I have a 86 F-150 XLT Supercab Lariet that is 2WD powered by a 302 EFI with AOD and 3.55 gear ratio. I want to convert it to 4Wd and have been looking for a donor truck.

I might be able to get a cheap 92 Bronco that is a 5.8L with an E4OD tranny. Not sure of gear ratios yet but can always swap gears if needed.

My understanding frm reading here is that any F-150/Bronco from 80-96 will work as a donor? Is this correct? I know a F-250/350 won't work so want to double check to ensure a Bronco will be OK.

Will this tranny bolt to my engine? If not, is it a simple bell housing swap?

If the gear ratios are off, would it be better to swap gears or to swap the rear axle as well?

My air conditioner has been marginal at best since switching it over to R134 instead of the R12. Does a 92 Air Conditioner use R134 by default and if so, could I just swap with my compressor and other parts? ( I know the EPA says no but.....) Lets assume both systems are empty already.

Any other parts that will or definitely won't swap?

Basically I am looking to turn this Bronco into a junk yard heap and keep as much as possible for spare parts.

Thanks in advance.

Lee

86 F-150 XLT
Maganflow Cat and XL Muffler, JBA Headers and 3" exhaust ( now up to 14 MPG)

 

Yes, the parts with fit, and the E4OD will fit. However, it won't work b/c your truck's computer isn't compatible (E4OD is electronically controlled). You could probably swap everything, but then again, it is a big pain.

If the gears aren't the same, then swap the rear axle, it'll work fine, and it'll save you the gear swap.

Again, you could make the AC work, but more hassle then it is worth, and I think that '92 is still R12, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

If it is cheap enough, just drive the bronco

If you are really bent on using the E4OD, I'd swap _everything_. The 5.8, the tranny, the wiring harness, and the computer setup. It would be a fairly big job, but probably worth the extra power and driveability, and not too mention more parts are available for the 87+ EFI setup.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The Bronco is a rollover so the body is shot. I guess I will hit the books and see what signals the tranny needs to know when to shift and if I can adapt my engine to to work or else forget about it/have a short shaft put on my tranny.

The Bronco actually has 40k more miles on it than my truck so not really in a rush to swap motors wth it. I also prefer to have a C-6 so maybe I can find one elsewhere.

Thanks again,

Lee

 

I don't think you can, but I am not sure, you might be able to swap to a later model 302 cpu with the E4OD, but I am not sure. try http://fordfuelinjection.com/index.htm for fuel injection info..... the C6 is the way to go, but no OD.

 

Is the 5.8 mass air or speed density EFI? If you swapped the Bronco tranny and t-case to your F-150 and used the CPU (EEC?) from the Bronco you'd need the wiring harness from the Bronco, and would probably have to find a 5.0 intake and parts that are compatible with the 5.8 intake (mass air vs speed density).

I just looked at that Ford EFI website above, and it says the 92 Bronco uses speed density EFI...so both engines use the same EFI system. You'd need to swap the Bronco EEC and possibly the wiring harness, but that should be a plug and go swap.

 

Wow, thanks, so this might be back on again.


I was also hoping for a solid axle due to ease of conversion and what I have read here but found out that this is independent wishbone so had all but given up on it.

Now I have to rethink AGAIN. -ggg-

If this does all swap over, would I have to change any wire harnesses that go through the firewall or would this all be under the hood? I don't have any problems with doing under hood stuff but I am getting too old to hang upside down under dashboards for hours on end rewiring under there.

Thanks for the inputs. I really love this site!!!

PS - Anyone know anywhere to get good prices on Urethane auto paint? I see many with the cheap acrylic enamel but want to use something that will last.

Lee

 

Looking at that site, it appears it could have either Mass air or Speed Desnity. If I luck out and it has speed density, then it appears that it is fairly easy. But....

It also appears that on the EEC Pin 52 that my engine uses it for the EGR but the E4OD Transmission wants that pin for the Speed Sensor input. Can I splice and T off to feed both or will I have to pick and choose?

