Can you swap a supercharged v6 into an 99 Explorer?

[Lowrey99]

Hello there, I have a 1999 Explorer Eddie Bauer Edition 4WD and am contemplating an engine swap. I currently have the big heavy 5.0 under the hood but was wanting to swap to something smaller lighter and that gets better fuel economy. And as it happens I have a 92 Supercoupe with the supercharged v6 and seeing as how the Explorer has the same base v6 as an engine option could I swap it in and get it to work and be as reliable as it is now?

 

[FIND]

The V6 doesn't really get any better fuel economy than the V8, nor is there much difference in weight. Also, your truck is AWD, not 4WD. A 5.0 is a good platform, stick with it.

 

[Sedition]

The explorer is heavier, so it would be like driving your supercoupe around with several bags of concrete in the trunk, reliability and performance wise.

 

[FIND]

Didn't a super coupe only make like 210 horsepower and 315 ft/lbs of torque? That is not much more torque than the stock 5.0 and less horsepower. Swap in a new cam and a 5.0 will blow that away. Heck, even a tune could beat that power and you would still get the same or better fuel economy. You'll spend a lot less money on that kinda thing too. Heck, if it is a supercharger you want, guys have been putting superchargers on 5.0s for a long time. You could also swap in a manual transfer case to get a little more fuel mileage and make your truck feel quicker.

5.0 is a lot more reliable too. I don't know how many head gaskets you have changed on 3.8s, but...

 

[colintrax]

I wouldn't go with any numbers ford publishes. I think they undersell every engine they've ever made. Makes insurance lower, which sells cars. Look at the boss 302, if I remember right it makes over 100 hp/tq at the rear wheels then Ford said it made at the crank.

As to the engine swap, anything is possible just depends how much $ and work you're willing to put in. I'd start off with taking some dimensions and making sure that it will fit under the hood (unless you don't mind hacking up the hood)

 

[Dan Whitaker]

3.8 engines are head gasket blowing suckers. You will have to use the ecm from the T-Bird as well which means you will be going to OBD1 from OBDII. This means your Explorer tranny is not going to work and I don't believe the AOD will mate with the 4406 transfer case.