possible 5.0 ho swap? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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possible 5.0 ho swap?

damasodeljr

Member
Joined
January 13, 2010
Messages
46
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6
City, State
Albuquerque NM
Year, Model & Trim Level
94 XLT 4dr
So my xlt has been running great, engine and trans have never given me any issues and i have taken it in 2500 miles road trips.

Recently a friend of mine bought a 91 mustang, planning to turn it into an all out racecar, and offered me the stock engine trans and harness off it for close to nothing, so now im interested in swapping the 94 xlt.

dropping the engine and wiring it would not be and issue at all, im a full time technician and specialize in imports mostly aftermarket and performance stuff, but when it comes to transmission setups for it is where im stuck.

i realize that the stock auto trans will not work and im not opposed to switching to a manual as long as i can keep the 4x4. after a few days of doing research here and everywhere else i feel even more confused than before :mad:

not planning on doing any major offroading and get to crazy with the grearing or have huge tires, currently mostly stock and for the little offroad i do is perfect, but the idea of a 5.0 is intriguing.

i know that there is no straight forward or off the shelf set up and mostly will need to be custom but what would be the easiest way to get a transmission to work with this set up? or mainly what tranny and t case

thanks in advance for any input and advise
 



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For the 5-speed, you will need an M5OD/R2, which you can find in (I think) an f-150. If I remember correctly, the tail housing from your A4LD will bolt up to 8t so you can still use your existing transfer case. I'm sure that if that's incorrect, someone will chime in. Good luck with the swap, that's what I'm wanting to do to mine when I get the time/money!
 






So manual explorers came with the m5od r1, then there's also the m5odHD and the m5od r2 which is the heavy duty one of the f150, and the 5.0 ho fits the m5od r2, so are this all the same bell housings?

So is the bell housing bolt pattern the same between the 4.0 and the 5.0? And the reason why people swap trans is because the a4ld will blown up behind the 5.0?
 






The year span of 5 speed you are after is 97-03 f150 that had the 4.2 v6.

I don't have a clue about transfer case adaptability, unless you just wanted to use the f150 transfer case, but again I don't know what all is entailed if you go that route either.

I am sure of the transmission information, nothing else. Yes for some strange reason the 4.2 v6 bolt pattern matches the 302.
 












The M5OD-R1 and the M5OD-HD will both bolt up to the 4.0 V-6, the M5OD-R2 will bolt up to the 4.2 v-6 and the 302 v-8. Kinda wierd, but that's how it works!
 






Awesome info! Now as mister cribb said is it only that specific year f150? Or are all m5od r2 the same? I guess as long as they came out of a truck with the low output 5.0 or the 4.2 v6

Now onto transfer case options
 






Awesome info! Now as mister cribb said is it only that specific year f150? Or are all m5od r2 the same? I guess as long as they came out of a truck with the low output 5.0 or the 4.2 v6

Now onto transfer case options

Someone on here tried the 4.6 bellhousing and it was a no go.

The reason for the v6 transmission, is because it puts the shifter at the shift plate in the floorboard. It also keeps console interference at a minimum with the cup holders.

However, if you don't have a factory stick shift, I reckon you can put the shifter where you want.
 












No, you want one from a 4.2 v6, it has the same bolt pattern as a 302. Look up Chief34, he put mustang drivetrain into his 1st gen.

Edit: Here is the link to his build Chief34 goes v8
 






I mean someone got the modular v8 transmission and it doesn't fit the 302.
 






I don't know why people are finding it odd the 302 and 4.2 v6 share the same bolt pattern, the 4.2 is actually a ford 3.8 with a longer stroke. A lot of guys with older 3.8 mustangs that don't want to do an engine swap will use a crank and rods from the 4.2 for a super cheap stroker 3.8. The 3.8 started life in the fox platform in the early 80's, and was designed so all the engines could use the same tranmissions. I'm wondering how a t5 would work in the explorer
 






I'm wondering how a t5 would work in the explorer

you would need to cut a new hole in the floor for the shifter and fab up a new center console.
 






I don't know why people are finding it odd the 302 and 4.2 v6 share the same bolt pattern, the 4.2 is actually a ford 3.8 with a longer stroke. A lot of guys with older 3.8 mustangs that don't want to do an engine swap will use a crank and rods from the 4.2 for a super cheap stroker 3.8. The 3.8 started life in the fox platform in the early 80's, and was designed so all the engines could use the same tranmissions.

I had no clue the two engines were related.
 






Well then scratch the t5. And the engines aren't related, the 4.2 uses a 3.8 block, they are the same aside from connecting rods and crank. If memory serves me right the 4.2 is even stamped 3.8 on the block. I will have to remember 97+ v6 5 speed when I eventually 5.0 swap. Nice to know it will match up to the shifter opening. What mounts do peiple use, I assume the second gen 5.0 mounts won't work?
 






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