Mostly finished x project

[Aiden Leder]

Hey everyone. Last November my parents gave me their 1997 XLT (4.0 ohv) as a project for my first vehicle. I was excited to have it, but it needed a lot of work. I was 17 at the time and had little experience, but was eager to dive into it and see what I could do. The x was misfiring on 3 cylinders, didn’t make hardly any power, and leaked coolant into at least one of the cylinders. I bought a 92 ranger from my grandparents that had an earlier edition of the 4.0 pushrod engine, tore it out, and put it in the 97. I didn’t know if it would work, but I knew the engines were similar enough that I had a good chance. The one in the ranger was running good and the x’s wasn’t. I did it all by myself, and the process took me 3 months in total, but I got it done, using countless threads on this forum to help, as well as a Haynes manual. After I got the engine swapped, it blew a head gasket, and so I spend the next couple months fixing that as well as several other things I did wrong when swapping engines. All in all, I got it figured out, and used information from countless other members threads to do it. I just wanted to make an appreciation post for the forum and to showcase what I’ve done. My x is my baby and I’ve learned so much from having her... and had some fun too.


Things I’ve done to the x

Engine swap

New headlight housings

Led headlights

Dash bulbs

Exhaust (still not finished)

O2 sensors

Transfer case shift motor

4x4 relay

3 inch body lift

2 inch wheel spacers

32 inch thunderer tracs

Seat covers

4 15s on two 1.5k’s

4 skar audio rpx68’s

Leaf spring shackles

Torsion twist

Billet grill cover

Hood struts

Cruise control buttons

Water pump

Drivers side cyl head

Valve job

Head bolts

Wheel bearings

CV axles

Light pods


custom pipe bumper (Isn’t quite finished, but it’s better than stock)

here’s some photos of my journey.

 

[410Fortune]

WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


a 92 engine into a 97 yipeeeeee!!! I am not surprised the 92 blew a gasket
I am super impressed by your thread! Well done.... by the time you are my age (30 more years) imagine what you will be building! And with no car payments ever the financial world opens up to you!!

That is a beautiful 97!!

Thanks for sharing

 

[donalds]

Sweet

 

[TsherryUSA]

Looks like a rad rig!

 

[2TimingTom]

That’s a good looking ‘97.

 

[Ray Leonard]

Where did you get the body lift from?

 

[Aiden Leder]

Where did you get the body lift from?

Performance Accessories PA853 | 1995-1997 Ford Ranger 2wd & 4x4 - 3" Body Lift Kit

This Performance Accessories PA853 Body Lift Kit will lift your Ford Ranger 3 inches without modifying the factory suspension. This will allow for larger diameter tires for increased ground clearance and an aggressive off-road look. Designed to fit Ford R

www.suspensionconnection.com

Even though I purchased the BL from this site, I can’t recommend anyone buy it from them. It came missing a hardware pack, so I had to make routine trips to the hardware store to get stuff. I had to jerryrig quite a few things that should’ve been straight forward, and honestly I wish I’d spent 40 more dollars at another site if it meant getting rid of all the headache. Just my two cents.

 

[BruceExploder]

I’d like to see pics of the audio system

 

[410Fortune]

I like the front bumper....can stand on it and do maintenance!