93 ranger p-pump 4BT swap

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

Well I decided to do this project about six months ago and things have been coming slowly since then. It's quite a bit more work than I originally thought it would be.
This is my ranger, completely stock other than a 2 inch front and 1 inch rear lift. I gotta work on the pictures but this will have to do for now. Sorry.

Bought it 3 years ago and then regasketed the engine (4.0 V6) and rebuilt the transmission (5 speed) and transfer case a year or so later. Then I decided I was sick of the low power and low gas mileage, figured I could do a bit better with a 4BT.
I picked up a p-pumped core 4BT in Portland in December. CPL#2264. Judging by the heavy black dust that was on it I think it might have been in some kind of mining equipment maybe?

The aftercooler had burst and cylinder walls as well as bearing surfaces were pretty scored. Machined everything several sizes over stock to clean it up, and put marine or "mexican hat" pistons in it at the same time.

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

Put in 4K governor springs and 60 lb exhaust valve springs at the same time.

I work in the machine shop in at school so I made a lot of the parts I didn't have in order to cut cost. Made an oil sump tube, pump support bracket and pump timing pin/cover here. I made several of those cool looking brass timing pins while I was at it.

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

And here is the ZF and NP205:

Lifted the truck. 4 inch rough country suspension lift with all new springs and 2 inch body lift. At the same time I replaced all the bushings on the truck plus the body mounts. Body lift, bushings, and mounts came from a company called James Duff. I highly recommend them to any of you ranger/bronco/explorer guys. The quality of the parts is WAY better than OEM and other manufacturers and the prices were half what I could find anywhere else.
The new rear lift springs were too stiff. Even stiffer than putting one ton springs in there. When I had two really fat guys riding in the back I think the springs just might have flexed a little lol! I pulled three of the leaves out and put the lift blocks back under and now it's better.

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

And here is the engine. Excuse the poor color quality of the pictures. Need a better camera. Trust me it doesn't look quite so disgusting in real life.

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

And my intercooler:

And right now I'm in the process of planning how I'm going to mount all of this stuff on the front. Trying to get a powerstroke power steering pump, cummins vacuum pump, and ranger A/C compressor and alternator on there. It's gonna get interesting.

I have to say I had no idea all the little stuff would cost so much. I've spent somewhere around $5000 in parts (+$250 in bolts from Ace!!!) and done all the work myself. The only thing slowing me down right now is that the ranger is my daily driver, so I have to find something else before I can pull it into the shop. The lifts took about a day each so I got by fine, but dropping the cummins in is gonna take a bit more time. Feel free to ask questions, comment, suggest things or maybe just laugh at me...
Chris

dillenger1 · Jul 16, 2009

Is that a "fly by wire "device on your pump?

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

It's a fuel shutoff solenoid. From a 94-98 12 valve. I still have to set up the throttle linkage.

nexxussian · Jul 16, 2009

That's a nice looking charge cooler, where did you come up with it?

How big is it?

tractor_boy · Jul 16, 2009

nexxussian said:
That's a nice looking charge cooler, where did you come up with it?

How big is it?

It came from a place called CXRacing on Ebay. It's 25X12X3. I wanted something that would still fit in front of the radiator and that's as big as I could go.

nexxussian · Jul 17, 2009

Thank you.

DieselSchlepper · Jul 17, 2009

Why don't you use a gear drive powersteering vaccuum pump combo off a 12 valve dodge instead of all the work to mount what you have? That's what I went with.

Real nice truck and engine. Gonna be a real runner. What size tires are you gonna end up with? Any concerns about the stock rearend?bounce

tractor_boy · Jul 17, 2009

Well I picked up the gear driven pump setup two weeks ago. Got a real good deal on it. Then I tried to fit it in and, surprise- the power steering pump reservoir won't even clear the governor housing on the p-pump. I didn't get very creative though. Maybe it is doable. Were you using the VE? Also I have a TTB ranger, meaning I have a power steeing gear mounted on the frame right there that I have to to work around. Don't think there's any way it's gonna clear the gear driven pumps though. I've seen one of the '98 and later IFS rangers run a gear driven pump setup without any problems though...
Right now I have 31X10.50R15's. Maybe I might go up to 33X12.50's? Honestly I haven't put a lot of thought into that seeing as I don't really have the money to put into it yet.

