Engine swap options?

[SVT98t]

No.
On your 92, the plenum is what the throttle body is attached to. Usually, the plenum gaskets are changed when doing maintenance to the EGR valve.


-ryan s.

[sxcpotatoes]

I believe the '91-93 Mustangs used the HO motors, and the beauty of car-part.com is that it automatically includes compatible engines so the '88-91 Mark VII motors will come up in the search results if they're a direct swap/replacement for the motor you're searching for.

But if you want to spend just a little bit more, and not have a mustang motor someone possibly beat the piss out of, go for the EXPLORER motor swap. '96-98 or so, came with the GT40p ford racing heads stock, a good cam for getting a heavy vehicle moving, and with just some freshening, headers, & duals, you could have around 325 horsepower as opposed to the HO's 225-250. And they're a direct bolt in to the bastard block's older style automatic transmission. Though with 325 hp, you may want to save up for an eventual transmission rebuild down the line and possibly swapping a 3.55 Trac Lok rear end in (usually cheaper to swap a good entire rear than to do the complete pumpkin rebuild).

[coryallen135]

Wouldn't a 96+ involve swapping obd2 to obd1? That's a excellent idea though there are plenty of explorer and expedition and van engines around, ironically for less then a 4.6 lol..at the moment I'm trying to gather as much info(and finances) as possible to make a move by may, if I can't fix it myself I'll know what I need to swap..

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[sly]

96+ mechanicals are the same... sorta, you don't need OBD-II. It does help for some things like easier tuning via handheld stuff, but it's not required.

[gadget73]

we tried to make an 03 engine run on 1993 controls, and it just did not work. Part of that swap involved 2001 engine controls. The car ran once it was all done, and runs better now that the owner has it back and ironed out some more glitches but it was very involved to make that happen. The 302 swap was less wiring, but it was kind of a pain in the ass too in all honesty. There were custom fuel lines, a custom wiring harness adapter, a harness from a 91 Vic, and hours spent with the EVTM making what amounted to a treasure map mating the 92 harness to the 91 harness. The 03 engine swap was similar with the harness mapping. The 302 swap had some glitches too that weren't figured out until the current owner poked around at it and found some things I missed.

Honestly, if you aren't really comfortable with a lot of electrical wiring, I would not advise changing the engine to something other than what it came with. No matter what you change it to, you're going to have to figure out how to mate the parts together, and its definitely not as straightforward as installing a stereo. Its more like trying to untangle a bowl of spaghetti.

[sly]

I have a theory that if we had left ALL of the 93's controls (coil packs and all instead of switching to coil on plug) it might have worked.

and when Ryan finally gets around to putting the PI motor in his tank (also a 93) we'll find out because that's the route he's planning to take.

[coryallen135]

Yes changing the stereo was surprisingly easy lol, when I get the engine fixed or swapped then an alternator speakers and subs are next plus I'm trying to mount my tablet! (Check "interior" section for pics)..labor and level of difficulty play an important part in the swap since I'd have to pay someone to do it for me..how much should i expect to spend engine+parts+labor for the swap?

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[SVT98t]

IT STILL HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED IF IT'S A HEAD GASKET OR NOT

I have a theory that if we had left ALL of the 93's controls (coil packs and all instead of switching to coil on plug) it might have worked.

and when Ryan finally gets around to putting the PI motor in his tank (also a 93) we'll find out because that's the route he's planning to take.

Correct. Changing over to coil packs and converting to OBDII at the same time probably didn't help.

It should work as advertised. Usually, you can put newer motors in older cars, just not older motors in newer cars. *Usually*
Even though the 03 has a knock sensor, the 93 PCM does not require a knock sensor. Things like that.

I'm pretty confident it with work as is.

WE STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT OF HIS CAR IS AN AOD OR AODE

I think before we continue down this road of random engine swaps, that the type of transmission needs to be recognized first. Or investigate the intake manifold gaskets.
Otherwise, we're just wasting this mangs time.


-ryan s.

[coryallen135]

Does bubbling/gushing coolant tank and coolant out exhaust equal blown head gasket? The mechanic that looked at it claimed it was a blown gasket and I would need either a gasket job or a new engine. He seemed rather shady, charged me 300 bucks for a plenum gasket

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[L1011tristar17]

I second checking the intake manifold gaskets. I replaced the lower intake on my car (89 Town Car with the 302) and I had to replace the gaskets anyways. Apparently I didn't clean the mating surfaces well enough so in a matter of a few minutes my car was puffing out white smoke and leaking coolant like a sieve. Most of the coolant leaked out the back of the engine near the transmission, which many people will mistakenly identify as a head gasket or freeze plug leaking. My oil was also this tan milkshake color. Trust me, when you check it you won't miss it. If that ends up being the issue, don't forget to get the oil + filter changed.

I had it towed to a shop and it cost ~$350 to replace. The shop I go to now would do it for about $320.

[coryallen135]

And I finally looked at the gears: it's p-r-n-od-d-1 on the shifter

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[L1011tristar17]

Have the shop do a coolant pressure test.

[SVT98t]

It's an AOD.
Just because it's drinking coolant doesn't mean it's a blown head gasket.
A blown head gasket and a blown intake manifold gasket can have the same symptoms. They both can leak internally or externally; or both. The first intake manifold gasket I blew was leaking all over the back side of the engine and on the drivers side head. The second time it blew, it was internal, evident by massive white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I was able to troubleshoot better because I have dual exhaust, and most of the smoke was coming out that side.
This is what it looked like on my 93.

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?18521-The-93-GM-quot-Tank-of-Justice-II-quot-(TOJ2)&p=681779&viewfull=1#post681779

If it is a head gasket, you'll either have to find a early 4.6L (92) or go for the 302/351 swap.


-ryan s.

[coryallen135]

Yes! The smoke was just like that, but much much thicker plus the coolant coming out

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[gadget73]

I have a theory that if we had left ALL of the 93's controls (coil packs and all instead of switching to coil on plug) it might have worked.

and when Ryan finally gets around to putting the PI motor in his tank (also a 93) we'll find out because that's the route he's planning to take.

Very possible. Whatever it was, it sure didn't work with waste spark COP. The annoying thing is, the scope even told me it was working. I knew damn right well it wasn't running on all 8, but I clearly saw fuel and ignition pulses on all 8, and timed the same relative to each other. Maybe if I'd had more than a dual trace scope to do a side by side on 2 cylinders it would have been more apparent.