2000 Ranger 5.0 swap using 98 mountaineer donor

[phoenixisrizen]

Greetings All!

I am a former Ford Dealership tech, and have just aquired a 2000 ranger (3.0, auto, 4wd) and also a 1998 mountaineer 5.0 AWD donor vehicle (complete)
I have most of the bugs worked out (I hope!) and I still have freebie access to all the ford diagnostic equipment, EVTM's and such.

The first thing I haven't had much luck in working out is that I want to retain the electric shift 4wd, I know the preferance of most people is to put the lever in, but I would really like to retain the switch, I've read some posts here pointing out the correct manual transfer case to use with the swapped in 4R70W, but I can't seem to remember if that case has the mounting boss for the electric shift motor or the sensor. And if I remember correctly, that case is also larger, any idea if it'll fit WITHOUT a body lift?

Thanks

 

[rwenzing]

The first thing I haven't had much luck in working out is that I want to retain the electric shift 4wd, I know the preferance of most people is to put the lever in, but I would really like to retain the switch, I've read some posts here pointing out the correct manual transfer case to use with the swapped in 4R70W, but I can't seem to remember if that case has the mounting boss for the electric shift motor or the sensor. And if I remember correctly, that case is also larger, any idea if it'll fit WITHOUT a body lift?

Thanks

The BW4406 transfer case was made in both manual and electric "Torque on Demand" versions. I have the manual 4406 in my 2003 Ranger and it fits without a body lift. There were 2 clearance issues in my truck: the larger T/C was very close to the left frame rail and its output U-joint was very close to the fuel tank. I improved the clearance just enough by welding up the engine and transmission mount points and redrilling them to move the engine/trans/t-case about 3/8" toward the passenger side. You'd also need a shortened rear driveshaft and a front shaft from an F150 or Expedition. I believe that there is a thread on E-F about how to make the 4406 TOD work with the GEM from a Gen2 TOD Explorer. The Ranger uses a different set of controls for the 4x4 so you might have to make some adjustments to the procedure.

Alternative: If you can live with the factory AWD in the Explorer 5.0 donor, your life will be much easier. The entire engine/transmission/transfer case from the Explorer 5.0 AWD will bolt into your Ranger and should even use the stock Ranger driveshafts. There are no electric controls on the AWD case, so no electrical mods required there.

 

[Cobraguy]

These is another choice. You can buy an adapter set up from Advance Adapters that replaces the output shaft of the 4R70W with one that will allow the use of another factory electric shifted transfer cases. (I wish they would replace the transfer case input shaft instead)

 

[rwenzing]

These is another choice. You can buy an adapter set up from Advance Adapters

True, that is another option. I chose not to do it that way for 2 reasons. First, it costs about $550 for just the adapter shaft and extension housing in the AA kit. Second, the shaft size gets stepped down from 31 spline to 26 spline and I didn't think that was the right direction to go when doing a V8 swap.

 

[Cobraguy]

Both very valid reasons and very good points to bring up. For normal highway use, I think everything is strong enough. So does Advance Adapters. And if you have to buy a transfer case, the cost is pretty spendy as you mention. But if you already have the transfer case in the car, it's a very reasonable cost alternative. For example, if I put a 5.0 in my 95 control trac car, I will go the adapter route because it will be cost comparative to other choices plus I can retain my electric shift. Once I get past the front axle disconnect issues with a 5.0...

I did the 4406 swap on my 99. I would like to use the Adapter kit on my 95 and see which one I like the best.

 

[rwenzing]

In my case, I sold the factory 1354 manual case from my Ranger for $400 and bought the 4406 manual case from the F-series for $170. The difference was roughly offset by the cost of the front F150 driveshaft and rear driveshaft mods necessary to use the 4406. So it came out just about even and I didn't have to buy the AA kit.

 

[Cobraguy]

That's a good deal. I have about $400 total in my swap and I felt pretty good! And I still have the AWD transfer case and drivelines so I can swap back at any time.

 

[phoenixisrizen]

Good thoughts on both sides, I like the idea of using my curent transfer case, but I'm going to un-de-tune the 5.0, As far as I can remember thats a gt-40 intake and gt-40 heads, the same as a 5.0 Mustang GT, the cam was stepped down and some programming changes were made, a good freind of mine who is still a Ford Tech (and one of the top in the country according to FoMoCO) has the complete Ford Diag system at home (It was given to him by Ford) and can flash PCM's and all that jazz anytime. (That little laptop is great!). So I think once the engine is running like a REAL 5.0, I'm going to run the chance of failure at the weakest point, which would likely be the transfer case. But on the other side, I'm not looking forward to moving motor mounts and such. But I am sure I do not want AWD, and I am sure I want to keep my electric switch. Decisions, Decisions............