V8 Swap offically started today

[crispins]

Hello everyone.

So after looking for months I finally found a donor for my swap.

To back up for a minute, a few months ago I found a 2001 Burgandy 4x4 Sport Trac with gray leather interior and painted tonneau cover. No dents, no rust, interior in great shape with a bad V6 at an estate sale. I picked it up for $1,100. I did get the truck to fire up after putting in a new fuel pump (btw the truck sat for 5 years before I bought it) but it has no oil pressure.

I had planned on doing a V8 swap on my White 2001 2 wheel drive Sport Trac but after getting this much nicer one I got rid of the white one.

I have been looking on Craigslist for months for a V8 Explorer to buy. I finally found one. Running and driving 98 V8 AWD for $700. It has high miles 271k

Not too sure what I want to do about the motor (full rebuild or just new gaskets. I guess I will start a new thread about the motor.

For now I just want to get a few of the guys who have done this swap to post in this thread so I can get some advice and answers to some questions I have.

I have read the swap threads many many times and will be reading them again. I have good mechanical experience but this will be the biggest job I have ever done. I have swapped motors before, I have converted a Honda from an auto to a 5 speed.

I don't feel that any part of this swap is going to be too difficult, I am comfortable with wiring.

Although there are some good write ups already on this I plan on taking pictures and documenting the process just to add to the knowledge base, if that is ok.

Thank you in advance everyone for your help!!!

 

[crispins]

I do have a couple of questions.

The donor 98 has 3.55 Limited Slip with disc brakes rear end.

I want to swap that into my truck along with the front.

Is there a write up on how to swap the front? Is it easy?

I know the rear will be no problem.

To me I think the 3.55 would be a good choice even though I plan on running 33" tires.

My current trac has 4.11 open.

I am not looking to be fast at all. Gas mileage is much more important to me.

Thoughts?

 

[crispins]

Also I need clarification on PATS

Do I have it on my 98?

Some threads say it started in 97 and some say 99

Which one was it?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

swapping the front diff is easy. once the axles are pulled out, and the drive shaft is off, 3 bolts are all that holds it in. some 97 trucks had pats, but all 98 and up had it. as for everything else, i would open the motor to see what you have to begin with. all it will cost is a gasket kit which is around $100. depending on what it looks like (cylinder scratches, old cruddy oil) pull a random bearing cap from the rods and mains.
same goes for the trans. at minimum pull the pan off, or if you know how to do them, take it apart and see what you are starting with because you never know, and you wont want to yank it all apart once you have it together.
thats my 2 cents

 

[crispins]

swapping the front diff is easy. once the axles are pulled out, and the drive shaft is off, 3 bolts are all that holds it in. some 97 trucks had pats, but all 98 and up had it. as for everything else, i would open the motor to see what you have to begin with. all it will cost is a gasket kit which is around $100. depending on what it looks like (cylinder scratches, old cruddy oil) pull a random bearing cap from the rods and mains.
same goes for the trans. at minimum pull the pan off, or if you know how to do them, take it apart and see what you are starting with because you never know, and you wont want to yank it all apart once you have it together.
thats my 2 cents

Thanks bro. I'll look up how to pull the front axles. Sounds like no big deal.

The PATS confuses me.

If my 2001 Trac has the PATS and the 1998 has the PATS what is stopping me from placing the 98 key next to the PATS sensor on the 2001 and then just using the 2001 key to start the truck.

On my 2008 Nissan Titan I installed auto start, I just placed a spare key next to the sensor inside the steering column and then the auto start worked fine. Is that not the same with this truck?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

your 98 computer will only read the 98 key unless you go to ford and have them reprogram it, or you buy a hand held tuner and ask them to program the pats out of your truck

 

[delexploder]

I get what your saying, swap all the pats stuff , tie the 98 key to the pickup in the column, but keep the OE ignition so you keep the same key as the doors, it should work but keep the 98 column around just in case

 

[just1me]

Depends also if your 2001 Sport Trac is a Job1 or Job2, the Job1 had the Pats B like the Explorer, the Job2 had Pats E which is different, in which case then you would have to use the Pats components from the Explorer, or turn it off in the PCM via a tuner.

