Sport + 5.0L? Anyone?

[Spdrcer34]

Was the 5.0L ever available in a Explorer Sport?

If I were to attempt this, would it be a matter of R&R on both cars, complete with wiring harnesses? Would it otherwise be a 'bolt-in' matter?

How much lighter is a `98 Sport over a `98 XLT?

Ryan

 

[Oversquare]

Good question.

I did quite a bit of research when contimplating this project, but finally decided against it (cost, time and space).

The 5.0 will fit without any problems, but the accessories (esp the brackets) and wiring harness are different.

My plan was to start with a Sport w/5-speed, and use a T-5 out of a Mustang, as well as a 5.0 w/aluminum heads, lightweight parts, etc.

Other things to consider - I was going to use the springs/torsion bars from a 5.0, custom drive shaft, regear the rear end w/ new LSD (only 2wd), and probably lower it (ie EE kit).

My goal was to stick with a "sport truck" X, that had the power-to-weight ratio for decent performance and handling.

I would have needed a donar 5.0 X to complete the swap, because it would have taken WAY too long to find the parts in the junk yards.

-Brad

 

[F14CRAZY]

I'm pretty sure a stock 4.0L SOHC these days makes more horsepower tan the 5.0L did. Explorer Express supercharger would help too. I also wanted a 5.0L in my XL, but as you said, the brackets, wiring, gauges, etc wouldn't be fun.

 

[sk1er17]

I contemplated this for a very long time to and decided to stick with the 4.0 SOHC.

Assuming yours is 4wd and you want to lift it and off-road it.. you probably dont want the AWD set-up with the 5.0's...

In short, theres a whole lotta work that needs to be done- and in the end i believe the EE supercharger would be much much easier to install and cost a lot less too.

 

[Stic-o]

a sport with a sohc makes 210 hp and the explorer 5.0 make 215 hp.


Just throw a k&n in the sohc and they'll match

 

[wired_af]

The HP may match but and the 5.0 still has 290lbs of torque.

 

[sk1er17]

yea but is that extra 40lbs of torque worth all the $$$/time especially for something that isnt going to be "perfect" for a long time because all the tweaking to do once its in?

Id SC a 4.0 SOHC and regear long before dropping a 5.0. Now if the 5.0 was an option for the sports- yea id be all over that, just because the aftermarket for the 5.0's is awesome, you can easily make them more powerfull and faster.

 

[wired_af]

yea but is that extra 40lbs of torque worth all the $$$/time especially for something that isnt going to be "perfect" for a long time because all the tweaking to do once its in?

Id SC a 4.0 SOHC and regear long before dropping a 5.0. Now if the 5.0 was an option for the sports- yea id be all over that, just because the aftermarket for the 5.0's is awesome, you can easily make them more powerfull and faster.

That is true.

 

[expo5.0]

if you do the swap for a stock explorer 5.0 your a fool

the point of the 5.0 is that it could be built to run hundreds and hundreds of hp more than the sohc reliably.

have fun blowing up sohc's while only putting 250 hp to the wheels if your lucky

 

[Spdrcer34]

I have 2 Explorers now. They are both 1st gens.

I WOULD NOT raise the X. Too many already like that. I'd drop it.

Here is my plan:

Acquire 2 (more) Explorers.

1 98-ish 2DR X, 4.0L OHV/SOHC doesn't matter to me.
1 98-ish 4DR X, 5.0L Preferably a Ltd.....2wd would be a close 2nd choice.

Swap BOTH motors across. OHV or SOHC in to the 5.0 bay, and vice-versa. I figure I could probably do the swap in a week or two.

The idea behind the 5.0L swap into the Sport is simple. More power, cheaper upgrades, more reliable at higher power levels......if I REALLY wanted a Supercharged engine, I'd SC a 5.0! Could you imagine a SC'd 5.0L in a Sport? 11 sec's would be EASY!.....10's would be obtainable! Here rice-y rice-y!

Ryan

 

[Oversquare]

Go for it!

I also found that the '01 sport is the best canidate for the swap. But it's hard to find an '01 w/ 5 speed (assuming you wanted to go 5-speed).

You'll have to do several suspension/frame modifications to keep the X reliable when running 11's. You'll also need over 500hp due to the CD (Coefficient of Drag) of the Explorer.

-B

 

[tmsoko]

You will need at least 500HP to hit 11s with an explorer 4 door or 2 door. They are just plain heavy.

As for the swap, piece of cake. Just do it. I did a similar swap by putting a 1997 Explorer 5.0L in my 1999 Ranger 4x4. Took all of 3 weeks to have running. Since then, I have put over 44K miles on it (2 years). The only fussing I had to do was put a supercharger on it! No issues, aside from realizing I needed to change my fuel pressure regulator in the fuel tank, as the OHC Ranger ran at ~60psi and the 5.0L wanted ~42psi.

As other have said, much more reliable in high HP than the SOHC would be.

 

[Hokie]

The HP may match but and the 5.0 still has 290lbs of torque.

The SOHC is rated at 238 ft lbs... and it doesn't have near the low to mid range "useable" tq of the 5.0

Dad's 5.0 Mounty is so torquey its sick

And as everyone is saying the SOHC has way to high of a compression ratio to build reliable hp/tq

And 4x4's are all about tq not hp

 

[Spdrcer34]

I don't want a 4x4.

I want a 2WD, and I want to drop it........LOW. Not ridiculously low, but 3"-5" worth of drop would be nice!

This is a 'long term' goal, but it will get done.

Ryan

 

[Doug]

Buying a wrecked 2wd mountaineer or explorer would probably be your best bet. Just about everything you need is right there and you can swap it over. You may need a custom tranny cross member and definantly a custom rear driveshaft. I've been thinking about doing this swap for a long time and there is some info over on some ranger boards about guys who swapped in 5.0s into 98+ rangers which are identical up front to 95+ explorers. I thinki the 5.0 is a much better option that then 4.0 sohc. The sohc is a piece of garbage in general, you'll be able to build up a 302 much easier than a 4.0 and it'll be alot stronger. Also the 4r70W is a much stronger transmission than anything that came behind the 4.0. also with the 5.0 you all have a wide variety of other transmission options as well as t-cases if you where to go that way.