Hey guys. So I have a pretty interesting story. Been slow with work on my 73 Maverick. But having recently rolled my 95 ranger it has pushed me to get a car running and on the road. Has anybody ever done a 2.3 efi swap? If so how much goes into it? I have the whole drivetrain from the truck and it all still works. But I don't know about the fitting. Any suggestions?
Been done before, you can use the search function to find the into. Oddly enough in Brazil you could get 4cyl maverick from the factory.
Well NOTHING is going to bolt right in, there will be fabrication for motor & trans mounts(plus clutch if it's a stick), a custom drive shaft will likely be needed, all the associated computer wiring and fuel system transferred, etc etc... The wiring often baffles even the best fabricators...
Here is a link to a couple of attempted swaps .... http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=45791&highlight=maverick88tc
That swap has been running and driving since the fall of 2010. Guess I should update that thread. I had a guy in Brazil locate the factory motor mounts to put a 2.3 in a Maverick (required minor modification to fit a U.S. car and were very expensive to ship here), used a bell housing and oil pan from a Pinto to bolt the motor up to a C4, and bolted the motor in. The swap is far from complete and is sitting in one of my parts car that I was using as the mule. The car has no exhaust, I only messed with the EFI wiring enough to get the motor to start, and the fuel system consists of a couple of hoses you stick in a gas can and a F150 fuel pump zip tied to the shock tower, but the car does start and move around under it's own power. I just lost interest in completing the swap after going from a 250 to a 200 in my car and then adding overdrive. I managed to get my fuel economy on par with what I was hoping to achieve with the 4 banger.
Hey Jamie! I had actually read through your whole post and was concerned when I didnt see a completed status. I'm hoping a lot of what I need is in the ranger and can be swapped over. The only problem I forsee is that this HAS to be a budget build. I'm hoping the ranger motor mounts and such can be modified and saved. Trying to do as little as possible to pass the VA state safety inspection. Do you happen to have a parts list past what was posted or is that about all you needed?
Real hard to do a swap like this with a budget. It's not the big things that will get you, it's all the little things. If I was going to use a 95 Ranger engine, the first thing that you need to understand is that your oil pan and transmission are likely going to be a NOGO. By far, the easiest way to get the motor in there will be to go with a A4LD or T5 from a 4 cyl Mustang. If the Ranger is an auto, you may be able to use that trans, but it may require an aftermarket control box if it's an electronic trans, or for you to pull your hair out trying to use the Ranger EFI harness. I'm not really familiar with what transmissions came in Rangers. If it's a 5 speed, you can probably forget it, because the shifter will be too far forward. I'd also get the entire EFI harness and EEC from a ~93 Mustang (when ever they went to the 8 plug EDIS ignition). The hardest part to find will be the oil pan. You'll need a front sump oil pan and pickup tube from a Pinto or Mustang II. I joined a Pinto forum and posted a wanted ad to get mine. You must have the front sump pan to clear the steering center link. As far as the Ranger motor mounts, I don't know. I can tell you late 80's-early 90's Mustang motor mounts would be relatively easy to modify to fit. Fuel system, your going to need a high pressure pump designed for EFI. I've heard 80's Crown Vic sending units are a good fit for the Maverick tank, but never tried it. The late 80's F150's came with a frame rail mounted pump that you can mount about anywhere under the car, but the drawback to this pump is it's designed to be fed by a lower pressure in tank pump. They burn up real quick if they starve for fuel.
This swap is on my short list of future engine possibilities. Specifically a turbo 2.3 w/ T5 from a Thunderbird. If you are on a tight budget then walk away now. This will not be quick or cheap to do anywhere close to correctly. Like Jamie said, its not the big things. Its the 500 trips to NAPA and ebay/junkyard to get everything to play nice together.
The more I look at it I realize that this isn't what I'm prepared for. Nor is it what I w ant to really do. Going to go with the 351W swap. Thanks foe your input guys. Maybe this will be a future endeavor but it is foo much for me right now nor does it have the specs to satisfy my heavy feet
A smurf(blue bottle) in the trunk would fix that, at least till you grenaded one of the cast pistons..
I have a Ranger with a 2.3 and 5 spd....0-60 is about 60 seconds, downhill with a strong tail wind....Don't know why anyone would want to put one in a Maverick
The 2.3 Turbo are a lot of fun, at 190Hp for the '87-'88 5-speed, no stock Maverick power plant is going to come close to keeping up with it(remember I said STOCK)... Also it's easy to tweak the boost to get another 25-30Hp... Of course you have to like something different, I'm a whole motor(V8) guy myself but enjoyed seven or eight different Turbo Coupes as drivers for several years... I've kinda lost count as I had some that were parted, and others were resold shortly after buying(had a dozen total)... On the highway the 2.3T can pull down 30 MPG in the chubby T-Birds(approx 3400Lb), I'd bet one could eek out another 2 or 3 MPG in a flyweight Mav... BTW I used a '76 Mustang-II MPG model as a driver for a little over a year and it would knock off 32-33MPG highway, not much doubt a EFI 4 banger could better that...
