I'm sure the mileage would be pretty decent. I don't know what the heavy car got before but I'm sure compared to some of those older V-8's it is a vast improvement.

But back to the more important questions.

Fuel pump and sender and wiring harness.

Also I don't know if all 96's have that anti-theft problem. My key doesn't look all that special...just a plain peice of metal. And I cut all but 4 wires in my harness to the fuse box (none of those from the ECU) and though it ran with a high idle in park (might have been becuase it was cold) it did run and shift just fine on the derby track.

Does anyone see a problem running the fuel pump to a fuse that is only on when the ignition is on? There are no return lines on the engine and tank stock but apperantly they run a voltage regulator and I'm not sure if I want to mess bringing that part of the wiring harness along.


I have yet to PM anyone but I saw a couple of people that have completed this swap.

 

Just FYI, the 239 is not a Y block, and it weighs 569 Lbs. The 460 weighs 720 Lbs. An FE 390 with an aluminum intake maniford weighs the same as the 239.

Vintage Hot Rods & Classic Cars :: Resources for people restoring hot rods including classifieds, how-to's, more.

Irregardless, youshould put whatever you want in your truck. If no one makes the wiring system you want, they aren't hard to rewire from scratch.

J!

 

Correction!!!!

In the 54 truck the 239OHV engine is in the 272 - Y block family. So I correct myself and will now go and do push ups.

Apologies,

J!

PS Put a 351 W in it!!!!! So much out there for those engines, you can make it do whatever you want.

 

Alright, done with that and back to the 4.6.

I will find out if you need the computer reflashed or not for a 1996 Crown Vic Police Interceptor. I don't think you do but we will find out in about a week. The car is all wired up and everything but the plugs for the ECU are hooked up. Want to double and triple check everything as well before I screw something up. That and get a few of the other small things done.

Almost there.

 

If your key is a plain piece of metal it is not pats. (anti-theft) The fuel pump is supposed to be turned on by the ECM when the key is on or engine running. Technically the ECM turns on the fuel pump relay which powers up the pump. A '96 is a return-style fuel system. The returnless did not come out untill '99 or so. The returnless fuel systems vary pump voltage to keep up with fuel demands. Return style uses a fuel pressure regulator (vacuum operated) and returns unused fuel to the tank. Hooking it up to fused key on power would probably work though.

I've been a Ford Dealership technician for going on 14 years now and I have got to say these 4.6s are excellent engines. There are a few minor issues but these motors are tough and hold together. If you really want to make one run get an older pre-'98 engine and put '99 up heads on it. You get the benefit of the PI heads and a compression boost from the smaller dish of the older style engine. These don't have very much horsepower (even the Mustangs have 215hp from 96-98 and 260hp from 99-04) but they are held back by restrictive exhaust and wimpy programs.

I too am thinking about this swap. I have a 1997 Thunderbird with a 4.6/4R70W combo I would use. The 96-97 Bird engine is very clean looking and the harness is fairly simple and it does not have PATS. If I do it I will install PI heads, headers and a cold air kit and call it good. I will use the stock Ford ECM but have the local dyno shop burn me a custom tune for max power on the cheap gas.

 

Thank you, that was an excellent and very useful post. Makes me feel a lot more confident. I do just have a the plain metal key so looks as though I will not have any problems. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I do have the return style fuel system and did run it back to my fuel cell. I am running a high pressure fuel pump and I will look into regulators soon I guess.

I believe in the future I will tear into the engine and put some headers on it as well as the PI heads. I have 2.5" exhaust and should have a cold air intake on the way soon. But I beleive for now this will keep me happy. It will be nice to just turn the key and have the thing start right up and purr along...not to mention 215 HP is quite a bit for this light truck. It isn't exactly aerodynamic but I'm hoping to be able to afford to drive to some cruises with 20+MPG.

The transmission only has about 5 minutes of derby time on a rebuild so I should be fine there.

I should be able to make any changes to the ECM via the OBDII port correct?

Also I'm debating putting on the check engine light for now (making a little retro bulb near my light swtich) as I'm sure after this swap and all the changes I am going to have quite a few codes thrown.

