V6 or V8 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Davedude26

New Member
Joined
April 19, 2016
Messages
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City, State
Fort Worth, Tx
Year, Model & Trim Level
1998 Ford Explorer Sport
Hi, I'm new here but I've got a 98' Ford Explorer Sport with the V6 SOHC engine and one of the back timing chains has gone bad and I'll have to pull the engine either way. So, I was hoping for some guidance as far as whether I should replace the timing chains or just replace the engine; and if I replace the engine would it be difficult to put the V8 in?

Thank you.
 



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Its a bit of an investment in both time and money not to mention sanity , blood ,skin , ......but I gotta say I smile every day when I drive mine
 






Awesome thank you guys
 






Probably better just to look for a good solid used 5.0 somewhere. If I was going to replace my SOHC I'd look for a low miles (100k or so if I could find one) 5.0. And I mean the whole truck, not just the motor. :D
 






I'd replace the whole truck with a V8. You could buy a very decent one for what it will cost you to pay someone to fix the V6 (which IMO is a turd of an engine anyway). You could install a V8 in a Sport, but you'd have to buy a good running complete donor vehicle, which would probably cost you a minimum of around $1000 depending on where you live. Then plan on doing the work yourself.
 






Better off buying a nice 4dr 5.0 and replacing the whole truck, unless you really want to do a swap into your Sport which is by far not an easy task, but don't know how mechanically inclined you are.

Had my 5.0 since new, solid engine and trucks.
 






I'd consider what shape the rest of the vehicle is in when deciding whether to junk it or repair, including how much you've put into maintenance and newer parts already, whether it's otherwise set for a while or soon to need things like exhaust, transmission work, etc.

Yes you would be happier with the V8, but (depending on the # miles on it) replacing the timing chains and tensioners is obviously the lowest cost. Once you get past that, the SOHC has a reasonable lifespan and with the ~ $1000 saved you could replace a few more wear items while you have the engine out. You could do that to a used replacement engine too but then the additional cost continues to rise.
 






Another option is to leave the engine in place and remove the transmission to get to the rear chain.
You've made it 18 years with a dodgy chain setup, I'm sure you could do at least that if you replace it with the new, improved chain guides.

For my purposes I want 4wd with low range, the V8 doesn't have that.
 






Depending on mileage you could get a good used engine and replace the guides while it is out. There is a bunch of them on car-part.com, some with under 100K.
 






I swapped a SOHC from a 2011 Ford Ranger into my Ex. Engine was from a wrecked truck with 36k on the clock. I replaced a lot of gaskets and parts while I was in there for good measure, and now it's like having a new trucklet. I love it, and highly recommend the swap.
 






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