So I've been doing some reading on this site looking through other threads for conversions to v8 but they don't seem to tell the whole story. I have an i6 (broke) and i want to put in a V8 but i wanna know all the work that'd go into making this swap. I'm pretty good at fixing stuff if i know what's wrong so I'd be doing 90% on my own. Can i have suggestions/instructions on doing this. Everything from pulling the engine to the first time i start the new engine.

1994 short bed regular cab f-150 4.9L i6

Thank you in advance

 

have you pulled an engine before ? if not, the best advice I can give you is to bag and tag all fasteners; your life will be better if you do this one simple thing. a Haynes manual, in spite of what all the Haynes-haters say, will at least give you a basic sequence to follow.
one of the ford gurus will advise you on the finer details of this swap.

 

Screw bag-n tag. After you pull something reattach the fasteners hand tight. It doesn't require bags and when you pull a bunch of fasteners of different length from something (like the bell housing) you don't have to worry about what goes where.


To pulling a 300 is 10x easier with the upper intake, radiator and fan clutch off. You can get by just pulling the radiator but pulling the fan clutch helps a lot. To get a 300 back in you need to loosen the bolts holding the motor mounts to the engine cross member in order to get ~1.5" of play (combined).


Do yourself a favor and convert the bell housing to studs (make one pair slightly longer than the other two pairs) before you put it back in. It's easy to get the engine lined up if you just line up one stud pair followed by the other four and then dowels last.


Parts you need are the new engine complete from intake hoses to oil pan and from fan clutch to flywheel, wiring harness, ecu, radiator and motor mounts. I don't recall if the fan itself crosses over but the clutch and shroud sure don't. You'll need to make new transmission cooler lines as well. The accessories will swap over except for the alternator and the brackets are obviously engine specific. If you have A/C IIRC those hoses are SB/BB/I6 specific as well.


You need different brackets to attach a v8 to the engine cross member. They're riveted on to the back of the cross member (good luck removing them in the junkyard), are rarely on eBay and when they are they're expensive. Have fun


The way to get a I6 to V8 swap done in an economically sane way is to buy a donor truck, swap both and sell the donor. If you don't have a good engine in your current truck to put into the donor then part out the front of the donor and make the rear into a pickup trailer. If those things aren't practical then you're gonna have to lay out some $$. All those odds and ends add up quick even from the junkyard.


If you're in the northeast I'll buy your 300 for scrap value + $20