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1997 sohc to 1998 ohv swap

boozecop

New Member
Joined
June 25, 2012
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City, State
Louisville, KY
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 Ford Explorer Sport
Please HELP, I bought my son his first vehicle. It's a 1997 plorer sport sohc. Have chain issues so I bought a 1998 ohv donor explorer. I'm paying a guy to do the swap. He has everything done including ohv motor mounted, used the ohv "Y" pipe, 5r55e tranny, 1998 PCM, and left the ohv wiring harness on the motor. The problem is that he said the wiring harness will not plug up to the truck. something about the harness on the engine has a square plug and the trucks wiring harness has a round one or just the oppisite. I know the 1997 isn't PATS. I'm not sure about the 1998 computer. Guys I need some detailed information on what he can do to get this truck wired. He has had it a month. Mostly sitting because we don't know the answer to this wiring issue.
 



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2000 streetrod, I had previously read the threads that you sent me. They were not helpful. Please understand that you are dealing with less than a mental giant on this issue. Please give some details about what to tell the guy that did the swap. What I have learned is he has the 98 computer in it so we have a PATS issue. Can he put the 97 PCM that is for the sohc back in it and use it with the 98 ohv engine? Also use the engine wiring harness for the 97 sohc? if so what does he need to do to use the sohc harness on the ohv? Thank you for you time and help on this matter.
 






wiring changes in 1998

I think I have read from other members that there were some engine related wiring changes in 1998. It would have been simpler if you had purchased the same year donor vehicle. Many people fail to realize that achieving electrical compatibility is a major factor in the difficulty of an engine swap. Unless you can find a member that has actually performed the same swap and documented what was done you will need to compare the 1997 and 1998 wiring diagrams for differences. Your 1998 OHV PATS PCM further complicates the swap.

The OHV engine utilizes a synchronizer (hall effect sensor) while the SOHC engine utilizes a camshaft position sensor (variable reluctor). See Did the SOHC come with a cam synchronizer?
It might simplify things if you purchased a 1997 OHV PCM. That would avoid the PATS issues and the OHV sensor to 1997 SOHC PCM incompatibilities. If you don't want to take the time to compare 1997 and 1998 engine wiring diagrams then you could purchase a 1997 OHV engine wiring harness to swap with the 1998 OHV wiring harness.

The above are off the top of my head so don't treat them as factual. It would take a lot of work to come up with the specific changes required. In the end, I suspect it will cost more to perform the swap you've started than if you had just purchased a replacement SOHC from a salvage yard.
 






I do still have the donor 98 explorer. Would it be easier to pull the steering column and dash wiring from it and install in the 1997 to get past the PATS and wiring issues. The engine has the 1998 ohv wiring still on it. The guy that is working on it did mention trying to find a 1997 ohv engine harness and trying it. Thank you very much for sharing your time.
 






Going to PATS?

I do still have the donor 98 explorer. Would it be easier to pull the steering column and dash wiring from it and install in the 1997 to get past the PATS and wiring issues.

Probably not. PATS communicates with the PCM via the OBD-II bus. There are a few modules involved with PATS. The 1997 door locks would be keyed different than the 1998 ignition switch. Many members would rather not have PATS.
 






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