V10 explorer ??s need help

[saul a 91 sport]

my 4.0 is now junk. it runs just barely and misses. i am now thinking of a new engine i figure mine has a cracked head bad lifter and bottom end noise. i may go with a 5.0 right out of a early 90s mustang, can any one tell me if this engine will bolt up to the stock transmission? and what else will i need to make it work? now i am also thinking of getting really crazy and trying to wedge a 10cyl in this bad boy anyone heard of this? is it even possible? if it would be nearly the same level of difficulty either way i will just go for the v10. when i do this i am getting a donor vehicle so i will have all the parts i need for the actual engine. if i use a v10 i will possibly use the tranny from the truck it was in if it will fit in the explorer. would this tranny hook up properly? any answers are greatly appreciated and by the way i only have 3-4000 for this is any of this possible i think so but let me know.

 

[Rick]

A 5.0L swap is the easiest swap to accomplish. Check out www.kaufmannproducts.com for V-8 swap information. The 5.0 will not bolt up to the stock tranny though.

A V-10? Maybe if you don't mind it protruding into the passenger compartment.

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Rick Horwitz
Editor
explorer@4x4central.com

www.4x4central.com

 

[Kyle K.]

Hell yeah a V-10 that would be the ultimate in explorer power. I say go for it , you have the money why not... anything can be done with enough money. Ever notice how much room there is between the grille and radiator???? i say pull that radiator and make the V10 work stretch the nose, use an electric water pump take the fan off use electric fans on the front of the new radiator, if you need more room for stuff get a bodylift, gives tire clearance, intake clearance, increases apperance. i say go for it. the tranny from the donor would have to come with it but then hey, you have your options for transfer cases. good luck, let us know how it goes.

dodger

 

[DOGMAN]

Rick,

Do you have any personal experience with Kaufmann Products or know of anyone that has used them? I checked out their website and they looked to be on the up and up. Do you think they would be better to deal with for a 5.0 conversion than Advance Adapters or James Duff?

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DOGMAN
91 4dr 5sp
5.5" Superlift

 

[Rick]

I mentioned Kaufmann Products because they are going to be advertising here very soon ( actually their subsidiary www.auctionwheels.com ) will be advertising here first. After talking to them I really belive they are on the up and up and know what they are talking about. They have worked directly with Ford for 30 years. They have ties with Glidden Racing Engines, which is run by the famous drag racing, Bob Glidden, Billy Glidden family.

All I can say is give them a call and compare what they have to what the others are offering.

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Rick Horwitz
Editor
explorer@4x4central.com

www.4x4central.com

[This message has been edited by Rick (edited 02-13-2000).]

 

[rpenner54]

From all of the stuff that I have read on the 5.0 swaps Kaufman's seems to get the best reviews. Most people that have done the swap using all of their prodects never seem to have hardly any fittment problems. I plan on using their products when I get down to doing this swap myself. The key in these swaps is to use the same componets for everything. For example, use the same brand motor mounts, as the headers, ect... That seems to help with any kind of squeezing that big motor in from what I have read.

As far as putting a V10 in the Explorer its probably possible as long as cost is not an issue. Its been done on a YJ, so I don't see why it couldn't be done on the Explorer. Allthough it will probably take months and months of planning and more then likely require a new frame design up front seeing how the 4.6L is to wide to stuff in there and the V10 is probably wider. As far as using your tranny behind it, no way! The stock tranny has a hard time keeping up with the 4.0 as it is. With that much power you probably would have to put a much more beefed up axle in both ends to stand up to the torque.



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Ryan Penner
1992 Explorer Sport

 

[Troll]

The V10 is very similar to the 4.6 and the 5.4 it is from the modular family. The V10 is basicly a 5.4 with two more cylinder on the front. so if i a 4.6 can be swapt with a 5.4 then a 5.4 can be swapt with a V10. of course it is longer then the 5.4 because of the two extra cylinders. if you have any ideas of any thing i left out i will come back and write more later.

