Hello to all. I have considered swapping in an Explorer 5.0 for a while now, but I am curious as to how to go about the swap. I have to remain OBDII compatable due to emissions regulatons in the county of which I live. I know a few people on here have done the swap, so my question is, what did you do for the wiring? Also, which transmission did you use? I have considered getting the entire wiring harness and components (all the way down to the abs unit and gauge cluster) from the Donor explorer as well as the Auto trans from one. My other options are to get just the engine harness (unplug from the body at the bulkhead connctor) with the computer and the auto transmission. Now... my truck is currently a 5 speed, and it would be cool to leave it that way, so a 5 speed from a F-150 with the 4.2 would work, but how is the computer going to react if there is no transmission plugged up to the harness??? I beleive my best option is definately going to be to use the Auto from the Explorer just to simplify things, and I can throw a ratchet shifter in the floor so I can keep the stock steering column. Basically, what is the EASIEST and most cost effective way to do the swap? If I use just the engine harness, what wiring differences will I run into? Will the bulkhead connectors go together? Are the pins in the correct places? Will my stock gauge panel work? Ect... Just try to fill me in as much as possible so that I know what I am gtting myself into.

 

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2/member.php?u=314

302 in a 03 Ranger with everything working. Search his threads and Car Domain.

 

Well, I have, and I didn't really find out anything on what he used, how he id it for the wiring. All I know is he had some trouble with some module or something, thats it. I don't know if he swapped out the entire harness or integrated the 2 or what. The engine swap section of cardomain doesn't work for some reason, or I would do more searching there. I was actually hoping he would reply to this post because I knew he did the swap, but there are also a few more, and their stories are wanted/needed too.

 

A 5.0 engine and 4R70W automatic transmission from a 99~2001 Explorer should literally bolt into your 2005 Edge. Just find the right donor because 2WD and AWD Ex transmissions are different. If you want to stay with a manual, it should be possible using an M5OD-R2 trans from an 97~03 4.2L F150. The Ex factory PCM will work (more or less) with a manual but will give a zillion codes. Better to have the automatic functions cal'd out by a competent aftermarket tuning specialist and get a performance tune in the same deal.

Electrically, this is NOT a plug and play swap. 2001~2003 require some changes to PATS and ABS and tach wiring. 2004~2006 Ranger went through a major rewire compared to 01~03, making it even less compatible with the Gen2 Explorer electrics. This is not to say that is can't be done but I think it would be more challenging. Expect a mismatch at the Explorer engine connector and at the Explorer starting/charging harness. There may also be a major speedometer/tachometer glitch unless you retrofit an earlier non-digital cluster - and that opens another can of worms because the digital cluster has its own microprocessor that interfaces with a variety of systems throughout the truck.

It would be a good idea to get a set of Wiring Diagram Manuals (one for the donor Ex and one for the 2005 Ranger) from eBay and do a comparison between them.

 

So... basically, what I need to do to make it easier for me is to literally find an entire Donor vehicle that I can rob all of the parts out of. Obviously it is easier to redo things such as taillight wiring than it is to rewire the bulkhead connectors and dash. Since the explorer and Ranger do share the same dash it would be easy to make the explorer harness fit in the truck (I believe). So if I use the entire wiring harness out of the explorer, and just cut out the things I don't need such as rear AC controls/rear power windows and door looks ect, wouldn't it be a lot easier? I could even use the PATS (What the heck does that stand for anyway???) and the whole ABS unit and wiring from the explorer, which should eliminate any kind of problems with those. I do not want to have to have custom tuning done, so I will probably just use the automatic because if the check engine light is on or there are any codes, it will not pass emissions, and there would be no point of doing the swap, because I wouldn't be able to register the truck.

 

PATS = Passive AntiTheft System - also called "SecuriLock" in Ford advertising. Special RFID ignition keys are recognized by the system and others are rejected. The 2005 Ranger does not have PATS but the 99~01 Explorer does.

IMO, working from a complete 99~01 donor would be best. I couldn't find a suitable one so I did it piece by piece. I got a few good deals on used parts and assemblies but that was offset by all the bits and pieces that I had to buy new.

I suppose that a full body/dash/engine harness swap would be possible but I'm not sure it would be easier.

 

Ok, I do realize that it would take a lot of work, but I would rather swap an entire harness than chase down gremlins such as The PATS system and ABS. I do not have access to a Dealership that can reprogram these systems to function. Even if I was able to find one in town that would, I wouldn't want to pay for it. If I could find a complete Explorer, would it not be more cost effective to purchase the entire thing than it would be to piece it all together? I just look at it that I would have absolutely everything I would need. Basically Explorer guts in a Ranger body.

 

Yes, I would say take your time and shop around for a complete donor. Best way.

 

Ok, thats what I figured. Thank you!

 

I have a 99 and are getting ready to do the same thing so keep in touch if you want and we'll compare things.

 

04+ is a pain in the *** compared to 03. Everything will bolt up but non of the wiring will be the same.

 

99 is WAY easier than a 2005, since it has the same vintage/architecture for wiring that the 5.0L explorer had. Essentially bolt in. Good thread on rangerpowersports for '98+ explorer swap.