4.6 engine swap
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Freshman User
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4.6 engine swap
Hello All,
Its been a few years since I have posted on here. I have a 2008 ford F-150 FX2 with a 4.6 L in it. The truck has been a work horse, it has over 200,000 miles on it. I am looking to get more power out of her and was considering an engine swap. Possibly an upgrade to the 5.0 or 5.4, would it be feasible or even worth it? What would it take, or is there power upgrades to the 4.6 that I can do to make it more fun. I have read a lot of stuff on the 4.6 but none of it really definitive to make me feel comfortable to spend the money on performance parts. I'm sure there is a thread on here and this subject has been beat to death.
R/
Jim
Its been a few years since I have posted on here. I have a 2008 ford F-150 FX2 with a 4.6 L in it. The truck has been a work horse, it has over 200,000 miles on it. I am looking to get more power out of her and was considering an engine swap. Possibly an upgrade to the 5.0 or 5.4, would it be feasible or even worth it? What would it take, or is there power upgrades to the 4.6 that I can do to make it more fun. I have read a lot of stuff on the 4.6 but none of it really definitive to make me feel comfortable to spend the money on performance parts. I'm sure there is a thread on here and this subject has been beat to death.
R/
Jim
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2018
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You won't get any better power for the price you'd pay to add a 5.4l. I'd just stick with the 4.6. Your wallet will thank you at the gas station too. Get a tuner and rebuild or get a reman 4.6 then do the simple stuff like headers - exhaust, cold air and a tune. You'd be surprised at how much those things can change the truck. Hell, I'd even invest in a procharger or something similar rather than attempt to swap for the 5.4. If you just want more power, there is plenty of options for the 4.6. If you NEED a new engine, I would test compression and all that first before swapping, and if it's all good, do rebuild and go another 200k.
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Thank you all for the comments, I will do that. I have just heard so much bad stuff about the 4.6 performance wise just wasn't sure, she has been a good truck. I will look at add ons and go from there.
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As an example, the Hyundai Tau 4.6 produced 366HP in its first year of production (2009) while Ford's 4.6 produced between 225 and 248 HP in police cars, taxis, utility vans, and pickups the same year. Hyundai's 4.6 never saw anything like this kind of use except possibly as occasional one-off taxi cabs.
Meanwhile, enthusiasts and shops were easily taking well-worn Ford 4.6's and getting 400+ horsepower from them, often with bolt-on stuff.
FTE Community Team
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Ford 4.6 supercharger
. . . and got a bunch of results.
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From: Riverbank, CA.
yes and no. While the 4.6 in the F150 is the same basic motor as in the comprable year Mustangs, they are tuned differently. I belebel youdy have to have it custom tuned to the truck .
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From: Willis, Texas
one thing folks haven't mentioned...you can look at your ring and pinion...you want instant, seat of your pants feel for acceleration.
questions for you...do you drive on the highway alot? if that is no then you could look at swapping out your ring and pinion in your diff. you probably have an open 3.55.
swapping that out for a 3.73 or even more drastic 4.10 would get you a noticeable increase in grunt. and nothing changed in the engine compartment. only thing I'd suggest is getting a driveline specialist in your area to do the swap. they have the proper kit to check run out and make potential adjustments in shims and such.
questions for you...do you drive on the highway alot? if that is no then you could look at swapping out your ring and pinion in your diff. you probably have an open 3.55.
swapping that out for a 3.73 or even more drastic 4.10 would get you a noticeable increase in grunt. and nothing changed in the engine compartment. only thing I'd suggest is getting a driveline specialist in your area to do the swap. they have the proper kit to check run out and make potential adjustments in shims and such.
FTE Community Team
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 10,772
Likes: 1,512
one thing folks haven't mentioned...you can look at your ring and pinion...you want instant, seat of your pants feel for acceleration.
questions for you...do you drive on the highway alot? if that is no then you could look at swapping out your ring and pinion in your diff. you probably have an open 3.55.
swapping that out for a 3.73 or even more drastic 4.10 would get you a noticeable increase in grunt. and nothing changed in the engine compartment. only thing I'd suggest is getting a driveline specialist in your area to do the swap. they have the proper kit to check run out and make potential adjustments in shims and such.
questions for you...do you drive on the highway alot? if that is no then you could look at swapping out your ring and pinion in your diff. you probably have an open 3.55.
swapping that out for a 3.73 or even more drastic 4.10 would get you a noticeable increase in grunt. and nothing changed in the engine compartment. only thing I'd suggest is getting a driveline specialist in your area to do the swap. they have the proper kit to check run out and make potential adjustments in shims and such.
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Joined: May 2019
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jdsgtball,
I have a 06' 4.6 4wd. It is painfully slow but a great truck. I am super interested in what you end up trying. I am considering 100 different things to increase around town performance but I truly don't know jack about motors except 9th grade power class. Everything I read just distracts me more.
As I don't tow anything and rarely use the bed, all I really want to gain is 0-45 acceleration with minimal highway mpg loss, though I rarely get the thing over 50 mph so even that is not the greatest concern.
Please, please, please, post your progress when you can.
As I only have 100ishk miles I am super hesitant to kill my reliability just yet, so I am hoping to learn from your experimentation. ( If you live near FL I will glady loan my unskilled labor)
Cheers
I have a 06' 4.6 4wd. It is painfully slow but a great truck. I am super interested in what you end up trying. I am considering 100 different things to increase around town performance but I truly don't know jack about motors except 9th grade power class. Everything I read just distracts me more.
As I don't tow anything and rarely use the bed, all I really want to gain is 0-45 acceleration with minimal highway mpg loss, though I rarely get the thing over 50 mph so even that is not the greatest concern.
Please, please, please, post your progress when you can.
As I only have 100ishk miles I am super hesitant to kill my reliability just yet, so I am hoping to learn from your experimentation. ( If you live near FL I will glady loan my unskilled labor)
Cheers