5.0 Sport Trac Lives

[N2FORD]

Not really sure what happened, I was pulling a trailer up a steep incline on the interstate near Cookeville. I got on it pretty hard to pass a slower big rig and it lost power started smoking and the CEL started flashing. It know makes a knock noise above 1800 rpm under a load. Got the scope from work and found this. Not sure why, timing, plug issue, injector?? CEL was not on before this happened.

As far as going four wheel drive it is doable. If you can go back and find my V8 build it tells what all I did, driveshafts will have to be changed also.

 

[1998rollover]

Changed the crank sensor and it started but was running really rough. Would die if the gas was let off. First black smoke then a bunch of white out the exhaust before it cleared up. I'd put the original computer from the Mountaineer in. I decided to try the one I'd bought, updated with the last software revision for that VIN.

No spark! So I put the other one back. No spark! What. The. Hell.?! I disconnected the battery before changing the computers.

 

[ttbit]

Not really sure what happened, I was pulling a trailer up a steep incline on the interstate near Cookeville. I got on it pretty hard to pass a slower big rig and it lost power started smoking and the CEL started flashing. It know makes a knock noise above 1800 rpm under a load. Got the scope from work and found this. Not sure why, timing, plug issue, injector?? CEL was not on before this happened.
View attachment 151153.

Ouch! Any leaks at the manifold? Did you hear any major spark knock before-hand? Very possible that the injector is not putting out 100% and it went lean on that one cylinder, I guess.

 

[ttbit]

Changed the crank sensor and it started but was running really rough. Would die if the gas was let off. First black smoke then a bunch of white out the exhaust before it cleared up. I'd put the original computer from the Mountaineer in. I decided to try the one I'd bought, updated with the last software revision for that VIN.

No spark! So I put the other one back. No spark! What. The. Hell.?! I disconnected the battery before changing the computers.

Strange. You aren't having a PATS issue or anything, are you?

 

[1998rollover]

Strange. You aren't having a PATS issue or anything, are you?

Shouldn't be. Is there anything that can be read through the OBD2 connector while it's cranking, that may tell me what's not working

 

[ttbit]

Shouldn't be. Is there anything that can be read through the OBD2 connector while it's cranking, that may tell me what's not working

Not that I am aware of.

 

[N2FORD]

I was thinking pats also. My first computer went bad and I put a non pats in it. It ran decent but not perfect. I have since gone back to a pats computer and it ran better with it. It was a timing issue we think on the non pats computer.

 

[1998rollover]

I'm thinking I need to find another donor mountaineer or explorer and do a 100% electronics, wiring etc transplant instead of having it hacked together with pieces of the Sport Trac stuff. The rear window doesn't work (didn't even before the swap) and it won't go into the key fob programming mode. I could hack together a direct control system for the rear window, so stupid to have that computer controlled.

It also needs things like the transmission cooler, fuel and power steering lines from an explorer. No idea why the idiot bent up the sport trac stuff instead of doing the obvious and easy thing. He even bolted on the vibration damper weight from the trac to the mountaineer front diff then somehow forced the exhaust to bolt up. Had to fix that and tons of other things.

I even gave him a laptop and pointed him at this forum and other sources of info on doing the swap. I suspect he traded the computer for drugs.

 

[Rb275d]

I'm doing this swap now and have searched. Will stock driveshaft work? I know wheel base is different

 

[N2FORD]

Mine did not but I used a 4406 transfer case from a F-150. I had one built for the front and I found one in the junk yard the correct length for the rear. I had to use different u-joints to make it work.

 

[Offroader80]

Getting plenty of fuel. I can smell it. It's had a new fuel pressure regulator, pump, filter, cam sensor, crank sensor, EGR valve, tube and sensor, IAC, TPS, coils, plugs, and more before this latest issue. I just bought a second new right header pipe because while it was running super rich (apparently due to the cracked EGR pipe) it seems to have melted or otherwise destroyed the right rear cat. It rattles. Getting any chunks out of the Full Boar dual muffler isn't going to be fun.

Was going to get on replacing that last week, went out to eat last Monday and that's when it quit. First thing when I get a round tuit is checking the crank sensor to be sure its still connected. If the new cam sensor had failed it would still run. Just replaced that on my 98 Mountaineer (which has developed a rear diff howl). Still ran despite the insides of the sensor being broken off and rattling around inside the cam synchronizer.

I'm thinking of parting ways with this Trac. Been a PITA since the dope-head did the swap. Had to fix so much stuff he screwed up. Perhaps let it be someone else's project to redo. Problem there is there diesn't seem to be anyone else in the west half of the USA that's done this swap.

Where on the west coast are you, I'm located in SoCal. My Trac has had it swap in it for about 2 years now. Though still have issues that we need to go through. The husband actually found all the wireing diagrams for both my Trac and the donor explorer from AllData (you do have to pay for it, but worth it). Though we do still have some issues, like my speedo doesn't want to work so no cruise control, I have a code being thrown for the cam positions sensor, I've got a rough idle and can smell fuel strongly, and probably a few other things. All this we need to get fixed and situated before we take it to the ref.

 

[1998rollover]

The cam sensor isn't too difficult to replace. Take the two ignition coils off their bracket and the two bolts that hold the sensor can be reached with a long 1/4" drive extension.

