Motor Questions

[SlackAttack]

Hey guys. I'm new on here and I just got my hands on a 98 Explorer 4.0 in trade for some work. Needless to say, it's got some issues. I haven't tore into it yet or really even had a chance to look it over but I believe it needs a motor.

So here's the back story. The previous owner drove it to work on a hot summer day (shortly after the heater core went out, not sure if that's relevant) And went out to start it after work and it was knocking like a son of a ***** and wouldn't idle/run well enough to drive. When they had someone come help them pick it up, they started it up and attempted to drive it home and pulled over after not getting too far because it was dumping oil everywhere.

My thought is, the previous owner blew a head gasket and ruined the motor attempting to drive it in that condition. So here's my question, where is a good place to get a new motor at a reasonable price? Or could a rebuild possible work? Again I haven't had a chance to look at the vehicle yet so I'm just looking for opinions based on the story I got from the previous owner.

Anyway, I'm leaning towards just putting a new motor in it so let me know where you guys get your motors. I'm open to 5.0 swap as well, although I'm not sure what the extra work would be. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

5L swap you would also be changing the trains, some other odds and ends with it, as well as pretty much all the exhaust to put it in a nutshell. which 4L is it?