302 Conversion, Part II 94 XLT

[DOGMAN]

Rob,

Did that $160 price for the Mark 8 fan include the thermostat control?

 

[Perry]

Re: March Madness?

Originally posted by Gofast
Still hoping for MOAB!......

What do you mean "hoping for MOAB, you ment to say "LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING EVERYONE AT MOAB!!!

I have faith in you Rob, you will have it going. You still have two months. If we can get a rolled Explorer ready you can put in a little motor.

 

[Gofast]

Fans & Friends....

Mike, I'll let you know when I see the fans. It is supposed to be a complete replacement unit with shroud fan and wireing harness. I hope the T-Stat conrtol is part of it. If not then I'll order it next. Trying to get the radiator mounted this week and then I can check clearance between the waterpump and pulleys and the Fans.

Perry, I'm really trying to get it done in time. The real limiting factor is money supply. I may not have the cash to get everything finished before MOAB. Kids in sports comes first then I get to spend time and money on my truck. Seems everytime I turn around I'm spending another $200. I think I turned around 3.5 times yesterday and it looks like I need new injectors, so it's another 2.5 turns for me today.

Genral note. I just ordered all the bolts I needed for lower intake, valve covers, dist, and waterpump! ARP supplies all this so if you need something new for your 302 give them a call.

 

[Gofast]

Installing Radiator...

OK, Installing the radiator. I bought a factory 3 row HD radiator from Radiator.Com. Great prices and fast delivery. I read somewhere that it would mount up in my truck. Wish I knew where I had read that. It doesn't fit without "Major" mods. The A/C condensor lines will have to be re-routed and custom made. The ABS motor will have to be relocated, custom mounting bracket made and knew brake lines custom made. ( Notice the word " Custom" a lot? )

This is another case where I would probable have been better off getting the RAdiator kit from one of the conversion vendors ( Kaufman, Total Perf, Advance adapters, etc ) I may do that still. Also, looks like it will be a very tight fit between the waterpump pulley and the radiator. May not be room for the electric fans unless I relocate the condesor 2" forward and move the radiator up as well.

Good news...

Vavle Covers are installed. So is the lower intake. Waiting on the new injectors before I mount the upper intake.

Getting closer. Will actually start thinking about the wiring now..

 

[RFR2212]

OOOOH! Custom! I think at times, I hate that word SOOOO much more work...Oknut told me he used all James Duff swap products, and had no problems, and that everything fit together nicely...That is probly what I'm going to do except one mod of my own. Summit Racing has a oil/tranny fluid cooler combo for 100 bucks. it has the oil relocator unit as well. They have used it on motors w/ 450+ hp, so it's durable. Rob, how thick, is the oil relocator part that screws onto? Summit told me the oil relocation screw on adapter is approx, 1.5-2.0in thick. Is this gonna clear? How does this compare to your amsoil adapter....
Thanks
Pete

 

[Gofast]

Remote Oil

Mine is about 2" I think. I have about 1/2" clearance after installing the adapter. You should be fine. The key point is that the hose's exit at 90 degrees. If they are straight out with no right angle stuff then they will not work.

I tried to save money over the "Kits". Don't do it!

Good Luck.

 

[RFR2212]

Yeah, I do believe they they exit at a 90 degree angle. If not, I can always get a 90 degree exit one, and then use the rest of this kit, b/c I need an oil and tranny cooler. Also, seeing the success of Oknut, I plan on using the duff kit, even though some kits maybe cheaper than it. So I will continue my research.
Thanks
Pete

 

[Gofast]

Pete, That's what I did. The AMSOIL remote has a great set-up for running coolers and of course gauges. I'll try to get some pictures tonight of how mine is set-up.

That's why I bought the L & L adapter for the block. High Quality and 90 angle. I then used the rest of the AMSOIL kit.

I'll have temp & pressure gauges on mine. If temps get to hot form me then I'll add a cooler. With the remote base it's very easy to add a cooler.

Thanks

 

[RFR2212]

Rob I've forgot, and it would take a bit of searching when I can just ask you. What tranny and T-case are you going to run?
Thanks
Pete

 

[Gofast]

Tranny Stuff

Pete, I'm running a modified AOD tranny. I had Advance Adapters send the 9" tailhousing and output shaft straight to Phoenix Transmissions. http://www.phoenixtrans.com/

I got a built tranny using the adapters that bolts upto my factory T-Case.

The AOD has a good OD 32% and a low 2.48 : 1 first gear. It also totaly locks the Converter in 1st and 2nd gear so there is very little heat build up.

I plan to put either an Atlas II in there when it blows ot maybe a second T-case behind the first one to get the low low climbing gears.

 

[Hammer]

How about some updates?
Your fans from all over need to know what is up.
How about some pictures?


I too am looking into doing the swap. I have many questions and since you are becoming the "expert" on what to do and what not to do. I was wondering if I could e-mail you directly with my questions and you could answer them when you have the time.
I heard you were going to do a complete story on this project. Is that still in the works?

 

[Gofast]

I have fans?....