I bought a 1997 Mountaineer with a bad transmission. Thinking of using it to do a total donor swap of all the wiring and electronics. Piecing together parts of the Sport Trac and Mountaineer or Explorer bits is fraught with issues. I'd rather find a 2001 for a donor but the 97 was cheap and it came with a set of really nice tires. I did have to reprogram the revolutions per mile with a Chinese VCMII clone due to them being slightly larger than original.

Then there's the rear window. My plan is to rig up a bypass circuit with relays so the switch directly operates it, like it should be instead of whomever's stupid idea it was to have it electronic controlled.

 

[ttbit]

I'm doing this swap now and have searched. Will stock driveshaft work? I know wheel base is different

If swapping a 4.0 to a 5.0 it should work. The distance from the 4.0 auto and the 5.0 auto is the same. You will need to swap out the u-joints/adapters.

 

[ttbit]

Then there's the rear window. My plan is to rig up a bypass circuit with relays so the switch directly operates it, like it should be instead of whomever's stupid idea it was to have it electronic controlled.

Auto climate control is even worse.

 

[Fredness]

This swap has been stalled since Mar 2000 (for obvious reasons), looking for a Year/Year swap list:

2005 Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin 4.0L SOHC/5R55E/4x4 (Have, Complete, Running)
2000 Explorer Eddie Bauer 5.0L AWD (Have, Complete, Running)

I intend on direct swap the 4R70W to the S/T Transfer Case.
Torque Monster Headers (Have)
Flowmaster Downpipes/Cats (Have)
Repin harness
Remove/Reuse G Sensor to frame

Wants:
Salvage/repin the 5.0L for E85 (run sensor to PCM - Flash EB PCM with E85 tables from S/T) - Pure speculation

Thanks!

 

[CDW6212R]

This swap has been stalled since Mar 2000 (for obvious reasons), looking for a Year/Year swap list:

2005 Explorer Sport Trac Adrenalin 4.0L SOHC/5R55E/4x4 (Have, Complete, Running)
2000 Explorer Eddie Bauer 5.0L AWD (Have, Complete, Running)

I intend on direct swap the 4R70W to the S/T Transfer Case.
Torque Monster Headers (Have)
Flowmaster Downpipes/Cats (Have)
Repin harness
Remove/Reuse G Sensor to frame

Wants:
Salvage/repin the 5.0L for E85 (run sensor to PCM - Flash EB PCM with E85 tables from S/T) - Pure speculation

Thanks!

Hi, you can't use the V6 transfer case with the V8 trans, they have different bolt patterns. Look for the BW 4406 to bolt to the 4R70W.

You can't mix the tuning from the V6 with the V8 PCM tuning, it all has to be made for the engine used. I'm not sure which OEM PCM's can run E85, but I'd bet all of them can be tuned rich enough to run it full time. For a later model PCM that has the capability to sense the E85 and adjust the tune, that would be much later, such as a 2014 F150 etc. Those might be the best bet if you have to have it automatically adjust to the fuel. I know the 2014 PCM can run a SBF, it's been done and I plan to use one to run a 6R80 trans in my SBF project Explorer. I might ask him about that E85 if I thought it could be useful. Good luck,

 

[Fredness]

Hi, you can't use the V6 transfer case with the V8 trans, they have different bolt patterns. Look for the BW 4406 to bolt to the 4R70W.

[Meme/gif: "Emotional Damage!"]

I could swear I saw an early side-by-side swap post where this worked - kind makes sense that it doesn't, but that sucks.
Trying to limit downtime and didn't want to have to get extra/oddball parts.

 

[410Fortune]

Interesting
The v6 all use a 5 bolt t case
The v8 has always used a 6 bolt
Adapter is required to run a 5 bolt case and that adapter is like $700 and requires rebuilding of the v8 transmission

V8 swap and down time go hand and hand
It can be done in 2-3 days if you have all the parts and understand the wiring, but even for me
Working quickly it usually takes a full week or two, there is exhaust, drivelines, plumbing and wiring to be done

 

[Fredness]

Interesting
The v6 all use a 5 bolt t case
The v8 has always used a 6 bolt

BW4406 is manual, so that's a win.

So...
Would the 5.0L/4R70W/AWD swap to the Sport Trac directly?
Then I could break up the swap into 2 long weekends instead of a week+.

 

[1998rollover]

BW4406 is manual, so that's a win.

So...
Would the 5.0L/4R70W/AWD swap to the Sport Trac directly?
Then I could break up the swap into 2 long weekends instead of a week+.

I think you'd be best off to find a 2001 Explorer or Mountaineer then completely gut the Sport Trac to transfer *everything* electronic, including the wiring. Splice in extensions to the rear for the tail lights.

Then you know it's all going to work exactly as it did in the donor, with no mashup of donor and Sport Track bits. Keep a copy of the donor VIN to use for anything like PATS issues and ECU replacements.

Still haven't found a cheap 2001 V8 donor so the V8 Sport Trac still sits. I did pull the valve covers off and found it's not dead from a dropped valve and under the covers the heads are spotlessly clean. No idea what the engine problem is and I've not been at all enthused about doing anything with it.