asafley
Member
- Joined
- September 3, 2009
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 6
- City, State
- Pikes Peak Region, Colorado
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '97 XLT - 347 V8
TLDR: If you have a 97 (may only be applicable to early 97 models) with a 99 parts truck for a V8 swap, make sure to swap the Cruise Control, ABS, and Instrument Cluster.
Just wanted to share what I learn from swapping my supercharged V6 SOHC to a V8 347 (from a 99 Explorer 302). The plan was to make sure all stock gauges and equipment worked on my 97 Explorer XLT. Originally I was going to use a '04 Ford Crown Vic ECU and a Quarterhorse, but after Moates left the scene, I managed to score a deal on a Holley Terminator Max with wiring harness for a Ford 4.6 2V. Given that I had a whole 99 Explorer parts truck, I put in the 99's Master Cylinder and ABS module. I knew I would need the ABS module since the AWD case wasn't provisioned for the VSS sensor. I also didn't want to waste precious output on the Holley ECU for a speedo. I knew it would be better to have a 97 V8 to swap into my 97 V6, but when I could get a whole 99 Explorer with a V8 for $500, it was a deal that I couldn't pass up. Hindsight 20/20, I wouldn't do it again.
For the most part, everything worked with some troubleshooting and building out spreadsheets to re-map pins to make the 97 wiring harnesses work with the Holley and the 99's parts. Though after the swap, I couldn't get the speedo and the cruise to work with the 99's ABS assembly. I tried a combination of VSS with 8000 PPM output from the Holley (to test) and the ABS' VSS output with no luck. I also double checked the wiring and even did a jumper from the VSS output on the ABS to the Speedo. Afterwards I tried a Dakota Digital SGI-100BT and had some success converting the PPM signal (suspecting it is square wave) to an AC signal. The cruise control worked at any speed with the SGI-100BT and the speedo worked up until 30 MPH before going back to 0 MPH. I took the cluster from the 99, changed the odometer to match my truck's mileage and everything worked.
For S and G, I took the Dakota Digital out and found out that the 99's cluster continued to work, but with no cruise control. I swapped over the 99's Cruise Control and that was the key; needed to swap the 99's Cruise Control and cluster to get speedo and have cruise control. I figured that I would share my experience since I wasn't finding much on the internet to figure out why I was not getting speedo or cruise. I also suspect that things are a little different since I think I have an early '97 and I know that the Ford Service Manual differentiates between 1997 and 1997 1/4 model years.
Feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer, but I consider this swap a success and the truck has been a lot fun with the built V8 with an almost factory feel and look. I do miss the supercharger whine though. In the end, I learned a lot, really enjoyed the experience and process, and I am no welder when it comes to welding fabricated parts. Winter time, I do want to do some clean up, but just glad to be able to drive the Explorer again after working on it for the last two years.
Just wanted to share what I learn from swapping my supercharged V6 SOHC to a V8 347 (from a 99 Explorer 302). The plan was to make sure all stock gauges and equipment worked on my 97 Explorer XLT. Originally I was going to use a '04 Ford Crown Vic ECU and a Quarterhorse, but after Moates left the scene, I managed to score a deal on a Holley Terminator Max with wiring harness for a Ford 4.6 2V. Given that I had a whole 99 Explorer parts truck, I put in the 99's Master Cylinder and ABS module. I knew I would need the ABS module since the AWD case wasn't provisioned for the VSS sensor. I also didn't want to waste precious output on the Holley ECU for a speedo. I knew it would be better to have a 97 V8 to swap into my 97 V6, but when I could get a whole 99 Explorer with a V8 for $500, it was a deal that I couldn't pass up. Hindsight 20/20, I wouldn't do it again.
For the most part, everything worked with some troubleshooting and building out spreadsheets to re-map pins to make the 97 wiring harnesses work with the Holley and the 99's parts. Though after the swap, I couldn't get the speedo and the cruise to work with the 99's ABS assembly. I tried a combination of VSS with 8000 PPM output from the Holley (to test) and the ABS' VSS output with no luck. I also double checked the wiring and even did a jumper from the VSS output on the ABS to the Speedo. Afterwards I tried a Dakota Digital SGI-100BT and had some success converting the PPM signal (suspecting it is square wave) to an AC signal. The cruise control worked at any speed with the SGI-100BT and the speedo worked up until 30 MPH before going back to 0 MPH. I took the cluster from the 99, changed the odometer to match my truck's mileage and everything worked.
For S and G, I took the Dakota Digital out and found out that the 99's cluster continued to work, but with no cruise control. I swapped over the 99's Cruise Control and that was the key; needed to swap the 99's Cruise Control and cluster to get speedo and have cruise control. I figured that I would share my experience since I wasn't finding much on the internet to figure out why I was not getting speedo or cruise. I also suspect that things are a little different since I think I have an early '97 and I know that the Ford Service Manual differentiates between 1997 and 1997 1/4 model years.
Feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer, but I consider this swap a success and the truck has been a lot fun with the built V8 with an almost factory feel and look. I do miss the supercharger whine though. In the end, I learned a lot, really enjoyed the experience and process, and I am no welder when it comes to welding fabricated parts. Winter time, I do want to do some clean up, but just glad to be able to drive the Explorer again after working on it for the last two years.