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"So first question, which combo is 100% plug and play?"
None of them
You can get very close...like all you have to do is change one motor mount, wire the AC switch from Explorer to Ranger, change some power steering lines and then the explorer 5.0 bolts in
None of these are 100% plug and play, even with the easiest conversions chances are you will still have to address driveshafts and exhaust, some simple plumbing, wiring and sorting out of what goes where and why.
If it was easy or if all these conversions were the same I would sell a conversion harness and conversion pieces!!...A single Ranger to explorer wiring harness is not really possible because every single Ranger to 5.0 conversion is a little different....
98-01 V6 rangers / B3000 /B4000 are the easiest to convert using a 98-01 5.0L donor
But I still do not consider a drivetrain swap as "easy" I know none of mine were just plug and play.........
Two things that will help you a GREAT deal when doing any drive train mix matching:
1. Get the entire donor
2. Do not get rid of any parts until the conversion is done
It's not that hard! If you can pull an engine you can probably pull off a 5.0 swap, I always tell my boys "any wrench monkey can bolt one of these together" but you better go into it knowing what you are getting into (Research!) and be good at solving problems (with the help of the FordRangers.com of course!)
Any 98+ Ranger can accept a 5.0 rather easily...but this is still a drive train conversion
About as easy as they get as far as drive train conversions are concerned
you ALWAYS have bugs to work out before the conversion is 100% done because the instrument clusters change, the fuel systems change, and the wiring changes sometimes even mid year!
Just about every single possible combination has been done and sorted out in one way or another, the trick is having all the right parts and information available for YOUR conversion
JAMMAN wrote:
No, 2000 expo to 2001 ranger is not an easy swap but it can be done.
There are several wiring considerations with all swaps but the "easiest" is from a 96 to 2001 explorer or mountaineer with a 5.0 into a 98 to 2000 ranger that was born with a V6 (either 3.0 or 4.0) and has 4WD.
ANY swap can be done given the right resources (including copious piles of cash) but those were the easiest.
The 2 biggest problems I have heard is pats and the AC circuit. VSS is a problem depending on which years you swap. That is the extremely short nutshell story.
@410CUSTOMS mentioned 98-01 V6 Rangers were the easiest to swap using a 98-01 donor. What changed in 2001 that makes it more difficult? This is what I'm trying to find out prior to going forward with the Expo purchase. I've seen a spreadsheet mentioned, but no links to it that I saw. Is that something I should search out? It seems that no one wants to come right out and say exactly what fabrication and modifications have to be done over and above what is actually plug and play. That may very well be due to variations in individual vehicles, but I'd think there's at least a baseline somewhere.