1992 Explorer 5.0 swap thread

[xplorernewb]

so did this ever get finished?

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

so did this ever get finished?

Why yes, yes we did!

We put this project off to the side as other vehicles and builds were coming into more importance. But as Kris and i were deciding on what vehicle to take to moab for the 20th anniversery run, we thought how cool would it be to take JPX? So we changed gears and decided to tackle the truck in a different route and cheat a little haha

We started off by buying a 97 2wd Mountaineer so we could take its entire frame and suspension and put under the truck to facilitate the 5.0 swap a bit easier.

After pulling the truck in we started to disassemble everything to get the body ready for liftoff

We pulled the motor and swapped over the oil pans (we were using a duel sump mustang to clear the TTB, but since we were going to use a second gen frame, we went back to a stock explorer pan

We then put the motor in it's new home (hopefully permantly!)

We had to disuse the 1356 transfer case as it was just simply not going to work - better to do the tried and true 4406 swap. only this one will be using the electric shift style and using the 1st gen 4x4 module to control it.

After doing more prep work on the frame (painting the new one) and body, the day came to separate the 92 body from it's 92 frame!

new frame lined up and ready for body drop!

And touchdown!

As you can see, doing the frame swap got us the room we were wanting in the engine bay and put the engine exactly where we wanted it!

That was the easy part - now the hard part comes next - making it work!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

So, in doing this swap, a lot of things had to be taken into consideration to make it all work like stock. I decided the best route to take would be to modify a second gen engine bay harness (which included the power distribution box, relays, headlight connections, ect) and make it adapt to the first gen firewall bulkhead connector. So in effect, everything forward of the A-pillar is second gen, and everything behind it is first gen. In order to do this though, the dash needed to come out. I did this because i eleminated the 1st gen crusie control and RABS module as we will be using the second gen cruise and 4 wheel abs set up.

The engine bay harness was also severly modified. I basically removed the three square connectors and replaced them with the one round one and moved all the associated circuits around to it. I eleminated some things in the harness (hi and lo speed wipers for instance) and only 8 new circuits had to be ran as additional circuits through the firewall. Otherwise everything else was plug and play.

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Next was to finish all the mechanical and secondary mods to the 92 body to play nice with the 97 frame. One of the biggest challeneges was the front core support. see, the second gen frame is wider at the front than a first gen. so naturally, holes dont line up:

Also, the abs pump sits higher in a second gen engine bay, so i needed to rework the brack to fit snug and low:

We also used the second gen radiator, condensor, and mechanical fan set up so the core support itself had to be cut down and the outer support structure from a 2nd gen core support welded on:

Next was the frame rails. In order to bolt up the 92 front bumper and brush guard, the front frame horns needed to be notched and brought in:

Then it was just a matter of bolting everything back on!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

The only custom part in the entire build is the low side discharge a/c line. The first gen evaporator and the second gen condensor on the passener side dont have connections that line up. so one custom hose later, and everything is blowing ice cold!

So all in all this was just a time consuming but not difficult swap. Everything works, no check engine lights or abs lights. Everything works as it should (guages, cluster, hvac, ect) and truck drives great. See the Moab 2016 thread for its debut as the mystery rig!

 

[CDW6212R]

Awesome work there. You did it the way I was wanting to do mine, but I didn't have the fabrication skills or confidence. I hope you like it, I always did like my 93 Limited overall.

 

[mounty71]

Are you looking to sell the modified Mustang pan that you're no longer using? I'm doing the opposite of you and sticking TTB and a stock 1st generation crossmember under my Mountaineer, and I'm thinking your pan is exactly what I'll need!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Are you looking to sell the modified Mustang pan that you're no longer using? I'm doing the opposite of you and sticking TTB and a stock 1st generation crossmember under my Mountaineer, and I'm thinking your pan is exactly what I'll need!

We can, we are not doing anything with it now. we had to notch it out in one corner to clear the driverside ttb drop bracket. when i get home ill try to find a pic of it so you can see

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Are you looking to sell the modified Mustang pan that you're no longer using? I'm doing the opposite of you and sticking TTB and a stock 1st generation crossmember under my Mountaineer, and I'm thinking your pan is exactly what I'll need!

Correction, i found a photo of it

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

So some cool news! The Austin Symphony here in town is performing a John Williams tribute next friday and saturday night and they want to display our Jurassic Park Explorer in the lobby!

 

[NICE59FORDF100]

Some minor repairs were needing to be done since we returned from moab. Biggest was a dead brake feel coming from the master cylinder. Plus it was leaking into the brake booster. So quick swap and everything is peachy again