Convert 94 Sport V6 to a V8

[Spicketman]

Hey,
I'm brand new to this so I'm trying to figure out where everything is on this forum.
I have a Explorer Sport 94 V6. It has 215k miles on it and the motor was pretty dogged when I got it. I'm tired of not having ANY power and was thinking of changing the motor out with a V8. I have Never done this before. I have rebuilt motors before but never a conversion.
Am I better off getting a another truck with a v8 or just buying a crate motor that I'll know will last me awhile. I really only have about $4k. And I would hate to buy another truck that needs work on it too. Any help would be appreciated. Thanx! Daniel

 

[410Fortune]

Daniel,

welcome to the forum.
This question is asked quite often.
You cannot just drop a V8 into your truck, the entire drivetrain, electrical, cooling, plumbing, and exhaust will all need modifications.

Try searching around a bit you will find alot of information here about what it takes to put a 5.0L v8 and transmission into a Gen I Explorer.

I put one in my 88 Bronco II which is very similar to your Gen I ex, it took me 6 months and cost me about $6500, doing all the work myself and needing some very expensive parts, this also was not even close to my first conversions, just to give you an idea of whats involved.

Hope that helps!

 

[Spicketman]

SO do u think I would be better off just getting like a supercharged V6 crate engine?. I'm pretty sure even putting a hamster in a wheel under the hood would give me more horse power right now. =0) But seeing what you did to your truck I would love any suggestions. Thanx

 

[MoabB2]

I think the supercharged V6 is still going to require some modifications to the rest of your drivetrain, etc., and cost could add up.

Best bang for your buck would be to buy a complete wrecked 5.0 Explorer or Mountaineer. That way you would have all the parts you need, the hard part would be just moving them over to your Ex. It can be done, but from experience, just getting the complete donor vehicle will save you a lot of headaches.

 

[410Fortune]

hmm sorda
Being a 94 explorer there is a bit more to it then that, you will have to also modify the 5.0L v8 to fit in your truck and modify the truck a bit for it to accomodate the V8.

Check out the conversion thread in my signature, my 88 Bronco II is VERY similar to your Gen I explorer, this will give you an idea of whats involved to convert your truck

 

[majorlag]

My $0.02

I'm hardly an authority on the subject, but as a '94 model owner I agree the OHV 4.0 is pretty much a dead dog. For its time and size, it was reasonably torquey but very sluggish (IMHO). The big concern with dropping in a supercharged crate V6 4.0 motor, aside from just finding one, is the transmission. With the high miles on your truck, a supercharged unit would likely toast your transmission. Changing engine types brings up a whole bunch of other changes, as other members have mentioned.

In my opinion, the best bang for your buck in improving performance on your '94 would be a gear change. It does hurt crusing fuel economy and top end speed, but for off-the-line getup and general around town driving, no upgrade to my truck made anywhere near the difference as going from 3.27s to 4.10s. And you should be able to regear for less than the cost of a crate motor, I'd think.

Another alternative could be finding a SOHC Sport and trading up to it. I understand they're pretty peppy.

 

[Rhett]

And to add to what MajorLag said, if you have 3.27's in your 94, you will gain pep and lose NOTHING by going to 3.73's.

Friend of mine did it, and his 93 didn't lose ANY mileage on the highway or in town. But he did gain off-the-line performance in town. I'm not talking about racing people type performance, I'm just talking about decent pep in town. Sometimes you need it when pulling out onto that busy street.