LS_Junky

I have everything figured out for the swap but these are my last problems. Was wondering if anyone has done this swap before and if so which oil pan was used and what manifolds??

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

I haven't seen any Ranger swaps done yet. You may be stuck comparing the 5.0 stuff to LS and guessing a little.

I'm in for the finished product.

LS_Junky

You're right. After reading and researching I will most likely have to get 302 swap headers and mating ls flanges to them

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

Considering the amount of LS Mustangs and S10s, you'd think the Ranger would have been done a thousand times by now. Hell, there's even been a few Dakota swaps in the last few months!

LS_Junky

I know right. I see them with 302s all the time but no LSXs. Makes me wanna do it even more lol

brewster240

iTrader: (1)

i had a 86 with a 302/t5 and it was fun as hell.

ive been casually looking for another to put a 4.8 turbo/auto in.

so had to find the square body without rust in the northeast though.

LS_Junky

Well I live in Tennessee so we dont have that problem lol. But have you done research on it to see what parts you will need such as oil pan, accessories, radiator, etc? From what Ive read in order to get the engine sitting right, the firewall has to be trimmed but I wanna try and avoid that..

Orbitorange

If you find out let me know! I have an 86 ranger I was planning on doing a 5.0 swap but would rather do a LSX swap!

Chickenbone

I was considering the 351W swap, but after lowering the engine in the '91 Ranger bay, it looked as if the exhaust manifolds were over the shock/strut towers. I wonder how the LSx engines would fit in there. Gotta be tight as hell. I would love to do this swap as well.



Chickenbone

LS_Junky

Orbitorange, I would rather do an LSX any day vs a 5.0 Its already enough ranger 5.0s out there and not enough ranger LSXs!

LS_Junky

And Chickenbone, as far as I know it fits in there nicely but havent seen it for myself. I would think that it fits better than a 351 as they are wider than LSXs. It should fit in there nicely with custom headers and LS6 intake.. And of course universal mounts..

i r teh noobz

iTrader: (4)

http://www.rangerpowersports.com/for...er-193375.html

SBC stuff, but maybe it will help give you some ideas.

Ranger50

I can say when I put a 351 in my 96 with a Fox Canton pan on it, there was ONE spot to put it. I couldn't shift it forward of backward if I had to without cutting the I-beam/engine crossmember into little pieces. That also left me maybe 1/4" on the drivers side between the head and firewall. Headers were 351 tri-y's meant for 65-66 or 70 Mustangs. After finding that those don't clear 164T setups (C4 or AOD), I sold off everything but the truck.

Once, I either get the truck back down here or find another, I'm going to 5.3/4L60 swap and just drive the **** out of it.

LS_Junky

Noobz, I like his idea of fabricating some brackets to the front of the block and mounting them to the frame rails. Maybe I was wrong about cutting the firewall because he says that the only reason he cut his was because of his distributor and LSXs dont have any so I might not have to cut mine..

LS_Junky

And Ranger50, I hope I wont have to cut into the I beam. Cutting the firewall a bit is as far as Ill go as far as cutting so Im going to try to avoid that. I think with the right engine mount system and the right oil pan I wont have any problem with the I beam. And if you dont mind me asking, what are your ideas for your LSX swap?

LS_Junky

What would you guys think the best idea for gauges is? Im thinking of building a custom cluster with Autometer gauges...

brewster240

iTrader: (1)

i havent done any research, just an idea in the back of my head. have about 78 other projects already lined up lol.

Ranger50

After I wrote what I wrote, I sat down and sketched out what I had said to find a solution with the oil pan. IF I make the assumption that the rear mounting face on the engine for the transmission was put into the same place for both engines, the only oil pan that COULD clear with minimal cutting is the H3 Alpha pan. Even using that pan requires a small trim of the I-beam crossmember, but nothing drastic needing reinforcement. The standard truck pan would fit too, but would require a little more cutting, based on the measurements I can find, but I don't believe that it would require reinforcement either.

Along the same thinking, I wondered about the depth of the blocks back in the flexplate area too. It seems to me the LS is shallower then the Windsor, so that may give a few precious millimeters to get out of cutting on the crossmember as much, if at all, if the mounting surface stayed the same between the two. but with pushing the engine that far back to the firewall, I suspect the heater box will require some extensive reconstruction, if you keep it as Ford produced, as the bank offset to the front are opposite between the two motors.

I was going to use aftermarket exclusively on mine. Even thought of running a RacePak dash setup.

LS_Junky

Damn brewster looks like you got your hands full lol. And ranger50 that makes perfect sense so Id say its worth cutting the I beam down a bit. Were you having any firewall issues with the 351?

Ranger50

Only with the upper intake not wanting to go on because of the wiper linkage access hole sticking out that little bit.

Only other big problems were the headers, it was either the Tri-y's or make your own, and because I was also trying to cram a new/used/cheap Vortech R-trim on the front, radiator and hoses.