Swapping...How long should it take?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 148
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Swapping...How long should it take?
Howdy.
New guy dumb question #12. How long should an engine swap take? Lets assume a few things first:
There are at least 2 people working on the swap, one who has swapped engines before, and one who hasn't, but can perform basic mechanical/heavy lifting duties.
The engine being swapped in is a newly rebuilt/remanufactured engine of identical or smaller size (in CID).
I know the answer is probably different for carbed vs EFI, so better guess at both.
If there are any other glaring bits of knowledge missing, I'll try to fill in the gaps as we go along.
Whaddya think?
New guy dumb question #12. How long should an engine swap take? Lets assume a few things first:
There are at least 2 people working on the swap, one who has swapped engines before, and one who hasn't, but can perform basic mechanical/heavy lifting duties.
The engine being swapped in is a newly rebuilt/remanufactured engine of identical or smaller size (in CID).
I know the answer is probably different for carbed vs EFI, so better guess at both.
If there are any other glaring bits of knowledge missing, I'll try to fill in the gaps as we go along.
Whaddya think?
My brother and I pulled a 360 out of a 76 ford on a Saturday morning and had it out before 11 am. We were pulling out of the driveway with the new 360 in place by 630 Pm. 
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 631
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From: P-Town, CA
depends, the 351W and 351M are the same CID, but diff blocks. What exact swap are you doing, or are you in a planning stage? It also helps a lot to have another car to run 2 the local parts/hardware store incase you forget something
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 148
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Oh, I'm not even in the planning stage, I am in the "dreaming" stage. I really don't know if the idea will be feasable at all, but I might have (finally) found a crew cab (89) that I could purchase, and have shipped here. It needs "engine work".
Well, I have been thinking of getting a very cheap truck with no engine or tranny or both, and then putting in parts that I know I could rely on. As long as I kept up on maintenance.
The real trick isnt the swap itself (probably 460-351W or ???-351W) its finding out how long a swap would possibly take, then finding local FTE members that might be willing to work for beer and pizza!!!!!!
Well, I have been thinking of getting a very cheap truck with no engine or tranny or both, and then putting in parts that I know I could rely on. As long as I kept up on maintenance.
The real trick isnt the swap itself (probably 460-351W or ???-351W) its finding out how long a swap would possibly take, then finding local FTE members that might be willing to work for beer and pizza!!!!!!
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 304
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From: Colorado
Swap times vary. It took me 4 weeks to swap out the 300 to the 351W. Not because I dident know what I was doing just because I had to dig up special parts from many different sources to make the 78 4x4 engine fit my 86 2WD truck. It took me less then an hour to drain, remove the wiring harness, radiator and 4.9L engine from my truck.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,323
Likes: 2
From: Montana Territory
Maybe check with your local chapter, they might be willing to give up a saturday, you probably wouldn't get much work done, but you would have a good time.
It took me like 3 months to put the 351W in my ranger, but we did extensive reconstruction of the truck.
It took me like 3 months to put the 351W in my ranger, but we did extensive reconstruction of the truck.
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,447
Likes: 1
From: Littleton, CO
An engine "swap" always takes longer than a "replacement", but then you usually aren't using your vehicle getting the "swap" as a daily driver. Becasue of this, days or weeks can be experienced. It also depends on your current set-up vs. your future set up, like carbed to EFI or auto the stick. Don't rush a swap, nothing worse than a hack job that haunts you later...
--Mike
--Mike
