2.9l to 3.0l swap?

[2000mudder]

i am gonna try to swap a 2.9l in a 91 ranger for a 3.0l from a 91 aerostar van.dose anyone know if it is a direct swap or what mods i will have to make?

[Psychopete]

Originally Posted by 2000mudder

i am gonna try to swap a 2.9l in a 91 ranger for a 3.0l from a 91 aerostar van.dose anyone know if it is a direct swap or what mods i will have to make?

The 2.9 and the 3.0 are not a part of the same family. Although the 2.9 is 'cruder', it's certainly faster. The pistons are smaller and the stroke is longer (3.0). It may require a different bell housing, but I don't know for certain. I've never put a tool or ever looked under the hood of a 3.0L Ranger. As far as I know it's different, but you need to start measuring and see for yourself. I would consider putting the 3.0 Tranny in with the 3.0L motor. I would also measure to make sure you won't need to get the drive shaft cut down.

I caught my self in a big F&^% up when I was changing a tranny and the car was a column shift and the used tranny was a floor shift. This was on an AOD, so this may not apply to the A4LD. I had take off the pan and take apart that internal linkage and flip the gear shifter arm 180 degrees. When I would put the car in Neutral, the tranny moved all the way to first. When I put it into park, it went all the way back up to park.. OOPS!

You'll probably need the wiring harness, I am not certain what type of ignition is on the 3.0L. Is it distributorless? The 2.9L has a distributor. If almost everything agrees with each other, you can feel safe about comparing the wiring diagrams and making the changes on the stock harness. More than likely, the sensors will be in different locations and you'll end up needed the 3.0 harness.

Some stuff that'll get you is the throttle cable. Is it on the same side of the intake? What kind of fuel pump setup does your Ranger and the Aerostar have?

If you've ever rebuilt a 3.0L or a 2.9L or even just done any serious wiring work, you shouldn't have any problems. You're going to have to gin some stuff up. Make sure you know your wiring and all of your sensors.

Honestly, if it were me, I would sell the Aerostar and either rebuild the 2.9L, or get a 4.0L or 5.0L. I am afraid, all of that work for a 3.0L is just simply not worth it.

Pete