I want to know what is it going to take to swapping over from a 4.9 carbureted motor out of an 85 f150 to a 302 out of a I want to say it was a 97 f150 other than the wiring harness and computer what else will I need other then the motor mounts and will the power steering pump off the 4.9 fit on the 5.0

 

Just wanted to clarify: you're looking to swap from a 300 ci straight 6 to a 302 V8 right? Well in 1997, I believe the only Ford vehicles that had the 302 5.0L were the Explorer/Mountaineer. The 1997 F150s had a 4.2L V6 or 4.6/5.4L V8. As simply as I can put it, what you need to pull depends exactly on which vehicle you decide to pull from.

Anyway, assuming that your vehicle is 2wd (not 4x4), and that you are looking for a 5.0 engine from an Explorer or Mountaineer, your best bet would be to pull the engine and trans together out of the donor vehicle, together with the accessories (alternator, ps pump, etc), exhaust manifolds, and install that whole assembly in your pickup. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pull the driveshaft out of the 5.0L vehicle as well. My guess is that an Explorer driveshaft would be too short, but I could be wrong. Either way the driveshaft would probably take some modification or custom work to mate to the trans and to the rear diff, and you would need to get it balanced. You probably could reuse your existing ps lines, or get them from a 5.0 V8 pickup truck.

Depending on which vehicle you get the 5.0 V8 from, you will need the ecm. Unless if you get an efi 5.0 that is mated up to a c6 or an aod (non electronic shift), like from a Bronco. After 1992-93 or so all 4 speed automatic Fords had electronic shift so you would need the ecm from that vehicle to get the tranny to shift right.

The bigger challenge on top of what I mentioned above will be figuring out how you'll want to get the fuel system set up to get fuel from your tank(s) to the engine. A carbed engine has a low pressure system (5.0 psi or so) while an efi vehicle needs around 40psi or so to work. If you have dual tanks in your truck, that will definitely be challenge to get set up and working properly. The OE fuel systems in the 80s and early 90s in the efi pickups were not very user friendly, very complicated to get working again when they did go bad and I'm sure it would be a major pain to try to get a non-efi truck adapted to efi with that dual tank set up. Anyways, once you get that set up, you'll need to make some custom fuel lines as well to connect to the fuel rails of your 5.0 V8.

In all honesty, if I was in your position and wanted to go from a I6 to a 302 V8, I would just get any good used 5.0 from any 1970-2000 Ford and carb it, it would be A LOT cheaper and easier to get done and much less time consuming, but the choice is yours.

 

Thank you that'll be a big help. I'm trying to get back on the road ASAP and I'm looking at all my options, but finding another 4.9 had been challenging

 

Rick, here's an aftermarket supplier of engine wiring kits. These kits would be used to swap an engine into a hot rod or different vehicle.

https://www.ronfrancis.com/products.asp?dept=291

If you need to get your truck back on the road ASAP an engine swap isn't the answer unless your 4.9l has bottom end trouble. What issues have you been having? A good running 4.9l will outlast a 5.0l any day of the week.

 

I know it's got a blown head gasket. I've got oil in my radiator and water in my oil. It blows out white smoke while it's running. And I'm pretty sure the rear main seals bad I got oil pouring out of there. Hell really I got oil pouring out everywhere. I haven't pulled all my plugs but I pulled two of them they were black solid black like they had oil residue on them. Also sounds like I got a loose rod because I can hear it taking whenever I'm going. And it won't climb for s*** I can be on flat ground and I have the four speed granny gear and I can be in 4th gear and everybody will be passing me it won't climb the hill that's 2 ft tall I got to drop it down in the first gear. if you have Facebook I can record a video and or do a live video feed with you on Facebook and let you hear it running but yeah I've been dealing with it basically since I bought the truck the guy suckered me and all this was wrong with it when I bought it he dressed it up fixed it up right before I bought it it rained like a top the first two days after that it started going downhill.

 

Hey Rick, I've been in the same position that you are in, I bought a truck like that in the past. The thing ran great the day I bought it and it had some terrible gremlins that came with it that I quickly found out about. I just read that your truck has the 4 speed manual. If I were in your position, I would look for any good used 302 or 351W V8 engine from any pickup 1980-1996, the bellhousing will fit with your trans. Since yours is carbureted, I believe that it would be a lot easier to carb your V8 than to get the fuel system to work with the EFI. But if it's something you're very comfortable with doing, then by all means get the efi.

 

A 302 V8 can be swapped into a truck that has an I6, it requires a swap to V8 frame towers and engine mounts, a V8 rad and hoses, and a new flywheel or flexplate that matches the engine/trans combo.. the I6 version will not work. There is no simple or cheap way to put an EFI motor into a carbed vehicle, beside needing a whole different fuel system there is a lot more wiring as other systems like trans control and security are linked with the PCM in later EFI vehicles, so it might be best to convert whatever motor you get to carb. That is easy enough with the 302/5.0 motor... just strip the motor to a bare longblock and install a carb and intake, points or DS2 distributor, and a pump and oilpan(front or rear sump) suitable to the vehicle in question. It's also likely the swap would require V8 accessory brackets from an '80s vintage carbed truck, it's not likely those on a late model EFI motor would be usable with the existing accessories in this truck.