410 fortune - 5.0L EFI 4R70W drivertrain conversion

[Savage Wolf]

looks sweet, them headers look sorta wild in there, seems like your swap is going about 100% smoother then mine did... I'm still fixing left over problems (anyone know the stock shift speeds/line pressure curves for a 4R70W )

 

[410Fortune]

thanks for the compliments, but Robert from Torque Monster headers should get the credit for design and fit of those beauties

Here is the 90% completed wiring harness.
There are a few things left to do here, I need to:
-add the plug for the canister purge solenoid
-run 3 wires to the fuel tank
-get a 97 Explorer style under dash diagnostics port and wire it up

You can see the engine harness is complete, the trans and 02 sensor harness is complete, the power distribution and truck plugs have been added and the length adjusted to fit the truck.
This is a 97 OBD-II pCM harness integrated into a 93 power distribution harness with 1988 Bronco II plugs where it interfaces with the the truck harness. Simple right?
hahaha

and thats it.....
I will not finish wrapping the harness until the truck runs, then I will remove it one more time for the final wrap.

Here you can see the extension I made, 3'-6", to re-locate the PCM to the passenger side kick panel. Each wire was cut, soldered, heat shrunk at both ends. I believe there were 84 wires total, took a
"few" hours.

 

[Nick26]

oh man, you used all the same color wire! haha, good luck troubleshooting that, that would give me a headache for sure. The project looks like its moving a long great though! I bet it'll feel good when the wiring is all cleaned up too.

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha its allright, it comes with my personal guarantee thats its right and there is not a cold solder in there, its all perfect.
Hopefully no troubleshooting will be needed but if it is the wires are the original color at eh pcm plug and at the other end
I cut each wire one at a time so there was no confusion.

 

[Rhett]

You're better at soldering than me. I can never get the damn solder to fill in well, it always balls up and drops off. And I HATE crimp connectors. I guess I have crappy solder, I hear it's not all the same.

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha well I have had LOTS of practice....
A good solder gun is required, and you have to use flux to get the solder to flow....

you want the solder to flow towards the heat, there are a few little tricks to it. I am lucky my dad had me soldering when I was like 8.....

 

[Jefe]

Looking good Jamie

 

[410Fortune]

OKay update:

I made much progress this weekend:
I have begun to put the engine bay back together.
The drivers side exhaust header is going to be modified by Robert of Torque Monster Headers to clear the brake booster.

Okay Robert contacted me and asked if I could send him the drivers side header. The drivers side header is touching the brake booster. I was planning to remove the header and slightly bend one tube to get clearance. This clearance would then be increased even more when I replace my Bronco II body mounts. However Robert wants to produce a conversion header for others that follow in this path (late model EFI 5.0L, Gen I Explorer/Ranger/Bronco II). So I am going to get some detailed puictures of the clearance around the steering shaft, firewall, and brake booster. then remove the header, box it up and send it to robert for "adjustment" I believe he is planning a whole new tube for one port, but we shall see what his solution is.

Other progress:
Wiring installed, engine accessories installed. The power steering required a "custom" modified high pressure hose, basically I had to bend the 4.0L power steering hose quite a bit to fit the 5.0L pump and the Bronco II style steering box.
Alternator was plug and play because my truck was already wired for the V8 alternator. I installed NGK Irridium spark plugs in the block and new 195 thermostat.

I mounted the power distribution box, routed the complete wiring harness, reinstalled the entire heater box, blower, etc the windshield wiper motor and access plates are back in place.

I am now working on the vacuum, fuel canister purge, coolant temp sensor, oil pressure (trying to hook up both the factory lights/gages and my Autometer mechanical gages), cooling lines, vent tubes, throttle cable, EGR routing, and a bunch of other "minor" details. Then finally the upper intake will be installed, battery, and the engine is ready to fire sans cooling.

Measurments for the custom radiator have begun, I am considering some tube work modifications to the radiator support that would allow me to cut part of it up for better mounting of a radiator, A/C condensor, and my trans cooler...but I may be able to get away with just a conversion radiator...we shall see.

I need a few things from the junk yard as well, a few bolts/screws, a couple of wiring connectors, I am looking for a better coolant overflow tank, and well its just your usual trip to the junk yard for a project like this.

