Dead engine. Swap time. Educate me!

[Sandstone VR-4]

So...

After battling issues with the Exploder over the past few months, she died on her way out of the driveway yesterday.

Had her towed to the dealer and he says that the motor's gone. Most likely due to a timing chain, as the relative compression test revealed that there was none.

So, I guess it's time to put a new (old) motor in there to get her up and running again. I've been searching out the forums and have been reading that pretty much any 4.0l will work and that several people have put more recent year model Mustang engines in their Explorers (assuming the correct spark plugs are used).

My understanding is that you can strip down the new(ish) motor and transplant the Explorer specific parts to it. On a scale of 1-10, what kind of mechanical aptitutde am I going to need? I consider myself pretty good and do all of the work on my cars, but have never attempted an engine
transplant. On a 1-10 scale, I'd probably say I was about 7-ish?

When I mentioned that I'd probably go this route, the Ford tech said it couldn't be done because "the heads are different". He said I need Ford Explorer specific motor, but I didn't want to argue with him over something I know very little about.

So there it is.. Looking for input from anybody who's done this in regard to difficulty, time needed, tips/tricks, etc...

Thanks!

 

[Joscibo]

It can be done and it has been done. I'm currently running a 07 Mustang engine in mine. I bought a 52k motor for $800 and moved my exhaust manifolds, plenum, thermostat housing, valve covers, spark wires, injectors, fuel rails, and all sensors over to it and any gaskets that are needed in the swap. You will find engines on car-part that salvage yards are selling with all information on it from your zip code. I am getting ready to find another engine for Explorer #2. It is running strong with no check engine light on in over 4,000 miles. The Ford guy is wrong and I am proving it with every turn of the key. You will find the Mustang engines are cheaper and have less miles on them then the Explore 4.0's and I am told that there have been upgrades to the cam area made on the Mustang engine so we hopefully are able to run longer without the grenade going off under the hood? This swap isn't hard it took us 10 days to pull and order new engine take delivery, transform components and drop in then turn key. There was 3 days (all evenings) of work involved for the 2 of us. The torque converter bolts are accessed by removing the starter if you didn't already know this? Go for it and if you need help PM me your phone # I will call you to help you out.