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Can i put a 4.6 in place of my 5.4

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Old 05-10-2012, 04:20 PM
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Can i put a 4.6 in place of my 5.4

i have an 03 4.6 engine that i want to put in a 99 that has a locked up 5.4. Actually i'm trying to sell the engine to a neighbor who has the 99. Will it swap over and match the wiring harness, computer, pcm etc. etc. ??? If not, how hard would it be to make it work.
 
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Old 05-10-2012, 07:17 PM
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Take a look at the two motors close up.
Besides size, the ignitoin is different between the two, so the PCM and harrness is all different plus all the little things that need to be addressed like exhaust etc.
5.4 exhaust won't fit the narrower 4.6.
Good luck.
 
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Old 05-10-2012, 08:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Bluegrass 7
Take a look at the two motors close up.
Besides size, the ignitoin is different between the two, so the PCM and harrness is all different plus all the little things that need to be addressed like exhaust etc.
5.4 exhaust won't fit the narrower 4.6.
Good luck.
Can the harness and PCM be swapped over and leave me what I need in my 03 to make the truck work with the 3.9 cummins
 
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Old 05-10-2012, 11:57 PM
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SURE> You gota be kidding.
You are kidding arn't you?
Ya know them cummins has 2 spark plugs per cylinder and yer PCM is only set up to fire 1 plug at a time.
What will you do bout that?
Anyways, good luck with whatever you do.
 
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Old 05-11-2012, 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by Bluegrass 7
SURE> You gota be kidding.
You are kidding arn't you?
Ya know them cummins has 2 spark plugs per cylinder and yer PCM is only set up to fire 1 plug at a time.
What will you do bout that?
Anyways, good luck with whatever you do.
I'm referring to my speedo, tach, oil pressure gauge, temp sensor etc etc without having all the lights on the dash lit up. I love it when folks get there post numbers up with posts that are less than helpful.
 
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Old 05-11-2012, 06:04 PM
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None of your ford stuff is gonna hook to that cummapart the Oil pressure gauge the temp gauge tach none of it
 
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Old 05-11-2012, 10:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Bluegrass 7
SURE> You gota be kidding.
You are kidding arn't you?
Ya know them cummins has 2 spark plugs per cylinder and yer PCM is only set up to fire 1 plug at a time.
What will you do bout that?
Anyways, good luck with whatever you do.
Originally Posted by 77mud
None of your ford stuff is gonna hook to that cummapart the Oil pressure gauge the temp gauge tach none of it
I've done some other research that says the tach and oil pressure gauge can be adapted over. "cummapart" do I detect animosity?????
 
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Old 05-17-2012, 07:43 AM
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your research is wrong. a 4bt is one of those one wire fire cummins. it only needs one wire to run. the easiest thing you could do is ditch the stock gauge cluster and put in all new gauges.

that being said, please dont rip apart a perfectly good truck.
 
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Old 05-18-2012, 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by 93 mix 'n match
your research is wrong. a 4bt is one of those one wire fire cummins. it only needs one wire to run. the easiest thing you could do is ditch the stock gauge cluster and put in all new gauges.

that being said, please dont rip apart a perfectly good truck.
respectfully i might at that the folks that do this on a daily basis have developed adapters and modifications that will make the tach, temp, and oil pressure gauges work. I agree it might be a little easier to put gauge pod on the driver front post.

It's not quite a perfectly good truck. I have always been a ford man and plan on staying that way. However, the cummins engine is quite the power house and very durable. My reasoning is two fold. I love the novelty of the swap, but economically it just makes sense. I have about 1000 in the 4bt after i parted out the frito-lay van. The quote to fix the truck is 1000. Further, i can run straight vegetable oil in the cummins for about ONE dollar a gallon while achieving 25 MPG (conservative number from what i have read) So, i would gain at least 5mpg and pay less than 30% of the cost at the pump. It will be like making money every mile i drive in the thing.

Having said all of that, i just love doing this kind of stuff. I appreciate you post guys. Keep them coming. If you are still in disbelief you can check out 4btswaps.com. There's more reading that you can do in a lifetime on there.
 
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Old 05-18-2012, 09:58 PM
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i know all about 4bt swaps. im piecing together a 4 swap for my s10. and i guess your right, im just used to getting motors for 90 bucks here.
 
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Old 05-19-2012, 06:44 AM
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Originally Posted by 93 mix 'n match
i know all about 4bt swaps. im piecing together a 4 swap for my s10. and i guess your right, im just used to getting motors for 90 bucks here.
In some places the core on these motors is 2000. They sell on eBay almost daily for 2500-3000. So with only 1000 in mine I'm pretty happy. Btw I called the local salvage yards and the 4.6 with 160k sells for 9-1200.
 
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Old 05-19-2012, 09:40 AM
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[QUOTE=93 mix 'n match;11851749]i know all about 4bt swaps. im piecing together a 4 swap for my s10. and i guess your right, im just used to getting motors for 90 bucks here.[/QUOT

What tranny are u using?
 
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Old 05-19-2012, 09:25 PM
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NV4500 from a diesel ram with the factory dodge ram trans plate. and theres this place by me called harrys u-pull it. HUGEEEEE inventory, and motors are ALL 100 bucks for everything except flywheel and accessories.
 
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Old 06-11-2012, 10:50 PM
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Will 03 4.6 go into a 98 with 4.6

I ditched the idea of trying to help the guy get the 4.6 in place of the 5.4. Just too many differences. However, instead of basically giving the motor away, i've decided to pull it out, replace the head gasket and put it in another truck. I've found a 98 Ext cab that has a 4.6 (according to owner). How much trouble am i going to have with swap over. If it is difficult at all, i'll keep looking. I haven't looked at truck yet, but price seems fair enough if it is decent.
 
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