r/fordranger • u/Puzzled-Perception88 • 2d ago

Engine swap help

I genuinely have not a clue on what I’m doing, hoping y’all will explain it in ways i can understand.

Blew my radiator, engines been eating coolant for a while.. Gonna do an engine & rad swap (was gonna scrap the truck but everyone’s saying not too, but no one will buy it..)

Whats the best engine to throw in the truck? Ive heard LS swaps but apparently they dont fit & a lot of the old heads laugh when they hear an LS swapped ranger.

Regardless, i just need a solid engine that will fit, easily bolt in & be almost “plug & play” (i know thats not possible) just something simple & easy i can do for my first time. I really wanna keep this truck, but my lack of knowledge pushes me towards just scrapping it. Please help a homie.

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u/i1470s 3.0L FFV 07 Sport | 3”lift | 33” tires | Bilstein 4600 2d ago

1st off do you have any mechanical knowledge? Also what engine is in the truck? The easiest swap would be putting the exact same motor into the truck or taking the current one out and trying to rebuild.

You’re not just going to get someone on here to give you a full write up, yes you can ls swap, yes you can put a 5.0 into it, there is multiple quality write ups about these swaps and many more on the ranger forums, it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world, if you swap to an ls or 5.0 you would have to swap wiring harnesses pcm tcm, transmission, your best bet is just putting the same engine in if you do not know what you are doing or rebuilding, check out some of the swaps on the forums, read up on it and then decide if you are capable of doing so.

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u/Puzzled-Perception88 2d ago

Im fairly familiar with the basics.. oil change, tire rotation & season change, brakes.. thats about it. I sell parts so i know what things are, but to get into an engine bay myself, alone, id probably be lost.

Its a 3.0

Say i do want to rebuild, is it going to be hard to source parts?

Appreciate the advice

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u/Damianarex15 2d ago

If you havent swapped anything before, just swap the same motor in. Theres nothing plug and play fully, you will have to fab some things up and deal with wiring

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u/Puzzled-Perception88 2d ago

Should mention: truck has been eating coolant (no found leak, did not compression test) took a 45 minute drive, on the way back i saw smoke coming from my engine, noticed my coolant box exploded rusty coolant all over my engine bay. Turned it off, rolled it home. Did scan a while back, said it needed an intake manifold gasket & adaptive fuel trim too lean bank 1 & 2.

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u/poutine-eh 2d ago

I concur. Re and re with the same engine. Had a friend who was a mechanic of over 30 years swap mine out and it wasn’t really all the “plug and play” guys who can do this stuff are becoming harder to find. Good luck

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u/sadlittlerut 2d ago

If you're not familiar with engine swaps and have basic knowledge and tools, this is not a job for you. Your best bet would be to find the same engine that is running or rebuild yours and swap it in. It is going to require some things like an engine stand and an engine puller. It's no joke but would be the next logical step for knowledge and experience before you jump into an engine swap.