 

[Troll]

the only ties kaufmann has with the glidden racing team. is the fact that he tags along when there is a race. sometimes he checks the air in the tires.

 

[rock883]

I would love to do this swap, but one thing that I want to know about is all the electronics. What would you have to do about that?? Kauffman was a great site, and they said that either you should pull the computer from a mustang or they could supply me with one. But they also said that you could just put a carburetor on it instead of the FI, what kind of loss in gas mileage would I get if I did that?? If I did the carburetor deal, what about the comp., couldn't just tie it away and leave it alone. If I did find a "stang with the wiring, what would I have to get? How is the computer all hooked up and how would I take all of the wires for the computer out?
Now I know you don't just take the 4.0 out and drop the 5.0 and hook it up to the tranny and thats about it, what else would have to be changed in order for it to work? Now, I'm not the most knowledgable about engine work, but I know quite a bit, and my neighbor is currently swapping out a 454 from his 70 camaro and going down to a 350 because it had way too much hp and he used to drag race it and he's going to fix it up for his son. But I just want to know how long it would take? Hope that wasn't way too many questions althoughI think it was. Thanks anyways.

 

[rpenner54]

In order to do the swap right you will need... The laws in your state about swapping in engines. Once you figure out what those are you can start the second part. Getting the motor and tranny. Advance Adapters says the stock tranny will not hold up behind the power of the 5.0. The best bet if pulling the motor yourself is to get everything that goes with it. Get every accessory including the computer. If you are pulling the tranny out of the same vehicle pull that and the computer that goes with it also. If you want some good info on this swap you can check out Dead Link Removed and go to their 5.0 swap board. This site also is very informative about what you might need http://www.rangerpowersports.com/tech/v8swaps/ .



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Ryan Penner
1992 Explorer Sport

 

[Extreme4x4]

Ok, a couple of things that may help. IF you want to do a 5.0 swap, do it right. In many states, you have to swap in an engine of the same year or newer than the vehicle. You will also have to swap all emissions equipment that came with that engine, even if the engine doesn't have to be newer.

Stick with the Fuel injection, you will get better driveability, better fuel economy, it will work much better off-road, and will end up costing you the same, or less than changing a fuel injected motor to a carburator. If you were to swap the fuel injection to a carb, you will need a good carb ($300-400), an intake manifold ($200), and you should change the cam, since it was designed for fuel injection. You will also want to change to a low pressure in-line carb pump...... instead of the high pressure intank pump.

To stick with FI, you will want to be present at the removal of the engine, or do it yourself. This makes things much easier. You will need the computer, and the computer harness. You will also need the entire engine harness, including O2 harness and tranny harness. You will want to take pictures of the engine in the donor vehicle from various angles to show how everything mounts in the engine bay. You will want to mark all sensors, and plugs, and put baggies over them. Things like this will make the conversion much easier.

You will want to get the tranny that came with the engine. If it is a manual, and you want an automatic, you will need to trade in your computer for an automatic one (different calibration). This is not expensive...... about $150. You will also need the different flywheel. It is easiest to get the auto tranny for the year of your engine so that the calibrations match. It would also probably be easier to get the full size tcase. This will require the tcase adapter if the donor tranny was not out of a 4wd. You will probably also have to have your driveshafts modified...... as well as the tranny mount may be different (can use a 5.0 Explorer mount).

The most time consuming part of this conversion is mating your body harness to the engine harness. A good wiring diagram for both is a necessity. Take your time, and do it right. Not hard...... just slow going.

Hope this was helpful.
Gloria
93 EB Explorer (highly modified)
94 F150 Lightning

[This message has been edited by Extreme4x4 (edited 02-14-2000).]

 

[Cameron]

Okay, here comes the wet blanket… Dead Link Removed

I don't really understand why anyone would go through the trouble of swapping the 4.0 for a V8. I know from past experiences that you can get over 100 hp per litter of a V6 with off the shelf parts. My brother in law, who owns his own shop and drag races imports, has a Toyota Tercel (Spelling?) and runs mid 10's all day long in a 4 cylinder. He was in Turbo magazine. The V6 is lighter then the V8.

