Had to remove power steering and aircon compressor to re-route wiring, plus figure out which was left and right cylinder bank for knock sensors, installed coils, spark plug wires and engine block grounds. Birthday party for the 11 year old was a cake filled success!

Edit: Wednesday August 7 we buttoned everything else up and as we were adding coolant, noted a pinhole leak in the radiator, so all on hold until we get a new radiator, LR021777...

Edit: Thursday the 8th, removing radiator and having a local company examine it to see if it is fixable, hopefully it is. Photo is just before adding antifreeze and discovering radiator leak...

 

Radiator removed and engine compartment looking like 2 days ago, taking radiator to a local shop, we must have damaged it when working on the engine, was not leaking when we started. Of course, this is good experience for when the air conditioning condenser (silver coloured radiator in photo) or the power steering cooler (black device in front of A/C) goes...

 

Just whining because the Ford Ranger serpentine belt was not right so had to buy a Continental 4060820 (fits Jeep Grand Cherokee also), the radiator we apparently wrecked when dropping in the Ranger engine is fixed, so Monday we'll start again. The adventure continues, will keep all of you helpful folks updated...

 

Radiator back in, no leaks, after replacing suspension fuse/relay combo engine started on very first try, no timing chain rattle, ran it for about 10 minutes to check that fluids OK, lots of smoke from the WD40 and other stuff we used to get the exhaust manifolds off, but no exhaust, oil or antifreeze leaks, so getting OBD IIDTool set up tonight and reading about using the suspension adjustments. As you can see in the attached photo, I did not have a clue about how to adjust the air suspension, didn't get video, but will report more tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your ongoing help with this challenging project...

 

Took the Ranger Rover out for a 200 Km test drive today, after adding 1/2 litre of Ford Mercon SP tansmission fluid (will be replacing all the ZF 6 with that stuff) and very dutifully squishing air out of the cooling system. The machine performed flawlessly, I can certainly feel sorry for the previous owner who just did not have enough time or resources to fix this one. Luckily for him, I was one of the few who wanted the complete vehicle and luckily for me, he and I got along and I got this excellent machine although with a dead engine. A supercharger on the original block is certainly in the future as long as the CFO (wife) agrees. There may also be an electric option (Hydrogen Fuel Cell ONLY) depending on...

 

Congratulations on your success with the swap

 

Thanks, with a lot of help from this and two other Land Rover forums plus the Explorer/Ranger forum and a few friends, was able to successfully complete this transplant project. Removing and installing was a bear though, as a few on this forum who've done it can attest to. Have already put on nearly 800 Km and I had a check engine oxygen sensor code come up at about 300 Km but I reset it and it hasn't come back. Am very pleased that there were absolutely no issues with using Land Rover parts (except the motor mounts) on the Ranger engine, and hope this all helps others who may try the same thing...

 

Well, have just got the IIDTool BT working and have seen a million error codes so will erase them all and start from a fresh slate. I have 2 other OBDII port readers, one is a software laptop version and the other is just a cheap handheld but they did not display the GAP stuff, so now I'm convinced. Just a heads up for all who might be following...

 

Have just returned from a 2,000 Km (appx 1200 miles) trip out to Kelowna (British Columbia) and back, no problems but looks like the passenger side sunroof drain will have to be investigated because water dripped on the rubber mat after a car wash. Luckily, I have about 20 of those 12mm hose connectors, so will be attempting that modification sometime in the future. Otherwise, changing the oil and filter, using synthetic 5W-30 and a Ford FL-820S filter.

 

I almost think this should be stickied given the age of these later model vehicles, thanks again for detailing the process fairly well and outlining the major problems involved. It is sort of a niche swap for those of us with V6 engines, but I still think it is important.

I'd sincerely appreciate it if you linked any other forums and threads you used to make the swap, they could have obscure pieces of info someone years in the future will be looking for.