I have never swapped a motor in any vehicle. Is the 5.0 pretty mich a drop in swap on a 93 3.0 2wd truck? Motor mounts and tranny mounts and all?
i got to thinking today, wouldnt it make sense to swap the intake manifold for a standard carbureted setup so you dont have to fuaa with any computers or tunes? My only carb experience is with harley davidson motorcycles so forgive my ignorance. I was thinking find a 5.0 and t5 tranny from a late 80a mustang, stick a carb on it, and bolt it in. Easier said than done?

 

The hardware part of the swap is the same
The T5 car trans has shifter coming up thru the floor between the seats in the Ranger, just at the front of the seats
V8 truck transmissions come up under the dash
So either would require a custom bent shifter arm
The 1997-2003 F-150 M5OD-R2 from a 4.2l V6(bolts to 302) is the only manual trans that matched shifter placement in Rangers

Using a carb and distributor takes most of the wiring part out of the equations
You do need to add a fuel pressure regulator to lower the pressure from in tank pump to 7-9psi

Carbs and distributors require more maintenance, tune ups/adjustments a few times a year

 

So it doesnt require welding of any sort? And with no ECUs wouldnt you just leave all the sensors unplugged or would you use threaded plugs to cap them off? Idk much about this stuff

 

also i would assume one would want to swap in a higher spring rate in the front to compensate for the extra weight on the nose

 

No, no welding required, just some drilling for motor mount plates

You would pull out the computer and its wiring harness
You leave the Temp sender wire and oil pressure sender wires for dash gauges
Add a new tach wire to coil if you want a tach

There is a Key on 12volt wire that goes to computer now, you can pull it back to engine fuse box or trace it and cut it to used for the coil/spark module

Good article here to read thru, applies to 1993 Ranger: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...versions.shtml

 

so why does everyone do the fuel injected 5.0? seems the carbed one would solve a ton of headaches and probably be cheaper.

also I heard the best swap is the explorer 5.0. TBH i wasnt aware the explorer had a 5 liter. i always thought 5 liter swaps were from fox bodies.

 

You didn't ask for what would be the best swap,

You asked about what would be the easiest.

 

1996 to 2001 Explorer Or Mercury Mountaineer used/had the 5.0l/302 V8 as an "option", 2002 and up used different OHC V8s
These were EFI(fuel injected) and distributorless engines

Carbs and distributors are not efficient and require constant care/service, but only need 12volts/ground and fuel

EFI and distributorless are more reliable and fuel efficient long term, but need computer control, sensors and controllers, so extra wiring

Like 2011Supercab said one is better(EFI hands down) and one is an easier install

 

Im gonna have to disagree with you on this, the carb vs FI thing. IDK about cars but with motorcycles my carb was trouble free. The only time I felt FI was better was on those cold mornings, the harley was a little sleepy and you had to stay on the gas at a stoplight for the first few minutes. The solution was idling a bit before leaving but with straight pipes I couldn't afford this luxury due to pissing off neighbors at 5am lol. With a carb jetted and dialed in just right, there isn't much out there that feels better. It just has a crisp, raw response to your inputs and cant break down. No fuel pump failures, no blown fuses, no corroded ground wires, no limp mode, no flashing warning lights. Just turn the engine on and keep the gas tank full.
Maybe cars require more care? I couldn't really figure why since they operate on the same principles.

 

Yes, we would disagree on that one, lol

Gasoline has an air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1, and this is a WEIGHT RATIO not volume
14.7 pounds of air to 1 pound of gasoline
14.7 grams of air to 1 gram of gasoline

Gasoline's weight stays fairly constant between -20degF and 120degF
Air weight varies WIDELY with temp
"Hot air rises".......why?...........because its lighter than cooler air, it floats above it, like a Hot Air balloon, cooler air is denser, weighs more, which is why Cold Air Intakes can add a bit more power, you can add more fuel to denser/heavier air, because its a WEIGHT RATIO

If you live in an area where outside temp is the same year round then carb can stay at "best tune" year round
But most people don't live in a place like that, lol
So you have to have a summer and winter tune and its not all that accurate in fall and spring, lol
That's just physics not really an arguable point

Then there is also elevation above sea level, above 2,000ft elevation air starts to get lighter, and cooler but lighter even at say 80degF, in Denver(5,000ft) engines can be gutless without turbos because of the light air, and lower air pressure as well

Then there is the spark advance, vacuum advance is OK, but not that accurate with all engine loads, you have to be less aggressive with spark curve to avoid pre-ignition

Computer system uses MAF sensor to read air Weight, also an air temp sensor, so will fine tune for best mix in real time
Same for spark advance, it can change it in real time with engine load, calculated using MAF and throttle position sensor

If you define "best" as most power, most fuel efficient, in all conditions, and most trouble free, then computer control is it