I am replacing my 92 351w. I found a motor locally for sale for $400. Motor seems strong and has 130k on it. The only thing I'm not sure about is its a 97. Will the 97 drop right in? I don't want to buy it if it won't bolt right up.

 

Physically, it should bolt right up. Electronically may be a different story.

OBD I vs OBD II, and I think speed density vs MAF.

You may be able to switch everything from the lower intake up and get it to work, but I am not 100% certain.

Someone else who actually knows should chime in shortly.

Robert

 

thats what i was thinking...he did say i could have the wiring harness and ecu from the 97. my 92 has MAF so i think everything should be a direct drop in. Just want to confirm with others who have some experience with this. Dont want to be out a couple hundred bucks!

Thanks!

 

Even if that was the case(likely isn't since a '97 5.8 would have to be from an HD truck which were holdovers build on the old body and SD EFI system) it wouldn't impact this swap since you can't use any OBD-2 parts on your truck anyway. There are differences however that will affect the swap, in '94 these motors got a steel roller cam which means the distributor drive gear also changed to steel from cast iron, and somewhere in the early '90s Ford also moved the ignition module off the distributor to the fender and the IAC sensor from the lower intake to the airbox. To make this swap as painless as possible you need to use the older intake if the IAC is still located there, and the older distributor with a steel gear on it, and all the engine wiring from the '92.

 

So if I were to get the 97 motor, I would take my distributor and wiring harness, the 92 intake and put that on the 97 motor? What u a IAC sensor?

 

Yes.

IAC stands for Intake Air Charge, it's also referred to as an IAT(Intake Air Temp) sensor.

 

Perfect! Thanks for all your help!

 

Well it certainly sounds doable to me, after the input from Conanski. I know I have done swaps that made less sense.

Robert