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I have been reading up whats needed to swap in the expo 5.0, so my question is where can mounts needed swap the 5.0 Into my 98 2.5l with coil springs up front. Thanks a bunch.

98 was one of the relatively major changes for the Ranger. I'm not familiar with exactly what all did change and what is still cross compatible. For some reason, I was thinking the crossmember did change in shape or location, but I'm really fuzzy on that detail.

But my guess is if the crossmember did change enough that you can't use 97-earlier solutions, you could reuse the stock mounts, just redrill the crossmember to relocate them lower. This assumes your crossmember is designed similar enough to 97-earlier to allow for this.

Or if you are good with a welder, you could fabricate your own mounts that use the stock mounts in their stock position and locate your engine where you want. It'd be a lot of measuring and trial engine placement. But if you got a welder and some 1/4" steel plate laying around begging for purpose, then that's an option too. I believe Malcolm did that on his 94 Blue Ranger to keep from relocating the mounts lower.

I'm going to take some pics of the frame on the 97 I drive at work on Saturday. I did come across blueprints to have plates made for the 98 + coil spring. Thanks for the reply, I will be looking into it.

Note having pictures of a 97 isn't going to be that helpful when making decisions about a 98. 97-older Rangers have very similar crossmembers for 2wd and 4wd. In 98 is when things changed a bit. I'm thinking a lot of those changes have to do with going to torsion bars. If your 98 has coil springs, there's a chance that the crossmember is the same as previous year Rangers. But I wouldn't assume that at all. You would have to do a side-by-side comparison of what the 97 and you 98 look like.

Also note that 2wd and 4wd crossmembers have ALWAYS been different. So don't expect motor mount details you see on a 2wd to translate to a 4wd or vice-versa.

Another tid-bit, there's alot of plans out there for flat-plate mounts that make reuse of stock mounts even on older Rangers. While the plates do bridge the gap between mounts and engine, the location of the engine will likely be too high in the engine bay using those plates alone. Those flat plates are only likely to be useful if you relocate the stock mounts lower on the crossmember OR you do a body lift.

If you fabricate your own motor mount adapters from cut pieces of plate-steel and weld them together, you can use the stock mounts in their stock location and design the adapters to lower the engine by the necessary amount. But due to the complexity of figuring out how much the engine needs to be lowered, fabricating adapters to do that, & the need for a welder to make the adapters, most people just use the flat plates & relocate the stock mounts lower on the crossmember or go some other motor mount route (i.e. Mustang mounts, L&L mounts, etc).

I've got the 98 2wd A-arm suspension with coil springs, I will be doing a side by side comparison with the 97 which has I-beams. I'm going have to have someone fab plates for me since I no longer have access to a welder if I go that route. I will also contact l&l.

That's what it was that changed in 98...the movement from twin I-beam vs wishbone suspension.

Flat plates are the only that work in the later Rangers. Be careful of which plates & drawings you use. Lots of people have used the Mustang mounts or those from Summit/Jegs or L & L but those only work on the earlier trucks. I've got some that were designed by an engineer at Ford to work on one of their V-8 prototypes, use the 4.0L isolators. Can't lower motor any more due to the difference in cross members and steering. Besides change in suspension, was the change to rack & pinion.
Dave

I get that the change in crossmember prevents you from moving the stock rubber mounts lower due to the change in how the crossmember is designed now (it's no longer a smooth angled surface with holes).

But it also sounds like you are saying that the engine can't be lowered or it will interfere with other components. Is that true?

Also is there a different oil pan required with newer Rangers? I know Explorer oil pans don't work with older Rangers. But perhaps they DO work with newer Rangers. And if that's true, then it's probable the dual sump pan does NOT work with newer Rangers. Is oil pan a legitimate concern with 98-newer Rangers?

I'm glad you brought that up Chris. Two kinds of oil pans for the Explorer, one is the cast alum and the other one is stamped steel. The alum one works on both but the metal one only on the coil spring one. Chris, you remember you also had to change your bolts when you did your. Mustang dual sumps may or not work.
Dave

I'm going with flat plate. With the aluminum pan people have had issues with it clearing the crossmember on the 98+ 2wds because its a bit deeper and thicker than the stamped steel pan.

I noticed the same thing. The aluminum pan that came on 97 Explorers was visibly deeper than the standard dual sump. And the hump itself seems like it was wider too.

I do recall seeing 302 Windsor oil pans that look almost identical to the dual sumps, except they don't have the front sump. It's just the rear sump. I'm thinking that would probably be the ideal pan for any swap if it truly is exactly like the dual sump with the deletion of the smaller front sump. But I have no clue if that's an aftermarket pan or if there was a vehicle that came factory on.

This guy has mounts for your application $75.00 inc shipping josephhighlen@yahoo.com send him an email. I had mine pronto!

95sanger wrote:This guy has mounts for your application $75.00 inc shipping josephhighlen@yahoo.com send him an email. I had mine pronto!

Thanks! Btw thats a nice prerunner you've got.

95sanger wrote:This guy has mounts for your application $75.00 inc shipping josephhighlen@yahoo.com send him an email. I had mine pronto!

Carefully check the passenger side for clearance. Some people have had problems, I told him before he built he last bunch that the bend was in the wrong direction but he went ahead. It should raise the motor, not drop it.
Dave

Pre 97 frame.


98+ coil spring frame.


98+ torsion bar frame.