I am ordering the floor shifter and radiator this week, I am still considering my options for a transfer case. It is between using the AA adapter and retaining the BW 1354 electric shift or using a AA AOD adapter to a Dana 20 T case........

I will get some update pictures when I remove the drivers side header tonight....

Its really starting to look like something now If I had the $$ and parts I need it would be running in 1 week or less.

 

[410Fortune]

Bumpity for pics

 

[boominXplorer]

not to be an ass but i would not use the irridium plugs in the 5L. I tried them in mine and all it did was detonate after 4K. Motorcraft dub plats are so the way to go.

 

[410Fortune]

thanks for the advice, in no way do I take that as you being an ass
I have always had great luck with NGK plugs in everything, so I figured I would try the Irridiums.
Currently they are in my 96 5.0L Ex and in teh new block.
They are pricey so we shall see what happens, if they cause problems they are gone....


Do you have intake/exhaust mods? Run high octane?

 

[FROADER]

Don't want to get off topic but looky what I found on Prerunners.net.

 

[410Fortune]

Hey! That was when I was at the Jump Champs in ROR weith the crew from Dezert Rangers........Some of those guys are awesome and welcomed me to CA with open arms.

She's famous! hahaha

 

[boominXplorer]

thanks for the advice, in no way do I take that as you being an ass
I have always had great luck with NGK plugs in everything, so I figured I would try the Irridiums.
Currently they are in my 96 5.0L Ex and in teh new block.
They are pricey so we shall see what happens, if they cause problems they are gone....


Do you have intake/exhaust mods? Run high octane?

Intake:
-ported upper and lower
-Mac intake
-75mm pro-m mas

Exhaust:
-FMS headers
-True dual flowmaster 40's

My plugs are basic autolite copper racing ones (1.75$~each) because I run nitrous. Right now I run 87 because I am a poor colage student. Once I get my chip and injectors in I'll go back up to 93(a must with nitrous)

 

[410Fortune]

Hey Boomin I suspect your engine mods had something to do with the premature failure of the Irridium plugs.
Problem is once this sucker is running the 5.0L is not going to stay stock....so I will likely have to swap them out for some Motocrafts.....

 

[cjcnomor4]

can you post some more header pics. i just ordered a set for my 95 5.0 ranger and wanted to get an idea of how they fit on the passengers side and how are you going to get exhaust to work? can an exhuast shop make round flanges like that?

 

[410Fortune]

On your ranger what year 5.0L did you use?
I can get you some more pictures for sure, but its best if you email me:
jamiesan@direcway.com
The Explorer forum has been moving VERY slow for me lately.
The headers bolt to the stock Explorer exhaust pipes, they are the same flanges as the stock manifolds, just "slightly" beefier Yes a good exhaust shop has access to these flanges. The guy I use is a friend of a friend and alot of his business is making custom headers from scratch, so I know he can do it.
The exhaust is going to be a tricky part of my conversion, I am going to run a single 3" pipe, but will likely have to retain the stock explorer pipes as much as possible, back to the 02 sensors. I would love to run a single cat instead of the dual setup the stock Ex has.

Now with your conversion if you "notched" your heater box like most people do, then you may have to re=do it because the Torque Monster Headers stick out and up a little higher then the stock manifolds.

I do not have a body lift on my truck, I used the L&L solid engine mounts which place the engine pretty low in the frame and back pretty far, so my heater box cover suffered a little. I am also retaining A/C with this conversion.

Email me for pictures. Also I would love to see some of your 5.0L 95 ranger

 

[cjcnomor4]

the motor is out of a 98 mountaineer. its in the truck now but the mounts dont line up. i have to drill the frame. i didn't have to notch my a/c box clears by a couple inches. got the heads proted, has an e-303 cam, trick flow intake.

 

[410Fortune]

You are useing the 98 Mercury mounts?
Have you looked into using convertible mustang mounts? www.rangerpowersports.com

You're A/C box likely not clear the headers, unless you have a body lift or you have the engine further forward/up. the 95 is slightly different though so you might get lucky.

If you email me I will send you more pictures of the pass side header and fit, but again keep in mind my truck is an 88 the frame is slightly different, especially in the area of the engine cradle/x member

Sounds nice!
I figure I will get this sucker running, then in about a year consider building a built 5.0L

 

[cjcnomor4]

i'm using l&l mounts