 

[crispins]

your 98 computer will only read the 98 key unless you go to ford and have them reprogram it, or you buy a hand held tuner and ask them to program the pats out of your truck

I do not think you understand what I am talking about.

I will take the 98 key and strap it to the PATS sensor around the ignition.

So the 98 ECU will see the 98 key.

However to start the truck I will use the key for the 2001

I do not see why this will not work.

It is the same thing I did to did to get around the security seytem of my 2008 Titan.


Am I not understanding this correctly???

 

[ttbit]

I wish I would have documented my swap more. I still answer emails that come my way, but I can't remember too many of the details now. I moved two different houses and had some "car accident" injuries that messed up my time-line a little during my project. You are welcome to come by if you need to look at something. I go to PF for the Rod Runs (was just there for the Spring RR) and it is not far from me. Is East TN still the only place to go for this info???

Go through the engine now while you have it out! I owned a 200,000 mile 302 some years back where the cylinders still looked fine, so you might not need much. Get the heads done, bearings and such and you won't have to worry about it in the future. If I didn't have my 2007 now, I would be looking at adding some more power in the form of heads, torque converter and cam.

The front diff swap should be easy. Once you get the engine out, you'll be able to see everything. I have 3.73's and I think even 4.10's would be OK.

Have fun with the swap!

 

[just1me]

I do not think you understand what I am talking about.

I will take the 98 key and strap it to the PATS sensor around the ignition.

So the 98 ECU will see the 98 key.

However to start the truck I will use the key for the 2001

I do not see why this will not work.

It is the same thing I did to did to get around the security seytem of my 2008 Titan.


Am I not understanding this correctly???

Yeah you can do that, however if the Trac is Job2 Pats E, you will still need to do some wiring under the dash and swap in the Explorer Pats module and transponder, so that you can take the Explorer key and do so.

 

[N2FORD]

I was at the rod run also, wish I had known you were there. We still need a Knoxville area get together. I also volunteer mine if you want to look at something. I come to PF several times a year. I am glad I have my 4.10's with my 33's. Really want to go a little lower but will wait for my SAS if I ever get around to it. RangerSVT was going to change his gears on his V8 ST but don't know if he got it done or not. As for the PATS my truck is job 2 and started off running a 98 ecu with the chip in the column. The ecu went bad and I put one from a 96 in without pats, no worries on that now. You can get a ecu at pull a part for a little cash.

 

[crispins]

As for the PATS my truck is job 2 and started off running a 98 ecu with the chip in the column. The ecu went bad and I put one from a 96 in without pats, no worries on that now. You can get a ecu at pull a part for a little cash.

Ok - If I understand correctly I can source a 96 ECU and it will work fine and have no PATS. If that is the case it sounds like the easiest way to go.


As for the Rod Runs I should have my truck done by the Fall so we can get together then. I think the only thing that is going to take any time is getting the motor refreshed.

Can someone look at this ECU and tell me if it is the right one. If so i will buy it just to have that part out of the way.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/96-FORD-EXP...96|Model:Explorer&hash=item2a50046e7c&vxp=mtr

 

[N2FORD]

This is what Rick told me when my ecu went bad,
"Originally Posted by RangerSVT
Do you have access to any 96-97 5.0 ecu (SLL1, SLL2, SLL3, SLL4, XDT1, XDT2, XDT3)? It will operate the 98-01 engines, just not optimally. Changing ecu's with a similar year will require a full reprogram of pats like i originally had to do..."
Hope that helps, I will have to look at mine as I don't remember which of those I ended up getting.

 

[crispins]

This is what Rick told me when my ecu went bad,
"Originally Posted by RangerSVT
Do you have access to any 96-97 5.0 ecu (SLL1, SLL2, SLL3, SLL4, XDT1, XDT2, XDT3)? It will operate the 98-01 engines, just not optimally. Changing ecu's with a similar year will require a full reprogram of pats like i originally had to do..."
Hope that helps, I will have to look at mine as I don't remember which of those I ended up getting.

