You know, I don't know if the 5.0 is wider than the 3.5 once you start adding turbos. I never considered that. I'd rather have the 5.0, let's see what the Bronco comes out with, I thought that was supposed to be the same chassis as the Ranger.
This generation of ranger was never intended for a wide v-engine--the aussie version uses an i5 rather than a v6 (better engine for a truck anyway; a v6 is for your minivan or your taurus). The rumors are that the next version is being designed with an engine compartment layout that will handle a larger v. Hopefully that's by changing the angles on the sheet metal and moving components rather than making it significantly wider, but we'll have to see. I'd prefer if they'd release a nice i-6 but the economics of being able to use the same v6 in fwd and rwd applications make that very unlikely to ever happen.
Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if you could cram in a 5.0 but not a turbo v6. Similarly, ford could probably fit a non-turbo v6 in the current generation if they wanted to, just like the other midsize trucks, but it wouldn't be an upgrade from the current engine and would cost more. There's also a distinction between what's possible as an aftermarket hack and what's practical on the assembly line. (If you check out pictures of the ranger line, the engine and transmission are a unit that gets attached to the frame, then the body gets dropped on top. The narrowest space inside the body is the absolute widest any part of the engine assembly can be, even if it might be possible to have some components extend a little wider if you were to drop the engine in from the top.)
This says 665 mm, which is 26": https://www.mustangecoboost.net/attachments/m-6007-23t-png.4585/
Me too, but maybe someday we’ll get a 5.0 swap kit.