Not overly concerned about the stock rearend, though I might weld the tubes into the housing so as not to spin them. Thanks for the interest guys!
Chris

W.R.Buchanan · Jul 17, 2009

Chris: definately find something else to drive. you're doing a nice job so far and when you swap the engine in it will take a few weeks. Just take your time and do it right.

Don't fall into the "I just wanted to get it running, so I half assed everything" trap.

Randy

JakeDiesel · Jul 17, 2009

ditto keep up the nice work dont rush it because u dont have nothing to drive.

dkfarmer22 · Jul 17, 2009

gear driven pump

my fried just finished his 92 4bt swap, he ended up making a u-joint type steering shaft to clear the pump, you will most likely have to notch your oil pan as well

tractor_boy · Jul 18, 2009

dkfarmer22 said:
my fried just finished his 92 4bt swap, he ended up making a u-joint type steering shaft to clear the pump, you will most likely have to notch your oil pan as well

Once I get my ranger in the shop and get to the fitting part, I'll take a look. But I'd rather have my headaches now than later. In other words I'll go to more trouble to make brackets and mount a belt driven pump that is a bit cheaper and easier to replace when that time comes. I don't want to make it all nice and tight in there with very low clearances and then have to lift the engine to replace a pump sometime down the road. I've always hated so much how engineers will do that kind of stuff in their cubicles and forget about us poor mechanics and our knuckles. Example: today a hydraulic hose for steering blew on an 8950 Case IH tractor. It took me the better part of six hours to lift the cab off in the field, bend some specially shaped wrenches and replace a $20 hose. Someone could have been a bit more thoughtful and put the connection three inches away, out from under the cab. See what I mean? That's the exact type of thing I'm trying to avoid in this project.
In any case I'll definately try again to use the gear pump if I can find a way to get the reservoir to clear the p-pump. Anyone know if it's possible to remove the dodge reservoir and use a remote one?

tractor_boy · Jul 30, 2009

Time for another update- I've actually had quite a bit of time to work on my project in the last few days because all of our hay got rained on at work. Don't tell the boss I'm happy about that though lol!
So I have managed to solve the problem of no replacement vehicle while the green ranger undergoes major surgery. I drove to Seattle and bought a blue ranger with a blown engine. It still ran but when you floored it, it looked like it was about to lift off, there was so much blue/white smoke. I hauled it back home on a 20 foot flatbed behind my green ranger, which was quite an adventure to say the least. I'm never doing that again, it was pretty stupid, but I didn't have access to a bigger truck at the time. The whole way back I kept saying man I wish that Cummins was in here right now! This is exactly what I need it for!
Well I pulled the engine from the blue ranger, then pulled the one from the green ranger and put it over into the blue ranger. I did the majority of this in one long night, but now I have a driver and I'm making good progress installing the cummins in the green ranger.

Some pictures:

Bye-bye guttless gasser!! Why don't you move over to that blue rust bucket over there?? :idea:

tractor_boy · Jul 30, 2009

Here is the old trans and transfer case (Mazda 5 speed and BW 1354) in front of the new (ZF5 and NP205): very similar in length, but not quite so similar when it comes to weight.

And here are some engines, left to right: terrible ranger engine, sorta okay ranger engine, and new and improved ranger engine! :grinpimp:

tractor_boy · Jul 30, 2009

I ended up using the gear drive power steering and vacuum setup from a 98 ram. Had to take a big fat hammer to the reservoir to make it clear the governr housing on my p pump though.
I got hydroboost brakes from an AStro for a whopping $35 (booster, master and proportioning valve), working on putting that in.
I had to notch the passenger frame for starter and get a starter spacer from ford-cummins in Kalispel MT, and I'm in the process of chopping and welding my oil pan to clear the crossmember. Maybe I'll have to put up a picture of that! Old John Deere combines are very useful when you have a torch and welder lol.

