5.0 swap thoughts and questions
 

I'm thinking about doing a 5.0mg swap next month and I wanted to know a few things. What's the differences between a 5.0 from a Exploder, Mustang, F-150, Crown Vic and basically all the 80s to 2000s 5.0 powered vehicles? I'm curious since I have been finding older 5.0s from said vehicles with wire harnesses and transmissions for 2 or 300 bucks where as a Exploder is a pain in the butt to find one that isn't already completely gutted or has a blown engine, trans, or has major electrical issues. And if only minor things changed that wouldn't effect the overall install difficulty, I would be more inclined to go with a 5.0 and aod or aode transmission meant for a two wheel drive as opposed to a set up meant for a four wheel drive.

And for clarification, I have done some research, and I've hit this idea around for awhile, but my fiance and I are deciding to keep my truck and trade hers in for a 2005-2008 Dodge Ram Cummins so basically my truck will be a full on play toy in about a month.

Re: 5.0 swap thoughts and questions
 

I'm planing on doing a 5.0 swap to and i ask myself the same questions lol, but if you haven't visited this site check it out there's a lot of info ! : http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...nversions.html

And i ask myself a question : is my stock driving shaft long enough or to short after the conversion ? is it strong enough ? if you know the answer that would be great !

No, its not. Its highly recommended that you swap rear ends and shafts due to the strength issues, because you're effectively doubling the torque. My main question is, are the blocks overall the same, like can I just swap oil pans, motor mounts, heads and be good to go since those are the fundamental reasons why you can swap a 5.0 in, or should I bite the bullet and buy a wrecked or still running exploder. I wouldn't mind going carved for tunability and availability of parts, plus I don't have to dick around with pats for the most part. Although fuel management would still be a hold up even if I go that route. Because it seems you go carb and not mess with pats, but have to worry about the return style fuel lines, or go efi and be held up by dicking around with pats which is a pain in the ass either way

The explorer 5.0 are more sought after because they have better gt40 or gt40p heads after mid 97. As well as a better intake manifold which is close to the gt40/cobra intake. The downside of them is they have a small cam designed for low end torque and they use a crank trigger style ignition and the explorer computer doesnt have the tunability of say a fox mustang computer.

So, in theory a 302 would have some benefits if it were from a Crapstang instead of a Exploder.

Yes. The explorer heads and intake are really the only parts better than their mustang counterparts.

But on the same hand, that's what a quick stop to my friends at summit would fix. The headers would be a pain though as they're so restrictive but from what I guess, that's where the problem would be if I decided a mild build like trickflo heads, mild cam and ported intake

The explorer headers are only good for about as far as you can throw them. If your planning on a better flowing top end your gonna want good headers to go along with it.

Which makes you wonder why people even consider a v8 swap. You're gaining, what, like 50hp at best? After its all said and done you'll have spent 2 or 3 grand. Because I'm assuming people would want the trans and engine rebuilt on top of any parts you would have to buy. So to the people who say building a 3.0 or 4.0 is a waste of time apparently have not looked hard at the numbers. Because to get a 4.0 punched or 3.0 its probably 1500 to 2000 dollars and you are not only adding life to your engine but also giving a solid foundation for future adders. And instead of yanking the engine and tranny out and rendering your vehicle useless for a week to do the install and even longer if you consider that the engine set up you just bought was junk. Just food for thought really.

Re: 5.0 swap thoughts and questions
 

so just wondering if i got this right. you say rebuilding a 4.0 or 3.0 would be better than getting a 5.0 because it could costs couple grand less and only be down about 50 hp? Also, rebuilding a stock tranny to a v8 tranny is better? just trying to make sure i got your last paragraph right.

Re: 5.0 swap thoughts and questions
 

horsepower isn't telling you the whole story. what you're missing is how much more torque there is.

Re: 5.0 swap thoughts and questions
 

Ok, I thought because every one is asking questions about the swap I will ask mine, I am going to the junk yard tomorrow to start gathering parts for the swap. I would like to grab the computer from the expo and the keys, so that way i dont have to mess with the pats. BUT, I honestly dont know where the computer is... Could someone please tell me where to find it? And can I grab one out of a expo and put use it with another expo? I am buying stuff little by little, so I have to get what I can afford at the moment. ALSO what do these computers usually cost?

Unless you are going to completely rebuild your engine, do not get a junkyard engine. I have a 98 Expo motor in mine. I looked through Craigslist for months trying to find the right motor. A 50k mile Expo 5.0 long block popped up and I jumped on it. Just be patient.

And for the "why would anyone swap in a V8" question, it's simple. The torque is ridiculous. And the V8 sounds sexy. My friend has a 93 Ranger with a 3.0. He can do big burnouts on wet cement, but nothing on dry. Wet or dry, I'll do 2nd gear burnouts all day in my truck.

The computer is mounted on the firewall. You will see the big plug from the engine harness going to it. Its attatched with one 10mm bolt then the computer is held in a pocket in the firewall behind a cover. Just remove the two bolts holding the cover on and it pulls right out. I could be wrong but if the expo you pull it from has pats then I think the computer has to match the pats module and keys. Or you can have it reflashed. But not all expos have pats. Same with rangers. Im sure there us someone out there who knows that stuff better than me..

If I am swapping a expo with pats to my ranger with pats. Do I need to get the keys re programed? Also, do I need to grab the PATS system from the expo? Where is it located? I have a 2000 ranger with PATS, and I am planning on swaping a 302 out of a 1999-2000 expo.