Nah....me and you can do this....bring beer....LOL...!!!!!!!

Prages

Prages

User Error
This is the response I got from my buddy, Jeff, when I told him I'd pay somebody else to put a crate engine in my Ranger.

Should I be worried?


Truth be told, Jeff is a great mechanic and has a ton of tools in his garage. He's done many engine swaps before, and I'm sure he's more than capable.
 
How hard can it be?




:embarrassed:




It actually should be ok. Main thing will be sure to keep track of wiring and vacuum hoses.
 
335clone said:
Buy the beer. as long as you have a camera and take mucho pictures, what could go wrong?
Click to expand...

Jeff and I have turned some wrenches in the past. Here's what's gone wrong.

2004 Dodge Stratus - Front Passenger's side wheel bearing. Got it apart, took it to shop to get old bearing pressed out and new bearing pressed in. Took it back to Jeff's, reassembled. Jeff says "Man, it was way too easy to get that thing back in." Then we looked around and noticed that the axle was still laying under the car. :facepalm: Took it back apart, put the axle back in, and reassembled again...in about 10 minutes.

2000 Ford Ranger - Replacing rear axle assembly. The differential locked up due to an oil leak. I bought a new axle assembly from a junk yard. We removed the drive shaft, jacked the truck up, removed the wheels, removed the shocks, removed the nuts from the U bolts on the leaf springs, removed the torsion rod, removed the brake lines. Needed about an inch more clearance to get the axle out from under the truck, so cranked the jack one more crank.

We had forgotten to chock the front wheels, so the truck rolled forward off the jack stands and fell to the ground in a massive heap with the rear bumper on the floor of the garage and our two good jacks under it. Luckily neither of us was under the truck at the time, and we had another jack we could use to get the truck off the floor.

So, yeah...asking "what could go wrong" is probably not going to inspire a lot of confidence. :grin:
 
Prages said:
Jeff and I have turned some wrenches in the past. Here's what's gone wrong.

2004 Dodge Stratus - Front Passenger's side wheel bearing. Got it apart, took it to shop to get old bearing pressed out and new bearing pressed in. Took it back to Jeff's, reassembled. Jeff says "Man, it was way too easy to get that thing back in." Then we looked around and noticed that the axle was still laying under the car. :facepalm: Took it back apart, put the axle back in, and reassembled again...in about 10 minutes.

2000 Ford Ranger - Replacing rear axle assembly. The differential locked up due to an oil leak. I bought a new axle assembly from a junk yard. We removed the drive shaft, jacked the truck up, removed the wheels, removed the shocks, removed the nuts from the U bolts on the leaf springs, removed the torsion rod, removed the brake lines. Needed about an inch more clearance to get the axle out from under the truck, so cranked the jack one more crank.

We had forgotten to chock the front wheels, so the truck rolled forward off the jack stands and fell to the ground in a massive heap with the rear bumper on the floor of the garage and our two good jacks under it. Luckily neither of us was under the truck at the time, and we had another jack we could use to get the truck off the floor.

So, yeah...asking "what could go wrong" is probably not going to inspire a lot of confidence. :grin:
Click to expand...

yikes.
 
Prages is currently over at Jeff's house now, with a cooler of beer and intentions to tear down the engine with a new engine onthe way for Friday. What could go wrong?!?!!
 
Mrs.P said:
Prages is currently over at Jeff's house now, with a cooler of beer and intentions to tear down the engine with a new engine onthe way for Friday. What could go wrong?!?!!
Click to expand...

We are talking about Greg? Yeah, I'm sure it will go perfectly.
 
Mrs.P said:
Prages is currently over at Jeff's house now, with a cooler of beer and intentions to tear down the engine with a new engine onthe way for Friday. What could go wrong?!?!!
Click to expand...

Is this the Jeff who has been at all the P-Stocks or another Jeff?

Either way you have no worries at all. It will go smoothly......lol-049
 
Prages said:
Jeff and I have turned some wrenches in the past. Here's what's gone wrong.

2004 Dodge Stratus - Front Passenger's side wheel bearing. Got it apart, took it to shop to get old bearing pressed out and new bearing pressed in. Took it back to Jeff's, reassembled. Jeff says "Man, it was way too easy to get that thing back in." Then we looked around and noticed that the axle was still laying under the car. :facepalm: Took it back apart, put the axle back in, and reassembled again...in about 10 minutes.

2000 Ford Ranger - Replacing rear axle assembly. The differential locked up due to an oil leak. I bought a new axle assembly from a junk yard. We removed the drive shaft, jacked the truck up, removed the wheels, removed the shocks, removed the nuts from the U bolts on the leaf springs, removed the torsion rod, removed the brake lines. Needed about an inch more clearance to get the axle out from under the truck, so cranked the jack one more crank.

We had forgotten to chock the front wheels, so the truck rolled forward off the jack stands and fell to the ground in a massive heap with the rear bumper on the floor of the garage and our two good jacks under it. Luckily neither of us was under the truck at the time, and we had another jack we could use to get the truck off the floor.

So, yeah...asking "what could go wrong" is probably not going to inspire a lot of confidence. :grin:
Click to expand...

Ok, so the beer is for after the work is done then!! Lightweights:grin:
 
As Mrs. P said, Jeff and I started tearing the old engine out last night. We were heavy on the ripping stuff out of the engine bay and light on the drinking. Got quite a bit done. I think we may be able to get the old one out tonight.

With the truck outside in his driveway, we drained the coolant out of the radiator. Then started the truck up and pulled it back into the garage for the fun stuff.

Pulled the truck into the garage and popped the hood.
EngineSwap01.jpg


Took the hood off.
EngineSwap02.jpg


Removed the radiator.

Serpentine belt, Alternator, and air intake are out.
EngineSwap03.jpg


This is one I took just so we'd know which heater hose goes where.
EngineSwap04.jpg


Radiator hoses and heater hoses gone. A/C compressor gone. That green crap is the A/C coolant. Probably should have let it bleed off a bit more before we just took the valve off. :embarrassed:
EngineSwap05.jpg


Our parts pile.
EngineSwap06.jpg


More parts for the pile. The new piece is the power steering pump bracket.
EngineSwap07.jpg


What the engine looks like after getting all the accessories off the front.
EngineSwap08.jpg


Jeff hard at work.
EngineSwap09.jpg


Upper intake manifold is gone.
EngineSwap10.jpg


From the other side.
EngineSwap11.jpg


Parts pile.
EngineSwap12.jpg


That's where we left off. It looks like we've got all the electrical connections and hoses removed from the engine. We've also gotten the engine mount nuts off. This evening we'll pull the fan, remove the exhaust and loosen the bell housing bolts that mate the engine and transmission. Then, if all goes well, we should be able to wrap some chains and break out the engine hoist.

Total time spent yesterday....about 3 1/2 hours or so.
 
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