Hammer, Thanks for the post. Yes you can e-mail me with questions. Also feel free to post them if you want. Other people are probable thinking the same thing.

Latest scoop.

Just returned from a week of skiing. Very sore, but still need to work on truck. Mostly need cash to get it finished now.

Radiator clearance is my nig concern right now. If the weather holds up, I'll work on that tomorrow.
My Garage is very small and I have to have the door open to work on the truck. So hopefully it will not rain.


My lesson this week in how not to spend money. If you have 19# injectors don't upgrade to 24# injectors unless you buy a MAF to match. Anybody need a set of 24# injectors, brand new in the box?

I'll post pictures this week end as well. I need to get the camara unpacked from the trip first.

Also, plan on doing a write-up when I'm done. I'll pull some of the highlights from this post and the previous one too.

The best thing you can do is plan ahead. I dived in, found out the water was very cold. I'll plan better when I do the front end swap ( Riffman style )

Thanks Rob

 

[BislamJoe]

Me too! Me too!

Can you e-mail me everything you have learned, parts lists, etc. for the engine conversion? Bislamjoe@priest.com is my e-mail, drop me a line. I'm planning to convert my '93 to a V8... just not sure which one. I'm pretty mujch settled between a 5.0L (modern 302) and a Triton 5.4L (that'll be pretty sweet if I can pull it off). While I'm here, does anybody know how tough it would be to fit a 5.4 in my baby? Also, what swap parts from the 302 swap can be used? I'm probably going to be the first person to try this... This is going to mean either a lot of custom fabbing or me and Wade in the backyard with a welder a tree and a chain. LoL

 

[fordkrazy]

I would really like to see some pics. especially the radiator work and the air box for the heater&a/c clearance. the weather is getting nice and i would like to start this before it gets too hot so im getting anxious. speaking of wiring....im throwing around the idea of buying a whole new ecu system from Haltec that lets you program the chip from your laptop while the engine is running. has anyone heard of them or delt with Haltec? as usual they are hard to get information from. like prices. check them out www.haltech.com

 

[Sandy]

Fan and stuff

Sorry for being late on this subject and I have not read all of the above posts, so if this has been memtioned before pls forget I posted.

The fan problem is a big problem in my book. I have run an electric on my Ranger conversion and although the vehicle has not over heated it is still running too hot for me.

The Montianeer has a V8 and it has a mechanical fan.
How do they do it ? The parts on the front of the engine, i.e. timing chain cover, brkts, etc., have been moved back approx. 1.5". That may be enough to help you out.

Of course there is the price of the parts but if it works then the mechanical fan will make up for it.

Good Luck,
Keep it on all Four !

 

[GJarrett]

I got a good look at Rob's Explorer GT Money Pit last weekend while we converted my brother's auto hubs to manuals at the Gofast Garage.

How he fits his radiator in will be interesting. He may have to cut and extend the radiator mounts and frame forward; I don't know. His fan looks like it will be in the very same place the radiator will be. But that's not the real challenge.

I have absolutely no idea how he will get his intake installed. It's reversible but it still won't help. Installed normally, the intake will run right into the A/C. Installed the other way it looks like he'd have to remove his steering and stuff. I believe Rob is considering removing his A/C to get the intake on and running and then figuring out a custom A/C in the future. If he does that he won't be wheelin' in Texas this August.

The turns that this project has taken are positively mindboggling.

 

[Perry]

Gofast,
Not to be a smart ass or anything, but why are you having so much trouble when they have put 5.0's in the Rangers and Bronco II a lot??????????????????

When we were first looking for a Explorer I was going to get one with high mileage and put in the 5.0, now I'm glad I went the way I did.

Sorry to hear you won't be at Moab. Looking forward to when we can see that beast in person...................

 

[Oknut]

Hi there,

I don't understand why he wouldn't be able to fit the radiator.. I'm running a regular flex fan off the engine and it's even got a spacer on it. I'm running a 4 core radiator that fit perfectly. My truck wasn't cooling very good at a idle because my idle is set at 650 rpm. So what I did was install a 14 inch electric fan on the outside of the radiator, with a temp sencor and that fan kicks on when the other one can't handle it. There is actually a lot of room behind the grill, all that you need to do is cut a little bracket off.

If he doesn't have room for serpentine belts, then convert to performance v-belt pulleys.. And maybe not even run a fan on the inside, just the outside.

Where does he live ? does he even need a the a/c ? I just got rid of mine, but then again I live in Washington state.

If you have any questions about what I did, then feel free to e-mail me.

Take care,
Oknut

 

[DOGMAN]

Sandy,

What brand and size electric fan are you using on your Ranger? What is it's air moving capability (cfm)?

Gerald,

The "normal" position for the upper intake is to hang over the driver's side valve cover.

 

[GJarrett]

Oknut, yeah, it looks like he'll have to cut out that vertical bracket in front of the radiator space and then he'll have plenty of room going out to the grill. As far as the A/C goes, we are in the Dallas area and A/C is a lot more important during a 105 degree Texas summer day than it is up in Washington, so it is a somewhat of a sacrifice to have to remove it.