questions about 5.0 swap

[Darian Key]

I have a 97 xlt 4.0 ohv. I just got an 86 302 h.o. for very cheap. My explorer is 2wd and in was having s hard tome finding a thread for someone swapping in a 5.0 too a 2wd explorer. My questions are ones, what should I do for exhaust? I want to still do a single exit so will my old exhaust setup work from the y-pipe back? If not how should I go about the exhaust setup. My next question is wiring, what wire harness do I need and what ecm do I need? And third after all, I'm getting a 4r70w but what year should I get it from? This will be a budget build so most my parts are coming from the junkyard or Craigslist. The motor will have gt40 heads and upper and lower intake with a b303 cam, 1.7 rockers and 24# injectors. All the help I can get would be great!

 

[kanuck15]

Try and find a 2000 and up 4r70w. They had some internal upgrades that helped.

As far as exhaust use 5.0 explorer down pipes and build from there

I will be the first to tell you that using an 86 is going to cause you some headaches as the front dress is not for an explorer. They had special brackets and parts to fit that tight engine bay.

Wiring will be the same hassle. the wiring and pcm are up to you. I would try to find a 95-97 5.0 pcm as they will match your fuel setup and be pre-pats

 

[blueka]

In all honesty, the 99up 5.0 were better, but, for ease of install, get a 96-97 V8... the fueling lines are the same, and there is no PATS to contend with...

I also wouldn't bother swapping a V8 from one 4dr to another, I'd only bother doing it to a sport, as they never came with the V8, and 4dr V8s in the US are easy to come by...I'd just find a good V8 and use that instead if you're just looking for a V8 4dr... the cost/time in doing the swap isn't worth it on a near 20yr old truck IMHO,

I put all 2000 V8 stuff in my 99 sport...

SI

 

[vroomzoomboom]

^^^what si said. you will be way better off getting a donor truck. you will have all the parts, wiring, brackets ect sitting there instead of having to get this part, then that part, and it will be faster in the end. as well, you can sell any parts you dont need and recop some money.
but once again as si said if you are not attached to the truck in anyway you would be better off buying a 5L truck, and going from there

 

[Darian Key]

Well all stuff aside, why so much negativity? Its a rust free explorer that's been in my family since new and I got it for 600 bucks. I got the motor for 300$ complete. So as far as wiring will it be everything from the ecm too the motor? If v8 four door explorers are easy to come buy then why am I having such a hard time finding a 2wd v8 explorer in the junkyard..? Thanks for the replies but I'm looking for help, not a list of reasons why I shouldn't do it. Not trying to be a Dick but come on now. If I can use a normal v8 down pipe and back my real problems would be wiring and now the front of the motor. Like I said I want gt40 heads so would the brackets fit how they should with the explorer heads?

 

[blueka]

no negativity at all.. Both Tim and I have done V8 swaps... but into a vehicle that was never equipped from the factory with a 2 door.. if you can find a donor, by all means swap it out.. but, what we're saying is. for the cost of doing it, and the time involved, it's easier and cheaper to find one that already exists... but, if that's what you want to do, by all means, do it.
Ideally you want a complete vehicle, of the same year.
You will have to swap out the engine bay harness, the ECU, the engine, transmission, the V8 rear axles have extra tabs and arms on them for help with axle wrap, the instrument cluster will also need to be changed as the tacho reads different signals, but, easier to swap out the dash in one go
The radiator maybe different, the engine mounts most likely are different, exhaust is different,
I have about 400hrs into mine, but I changed everything.
Si

 

[Darian Key]

Is there definitive answer to the motor mount, radiator and exhaust? I need to find a thread, it seemed pretty straight forward with the 4.0 to 5.0 swaps on the awd ones so did I seem too miss some stuff? 2wd should be easier. A link to a thread would be nice for a 2wd swap.

 

[blueka]

the V8 muffler is a 2 in 1 out affair, most V6s are 1 in 1 out at the muffler.. the only difference between AWD and 2 wd is that you won't need a tcase, front shaft etc....

Get a donor, swap it all over, live happily ever after...

Si

 

[vroomzoomboom]

we are not bashing the truck you have now, we are trying to save you a lot of cash on the back end. as si said, we both have done this swap. both of use kinda scratched around for info on them when we did ours. this is right out of my registry

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2802167&postcount=177

this is a basic list of parts you would need if you have a donor truck. if you are using a motor from something else, the parts list will get longer. even better example, like you said the front dress on a explorer is shorter then a ford car or truck. that would mean you would need a harmonic balancer. now with that said, you would also need the flywheel to match it or you run the chance of shaking the motor to death.
the rubber mounts from a v6 can be used. v8 ones are a little beefier, but its where they mount to the motor is different.
then if you want to use gt40p heads, you will need 97 1/2 manifolds. the angle of the plugs are different on the gt40 heads vs gt40p's.
as for a thread on how to do a swap for a 2wd, i made almost a list of everything you need to do to do a v8 swap. you would need a different trans. you need to use the search option on the forum because the info is there, you just need to do a little digging.

 

[Darian Key]

That's more of what I was looking for. Everything on there I had knowledge of getting except I didn't know about the exhaust and wiring. I don't need s donor truck because we have a pick it yourself junkyard called parts galore and everything there is dirt cheap. There is a TON of explorers. What kind of headers can I use for the swap instead of the stock manifolds?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

click on my registry. start on page 10 and start reading. you will have answers to the questions you have now, and a few answers to questions that you dont have yet, but may need answering. anything that is related to 4wd disregard. even though all of this was for my 2 door sport, its the same as a 4 door.