03explorereb
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- February 18, 2011
- Messages
- 129
- Reaction score
- 2
- City, State
- cuba, missouri
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 06 explorer xlt
just completed this swap. i broke this into two threads, first one being the initial start of the swap and this one being the finish. holy crap. there is a world of difference in difficulty level between the 4.0 and the 4.6. let me tell you that extensions are your best friend on a 4.6. use them early and often. there are several differences between engines that i noted in the first thread that i will confirm here. let's first review what differences i initially noted, updated in red:
1- the most obvious, ex is aluminum block, crown vic is cast iron
2- intake and fuel delivery is different-intake looks same, tb is different
3- front cover does appear to be different, unconfirmed on whether or not this will work per my application-might have worked but relocating the ps pump closer to the oil filter might have caused a problem
4- oil pan is different. may or may not work. the cv's pan is a little deeper at the front towards the balancer leading me to believe that it will not work in a 4wd application-will not work without modification to the cv's oil pan. pickup tubes are different also. the ex's pan is notched to clear the front differential for 4x4 applications, although the cv's might work for 2wd apps.
5- flexplates cosmetically look different but cannot confirm whether or not the cv's will work in my application. the ex's looks a little more dished out than the cv's.-for the swap you must use the ex's.
6- manifolds are different. not really even close. i do like the higher perch point of the cv's on the passenger side to clearance for the motor mount nuts but i think it would be senseless to modify exhaust pipe for this perk.-confirmed
7- mount point of the a/c compressor is the same. confirmed
8- motor mounts are different but you probably already figured that out-confirmed
9- this particular cv engine used an external oil cooler so the filter boss is different from the ex, which it did not have an oil cooler. the angle of the filter comes forward at about 45 degrees on the ex whereas the cv's is more straight out from the boss. i think i need the one from the ex from the way it looks-confirmed
10- dipsticks are different also. ex uses a longer dipstick.-confirmed and the ex's must be used for the oil pan/manifold combo anyways
I will also tell you that the knock sensor situation for me consisted of using the lone sensor boss (the cv engine has one whereas the ex uses two mounting bosses on each side of the intake valley) for one sensor and using the remaining knock sensor for the back of the passenger side head. also the water pump was different for the cv and therefore had to be replaced with the one from the explorer.
here were the costs associated:
1-2003 explorer xlt 4x4 4.6 with spun rod bearings on 2,3,4,6,and 7:$2000
1-2003 crown vic police interceptor 4.6 engine with low mileage: $450
1-felpro intake gasket set-40.99
1-felpro oil filter adapter set-4.99
1-felpro exhaust gasket set-10.99
1-felpro one piece oil pan gasket-23.99
ass-load of cleaning supplies-bout 15.00
this was definitely not a direct bolt in but there is money to be saved by going this way instead of using the direct bolt in replacement engine from another explorer. due to not being able to find my scanner i cannot confirm timing activity but i will let you all know in the near future. so far i have no check engine light as of yet. i ran a block off for the egr and exhaust manifold because i broke the damn tube during removal. i hooked up the dpfe sensor but blocked the passages also. as of yet, no cel. also, the motor mounts for the ex use a 4 hole mount setup but there is no boss for the bottom corner bolt on both sides of the cv so i omitted one bolt on each side. no biggie. one other thing, you should use the coolant crossover tube from the explorer (the one under the intake) although the cv's looked like it would work. that's it other than a lot of friggin work to make it happen. looks right at home in there. thanks everybody for the input and once again, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
1- the most obvious, ex is aluminum block, crown vic is cast iron
2- intake and fuel delivery is different-intake looks same, tb is different
3- front cover does appear to be different, unconfirmed on whether or not this will work per my application-might have worked but relocating the ps pump closer to the oil filter might have caused a problem
4- oil pan is different. may or may not work. the cv's pan is a little deeper at the front towards the balancer leading me to believe that it will not work in a 4wd application-will not work without modification to the cv's oil pan. pickup tubes are different also. the ex's pan is notched to clear the front differential for 4x4 applications, although the cv's might work for 2wd apps.
5- flexplates cosmetically look different but cannot confirm whether or not the cv's will work in my application. the ex's looks a little more dished out than the cv's.-for the swap you must use the ex's.
6- manifolds are different. not really even close. i do like the higher perch point of the cv's on the passenger side to clearance for the motor mount nuts but i think it would be senseless to modify exhaust pipe for this perk.-confirmed
7- mount point of the a/c compressor is the same. confirmed
8- motor mounts are different but you probably already figured that out-confirmed
9- this particular cv engine used an external oil cooler so the filter boss is different from the ex, which it did not have an oil cooler. the angle of the filter comes forward at about 45 degrees on the ex whereas the cv's is more straight out from the boss. i think i need the one from the ex from the way it looks-confirmed
10- dipsticks are different also. ex uses a longer dipstick.-confirmed and the ex's must be used for the oil pan/manifold combo anyways
I will also tell you that the knock sensor situation for me consisted of using the lone sensor boss (the cv engine has one whereas the ex uses two mounting bosses on each side of the intake valley) for one sensor and using the remaining knock sensor for the back of the passenger side head. also the water pump was different for the cv and therefore had to be replaced with the one from the explorer.
here were the costs associated:
1-2003 explorer xlt 4x4 4.6 with spun rod bearings on 2,3,4,6,and 7:$2000
1-2003 crown vic police interceptor 4.6 engine with low mileage: $450
1-felpro intake gasket set-40.99
1-felpro oil filter adapter set-4.99
1-felpro exhaust gasket set-10.99
1-felpro one piece oil pan gasket-23.99
ass-load of cleaning supplies-bout 15.00
this was definitely not a direct bolt in but there is money to be saved by going this way instead of using the direct bolt in replacement engine from another explorer. due to not being able to find my scanner i cannot confirm timing activity but i will let you all know in the near future. so far i have no check engine light as of yet. i ran a block off for the egr and exhaust manifold because i broke the damn tube during removal. i hooked up the dpfe sensor but blocked the passages also. as of yet, no cel. also, the motor mounts for the ex use a 4 hole mount setup but there is no boss for the bottom corner bolt on both sides of the cv so i omitted one bolt on each side. no biggie. one other thing, you should use the coolant crossover tube from the explorer (the one under the intake) although the cv's looked like it would work. that's it other than a lot of friggin work to make it happen. looks right at home in there. thanks everybody for the input and once again, if you have any questions feel free to ask.
