Hi Ya'll,
I have an 89 bronco 5.0 4x4 I am thinking about swapping the engine out with a 96-2001 Ford Explorer 5.0 because it has the GT40 heads. Is it a straight forward swap or is there anything that i need to be aware of? Or should I just switch out the heads, cam, and new springs. Wanting a little more HP and modification. Please your thoughts on this

 

If you strip the Explorer motor to the bare longblock and put all the pickup stuff on it it's a bolt-in... for the most part. You have to use the '89 distributor with a steel drive gear swapped onto it and re-arrange the plug wires to the HO firing order.

 

thank you so much for the information!!!

 

Am I able to use the intake manifold off of the explorer motor?

 

Yes... but there are some added challenges.
The truck engine wiring will need some mods to adapt to the different sensor locations.
The intake tubes and airbox will have to change as you are going from dual TB's to a single.
I believe the throttle position sensors are different types so the truck version has to be swapped on.
The throttle cables and linkages are also different so you need the Explorer or Lightning cable and may have to fab up connections or mounts for the AOD TV cable or cruise control cable(if so equipped).
The EGR system is different and is located in a different spot on the motor so wiring and the vacuum line have to be moved.

 

Thank you so much! Great to know

 

Hi, I am very much interested in this thread as I am making exactly the same swap. 1998 Explorer motor to 1990 Econoline. I have some additionel question and will appreciate your opinion:

Can I use the Explorer injectors or should I use the ones from 1990 motor?
Can I use the fuel rails from Explorer?

 

The injectors are the same size(flow rate) so are interchangable but those in the Explorer motor produce better fuel atomization and are considered an upgrade.
Fuel rails are a good question and I don't know the answer, if the chassis lines will plug in and lock and not interfere with anything else then by all means use it, but if there is a problem with the connection type or the lines just don't reach then the truck fuel rail will bolt on.

 

Thank you very much for your reply. I will let yo uknow about the fuel rails when I get there.
What about coils and DIS? Can this be used or is it better to use the distributor with metal gear?

 

Not compatible with your trucks EFI system unfortunately so that is a complete no go.

 

Explorer has different firing order thaan my motor. Do I need to switch the plugs on the injectors or the distributor cables only?

 

The fuel system will not change since the van’s wiring harness will be reused. You need to rearrange the spark plug wires on the distributor for the 351W/ 302 HO firing order.

 

Hi, I have noticed some differences in EFI and Explorer engines. EFI motor has some sensor on the rear side above the flywheel and some water lines. Explorer doesn't have them. What should be the solution here?

 

Upper left picture is the knock sensor. You don’t really need that sensor.

Lower left picture is showing the tubes for the air injection system. The Explorer did not use that system. If I remember correctly, four bar should be GT40P heads.

 

I have completed swap of 1998 Explorer engine to 1990 Econoline so I will summarize some conclusions – maybe this will help in case somebody is planning something similar.

Components used from Explorer:

- Long block

- Headers

- Intake manifold

- Fuel rail and injectors

- Oil filter with support

- Oil sensor

Components from EFI:

- Wiring harness

- Water temperature sensor with pipes

- Water temperature sender to indicator

- Knock sensor

- Air temperature sensor (on intake manifold)

- Flywheel

- Actuator (on throttle body)

- Throttle Position Sensor

- Engine mountings

- Starter motor

- All front equipment: water pump, alternator, AC compressor, power steering pump, tensioner

- EGR sensor

What has been removed:

Air pump – not used in Explorer. This can be a problem as air pump blows the air to the exhaust for the first 30 seconds after engine. Purpose of this is to make lambda sensor think that the air-fuel mixture is lean and make it more reach.

EGR – EGR valve on EFI is connected to crank case (or to lower intake manifold – I am not sure now), on Explorer to exhaust manifold. I don’t know how to solve this. For now I have left the EGR sensor connected to wiring harness but I have blocked the EGR channel.

Knock sensor – connected to harness but not installed on the engine block as Explorer doesn’t have hole for that. Not sure what to do with that.

What required modification:

- Vacuum lines position and connection

- Accelerator cable position and connection to throttle body

- Driving belt routing, tensioner position (angle) - after removal of air pump

- Exhaust pipes

- Oil dipstick

- Position of ignition coil

- Air temperature sensor – drilling and taping the hole in the lower intake manifold

Some pics below.

Engine runs great after all these modifications. This is brand new engine from 1998! I bought it from one guy in original service packaging.

The engine light is on so I have read the codes and they are following:

23 – TP voltage >or< expected

31 – EVP/PFE circuit below min. voltage

84 – EVR circuit failure

10 – separator code

31 – EVP/PFE circuit below min. voltage

Not sure how to fix this now but will be investigating.