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1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks

possible easy engine swap?

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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 03:48 PM
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possible easy engine swap?

ok here is the situation. 1995 f150 5.0 mass-air truck, engine is good but the rest of the truck is not. 1989 f150 5.0 speed density truck, engine is bad the rest of the truck is good. Curious if I could take the 1995 engine and install the upper/lower intake from the 1989 engine and put in the 1989 truck(keeping it speed density)....would it then work?

Thanks, DAVE
 
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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 05:49 PM
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Yes. Intakes are the same except for possibly the absence of the IAT sensor in the lower section of the '95.. believe it was moved to the airbox with the change to MAF so check for this. If the '95 does have the IAT sensor in the lower intake you don't need to change them, but you cannot use any wiring from the '95 and you must use the '89 distributor but with a steel gear installed on it first.
 
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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 08:24 PM
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so is the firing order the same between the 2 trucks? I heard it was different between a mass-air vs speed density truck.

why would the distributor need to be changed? just curious

Thanks, DAVE
 
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Old Mar 22, 2017 | 08:45 PM
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Yes firing order is different but that doesn't matter with SD EFI, only the plug wires have to match.

2 issues with the distributor. The TFI module was moved to the fender sometime in the early '90s so the connector on the '95 distributor won't match the '89 harness connector. And in '94 all these motors got a roller cam and that requires a steel distributor gear, whereas the gear on your '89 dizzy is cast iron to match the flat tappet cam in that motor. So you need to use the '89 dizzy to match the wiring but need a steel gear to match the roller cam.
 
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Old Mar 23, 2017 | 09:33 AM
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correct me if I'm wrong Conanski but can't he take the gear off the 95 distributor and put it on the 89 distributor. I did this same thing on my 91 5.8 when I put a 96 roller engine in it. I am just assuming it would be the same.
 
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Old Mar 23, 2017 | 09:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Plowboy34
correct me if I'm wrong Conanski but can't he take the gear off the 95 distributor and put it on the 89 distributor. I did this same thing on my 91 5.8 when I put a 96 roller engine in it. I am just assuming it would be the same.
Yes of course, it is also possible to modify the '95 distributor to accept a TFI module on it's side but it has to be completely dismantled first, I did this when I built my 5.8.
 
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Old Mar 23, 2017 | 01:20 PM
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are there any other items that must be swapped over? such as...alternator?, power steering pump?, fuel injectors?
 
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Old Mar 23, 2017 | 04:21 PM
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Pump and injectors are the same so no need to disturb those parts. The later truck may have a 3G alternator which would be an upgrade but for simplicity sake use the one from the '89 to start just until you get the replacement motor up and running. The accessory brackets are essentially the same but the location of the tensioner may be different, if you just use a complete set(brackets, tensioner, pulleys) from 1 motor you will be fine, try not to mix these parts up.
 
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