My boss recently gave me a 1990 2x4 f250 that has a 5.8 EFI that is knocking. It has 160,000 miles on it and everything else seems to work great.
I want to put another engine in it, and I found a 5.8 that is out of a E350 with 90,000 miles in it. Would this work in my truck? This is my first engine swap and I would like it to be as pain free as possible! Thanks for your help!

 

Just use the van engine as a long block and all will be good.. You need to use the sensors and wiring from the truck..

 

Truck engines are not vehicle specific so these two motors are identical for all intents and purposes. Use only the engine wiring currently in the F250(discard anything that comes with the donor motor), and also be sure to use the flywheel/flexplate currently in the F250 unless you can verify that both trucks have the exact same transmission.

 

So the engine mounts will be the same? I Will need to switch over the intake and exhaust manifolds etc? This engine from the E350 seems like a pretty good deal @ $300. Or would it be better to keep looking for a truck engine that is the same year? Thanks for your help

 

Like I said use the van engine as a LONG BLOCK and change everything else over from the truck.

 

It's the exact same engine so yeah... the mounting locations are the same

Again.. it's the exact same engine so you probably won't need to change these things, but there are differences in the way the accessories are setup from year to year and for trucks vs vans, and there were at least 4 or 5 different smog systems produced over the years for different trucks so there may be differences there too, but all these parts bolt on the same engine(which again never changed externally) so you won't have any problem swapping these parts around.

 

Oil pan may be a center hump in the van.

Engines are the same. Sensors are the same. Intake is the same.
Engine isolators may be different, use the ones in the truck.
Accessories are the same I'm quite sure. Just loOk at them.
Swap the flexplate just to be sure it's correct for your trans.
Exhaust manifolds may be different. Look those over to see if they will bolt to your ypipe. Smog stuff could be different, maybe check that over and reuse the truck stuff.
Wiring harness from van is really short. Use all wiring from your truck on the van engine.