My 2002 Ranger Edge has a little rod knock.

I still won't give her up. She's my baby. I have to save up funds to get the engine swapped. When I do, I was wondering if it would be possible to take out my V6 and drop in a 4cyl to save a bit on gas. I mean would everything bolt up the same, or would I have to buy new mounts? Would the trans line up? Would the computerized stuff need expensive changing/reprogramming?

Just looking to save some gas. My other three trucks drink gas like it's free.

 

If you remove the 6 cylinder and put in a 4 banger you will need to change the motor mounts and get the 4 banger computer at very least,,,not sure if the 4 banger will mount to your transmission,,,not sure if the wiring harness will work either,,,you might need 4 banger wiring harness also,,,but maybe someone with better knowledge will chime in !!!!!

 

Trans and computer. IMO not worth the cost and effort for what will probably be a slight increase in mpg. In other words, it won't pay back all the costs for quite a long time.

Good luck with it.

 

What motor is in it now? The 2.3L is a little better on gas than the 3.0 but not enough to offset the drop in power IMO, and this would be a complicated swap too.. computer, wiring, trans, driveshaft/s, engine mounts, ect.

 

So it seems to be as figured. Looks like I will just swap it with the same (3.0). Heck maybe I'll get the initiative to just rebuild that one.

 

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What are your other 3 trucks?

The 4 banger wouldn't be worth it! Way underpowered and bout 15 MPG in my experiences.

Find ya a wrecked 98-01 Explorer 5.0L AWD and swap the whole drivetrain over to your Edge, complete bolt-in swap. Might as well have the power when ya need it for the same or better MPG as the 3slo.

 

The other three are a 1989 Ford E150, 1979 Ford C600 (see my avatar for that), and 1971 Dodge D200.

 

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Like the old C600 Cabover & drove a few of the mid to late 70's Dodge Crewcabs durin my military career. Wish I'd of grabbed one of them when they retired them.

Howbout some pics of yours? I've got a 92 C2500 flatbed that I use as my Towpig.

 

 

VERY NICE! Thanks for sharin!

That 600 with a rollback on it would be a SWEET Recovery vehicle.

The D200 is a BEASTY lookin work truck.

I've got a line on a Econoline with a FI 460 for $800, haven't jumped on it yet as don't need another vehicle sittin around, gotta a yard full now......Wife says it looks like a used car lot.

 

^ Still only $800 with that unstoppable motor. Mine has a FI straight six.

 

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Those 4.9L/300 ci I-6 was one of Ford's BEST! Don't understand why they ever dropped it.

I may havta take the hit from the Wife and jump on the Eco, tell her its for storage.

 

I believe the reason was that smaller cars and smaller hoods were becoming the thing. The V6 made more sense for that reason only, but it was reason enough. I think they may still be in production overseas.

 

Cheapest and easiest route would be to replace it with another 3.0, or like you said to rebuild what you got. Regarding the transmission, I will say that the 3.0 and the 4-popper used the same transmission. The 5-speed would be the M5/OD while the automatic would be the 5R44E. Computer will definitely need to be changed if swapped with a 4. If you throw in another 3.0, it might all depend on what year, transmission, etc the donor truck is; if the PCM needs to be replaced. This being said, if you replace the engine, try to get the whole truck. That way you more than likely have the needed parts. PCM might still need to be reprogrammed regardless of what you do, even after it's swapped over. The computer modules get a little finicky about engine replacements.
If it was me, taking all of this into consideration; I'd rebuild the existing 3.0. But it's your decision