302 in a sport? | Ford Explorer Forums

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302 in a sport?

jssong

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Just out of curiosity, anybody know if a 302 from a 96-01 ex will be able to fit in the 98-00 sports? and what about the new 01-02 sports?
 



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yes, that swap shouldn't be too bad. probably easier than into a pre 1996 explorer. you might need to beef up the front suspension a little bit when you did the swap, but other than that no real complications, assuming you have a tranny.
 






would u be talking about the 98-00 or the 01 and 02? would the stock tranny from the 302 work?
 






it should be the same either way in a sport. if i'm not mistaken the sports maintained the same engine compartment and suspension throughout those years. which would mean that you would have more room to work with than in the 1st generation x's (and we know many people have done that). also i see no reason the stock tranny wouldn't work. i'm not saying it will be really easy, but at engine swaps go- it is one of the easiest.
 






do you think there will be enough room in the 01 and 02 sports too? they do use the same sohc engine, but i dont know whether they decreased the size of the front compartment.
 






You'll have to check in to the emission $ swap legality of doing something like that.. Wiring would be a major issue. But heck.....dont let me stop ya!

My advice........work with a pre-95 explorer sport, and get a 99 front end from perrys fab.
 






yes, when we were at the dealership looking for my mom when we bought our escape we looked at a new sport and it seemed to have to have the same size engine compartment as the middle years. it shouldn't be any harder with a 01 than with a 98 and both would be easier than the oft completed 1st generation swap.
 






expo 5.0........have you ever performed a 96+ 5.0 engine swap into a '98-01 explorer? I'm interested in hearing how easy it is? :rolleyes:

ODBII..........
 






i doubt it will be easy.. probably not too dificult if you have experience with it, but regardless, a pain. if you perform on on a sport, please do give frequent updates.
 






no my engine swap experience is limited to the mostly pre electronic days. 1970 chevelle 454 into a 36 ford, a reworked 1973 cleveland into a 67 mustang. i don't know how you will work the computer with that swap, however i'm sure its not too much of a hurdle if you can find someone who has some experience or maybe just instructions for you.

sorry i couldn't be of more help
 






just get a pre 89-93 mustang motor. The wiring is the easiest in the world!!! Seriously. I fuel injected my 1976 bronco with a setup from an 88 t-bird, which is nearly identical. And seriously all i had to wire the mustang harness to my bronco harness was like 5-6 wires, mostly stuff like wire hot in "run" to this wire, etc. I'm no electrician, but i can do it. hell depending on cash i guess you can have custom wiring made at some places that will just plug right in.
 






Using a 89 - 93 mustang in this set up might cause some seroius grief for the emissions requirements.

In Colorado you would have to meet 96 standards as a minimum, or somehow get the vehicle registered as a "kit" car or find some other technical work around.

I suspect you will need to conform to the vehicle model year for the emissions as the minimum.

Look for a simialr year doner vehicle and take everything for the swap.
 






yeah, thats exactly what i was going to say. if i were you i would pick up either a late model explorer 302 or a 302 crate motor from that will pass emissions with proper exhaust.
 






thats the ONE good thing about Iowa, they really dont give a **** :D :D :D :p :p :fart: :thumbsup:
 






my home is in long island, which we do have emissions, but i go to school in buffalo, and i hear there isnt any emissions testing here.. :confused:
 






i doubt there's emissions testing here. my explorer had one of the two cats emptied and it still passed state inspection.
 






What would be wrong with putting a 302 in a '95 Sport?
 






i dont think anything would be wrong? but i was just askin if it was possible. I would rather buy the 01 or 02 sport and stuff a 302 in there... but im not sure if its possible. People seem to say the 95-00 sport has the same engine compartment, therefore, if i find a 96-01 4 door 302, i might be able to do the conversion wiht little trouble, but with the 01 and 02 sports, they changed the whole body around, and i havent been able to get a hold of the measurments of the engine bay. It was just an idea i had a while back, not anything at the moment im seriously considering.
 






Well, i've heard of electronic problems, well not problems but conflicts between the pre 95s and the 96+. So there for i would not be able to use an explorer 5.0L.
 



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For the original question of this thread:

Consider this... You are currently in school in Buffalo. You graduate and get a nice job offer, say on Long Island near home, or DC area, or god forbid CA.

If you can't pass inspection you just acquired an "off road" vehicle that you can't drive on the streets.


As for the 96+ Explorer engines:
These are 5.0 engines. If you have an early X, like myself, you can use a 96+ explorer engine and wire it up using a 89 - 93 Mustang, T-Bird, or FMS Hot Rod harness and EEC IV computer.

There are some simple modifications that must be made, but nothing serious. There are no electronics problems / incompatability... It works

- Drill & Tap ACT sensor port into the lower intake manifold.
- Change some of the wire harness connectors (I only had to change the TPS connector and the A/C compressor connector).
- Build an intermidate harness to connect the FMS main harness to the 4.0 Explorer harness.

Use of the air pump might be considered optional, I did not install the air pump (there was non to install).
My 92 Explorer XLT with:
96 5.0, ported GT40 heads & Explorer intake,
65mm Explorer TB , C&L 76mm MAF,
FMS wire harness and sensor kit,
A9L EEC IV (used 89 mustang manual trans),
headers, new CAT, 3" exhaust

Passed Colorado emissions inspection (Fed. standards)with flying colors. The emmision values were so low I almost didn't believe it. The emissions test does not perform a cold start test which is the purpose of the air pump system. Technically it is unclear if the air pump would be required or not. I talked at length with an emisions engineer at the state (He was very helpful). His opinion was that at a minimum I had to pass the 92 standard, which did not require an air pump on the 4.0, but all other ford vehicles with the 5.0 had the air pump. He recomended installing the air pump, but admitted that the vehicle would probable pass the inspection without it.

Your vehicle model year sets the base line for the emmisions standard. If you use an earlier engine than the model year you will have to add the pollution control system for the model year. To put a 5.0 in a 96 or later Explorer will require that you maintain the OBDII computer. I would recomend an Explorer engine in this case, not a pre 96 5.0. You will need the Explorer 5.0 wire harness and computer, but it should not be too difficult to wire.
 






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