87350gta
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- January 27, 2011
- Messages
- 364
- Reaction score
- 41
- City, State
- Indiana
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '02 Explorer limited
I decided to make a new thread, my old tread was straying pretty far from where it started and this is an all new animal. So anyway, my 2002 explorer limited started life as a 4.0l v6 4x4. I swapped a 4.6 4v from a mark viii, which is what the previous thread covered. This new thread is dedicated to the "Terminator" swap that has since happened. Some of you have been following the other thread know most of this info, but I want this to help someone doing a similar swap. For those of you that don't know, a Terminator is the engine that originally came in a 2003-2004 cobra mustang. It is a 4v 4.6l dohc with a m112 eaton supercharger and forged internals. They were rated around 390 hp and 390 ft/lbs from the factory. With simple bolt ons they could easily support 500+ hp. I was lucky enough to be doing an engine swap on my dad 2004 cobra and obtained his factory engine for my swap. Having just completed the 4v swap in my explorer and being very disappointed in it, I felt this would make me happy.
This thread will only cover what I needed to do to go from a N/A engine to the supercharged engine. So out came the all aluminum boat anchor, and in went the iron block terminator that I had already resealed and installed GT supercar cams. The install went pretty well. The alternator mounting was a slight issue. It is mounted low on the drivers side, very close to the frame rail. Also the oil filter had to be remotely mounted, I mounted it underneath the battery behind the bumper. I was able to use the factory explorer power steering lines on the cobra pump, also the explorer a/c compressor is a must.
I used the aviator exhaust manifolds from the previous swap, as well as, the factory explorer v8 y-pipe.
The factory explorer pcm was retained with the custom tuning done by myself, which proved to be very time consuming and I still have some very minor things to polish on it. The SCT pro racer software is awesome. All of the sensors were also used from the cobra. I had to eliminate the mechanical clutch fan as the cobra engine has no provision on the water pump, and it is a dual belt drive so you can't even see the front of the pump. I added 2 12" electric cooling fans and a stand alone control module for them. I mounted the factory heat exchanger in the lower opening of the bumper, and the electric pump in the open space at the pass front just inside the bumper. The heat exchanger tank is mounted to the upper radiator cover. It is entirely too small and will be changed out very soon. I also upgraded the factory trans cooler to a 6.0l superduty cooler sandwiched in the factory location. I also upgraded the trans cooler lines to 1/2" to go with the larger cooler.
The flexplate was a bit of a challenge. The cobra and all oem forged crankshafts use an 8-bolt mount and the explorers and aviators all had 6-bolt mountings. The explorer/mountaineer/aviator flexplate is unique in its design and isn't shared with anything else. The 3v 4.6l in the mustang with the 5r55 might be similar, but I don't know. The explorer 3v 4.6 all had a 6r60 trans so that's a no go. I ended up getting a washer plate from the cobra flywheel and welded it to the explorer flexplate. Then redrilled the 6 holes that were needed. 2 of the hole lines up between both patterns.
I haven't had any issues with the stock rebuilt trans so far. I have another trans that will get rebuilt and upgraded and swapped in. But that will have to wait for now.
I have went to the drag strip once so far, and was very disappointed with my times. 14.50 at 93mph. I have made several changes to the tune and it feels a ton faster. I am going back tomorrow night and hopefully can run a mid 13, which is what I was expecting. I have a smaller blower pulley to swap on also, but I want to see what I can get out of it on the stock pulley.
This thread will only cover what I needed to do to go from a N/A engine to the supercharged engine. So out came the all aluminum boat anchor, and in went the iron block terminator that I had already resealed and installed GT supercar cams. The install went pretty well. The alternator mounting was a slight issue. It is mounted low on the drivers side, very close to the frame rail. Also the oil filter had to be remotely mounted, I mounted it underneath the battery behind the bumper. I was able to use the factory explorer power steering lines on the cobra pump, also the explorer a/c compressor is a must.
I used the aviator exhaust manifolds from the previous swap, as well as, the factory explorer v8 y-pipe.
The factory explorer pcm was retained with the custom tuning done by myself, which proved to be very time consuming and I still have some very minor things to polish on it. The SCT pro racer software is awesome. All of the sensors were also used from the cobra. I had to eliminate the mechanical clutch fan as the cobra engine has no provision on the water pump, and it is a dual belt drive so you can't even see the front of the pump. I added 2 12" electric cooling fans and a stand alone control module for them. I mounted the factory heat exchanger in the lower opening of the bumper, and the electric pump in the open space at the pass front just inside the bumper. The heat exchanger tank is mounted to the upper radiator cover. It is entirely too small and will be changed out very soon. I also upgraded the factory trans cooler to a 6.0l superduty cooler sandwiched in the factory location. I also upgraded the trans cooler lines to 1/2" to go with the larger cooler.
The flexplate was a bit of a challenge. The cobra and all oem forged crankshafts use an 8-bolt mount and the explorers and aviators all had 6-bolt mountings. The explorer/mountaineer/aviator flexplate is unique in its design and isn't shared with anything else. The 3v 4.6l in the mustang with the 5r55 might be similar, but I don't know. The explorer 3v 4.6 all had a 6r60 trans so that's a no go. I ended up getting a washer plate from the cobra flywheel and welded it to the explorer flexplate. Then redrilled the 6 holes that were needed. 2 of the hole lines up between both patterns.
I haven't had any issues with the stock rebuilt trans so far. I have another trans that will get rebuilt and upgraded and swapped in. But that will have to wait for now.
I have went to the drag strip once so far, and was very disappointed with my times. 14.50 at 93mph. I have made several changes to the tune and it feels a ton faster. I am going back tomorrow night and hopefully can run a mid 13, which is what I was expecting. I have a smaller blower pulley to swap on also, but I want to see what I can get out of it on the stock pulley.