T-Bird engine; OBD II Compatible?

[billk2002]

All the write ups I read talk about switching the crank and rods from the turbo motor into the original Ranger motor. Is it possible to drop the T-Bird motor straight into the truck and switch the engine electornics over to the turbo motor? It seems the only difference with the Ranger block is the drain and the turbo motor already has it.

[boosted91]

I have had the same question. Due to the turbo motors various connectors and such that the ranger motors do not have stock you need to modify your harness and repin your ecu.if your truck is newer than a 95 then I would suggest just building the ranger motor. That way you could use the stock ranger harness and ecu and tune it with a xcal

[billk2002]

If the sensors are in the same location and the threaded sensors will screw in, why can't you just move the emissions & engine controls off of the 1996 OBD system onto the T-Bird engine; that way the wiring will hook up with minimal repinning of the ecu. I know the T-Bird has a distributor that has to be wired in; but I still don't understand why it is necessary to swap the turbo rods & crank into the Ranger block and drill the drain hole if everything else is equal.

[Jesshwarren]

You must switch the heads. Put your 95+ head on the turbo block. You will need to get 93-94 Alternator bracket to fit the turbo block. You will need to take your crank pulley and "crank sensor & mounting bracket plate" off of your 95+ motor.
You will need to drill a couple holes to get the crank sensor bracket & front main seal all one piece. It is pretty easy. I ran a T/C motor the 1st year in my 98 ranger.
You will not be able to plug your cam sensor in. It is no problem all the cam sensor does is times the injectors. I think I can work around it in the tuning.
It’s easier than it sounds.

[ben_2_go]

I still don't understand why it is necessary to swap the turbo rods & crank into the Ranger block and drill the drain hole if everything else is equal.

The ranger rods and pistons can't take the pressure that a turbo puts into the cylinders.They will fail quickly.The rods are pressed powder metal and the pistons are cast.The turbo rods and pistons are forged,much stronger.Plus the turbo pistons lower the compression ratio so more boost can be ran without detination blowing holes in the pistons.

[billk2002]

You must switch the heads. Put your 95+ head on the turbo block. You will need to get 93-94 Alternator bracket to fit the turbo block. You will need to take your crank pulley and "crank sensor & mounting bracket plate" off of your 95+ motor.
You will need to drill a couple holes to get the crank sensor bracket & front main seal all one piece. It is pretty easy. I ran a T/C motor the 1st year in my 98 ranger.
You will not be able to plug your cam sensor in. It is no problem all the cam sensor does is times the injectors. I think I can work around it in the tuning.
It?s easier than it sounds.


This is what I've been looking for. I figured the pistons in the turbo motor are stronger; but I kept reading that people were swaping cranks, rods and pistons into the N/A block. The turbo motor I'm picking up only 75k on it.
Will the 96 ECU work for this motor?
Thanks for all the help; I'll get a set of headers from you when I do the swap.

[Jesshwarren]

Yes it will. Swap heads ect..

[pongorulz]

i was told to go obd 2 is the way to go, but that doing the conversion is easier with with the engine out of the truck, especially when it came to drilling the holes for that crank position sensor bracket, something about making sure you dont drill all the way through the block wall, and some other things. if i can find the link ill shoot it your way

[Jesshwarren]

Hey pongorulz email me at jesshwarren@yahoo.com the data base had problem and once repared your account was gone. I will email you your account info

[ben_2_go]

Not to break up this thread, but I noticed that every time I clicked on a topic I got an error screen.

[Jesshwarren]

Every thing should be good now. This should not ever happen again.

[boosted91]

I had to reregister on the new site and its been working fine for me.

[billk2002]

I plan to prep the T-Bird motor and pick up another 96+ head so I can build the motor while I collect the parts needed to do the swap. The T-Bird bottom end has a lower mileage than the current motor.
I'd like to lower the truck slightly with some Belltech components and add some Mustang Bullet wheels to have a nice sleeper.
I have an e30 325i that I use for track days; it might be a hoot to run the Ranger!

[Jesshwarren]

I am going to have a 95-97 2.3L turbo motor on ebay in a week or 2. I'll give you guys heads up.

[ben_2_go]

Jess are you coming down to the charlotte meet the 29th of this month?I don't remember how far PA is.

[Jesshwarren]

Charlotte? is that WV I should, I need to check the distance.

[ben_2_go]

No.Charlotte,NC.It's been 20 years since I been to PA.

[Jesshwarren]

Wow! I would love to. I imagine you guys have some nice weather. Little to far for me right now.

[ben_2_go]

It's been rainy and cold this past week,but we usually have very mild winters.I haven't seen any real snow since 1985/86.We have had a few really bad ice storms where we lost power for a week.

[billk2002]

Does the T-Bird have an 8 plug head? If I use the T-bird block will the distributor work with the 1996 8 plug head?

[ben_2_go]

Does the T-Bird have an 8 plug head? If I use the T-bird block will the distributor work with the 1996 8 plug head?

No the tbird is a single plug head.I am unsure if the block will take the ranger head.Jess will have to chim in on this one.

[pongorulz]

im using the ranger block, im also using the rods and pistons form the tc, cuz they'll fit the crank, cant use the tc crank cuz the mains are smaller on the ranger than on the tc.

also im using the tc head, i took the ranger head to the shop and it was gonna cost me like 400 to have it fixed and some new seats put on, ***k that. plus now i only have to buy half the wires and half the plugs and coils.

then just some new sensors, and hopefully ill be ready to go. hopefully ill be able to get like 300hp out of this thing, but the more the better.

hey jess, i know the bigger the injector the more power i could squeeze out. so i bought some 60lbs injectors, and i heard i could run e85, would this let me get some more power by using e85??

[Jesshwarren]

hey jess, i know the bigger the injector the more power i could squeeze out. so i bought some 60lbs injectors, and i heard i could run e85, would this let me get some more power by using e85??


Yes and no. E85 takes a larger injector to make the same amount of HP. you can run more timing and boost with E85 you just need enough injector to supply adequate fuel.

[salating]

i am using the ranger block with the TC head and intake

i am running the dis ignition also, hotter spark

only draw back is if you want to changed your ignition timing you need a tuner of some sort