I admit, I am no expert here but, it seams like the money and effort that goes into the swap could be put into the 4.0 instead. I know, in the days of yore, V8 were always the way to go. But now, with the available after market parts, turbos, superchargers, NOS, and everything else, there is no reason why a well built V6 can't give you the same HP and torque as a V8.

Okay, let me have it…… Dead Link Removed


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Rock'n 97 Sport 4X4

 

[saul a 91 sport]

cameron
i think you may be right about that i am now just thinking of trying to get 250 naturally aspirated horsepower out of my 4.0 if you or anyone else reading this can tell me how you are the man. stock i think is 160 horses so 250 is damn near 100 more. i think i am going to get the heads ported and go with a little more cam as well as a cold air intake. hell i have to get new heads anyway so i am going to get some that are hot. i guess i will try to save the old 4.0 it only has 80000 on it but it really runs bad it backfires pops and has either a blown head gasket or a cracked head. the #4 sparkplug always cracks and the lifters ar eso loud they are embarrasssing. i listened to the engine really well today and i think that the bottom end isnt making any noise only those lifters

 

[Cameron]

saul a 91 sport,

I need to know a few things first: How much money do you plan on spending (that's a rhetorical question. It's actually none of my business how much money you have. But you need to think about it.)? How much time do you have to do the rebuild? How comfortable are you with building an engine? And, do you have the facilities and tools to do the job. Also, what's your end goal?

If you have plenty of money and your goal is to be the fastest SUV on the block, buy a lightly used 4.0 and trick it out. Put racing pistons, rods, crank, the works. Get the heads shaved to increase compression. Have it ported and get a 3 angle valve job. Make sure everything inside that engine is race quality. Put a centrifugal supercharger on it with a massive intercooler. Push it to about 20 pounds of boost. You'll easily get 300+ HP

Don't forget to beef up the drive train or you'll be picking up pieces of transmission off the road.

Sound easy doesn't it? NOT! Lots of hard work and even more money! But, if you do it right, well worth it.

 

[Paul Gagnon]

cameron,

A 4.0L that puts out that kind of power would be so expensive to build and so flaky that it would cease to be comfortable as a daily driver. There is no comparison between a 4.0L and a V8. Yes you can get a lot of power out of a 4.0L but it is not easy. There is a HUGE difference between a 4.0L that puts out 250 horsepower and a 5.0L that produces the same. The 4.0L would need tons of modifications to reach that power level. The 5.0L on the other hand may only need a good free flow exhaust to reach that figure. There is so much more to comparing the engines and viability of the swap than comparing horsepower numbers. If that wasn't the case then why bother with the 4.0L? Just put in one of those 2.0L 4 cylinders from that new Honda sports car. They make 250hp. The argument that you can make just as much power from a 4.0L will never stand up. Sure maybe racers can get 350-400hp out of them but the same amount of modifications on a 5.0L will give 600-700hp. But then what about torque? The 4.0L will never have the bottom end torque of the 5.0L.

You can not compare the output of a modified engine to that of a stock engine. They are apples and oranges. Also by the time you get the 4.0L to outperform the 5.0L you might as well throw any hopes of decent fuel economy out the window. And forget about reliability. The more you modify and engine the more tempermental it becomes. Don't forget that racers often rebuild their engines every couple of months or depending on the application, after every race. Can you afford to do that? I sure can't.

If you want to build a 4.0L the go ahead, by all means! The 4.0L is a great engine but it is not the be all and end all of powerplants. It is very low on the totem pole actually.

There is a saying that there is no substitute for cubic inches. Dollar for dollar this is always true.

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Paul Gagnon
Calgary, Alberta
"No Brain, No Pain"
Dead Link Removed



[This message has been edited by Paul Gagnon (edited 02-16-2000).]

