So there are 6 bolts that connect the transmission and engine, 2 on top where the transmission lines run up the transmission, 2 on the sides, then there are the alignment dowels, then there are the 2 on the bottom. I have all 6 removed but for the life of me I cannot get the two to separate. Before I go get a pry bar I thought I would check to see if I am missing anything. Any tips gents? I have my cherry picker on there and its supporting the weight, I removed the 4 nuts that bolt the engine mounts down to the frame, should I have removed the engine mounts themselves? The donor engine is from a 1995 Aerostar Van and is ready to go.

Next question, will the Van's injectors work with this PCM? I was wondering about that last night as I fought with the fuel rail. I pulled the injectors out of the original engine, however the black plastic pieces failed to come with. so I decided to use the old injectors, they fit in the fuel rail just fine so I went with it.

 

you did remove the starter right ???? I think there is a ground on back of the motor and make sure to remove the torque converter bolts

 

Remove torque converter bolts??? As in let the torque converter stay with the transmissino? I did remove the starter.

 

If you are going to use a cherry picker and pull the engine out from the top, disconnecting the converter from the flex plate will allow a lot more flexibility in remove. If you don't you will have to shove the engine about 1 foot forward of where it normally resides to get the converter hub past the front edge of the bell housing. Said hub does not need to be jammed into stuff as it will then start to leak. Much easier & better to disconnect the converter and push it back into the transmission. OTOH, if you pull the transmission & engine together, you can delay the disconnect until they are both removed, but you will drain 20 quarts of fluid onto the ground out the tail housing.
Most times when you separate an engine from the transmission, auto or manual, it will take a slight bit of nudge to break them apart.
A visual check to insure there are no hidden fasteners, and then grab hold of the crankshaft and wiggle it from side to side. It will come free. The alignment dowels can give a pretty good connection from corrosion, but should break loose with some pushes & shoves.
tom

added ...
Don't forget that the front of the transmission will need to be supported or it will fall on its nose. Then the torque converter will fall out, and grab a handful of dirt, sand and rocks, and shove them into the center so you now have abrasive material to grind the thing, or the transmission to bits.
You can use a box/end wrench with a bolt through the box end, and the open end over the edge of the convert as a retainer to insure it does not come out no matter what.

 

Definitely remove the torque converter nuts and support the front of the trans. The dowels are prob seized in the block. When you are sure all the bellhousing and torque converter bolts are out then use a prybar to separate the two. Are you putting the 95 Aerostar engine into the 2000 Ranger? I dont think they are compatible and will run like crap Rebuilding The Ford 4.0L Pushrod V6 - Engine Builder Magazine

 

Yep remove torque converter bolts and support the front of the trans !!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the backup fellows on removing them !!!

 

Why are they not compatiable? I thought that the 4.0l OHV was the same in both vehicles, Im swapping all the intake and whatnot into the truck.

 

Did you check the link? Ford changed the heads, pistons, cams, and calibrations over the years. The 2000 has deep dished pistons and closed chamber heads while the 95 has small dished pistons and open chamber heads. Im not sure how the 95 engine will run with the 2000 PCM you may have spark knock problems.

 

I'm gonna go ahead with the replacement engine. If it runs. I'm gonna sell it due to me getting in an accident and I need it gone. Anyone know what was different on the heads? I am at the point where I could do a head gasket set but I'm not sure which head blew.

 

Well. I'm at an impasse with this truck. I do not wasn't to deal with spark knock. I have the old engine out and everything swapped over to the donor engine. But I'm second guessing myself because of the things you guys have said. It's possible I just have a bad lower intake gasket but I don't know. I've never done a smaller gas engine replacement. Just diesel engines. This truck is going to my niece for her 16th birthday. So I do not want to give her something that ain't gonna run right. Any comments would be appreciated. My conscience is killing me right now.

 

You may not have spark knock problems. In one case the dish is larger, the combustion chamber smaller, in the OTHER case, the dish is smaller, the combustion chamber larger.
Most times the configuration is changed for emissions, or adjusting 'torque curve' type things. I am not an engineer, but the resultant compression ratio of both engines should be similar, and the fuel and ignition systems should compensate for varying conditions. The knock sensor, if it gets involved at all, might pull back the ignition a bit under certain load conditions. There should not be a lot of pinging. I think.
I one time made a frankenstein Pontiac 'half a V-8', combining pistons, rods, crank, heads and block from two to make one. The combustion chamber in one was smaller, and it had dished pistons. The other had a larger chamber and flat pistons. I combined the flat pistons and the smaller chamber. It cranked kinda funny, but it might have been the battery, and you could almost count the compression strokes. It moved to Boulder/Denver and should have been real happy with the high compression due to altitude. Except for the Chicago rust, I liked it. It would cruise @ 70 easily and got over 20 mpg back in the late 60's.
You may be pleasantly surprised with how well it runs.
tom

 

I agree with TomW. the internals (bore and stroke being the same) shouldn't make much difference. It's all how it is tuned on the outside. I would be more concerned with the injector mismatch than compression ratio from a slightly flatter piston.

 

Well I can just get new injectors for the 2000 engine so i dont have to worry about that aspect.