As I have been thinking about it this morning I want to look into having my 98 ECU tuned. There are a few changes I would like to make such as cat delete and EVAP delete. I spent some time searching the forum and cannot find out the info I want. Basically how do the ECU's get tuned? How much it cost, ect... Is there a thread somewhere that I can read?

 

[ttbit]

As I have been thinking about it this morning I want to look into having my 98 ECU tuned. There are a few changes I would like to make such as cat delete and EVAP delete. I spent some time searching the forum and cannot find out the info I want. Basically how do the ECU's get tuned? How much it cost, ect... Is there a thread somewhere that I can read?

If you are going to tune anyway, might as well keep what you have, otherwise the '96 ecu has been great for me. I have tuned different ways over the years. You have to buy a programmer. You will probably just get by with a programmer and a tune made for you by one of the more respected companies out there. Brenspeed and Bama come to mind. I have used Bama in the past with great results. I still have an xcal II programmer from them that I have had for years. It is great for reading and clearing ecu codes as well. You can only tune one car per programmer at a time, but you can clear the programmer and "marry" it to a different vehicle in the future.

If you are going to write tunes yourself, you will also need some software to accomplish that. With my supercharged Mustang, I did all my tuning myself. Big learning curve, but it was worth it for that setup. With the ST and what you are looking to do, this is probably overkill.

Even though I own a programmer that would work, I never got a tune for my ST. I really haven't needed to.

Google the companies I mention. They have programmers with tunes as a package.

 

[crispins]

I see, this ECU setup is different then what I am used to. I also have a turbo Saab. That car is tuned, what I did is sent the ECU to a 'tuner" he burned the tune on the ECU based on the equipment I had plus deleted some stuff, the charge was around $80



If I have to buy a programmer and buy a tune I think I will just pass. Like I said performance is not really my goal.

If you are going to tune anyway, might as well keep what you have, otherwise the '96 ecu has been great for me. I have tuned different ways over the years. You have to buy a programmer. You will probably just get by with a programmer and a tune made for you by one of the more respected companies out there. Brenspeed and Bama come to mind. I have used Bama in the past with great results. I still have an xcal II programmer from them that I have had for years. It is great for reading and clearing ecu codes as well. You can only tune one car per programmer at a time, but you can clear the programmer and "marry" it to a different vehicle in the future.

If you are going to write tunes yourself, you will also need some software to accomplish that. With my supercharged Mustang, I did all my tuning myself. Big learning curve, but it was worth it for that setup. With the ST and what you are looking to do, this is probably overkill.

Even though I own a programmer that would work, I never got a tune for my ST. I really haven't needed to.

Google the companies I mention. They have programmers with tunes as a package.

 

[ttbit]

I was at the rod run also, wish I had known you were there. We still need a Knoxville area get together.

Yes we do.

On another note, my ST2 is in for service (I stress when anyone is touching my vehicles too) and they gave me an EcoBoost Expedition for a loaner. Without hijacking this thread, that sure would be a interesting swap. What a beast.

 

[crispins]

I took the donor truck for a ride today. Previously I just heard it run but didn't get to drive it.

The good:
Transmission shifted fine, went into overdrive
AWD works
The axles weren't making any noises

The bad:
The motor is whipped. Blowing blue smoke, tapping, low on power

So my question is do you think i should look for a low mileage 302 or rebuild this one?

I can't afford to pay to have mine rebuilt so I would be looking at paying a machine shop for machining and assemble it myself. I have never built a motor before and I would hate to do all this work, spend money, spend a ton of time (building it and installing it) to find that I made a mistake.

I could find a decent 302 somewhere for $500 I would think. that would be much faster and less risky. I don't drive alot of miles normally about 6,000 a year so a motor with 100k on it would last me a long time.

Thoughts?

 

[Rick]

Looking forward to watching your progress