1994 4x4 Engine Transmission swap ideas

[kckershovel]

Let me start by saying I have done as much research before writing this as I could. I'm getting a 1994 Explorer with a bad engine and 164k on the clock so who knows on the transmission. Probably not good or not for long.

Let's start with the trans. What non electronic trans options are there to work with my stock transfer case? For this question I'm not concerned with bell housing and what engine it will fit only if it will work with my stock transfer case? C4,Aod,C5?

Next is it realistic to convert a 4x4 to 2wd during a swap like this? I'm looking for low budget and reliable I don't need 4wd however if it is just as easy to keep it I would like to.

Now for those who would say the low budget route is to just put in another 4.0 and see how the trans is. I'm not real interested in that at all. With all of the known issues with both the stock engine and trans I want something different.

Ok one idea that would use the stock trans involves swapping a C5 bell housing with sbf pattern. Using either a 250 inline six or a 302. With that, does the Stock trans have electronic OD and 3-4 shift? It is a 94 and I read in 93.5 this happened. If so will those functions still work with a carb motor swap?

Next we stick with the same engines 302,inline 200 or 250, and let's throw in the 2.3 4cyl for fun. I'm not looking for power. I want reliable, easy, mpg. I know pick two right. List your Motor/trans combo for 2wd or 4wd and why.

This is a clean rust free nice interior first gen that I'm getting for scrap price so I can justify building it the way I want it. That is an automatic carbed not 4.0 A4LD Explorer. Wife will be driving it most of the time and has knee issue so no manual swap :-(.

Ok so let her rip. I'm pretty firm on not using the pushrod 4.0. I am fairly firm on using a carburetor and a non electronically controlled Auto trans. I would love an OD. I guess there is a chance on keeping the A4LD with one of the lower power motor options like the inline 6, 2.3 4cyl or low power 302. I don't care if I retain the 4wd. I just don't want to spend allot of time and cash on making it a 2wd. So I think that is it.

Sorry in advance for the long post. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I hope it reads clearly.

 

[FR-425]

Ok, well

For the in-line 6's you are going to find the engine compartment too short for those unless you are going to cut out the fire wall or the core support and mount the radiator about a foot in front of the bumper.

4 cyl. ranger combo would work

5.0 conversions do have some aftermarket support. mounts, trans adapters, etc.

I believe there is a thread on here where a guy used a 700r4 behind the 5.0

A guy in California put a Volvo 5 cyl diesel in one.

Converting to 2wd presents no challenges just delete the transfer and drive line.

So I guess it's really just you and your expense account that can decide which way to go.

Good luck with your project, I hope you come up with something cool

 

[kckershovel]

Taking all of those things into consideration, I am strongly considering a carb 2.3 to stock trans keeping 4wd.

I do have a few questions. I know I will need fuel pressure regulator 2.3 motor and mounts, bell housing starter torque converter. Any thing else? Will the fuel pump work as is or will I need to wire it to run on key hot? will all the gauges still function?

I know it's not very exciting but I think the cost/reliability factor wins out on this combo.

 

[arco777]

The 4.0 is very reliable when fitted with a set of aftermarket cylinder heads. The factory ones are prone to cracking, and any sold that are new (not reman) are considered an aftermarket design. It is not unheard of for a 4.0 to run over 400,000 miles with regular maintenance.

If you are going to go to the trouble of swapping the motor, I would suggest either a good junkyard 4.0 OHV, or install a 4.0 SOHC and run it on the OHV fuel injection system, which is possible. Honestly if you want low budget this is actually going to be the cheapest and best option. The 4.0 is a good motor.

 

[kckershovel]

I guess I didn't know the 4.0 head issue had been fixed. I figured any junk yard motor would be a head cracking gasket failing time bomb and by the time I bought heads and gasket set to fix a 164k mile 4.0 the cost of doing so would exceed a carborated 2.3 swap. Thank You for the information I will go take a look at what new heads cost.

