As it stands, I have two options on the table, find a 4.6L 3v to swap in (yes i do have a 4.0 SOHC), or take a 32V from a Lincoln Aviator (which was also mated to the transmission I have in my vehicle currently) and put it in. I would prefer the 32V, simply because of the aftermarket, because it was used as the Cobra Terminator motor, with the potential to make more power. There is a thread on here about someone managed to make it work in a 3rd gen explorer. Because the 3rd gen and 4th gen are so similar, I was wondering if theres enough similarities in engine bay size and firewall in order to make the swap possible.
The aftermarket for the Terminators is centered around a supercharged engine. There aren't many aftermarket parts regarding naturally aspirated (N/A) 32V engines. The 4.6L 3V does have a healthy aftermarket for N/A engines and the 6R60 transmission it uses is far more reliable than any 5-speed auto Ford put into the Explorer. IMO, the easiest way to get a V8 into a 4th gen Explorer/Mountaineer is to buy one that came this way from the factory. If you don't mind taking on the cost, trouble and risk of doing the swap you are planning then I say go for it. Just be aware of what you are getting into because it won't be easy or inexpensive. Buying a used engine is risky in itself. Selling your Explorer and adding in the money you will spend on the swap would likely get you into a V8 4th gen. Plus, there are supercharger kits for the 4.6L 3V V8s that get them into the low/mid 400 hp/tq range if you want to go crazy one day.
The Aviator is another option for getting into a 32V "Explorer" but it seems most of them I have seen have a ragged out interior for some reason. Getting parts for them these days might be difficult and will be even more difficult as time passes.
^^^^avail as a crate too, first ohv since the 5.0!
I think the issue with using Mustang GT naturally aspirated performance parts on a nearly 5k lb Explorer/Mountaineer is they are centered on making high end horsepower and not low/mid range torque. In fact, many of them reduce low/mid range torque which is not what works well for a 5k lb vehicle. A 5k lb vehicle needs loads of low/mid range torque for spirited daily driving or to deliver decent 60' numbers at a drag strip. As an example, a lot of Mustang owners replace the charge motion plates with aftermarket ones to find that they gained a few high RPM horsepower but lost a lot of low/mid range torque. Then they find that the loss of low/mid range torque makes the car a lot less fun to drive on the street.
There is a much easier way to get the performance of a 7.3L in a 4th gen V8 Explorer. Install a twin screw supercharger. This gives around 425-450 rwhp/rwtq that equates to around 530-550 horsepower at the crank using 20% drive train loss. Plus, this is a lot easier and cheaper than a Godzilla engine swap. I ran a Kenne Bell twin screw on my '89 Mustang for a number of years. It made 430 rwhp. The really fun part of doing this was the 462 peak rwtq it made at around 2,200 RPM. After it was installed the stock T-5 didn't last more than a few days before third gear exploded during a hard low RPM pull.
in what way? reliability? power?
Look into the engine build a member here named "Donalds" has done. He supercharged his 4.0L SOHC V6 and did an excellent job of it.
him and 4pointslow are the SC guys!
