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Kyle Keller

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Im looking at doing a project on my ST. Maybe a 5.0 swap. Maybe get a used low mileage 5.0L and put it in my Trac. Any thoughts on it or has anybody done this. How difficult and expensive would this be?
 
If you can get the whole donor vehicle, it will be very easy. You'll need a custom or modified driveshaft, and a custom exhaust. Aside from that, pretty much everything should bolt up if it comes from a late model (98-01) Explorer. I was going to do the swap into my ST from my 2000 Explorer, but just don't have the time needed to do it how I want to right now.
 
Yeah, was going to say the 98-01 donor 5,0 is the way to go...



Todd Z
 
todd you are the master how much would you say this would cost me?



This is my plan: For my senior project in high school i want to do something with cars either restore an old muscle car or drop a 5.0 in my trac. I have to work with a mentor so i would have to find someone to help me put this in and then give me a grade on it and then i would have to present this in front of judges. I want my senior project to be something i will enjoy and i will be able to love my trac even more with a v8.



thanks guys
 
the estimate could be $500.00 - $5000.00....

With out seeing the truck you get and the kind of install you do, will vary the cost a lot...



There are other cool senior seminar projects you could do, Especially if you don't finish this will you be graded on completion or partial ???



I know my senior seminar project had to be 100% completed....



My 2 year was a Leaf blower super charger, and the 4 year was a carburetor, OIL, spark plugs, and Ethanol testing on the school engine dyno using my rebuilt 302 out of my Mustang II.
 
well you have to spend atleast 10 hours with a mentor and like if i did this it would have to be completed all the way. but over summer 2008 i could begin the project. the presentation would be in november because the seniors this year are presenting their projects this thursday. so i could start working in june or july and be done. and set my whole project and findings up for the judges when school starts. it depends on what kind of person i could find willing to help me and if i can find an engine or not. would a 1996 explorer or mustang 5.0 fit?



 
You're really going to want to have a complete donor vehicle. You should be able to pick one up for $1500-2000. I would stick to a 98-01 Explorer, the wiring and some other stuff will be much more similar to your ST. Trust me, I have both vehicles sitting side by side, there will be lots of little parts that will kill your budget and timeframe if you have to piece them together and track them down. I could do the swap in 2-3 days if I had enough room for both vehicles to be apart at the same time and didn't need to drive one of them.



The other thing that killed my project was the fact that I needed to swap the 4.0 back into the Explorer to sell it off as a working vehicle. This necessitated even more time and a little bit more money. If my 2000 wasn't worth what it is and didn't need to be sold, I would never have given up on the swap.
 
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It won't be easy. It won't be a weekend project. Engine swaps aren't easy.



A budget of a few grand is needed, and closer to $5000-6000 is more reasonable. Expect some wiring difficulties, and most likely interference problems on the firewall/transmission tunnel.
 
I know it wont be easy that is why i am willing to work during the summer for however long its going to take me but i just want to get all the research and plans ahead of time. I found a 2000 explorer 5.0 for only $600 what other costs am i looking at? what do i need to do with the transmission? if i get the engine for $600 where is the other $4400 going to be spent on? (not talking about labor)



thanks for all your guys help sorry if im getting on any nerves
 
You'll need upgraded cooling, a transmission to bolt to that V8, stock won't work, engine mounts, exhaust manifolds, driveshaft, engine computer, engine rebuild parts, etc.
 
Man I would not mess with getting a motor without the truck...



Your going to need the transmission, 4wd transfer case ( if 4wd) or the 2wd transmission, Mounts, wiring, computer,misc brackets, re routing of stuff.....



I would try to find a whole truck, not just a motor..



Todd Z
 
Tiger, this is about as easy of a swap as they'll come. I don't know where you think 5-6K is needed for this either.... you'll need the cost of the donor vehicle, a modified driveshaft and custom exhaust. Everything else will swap over. The trans crossmember might need a little work, I was waiting until I got to that point. Wiring will be mostly the same, and no firewall or trans tunnel issues involved in this swap. Quit thinking about your Ranger. This swap CAN be done in a few days. There will be some money spent on incidentals such as fluids and things that should be replaced while the motor is out, maybe a few gaskets here and there also.



The transmission will be reused from the 5.0 donor. Most 5.0's are AWD, if your ST is 4WD just hook it up and go. If the ST is 2wd, you would be best off to have the 5.0 trans (4R70W or AOD-E) converted to 2wd or swap it entirely with another. If you just leave out the front driveshaft, you will have no parking awl and the truck will roll unless the parking brake is used. To convert the trans, it must be dissassembled and the output shaft and tailshaft housing changed.
 
The cooling is the same as our ST, the motor mounts will bolt up, the exhaust manifolds will work. Like I said earlier, with a complete donor vehicle, the swap can be done in a few days.
 
The 5.0 did come in 2WD, as my family has had two of them, a '97 and a '96.



Dan,

Ever looked into the engine bay of a 96+ Ranger? Looks exactly like an ST, right? Which looks exactly like an Explorer, right? Sure they do, doesn't mean that components bolt right up. Go over to a few Ranger boards and find out exactly how "bolt-in" a V8 is.



Five-grand is a very reasonable estimate for motor swap, ESPICALLY if you are buying an entire donor vehicle.



At the very least, the motor will need a mild rebuild, which isn't cheap either.
 
Yes, I have looked into the engine bay. The difference in the Ranger and the Explorer is the frame. The coil spring Ranger frame is not a bolt-in. The torsion bar frame is. Even on the Rangers that had clearance issues, all it took was a little tweaking of a body seam to clear the transmission. The older Rangers also had to notch the A/C housing for valve cover clearance, but not the newer models. I've been on the Ranger and Explorer boards for years now, I used to have a Ranger. I've also had my 2000 Explorer and my 2001 Sport Trac sitting side by side, and studied the engine compartments for an hour or two.



There is no requirement to rebuild the motor while doing the swap. If it was a running vehicle that was wrecked and hasn't been torn apart yet, then most likely it's fine. I'm not saying it wouldn't be worthwhile to freshen the motor, but its not mandatory.



I could easily have spent $5000 doing my swap, but could have also done it for about $500. Granted, I already had the donor, but they can be bought regularly for $1200-2500 depending on overall condition.
 
Unfortunately, no. I bought my ST with the sole intention of swapping the motor from my Ex into it, and the ST motor back into the Ex. After about 6 months of not having the time, and still having renovations to my house going on, I decided to abandon the swap. If I didn't need to recoup the money on my Explorer it wouldn't be a big deal. But since I do, that means I'm essentially doing 2 motor swaps. I've still been considering it, but I really could use the money more at the moment.



I was just trying to say that if I had done the swap like I wanted, I could have spent easily $5K on it. I already had a lot of good parts for it (TorqueMonster headers, intake spacer, TB, MAC intake, Taylor wires, new plugs, etc) that I had purchased and planned on installing while still in the Explorer. I still wanted to swap heads, stroke the motor (347), powedercoat some stuff.... easily $5k more.



I also could have done it primarily for the cost of an exhaust (~$200), modified driveshaft (~$100) and was going to use new motor mounts and trans mount (~$150).
 

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