 

[arco777]

Autozone's site shows $300-340 each. NAPA shows $409 each. OReilly's shows $340 each. All prices do not include core charge. None were clear on whether the heads were remanufactured (original castings) or new aftermarket castings, so ask a knowledgeable rep first if buying from these places.

In 2008 I had a badly cracked head set on my 94 Explorer and installed new aftermarket heads bought from NAPA for about $380 each. The new heads were preloaded with valves and springs as most are. I have gone 50,000 miles since then with no issues.

 

[FR-425]

Yep I'm with arco777 on this, saving the 4.0 will be cheapest most bang for the buck and no modification, electronics, trans control, fuel injection mods, headaches.

And I'm convinced that 100% of the cracked heads are due to overheating (user error).

Do this to any engine and the heads will crack eventually.

Mine is 20 years old now 140,000 miles.. no cracked heads, no rattly valves, smooth quite running engine.....Maintenance...Maintenance...Maintenance...DO NOT OVERHEAT!

Love ya arco, and you really know your stuff---but stop breaking your heads dude---!!!

 

[arco777]

Love ya arco, and you really know your stuff---but stop breaking your heads dude---!!!

Haha. I bought the Explorer with the head cracked, for the grand total price of $1. Before I replaced the heads I added a $5 bottle of BARS stop leak and it actually sealed the crack. I ended up replacing the heads just for a permanent fix.

I don't think that overheating is always the cause to be honest. The Explorer in question was an Alaskan truck and it rarely passes 70 degrees there. Personally I think the stock heads were a poor casting (metal impurities perhaps) that eventually failed after many heat cycles from normal use, though it's true that overheating could hasten the failure. The Explorer's cooling system is a pretty robust one.

 

[FR-425]

I here ya,

Freezing can crack junk too, speaking of Alaska.

Perhaps I just got lucky, mine was from the very last production run of 94' most of the emissions bits are 95' rear axle 98', brake master 96', console 2001.

Ha! now it's a 94'-95'-96'-98',01 Ford Exlporer...the parts list is now on a spread sheet!

 

[FR-425]

kckershovel:

If you go with the old school 2.3 which would be cool and unique....

O-ring the heads and Turbo charge it! 2.3's love the turbo...did a couple of turbo pinto's in the 80's, 359 hp through the c3! never broke the trans but did kill a 9" on the strip. 11.49 eta Pinto!

You can get a 2.3 bell housing from PATC for the a4ld.

They also offer a 750 hp rated a4ld !! check the video of their blown Ford ranger!

I believe the 2.3 uses the small block motor mounts so you should be able to use the 5.0 engine mount kit.

PATC also sells a full manual shift setup to eliminate the electronic 3-4 and TCC shifts. which would take care of the PCM issues. What you do is remove the existing TCC and 3-4 solenoids and put them in a sealed box keeping them in the circuit so the PCM doesn't keep throwing CEL's for the "missing" transmission solenoids.


http://www.transmissioncenter.org/a4ld.htm

 

[malohnes]

I also agree on using the 4.0L as your engine of choice. Not only is a reliable engine, it is torquey and is very easy to work on. There is no cheap way to make more power as the 4.0L needs expensive parts and swapping a 5.0L needs a bit of fabrication and lots of wiring work to get going. It is a fun project if you've got skills, money and tools.

ARCO77, where did you get your info on running the SOHC on OHV fuel injection system? Is this basically running it on the OBD1 wiring harness, making the swap less complicated wiring wise?

My dream set up for the 4.0L is using the SOHC oil pan/stud girdle and pistons in a OHV block and 95TM heads (high compression) with all the usual hot parts to build power (422 can, P/P heads, intake, balanced and blueprinted, etc). But then running a modified intake to accept a aftermarket universal fuel injection system (like a FAST 4 barrel system). This then becomes a solid platform for FI. I'm still flirting with the idea of a Vortec V-3 blower, but I prefer the operation of a turbo and may go that route.

 

[arco777]

ARCO77, where did you get your info on running the SOHC on OHV fuel injection system? Is this basically running it on the OBD1 wiring harness, making the swap less complicated wiring wise?

