Hi all. This is my first post. My step son has a 97' F150 with a ceased up 4.6l engine in it. I found a 96' 4.6 Mustang engine that I would like to swap. What I thought I would do would be to place both engines on engine stands and swap everything that is different such as intake manifold, flywheel (going from a standard transmission in the Mustang to an automatic transmission in the F150), and all the sensors. In theory, this should be all I have to do. Has anyone here actually done such an engine swap? If so, are there any troubling areas that I have overlooked? Thanks in advance!

 

You wont like the way it drives with the mustang motor. The mustang 4.6s are meant to rev out and make horsepower, while the truck motor is meant to make torque.
Im not sure what the difference internally between the 2 are, but if you swapped out the car cam with the truck cam it might make it better.

 

Yes, you're right. The Mustang cams are designed for top end horsepower where the truck cams are designed for low end torque. However, since this truck isn't used for towing, I don't think it will become a huge issue. If we had the cam timing tool for this engine, we would consider making the swap. Since we don't, we're better off leaving it the way it is.

We've got the Mustang engine on the stand already and should have the truck engine out of the truck sometime this afternoon. So far, we've had more problems keeping everyone focused on the job at hand than anything else. It's all good though. Who would think that an engine swap would turn into the family reunion. We have 4 generations helping to pull this engine.

 

Depending on which versions they are there are some differences, too many to list but here is the site that lists all differences up to around '00:

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/eb40228.htm

 

Welcome to the forum

They are the same internally. It is compter tuning, intake runner length and exhaust that change the rpm range, they even have the same cams. As long as the truck had a Romeo built engine they will interchange. The Romeo engines have 6 flywheel bolts and the Windsors have 8.

 

6 bolt flywheel flange on both.

However, as we progressed through the project, we found many little things were different between the engines. The one we took out had a knock sensor and a temperature sensor on the inside of the head under the intake. The new engine didn't. The oil pressure sensors were different. The timing covers were different. We were able to work around most of these issues, but there are a few things that have us puzzled.

The engine runs strong but it doesn't idle. We're going to look for a vacume line or a sensor we may have missed in the morning. Beyond that, I'm not sure what to look for and wonder if the idle problem is related to the sensors that this engine doesn't have that the other one did. We swapped over everything that we could, but the mustang engine wasn't machined to accept the knock sensor or the temperature sensor in the head.

Anyway, I'm open to ideas on what might correct this problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

The temp sensor in the head is for the temp gauge in the dash. If nothing else, remove the sensor from the old head and plug it into the harness. This way it will show the PCM something. Do the same with the knock sensor.
Make sure the IAC is plugged in anddouble check your vacuum lines, especially the PCV line into the rear of the intake.

 

try swapping the heads use the block