'94 302/4R70W/BW1354 Upgrade | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

'94 302/4R70W/BW1354 Upgrade

OK guys, a few of you helped me with my SAS setup and because of you guys, everything went pretty smooth with the swap. Thanks!

Now it's time to continue on with this "Island Explorer" project and get a engine and tranny upgrade. Here's what I am looking at so far:

'96-'00 Explorer Donor - grabbing the 5.0L V8, the 4R70W tranny, all the electricals for engine and tranny, radiator parts, and whatever else I'm gonna need from the donor.

I plan on keeping my BW1354 and getting the adapter from AA from tranny to TC. I'm also getting other parts for this conversion through AA.

What you guys think? :thumbsup: or :thumbdwn:
Any problems? Anyone know if theres any problems with the exhaust manifold and the fender wells? I haven't seen any pics but it might be hard to change spark plugs with the wells and plugs near each other. Though I do have a 3" body lift!!! :rolleyes:
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Does it matter if the donor vehicle is a 2WD , AWD, or 4WD? I believe Matt's 302/4R70W conversion, he said his mistake was getting the transmission from a 2WD.
 






Never mind last post.....Found the answer!!!
 






My duff headers are close to my front drive shaft since my sas and i have your set up full width HP-d44. I havent flexed it so i dont know if this is going to be a problem. Sounds like you have a good start. If i had it to do over i would have found a v-8 ex for the donor. The adapter for the tranny should have a new output shaft with it. It should not matter wether it is 2wd or 4wd.
Chevys make it easier just chop off 1/4 to1/2" of spline and bolt on the new extension housing. We have to dissasemble the whole d@%^ transmission since the output shaft is the last thing to come out.
 






Are the engines/engine compartment for the 4.0L Rangers and Explorers about the same? I see a lot of V8 Conversion kits/parts for the Ranger/Bronco II but not so much for the Explorers.

Would a ranger/bronco II v8 conversion kit be able to work on the explorers?
 






Bronco II is just lacking a bit of radiator space when comparted to a Gen I Explorer

I converted my 88 BII from a 93 4.0L OHV and A4LD to a 98 5.0 4r70w with 1354 t case
I used TM headers, no clearance issues at all
I have AC and cruise control, I have an OBD-II diagnostics port and no codes.
my 88 BII thinks it is a 97.5 Merc Mounty 5.0L 100%, been driving it like this since 2005
I absolutely LOVE IT
worth every $$$ and all that time and work.....
 






410 -

How did you get all the electricals hooked up together? Did you just compare the wiring diagrams with each other and spliced them? What about the speedometer? Did you re-calibrate that?
 






Ohe boy, my 97.5 drivetrain is using the 1354 t case I had originally, no speedometer calibration required HOWEVER the PCM needs to be tuned so it understands the signal it is getting from the 1988 style speed sensor (VSS)

When it comes to the wiring, I have done quite a few drivetrain conversions in these trucks, so I am very familiar with the wiring.
When it came time to build the wiring for my OBD-II 5.0L computer I got a 2000 Explorer wiring book (couldnt find the 97-98), the wiring book for the 93 OHV 4.0L Exporer (drivetrain I had) and the wiring book for my 1988 Bronco II (for the truck side of things)

I then strip the 5.0L computer and trans harness apart, identify every wire, remove whats not needed, then built a harness that plugs into my truck and 93 style power distribution
It was a 80 hour job with research, mapping, labeling, cutting, and soldering

details are in my conversion thread for the BII, found in my sig below :)
 






I kinda figured it was gonna take some time to cross reference each of the wiring diagrams together to make them fit. I'm capable of doing the electricals (since I have an electrical background and have access to everything I would need to do such a job) but just don't have much hours in a day to get them done in time. The shop I'm having the conversion done at said it might take about about 2-4 weeks to accomplish the swap.

Now I'm thinking that it may be easier just to convert the donor I got to SAS using the setup I have on my Gen 1.:rolleyes:
 






'96 5.0L/4R70W to SAS --or-- '94 SAS to 5.0/4R70W

Now I'm wondering if I should strip the SAS setup I have on my Ex and put that on my '96 5.0L AWD donor I got. :rolleyes:

More research....
 






Ahhh..after much research and thoughts, I think I'm gonna stay with the 94' 5.0 swap. Something about the first gen explorer that cannot be replaced!!!
Plus, My first gen looks a hell of a lot better then the gen 2 donor i got!!
 






my thoughts on the swap :thumbsup: lot and lots of pics also ;)
 






my thoughts on the swap :thumbsup: lot and lots of pics also ;)


My thoughts exactly!!:D

Will start a 94' 4D BW1354 SAS'd/'96 5.0L AWD 4R70W thread once I get all my ducks in a roll!!!;)
 






I bet you'll be done befor me and mine hasent seen pavement in three years. Damn!! Time flys. I'd better get to work.
 






So if you plan 4-6 weeks you better figure 8-12 and double your budget :)

Many many nights up till 2am, heck the one night I ended up doing all the soldering (I extended my PCM harness 3' to place the PCM in the ****pit of my BII = 180 solders, heat shrinks, one wire at a time, all in one night) I think I was up till 4am, but man I slept great knowing the end result would be worth it, took about 8-9 beers and a sore back working on the floor.....

When I work on projects like this I get a bit obsessed :) No need for sleep at a time like this!! Two years later every single time I turn the key on the BII, it was worth it and then some!
 






So if you plan 4-6 weeks you better figure 8-12 and double your budget :)

Many many nights up till 2am, heck the one night I ended up doing all the soldering (I extended my PCM harness 3' to place the PCM in the ****pit of my BII = 180 solders, heat shrinks, one wire at a time, all in one night) I think I was up till 4am, but man I slept great knowing the end result would be worth it, took about 8-9 beers and a sore back working on the floor.....

When I work on projects like this I get a bit obsessed :) No need for sleep at a time like this!! Two years later every single time I turn the key on the BII, it was worth it and then some!


I know what you mean. Thats how I felt when I was doing my SAS. No electricals of course, but same hardaches nonetheless. But once I took that bad boy off roading and was easily able to go through ruts I hadn't even dreamed of going through with my open TTB setup.....Man...did I have a Grin from ear-to-ear!!! :D
 






I bet you'll be done befor me and mine hasent seen pavement in three years. Damn!! Time flys. I'd better get to work.


I live in a town house that has two parking stalls and no garage/driveway to keep a downed Explorer, so when I have the green light from my wife and all systems is a go....its ballz-to-da-wallz!!!!



But I wished I had a garage/driveway to work at my own leisure.
 






Anyone know if the torque master headers will work with this conversion? Or maybe the ones from AA? Any clearance issues?
 






Scratch that last post!
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





OK, I am about 99% sure I am going with the TM Headers. They're a bit pricey but they seem worth it! Unless they have a discount! I was told that the #7 tube will get rubbed with a 3" BL.
 






Back
Top