 

The fuel pressure regulator is on the fuel rail right before the fuel return line. The T-bird /Cougar (and the Crown Vic I'm pretty sure) are rated at 205hp however the only difference between those and the Mustangs are the tune, the exhaust and the upper intake elbow.

The '96 and '97 Tbird/Cougar has an almost identical intake elbow. Also, make sure the intake you use has an aluminum coolant crossover in the front. The older ones are/were really bad about cracking in that area. To identify this you will see a plastic intake with an aluminum section in the front where the coolant crosses over. If you have a fully plastic intake don't sweat it just replace it! They are $300-$350 and are available at O'reillys, etc.

Another thing is these engines really respond to intake and exhaust improvements. The upper intake elbow is known to be very restrictive. (even on Mustangs) The exhaust kinda stinks too. (no pun intended) If anyone doubts the real-world power these things have just hop in a heavy '92-up Crown Vic and step into it. For what they are they run pretty good. Remember the old 5.0 Mustangs from the late 80s and early 90s put out 225hp.

You can make changes through the OBDII port but the factory computer is not set up to recieve custom changes. You will need software/equipment that can rewrite the engine management software to your specs.

 

I'm the originator of this thread. I've still not choose an engine. I thought about going the 5.0 route. It is more tried and true (ie. parts for the swap). I had a chance to get a 5.0 HO out of a 97 Cougar. I think it only had 93,000 miles. I've heard that at some point in time that carmakers demanded tighter tolerances on engine components and now we can expect 200K+. I just don't know when that started. I'm sure the 4.6 generation will last that long if taken care of.

 

Ford has been tormenting rodders for about 40 years now with these practices. All the accessory bracket fitment issues, this bellhousing won't fit that motor, etc, etc ...

I'm glad I ran a Ford engine, but you'll often spend an unplanned fortune if you aren't careful. You are smart to do your research. Even free isn't always economical by the time you actually hit the ignition switch.

 

This is how our Detail Zone wiring looked after finishing up. It is located under the passenger seat and you can easily access the OBDll port. It was fairly easy but took some time and patience.

 

We ended up piecing ours together from the old wiring harness from the Crown vic and using the new aftermarket wiring harness for the rest of the truck. Basically just the plugs and the computer from the Crown Vic. It looks like it is going to be another week before we get it running though. Lots of little lose ends to tie up thruout the truck.

I think this thread is going to be very valuable in the future as the 4.6L becomes the new 5.0. The engine is extremly prevelant and cheap to obtain. As long as it is can be swapped in economically and people worry less about the viability of the wiring and fuel systems the more likely they are to swap it. With great power, and in most engines great reliability, and of course great mileage wich will be important as fuel prices creep back up again people will be glad they swapped in a EFI engine. At $4 a gallon going from 15MPG to 25MPG will be the determining factor in many people driving to the truck show in their truck or not at all.

 

So has anyone found some mounting kits for this engine yet?

 

I just swapped the whole front end on. Quite the mounts. Considerablly differen than most others I've seen. I did some searching before I decided to swap the whole front clip on and I never found anything.

 

The 4.6 uses several different designs of mounts but all of them have the same bolt pattern on the block. The later model Crown Vics ('02 up if memory serves) have engine mounts with a stud on each side that sticks straight down ob both sides, very similar to older 5.0s, etc.

It would be pretty easy to make some frame brackets based on using these mounts. I was pretty much going to copy the design of other common swap brackets, just make the dimensions suitable for my application. Those are the mounts I plan on using at this time.

Many other 4.6 mounts are angled, stud on one side and clam shell on the other, one angled and the other side straight, etc. As I have been working on different cars and trucks at work I have been paying attention the the engine mount style and so far the newer Crown Vics look the easiest to me.

 

Well,

We got it running. It was really simple really. Considering the Hodge Podge of wiring I had cut up from my donor car I am very impressed.

I think in a few weeks I will do a build up thread of my truck and do a section on the engine. I still have a long way to go on the truck to make it nice but it can drive down the road legally now.

But for those wondering about the 4.6L it can be done without any extra money or really a ton of time.

I still have a temperature sender code comming up but other than that it is running clean. Hopefully can get that figured out and it will be done....for now.

Ohh and the power is awesome. Without the bed on the back I could probably light up the tires thru every gear all day long.