Engine swap

[jpaez89]

Does anyone know how difficult it may be to swap a 4.0 with a 4.6? Would I need a new transmission or would they bolt up nicely?

 

[Mr Dubya]

Someone, somewhere in the world has very likely swapped it. The amount of time, money, and labor in re-structuring the engine bay far outweighs the return of swapping them. The general response to this is always to just go buy a 4.6L instead. It's an asinine project (not saying you're asinine).


-Dubya

 

[jpaez89]

Do you have any idea if swapping the engines would be a simple task? When i say simple i mean, is it as ease as taking out the old and hooking up the new, or would i be getting a new transmission to and all sorts of stuff?

 

[Mr Dubya]

The point I'm getting at is that it would not be easy at all. Nearly everything would have to be swapped over.

 

[Ronin8002]

Do you have any idea if swapping the engines would be a simple task? When i say simple i mean, is it as ease as taking out the old and hooking up the new, or would i be getting a new transmission to and all sorts of stuff?

Transfer case is the same, transmissions are similar. I suspect the wiring harnesses, sensors, computer, accessories, and exhaust are what make it difficult and expensive.

 

[jpaez89]

any ideas of how to get some power out of my engine?? all I've done is put Flowmaster exhaust on it

 

[HiImBrian]

any ideas of how to get some power out of my engine?? all I've done is put Flowmaster exhaust on it

There's not a whole lot you can do with the 4.0. It's not really designed to handle a lot of power like the 4.6 is.

 

[AlexSport'00]

jpaez98 I was actually about to tell you to ask Brian here for advice. He hasn't done a swap, but he's got a 3rd gen also.
Now don't quote me on this, because this isn't my generational expertise, but there may be a supercharger kit for it. Maybe. I know there is for the older OHV 4.0 V6, and I thought I read somewhere that the SOHC can fit the supercharger also. I'm not sure if I actually did read that, nor am I sure if the '05 SOHC and the older SOHC engines are the same. I know they are similar, but I think the wiring harnesses are different. Could be wrong though. I've got the OHV. Just be glad you don't have that. It doesn't have much power at all. But it makes up for that in simplicity.
Idk how much your swap would cost, but from what I've heard (a couple times) allot $5k for a basic custom engine swap, so even if it's basic you'll have money to fix the issues that arise. Because issues will arise. If they don't then the stars must have aligned for you. I'd just get a truck with the right engine.
(gosh this post is getting long, but I'll shut up eventually)
Another thought I just had was you could look for a totaled V8 that has no drive-train damage. Like maybe it rolled or got T-boned. Then buy that for as cheap as possible, and swap over everything. Engine, tranny, transfer case, accessories, computer, rack and pinion (if they're different), etc. Hell you could even take the rear axle if it's got a better ratio that yours. If I was going to do a swap, and was determined that I wanted to do a swap rather than get a new vehicle, then that's the way I'd do it.

 

[jpaez89]

Good looking out AlexSport. If there was a supercharger for my make and model, my biggest worry is that it would make the mpg even worse than it already is and it honestly to me wouldn't be worth it if that were the case. If I could one of those tuners for $100 or so and it give me a little something as well as not destroy my gas mileage then I think I would be happy.

 

[2000StreetRod]

little to gain

In my opinion the SOHC V6 is fairly well tuned from a performance standpoint for the internal stock parts it contains. I have a custom tune, a high flow intake system and a high flow exhaust system (that's a total expenditure of around $2,000) and only gained about 20 rwhp over stock ($100/rwhp). The only way to gain a significant power increase with the stock internals is with forced induction (supercharger or turbocharger). There is no blower kit (of either type) available for your Explorer and if there was one it would cost $5,000 or more for around a 50 rwhp gain (again $100/rwhp).

Unless you have a significant investment in custom addons (which you don't) there is no reason to perform a V6 to V8 upgrade on a vehicle that is available with a V8 from the factory. The upgrade will cost more than if you just sell for V6 vehicle and buy a V8 vehicle and your kluge vehicle will have a resell value less than either stock vehicle.

Don't expect to achieve any measurable performance improvement or fuel economy improvement over stock with a $100 investment. Spend the money getting your vehicle back up to stock performance (i.e. tuneup, fuel filter, fuel injection cleaner). Full synthetic engine oil will improve both performance and fuel economy as will synthetic axle oil.

 

[jpaez89]

Alright, thanks streetrod. I'm really not expecting anything major, I'm trying to be as realistic about this as possible. I understand that huge gains aren't possible without large amounts of $$$$. The advice on the other hand is extremely helpful. Thank you guys!

 

[jpaez89]

You guys wouldn't happen to know anything about the charging system would you??? I floored it the other day and my battery light came on along with a message on my odometer saying to check charging system.

 

[Mr Dubya]

You guys wouldn't happen to know anything about the charging system would you??? I floored it the other day and my battery light came on along with a message on my odometer saying to check charging system.

That is the symptom I had when my alternator began to go. Could perhaps be something different.

-Dubya

 

[2000StreetRod]

measure alternator voltage

1. Using a voltmeter measure the battery voltage when the engine is off and record the value. It should be around 12.5 volts.
2. Then start the engine and measure the battery voltage when the engine is idling and record the value. It should be at least 13.6 volts.
3. Repeat 2 above with the engine at 3,000 rpm.

Post the results.

 

[jpaez89]

will take me a day or two, need to borrow one from a buddy and ill let you know. thanks!

 

[jpaez89]

anyone replace the bearing and seals on any of the axles?

 

[JustinLohmeyer]

As every one has said earlier in the thread, the swap is extremely expensive and time consuming. You would need an engine from another Explorer (same generation to cut out 80% of the electronic troubleshooting), new engine harness, new transmission, new PCM, etc.... You are looking easily at $2000 in parts. If you do not like the V6 I highly recommend just buying an EX with a V8.

I had started this process many moons ago, and ran in to a lot of problems and trouble shooting issues. I am now almost done now, but it came at a great cost and with a hell of a steep learning curve.