 

[Cameron]

Paul Gagnon,

I understand what you're saying there. I certainly don't want to get into a debate over weather or not a V8 is better then a V6. The point is, saul a 91 sport asked the question as to weather or not he could get a V10 in his truck. That tells me he doesn't care about gas mileage. So for this post, I assume that’s a non-issue. Also, I think anyone who has done a swap will tell you it is never as easy as it seams and it always cost more then anticipated. I don't know if you have ever done a swap. If you have, you know what I'm talking about.

I wouldn't be too quick to say dollar for dollar cubic inches is always better. That is absolutely not true. Now, I don't want to offend you or start a bickering contest. All I will do is ask you to pick up an issue of Turbo or Spots Compact magazine and see what a V6 or even a 4 cylinder can do. I used to think the same way as you about this topic until I went to Great Lakes National Dragway with my brother in-law. He has a Toyota Tercel that he put a STOCK Nissan V6 turbo in. All he did was gut the car, add a roll cage and put on a larger turbo with a home made inter cooler. I saw him consistently spank big V8s. He runs 10s all day. He's even shocked that he hasn't blown the engine or trans yet.. He finally blew out the differential on a run and still did it in 10.7 seconds. I never said and certainly didn't mean to imply that the Ford 4.0 litter engine is king of the hill. Far from it. All I'm saying is if you and I had identical 4.0s, and we spent the same amount of money, I would end up with a faster Explorer then you (assuming you did the 5.0 swap). And assuming your goal was 1/4 mile or 0 to 60 speed. And that's the point isn't it? Getting the biggest bang for the buck?


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Rock'n 97 Sport 4X4

 

[Rick]

GREAT LAKES DRAG-A-WAY, UNION GROVE, WISCONSIN!! My old stomping grounds!!

Memories.....

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Rick Horwitz
Editor
explorer@4x4central.com

www.4x4central.com

 

[Ira]

I guess it is time for me to throw in my 2 cents worth. Yes, I believe a V-6 can be modified to put out as much if not more horsepower as a lightly modified V-8. The only problem is longevity of the engine. If you did build a Ford V-6 with this kind of power, how long do you think it would last. If you drove it normally and never got on it, it would last for a long time. However, if you have the power at your foot, you know you will not be able to resist the urge for speed.

As for the Nissan, they are fine engines. I just replaced an 86 Maxima with my Explorer. It had over 200,000 miles on it when I sold it and was still going STRONG. The 3.0 liter FI V-6 Nissan put out 160 HP and the newer ones are putting out 222 HP. This is a lot of power from a small engine just as with a Nissan V-6 turbo. The only difference, the Nissan was factory and it was designed to operate at that level. When you start trying to modify an engine to get this kind of added power and it was not origionally designed for it, you are asking for trouble. True, it will last for a while, but I would not want to be far from home when I tried to show this engine off on the street.

I love my Explorer but I do sometimes miss my Maxima. That car was fast and there is also a big difference in 30+ MPG compared to 18.

In an effort for increased power, I have 2 words for you...nitro methane. Sorry but I could not resist.

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Ira
91 XLT 4x4
What do Playboy and National Geographic have in common? Just a couple of the places I will never get to visit

 

[Cameron]

Rick,

Did you use to race? If so, what.

What about Elkhart or Blackhawk?


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Rock'n 97 Sport 4X4

 

[Cameron]

Ira,

I couldn't agree with you more. I guess the point I was trying to make is, if you want more power for your truck, don't exclude the 4.0. Not that I would prefer to use it myself. I didn't by my Explorer for it's blinding speed and Ferrari like performance. I bought it because it is the best SUV for the dollar. If you want to get a little more power out of your truck, add a supercharger or a Superchips or something. If you want to race that built 426 Hemi Cuda down the block, give me a break. Why would you go through the huge expense of modifying your truck, either by building up the 4.0 or swapping it out for a 5.0, to the point where your as fast as the Mustang Cobra? So you can have bragging rights? Help yourself! You're starting with a vehicle that’s almost 5000 pounds. Hey, if you have a ton of money and lots of time, It could be a fun project. I'll just stick with modifying my 99 Cougar!


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Rock'n 97 Sport 4X4