I don't recall the exact thread but it was on this forum. A search should turn it up. Simply put though, the OHV fuel injection system does not really care about the differences in the motor mechanically, as the displacement and timing are the same.

 

[arco777]

Snoranger did the swap.

 

[malohnes]

Cool, thanks! I dig around some more.

 

[ghosttrain2]

Quite happy with the 4.0 SOHC in my '94! The 5R55E 5 spd auto has also been a nice addition.

 

[kckershovel]

I was not looking for more power. I just wanted to get away from the 4.0 as I had always heard they were junk. Largely because of the head cracking gasket failing issues. I also knew the short comings of the A4LD trans. I thought a carbed 2.3 would be easy on the trans and cheap to swap. Really all I would need is the 2.3, motor mounts, and bell housing. Add a little for things like radiator hoses fluids and such. I know where a 2.3 is running for 150.00 say 100 in bell housing 100 in hoses fluids and misc, 50ish in motor mounts I'm only at 400. That seems cheaper and easier than 800 in heads and 100 in a gasket set for the 4.0. I'm sure I'm missing something though.

 

[arco777]

Rule of thumb for motor swaps is take your best estimate, and triple it. They can nickel and dime you to death with all the part differences.

A carbed 2.3 would be incredibly weak without a lot of mods, and would kill your resale value (unless you plan to be the last owner of the truck).

Once the heads are dealt with, the 4.0 is one of the most durable motors ever made. Similar to the 4.6 Modular V8 in longevity but without the timing chain issues the 4.6 has at high mileages.

The A4LD gets a bad rap but it's mostly due to Ford installing a woefully inadequate cooling system from the factory. With added transmission coolers installed they are reasonably durable transmissions in my opinion, and valve body upgrades help a lot. I have abused my A4LDs and haven't had a failure yet. I once overheated an A4LD so badly it puked all the fluid out the front seal. Over 50,000 miles later that same trans is still going strong.

 

[kckershovel]

I am the last owner of most cars I buy. Hence the 94 explorer I got for scrap price. under-powered is fine I have driven 1200cc VW beetles, geo metros, honda crx HF cars all of witch would be described as under powered.

However you guys are the experts and I have loved my 4.6 Grand Marquis. So if you compare the 4.0 to the 4.6 I'm more than willing to listen to reason.

Now my only question for you is should I replace the heads even if there not cracked? I hate doing work twice. I have not removed the heads yet. The PO said he stopped driving it because of bad head gasket. I go to pick it up Tuesday weather permitting.

 

[arco777]

It's pretty much never just the head gasket... if the heads are factory, replacing the gaskets may buy you time, at best. The gaskets are fine, the engine is not highly stressed (similar to the 4.6). It is the heads themselves that fail, 95% of the time.

If you're already taking the heads off to change the gaskets, you could take the heads to get magnafluxed and check for cracks. If they are solid or you get them resurfaced, you might be able to get off a little cheaper than installing new heads. It still may be only a matter of time or mileage before they fail again. The problem is in the casting itself and that is why remanufactured stock castings are not a permanent solution like the new aftermarket ones.

Another possibility is the BARS stop leak like I mentioned above. From what I've heard and experienced, stop leak products are not 100% guaranteed to work in all situations. I cannot vouch for all the different products of this type out there, only the specific one that I used. Some people worry about the cooling systems getting gunked up by the stop leak. In my case, it worked (I used the BARS version that has black balls in a black liquid solution) and I have had no cooling system problems at all since then. Granted I did change the heads, so I can't say for how many miles that fix would have lasted. But I also have not changed any other part of the cooling system since then and have had no failures, nor have I seen any evidence of sludge or reduced cooling capacity.

 

[FR-425]

Chances are that if the gaskets are gone so are the heads.

You would have to take them to a machine shop to get magnafluxed to determine if they are cracked and then rebuild costs. cheaper, easier, faster, to just bag em and get the new ones.

Do some more research on this forum on how to revitalize the a4ld, do the heads and you'll be drive'n the Ex for a long time.