Thegreengoblin · Jul 30, 2009

Hey, i'm doing a similar swap into a 1989 ranger, usuing a zf tranny too. i'm wondering what clutch disk and pressure plate you used.
also, looking at your zf it looks like you've got a shorter throw shifter...am i correct? if so, where did you get it from?
I like the p-pump. what kind of hp are you going to be running?
lookin good!

tractor_boy · Jul 30, 2009

It uses the clutch that was originally in front of the ZF, an 11" ford clutch which is VERY common. I think I went to O'Reilly's and asked for clutch from a 92 F250 with a 351. I got the higher quality LUK clutch for somewhere around $130, not bad!! Does your 89 have an internal slave like the ZF? Just wondering because the stock clutch hydraulic line on my 93 goes right into the internal ZF slave, would be nice and easy if yours did too.
And what do you mean by short throw shifter? I bought my ZF rebuilt for $1000 ouch. And that's all I know about it. Tell me more...
As far as power- Well I put low compression marine pistons in it, but didn't do head o-rings or studs and I haven't done much to reinforce the frame and crossmembers. I don't know how far I'm gonna push this thing yet. My concern right now is just getting it running in time for school, then after that I'll worry about how much more fun i want.

DieselSchlepper · Jul 30, 2009

Here's your short throw source:

http://www.midwesttrans.com/

dillenger1 · Jul 30, 2009

I was wondering what youve been doing!I think the p pumps are a little quieter.they have a smoother idle.

tractor_boy · Jul 30, 2009

So what are the advantages of a short throw shifter? It sounds as if it keeps you from having to swing your arm all over the place? Is the stock ZF really that bad?

Ford4x4-JD70AB · Jul 30, 2009

Pretty much the advantage is just not having to move the shifter as far. I put a hurst short throw shifter on my m5r2 (daily driver) and like it a lot. I didn't realize how nice a short throw shifter was until I put one on my truck, and wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.
Nice swap by the way! Its lookin good.

MXblur · Jul 30, 2009

A short throw shifter is just used to eliminate the long "shifting action" in between gears. The less you have to move the shifter between gears the better, which equals quicker shifts and more power to the ground. For this reason short throw shifter kits are used mostly in high performance/racing applications. Have fun with it!

tractor_boy · Jul 31, 2009

Money is getting scarce right now. I would feel somewhat fiscally irresponsible spending $200 on a "convenience" at the moment. I'll keep it in mind for later though. Thanks!

I have stock injectors at the moment, HX35 with a shortened wastegate rod. And no I have no traction lock in my rear diff. I'm not too worried about the ZF, have seen 0 complaints about its durability behind a 4BT.

As far as the bolt pattern, if you have a ford adapter and flywheel, the clutch will bolt right up. Here's proof for the doubtful among us: :grinpimp:

tractor_boy · Jul 31, 2009

Got more done today- I pulled the oil pan off and shortened the sump (front to rear so as to clear my crossmember) and then made it about an inch deeper to account for loss in oil capacity. I originally tried just beating the pan with a hammer as you can see in the second pic, but this only allowed me to bring the engine forward about an inch. Now I think I'll have at least another three inches. I used an old John Deere 95 combine gas tank for sheet metal supply, it's the same gauge thickness. Welding oil pan sheet metal is pretty tough using an arc machine but I'm doing it with success! Now I just need to pretty the thing up and put the oil drain bung back into the bottom of the pan.
Pics:

8898Chevs · Jul 31, 2009

if it dosent work the first time, use more duck tape...

MightyGoat · Aug 10, 2009

Cool build. Good choice going with that p-pump and marine pistons. Starting it may be a little hard on cold mornings. That engine could be a monster someday.

strokerguy · Aug 11, 2009

great build thats for the picture it will be ver helpful when i do my swap thanks

93 ranger p-pump 4BT swap

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