'04 4.0L engine on '98 explorer

[dorin18]

I decided to return the Dorman balancer. I installed the one that was on the '98 engine.
All seems to be okay with the engine. Runs smooth and I have no codes stored.
What still bothers me:
it seems that there is a relay that turns ON for a few sec. from time to time and makes the engine/whole car shaking a little bit (like when the electric fan starts, but I don't have an electric fan...) The only thing that comes to mind is the AC... Can it start even if the vent is OFF?
I also have a noise on the right front wheel that is very similar to a worn axle or maybe worn wheel bearings. I changed the tires and the noise changed a little bit. I saw that the ball joint has a bit of movement and today I bought a new one. I'll replace it tomorrow (hopefully) and see what happens. Thursday the exp will get two new tires and a front alignment.
If this will not take the noise away...I will have to live with it, because I'm taking the car to Europe and Monday I have to deliver it to Newark (no time to make other repairs). Worst case scenario: I will get a hub assembly in the suitcase and I will install it there - in vacation...
I know this isn't the right thread for this question, but I'll ask anyway:
Does anybody know a cheap place to get a replacement ignition key in southern CT? The cheapest place I found asked $75 for cutting and programming their blank key. I was hoping that I can get it under $50...
Thanks again to all the people that helped me with answers!

 

[Peacock]

Ebay... if you have a spare old key, you can send it in to an ebay seller and get a new one (plus your old one of course) for cheap.

 

[dorin18]

There is no time for that, unfortunately. I need to find a local locksmith or just stay with one key.

 

[Peacock]

So, in summary, what needs to be kept from the old engine if one of these newer 4.0's is sourced?

 

[sport97]

Great. Thanks. I want to know if I should keep the new one or return it.
So far there is no sign of blown gasket. I will give it a few more days and recheck the compression. I do not know how the other Explorers are, but mine has a strange way of showing the oil pressure: when I start the engine the pressure gauge needle jumps to the middle of the scale and stays there as long as the engine is running (regardless of the rpm or temperature). There is no smooth movement, just a jump, like the pressure gauge is acting like an ON/OFF gauge... Maybe it will be safer to go with an aftermarket pressure gauge.

I hope it all still coming along ok for you. In regards to the oil gauge, its just a dummy gauge, if the motor has over 5psi(i could be wrong on the pressure) of oil it reads in the middle. If you want a real gauge there is a thread somewhere on how to do so.

 

[dorin18]

So, in summary, what needs to be kept from the old engine if one of these newer 4.0's is sourced?

Almost everything, unless you want to do major modifications in wires and vacuum lines.
You can use the water pump and the harmonic balancer, but that's it.
I used D.S. exhaust manifold because my old one had a broken bolt in it, but I had to switch the EGR tubing. One problem that I ran into: the two screwed in bolts (for the connection with the catalytic converter pipe) are spaced wider on the new manifold and will not fit into the old flange's holes. I had to bend them and get them closer in order to install the D.S. C.C.

I changed both lower and upper ball joints on PS. I checked the wheel bearing while the hub was off and it seems OK (it spins like a new bearing and there is no noise when spinning). The axle seemed ok too when I checked for play. However, the noise is still there. I guess I'll wait until it gets louder and easier to identify.
It is true that I checked the DS only for ball joints play, and since it was ok I didn't take it apart to verify the wheel bearings and the axle.

 

[kevinspann]

So, in summary, what needs to be kept from the old engine if one of these newer 4.0's is sourced?

Pretty Much every thing external to the engine.
-The valve covers are different, the have the mounts for the coil, but nothing for the PCV system.
-As for the PCV system, the older engines have a canister of some sort that is underneath the intake manifold. The newer engines just have a freeze plug in that place, so that would have to be taken out, and the canister put in.
-The exhaust manifolds are usually different, the 4.0s from Rangers have ones that are really similar, with the passenger side being practically the same
-The Intake manifolds are entirely different, so that would have to be swapped over as well, including fuel rails.
-The oil filter to engine block adapter is different. The later engines use an FL820s which has metric thread, the older engines use the FL1A which has standard threads.
-The engine im putting in my explorer came out of a ranger, and did not have an oil pressure sensor in the side of the block, so i transferred the one from my old engine over.

As dorin said, the front balancer can be retained, even though it is a different design. Water pumps are the same as well. Im planning to use the later, plastic thermostat housing, which uses slightly different sensors (push in vs screw in). Im doing this because the housings can become brittle and crack over time, and, although the old one i have is good now, i dont want to take the chance that it will fail, and then have to do all the work to change it.

 

[dorin18]

-The oil filter to engine block adapter is different.

They look the same though... I realized that they are different when I tried to install the new oil filter that I bought for a '98 model. I choosed the 98 model because I believed to be better since it is bigger and should have more filtering surface. However, I had to exchange it for a '04 model, because it is a pain to remove the oil filter adapter from the block with the exhaust manifold in place.

 

[kevinspann]

They look the same though... I realized that they are different when I tried to install the new oil filter that I bought for a '98 model. I choosed the 98 model because I believed to be better since it is bigger and should have more filtering surface. However, I had to exchange it for a '04 model, because it is a pain to remove the oil filter adapter from the block with the exhaust manifold in place.

This is true. Since i was swapping exhaust manifolds, and i already had an oil filter to fit the old engine, i went ahead and changed them over. This way, the only real thing that would be different are the spark plugs, as far as i know.