Pin 30 goes to NDS (Ground) for my engine and is used for the Manual Lever Position Sensor on the 5.8 wire harness also so that will be a head scratcher as well. What the heck is a Manual Lever Position Sensor anyway? Is this only used ona Manual Transmission? That is what it sounds like but it is shown on the E4OD Automatic Transmission pinout thus my confusion.

I could just rebuild that 5.8 and drop it in but I just spent $600 on a set of brand new Titanium California Legal headers for my 302 and they won't switch to the 5.8. I hate to have those go to waste and a new set for the 5.8 cost just as much.

========

Can someone give me a reminder of why I would not want to put in a wishbone Independent front suspension again? If it has new polyurethane bushings, would it still have the alignment problems I read about here?

Thanks,

Lee

 

From what I gathered from that site, the 5.8 and the 5.0 are both speed density. Take the EEC from the 5.8 and use that, along with the E4OD trans...then you should have the correct pins. The other thing...go with a solid front axle if you can manage that.

 

Thanks for all the help. It was a local Ebay truck and I was going to go up to $500-600 but they went nuts and closed it at about 1K which was too much for me with all the unknowns.

I will hope to find a solid axle with a like engine. Not sure I wanted to bite off this much at one time. Better to do the axle swap then do engine, tranny stuff later.

I appreciate all the help and learned a lot during this drill.

Thanks again,

Lee

 

Keep an eye on Ebay...I found a complete 302, C-6 and NP-208 transfer case out of a 86 F-250 for $50...all I had to do was make a twelve hour round trip to pick it up. I've also picked up a 97 Explorer 5.0 short block for $60...just gotta find them.

 

Yep, I have seen tons of donor vehicles up around your area and in the north east, midwest etc but I am out in California where nothing rusts so donor vehicles are hard to find that are cheap. I have been watching for 6 months and this rollover was the first one.


I think I need to find a contact in insurance so I can get first crack at some wreck from the 405. Nothing rusts here so there just aren't many donor vehicles.

Good Luck,

Lee

 

I know F150 and Bronco parts for suspension swap but was wondering if Ranger Parts will also swap?

 

I'm going to say NO...I don't think the Ranger parts will swap...I think they're lighter duty. It's a shame there's no way to get parts moving between there and here in Minnesota. We have the opposite problem...

 

nothing on a ranger will swap, except maybe some sensors

 

Thanks for the reply. I only asked because there is a huge Old style ranger ( looks like a F150) that has tires, suspension lift and 4x4 that would make a decent donor if I could get him down on the price. It isn't in bad shape but it is very rough compared to mine.

FWIW - I bought an AutoXray this weekend and can't praise it enough. Very spendy but I had to work on a friend's 2000 and realized my old code scanner wouldn't work on anything after 95. After some research, decided to buy a diagnostic instead of just a code scanner and about died when I saw the thing pull every kind of information out of that EEC imaginable. It makes most of my old tools obsolete.

I haven't run it on my 86 yet to see how much data it will pull from an OBD I instead of his OBD II but if it is anywhere close, I will be very happy and if I ever do have to swap wiring harnesses due to a later year Donor vehicle, it should make troubleshooting any missing or erroneous signals a breeze.

I bought the 5000 instead of the 6000 only because they didn't have the better one in stock and I was in a time crunch but it displays timing, Fuel pressure, temprature, O2 signal voltages and probably 10-20 other signals I can't recall off the top of my head. It even found a misfire on number two cylinder that we ended up finding a bad wire on. We had the car troubleshot in seconds that might have had us pulling our hair for days. -ggg-

Again, it costs a bundle but it sure makes life easier. If you only work on your own vehicle, maybe not worth it but if you have a different car in your garage every weekend like I do doing work for friends, co-workers etc, it is awesome. I already have 2 more wanting to come over Saturday to have me checkout their trucks after they heard how fast I fixed the other guys car this weekend!!

FWIW - I saw a few on Ebay about 1/3 the price I paid. Only parts dealer out here that carries it is Kragen but it might be different where ever you are at. I usually don't endorse products but this thing has made my year as best tool in my arsenal though I am a bit of a tool freak/collector. -ggg-

Good Luck and thanks again,

Lee