things. The ABS is no difference from 98 to 99 though, same module and circuits.

 

[410Fortune]

99 to 98 is as simple as they get
Keep your 98 cluster and move the tach wire ground from the v6 position to the v8 position (I can post the wiring info for this)
If your 98 is return style and the 99 engine is returnless then you need to convert your 98 sport to returnless or convert the 99 engine to return using a 96-98 style fuel rail and injectors
Let me know which path you want to go

the 98 engine harness will plug directly into the 99 truck, no reason to swap any under hood wiring other then the engine and starter harness
You will have to move/change a couple of wires around on the 5.0L alternator wiring harnes to go from v6 to v8, otherwise this swap is as simple as they get 99% bolt in deal

 

[vroomzoomboom]

click the link in my signature. there is some wiring info in it

 

[302nitrous]

99 to 98 is as simple as they get
Keep your 98 cluster and move the tach wire ground from the v6 position to the v8 position (I can post the wiring info for this)
If your 98 is return style and the 99 engine is returnless then you need to convert your 98 sport to returnless or convert the 99 engine to return using a 96-98 style fuel rail and injectors
Let me know which path you want to go

the 98 engine harness will plug directly into the 99 truck, no reason to swap any under hood wiring other then the engine and starter harness
You will have to move/change a couple of wires around on the 5.0L alternator wiring harnes to go from v6 to v8, otherwise this swap is as simple as they get 99% bolt in deal

Okay so I plan on doing a return style fuel system for the 98. So I’ll just end up junkyard diving for fuel rails.

Why would injectors be different?

Now what about the abs in the 98? Should I just bypass it and save myself the hassle? Thanks for all the help