I have a 93F150 XL 4x4, 4.9L, 5 spd w/ 3.08 gearing. My nephew has an 88 F150 5.0L 4x4, 5spd, 3.55. He is going to sell truck & I'm thinking about buying it for the purpose of swapping my 4.9 to a 5.0. I was wondering if the plug on the inner fender of the 93 that the engine harness plugs into is wired the same for a I-6 & V-8. I have a engine harness from a 93 V-8 that I would use & install the 88 computer in the 93, hooking it up w/ the harness that's already in the truck. The reason that I'm considering this swap is because the 93 wont pull my boat very well. I had a 93 F150, 5.0L, e4od & 3.55LS before & it towed it fine. I would just sell mine & drive his but my truck is in way better shape paint & interior wise plus I like the 92-96 body style better.

 

how many miles are on the 300 compared to the 302?

if your having trouble towing just ask him to swap axles with you. that is the big thing thats killing you. other than that you should have no issues pulling a boat. the 302 will be worse with the same gearing as the 300.

 

4.9L has 297K. 5.0L has 160K. I want/need 3.55s, the 88 has them + sway bars front & rear. I was going to swap the gears anyway but figured since it had a v-8, I would swap it in, too.

 

oooo.... well even if you go to the 302 it still has some life left in it but its still not gonna be great at towing. if your gonna go 5.0 ya might as well go 351W. more power and low end AND similar if not better mileage.

 

As far mileage goes, the best I've gotten w/ this truck is 15.2mpg. I was hoping for better than that for a 6cyl. My old 93 5.0 2wd auto got 16-17.

 

How heavy is the boat?

 

huh.. something is wrong then, i would seafoam it, and give it a really good tune-up and advance the timing a lil bit.

 

It an 18 ft bass boat, probably weighs 25-2600#s.
Let's see, I replaced the clutch, intake & exhaust gasket(vacuum leak), spark plugs, seafoamed, & fuel filter. I need to check the timing & get the idle down, seems too high.

 

something is definatly up... that truck even with the poor gearing should have no issues pulling that boat.

 

I have to lock in 4 low to get it up boat ramps so I don't burn the clutch up. I would think w/ that gearing, 18mpg would be no problem. I do have a CEL that comes on 2-3 times a week while driving to & from work + it gets 11-12 tops towing. When I first got it 13-13.8 tops. Fixing the intake leak helped alot. Do I need to seafoam it again? I did it about 10 days ago. 1 can in the tank, 5 oz of another can in the oil, then the rest in the booster hose.

 

well whats the CEL for?

 

agreed, whats the check engine light on for, ive got a 92 w/ 300 e4od combo and 3.08's i was pulling a loaded grain wagon over the scales at 29,000lbs last fall with no issues in 2wd.... slow to get moving but i wasnt out to win races either..... pulling the car trailer with my cutlass on it, or the bronco and i was getting 14-15mpgs with od off obviously...

 

To be honest, I haven't checked for codes. I will & report back. The CEL is very inconsistent. It might go a week w/o it coming on or it could come on several times in my 12 mile trip to work.

 

My friends here are correct. A 300 will get a load moving a lot easier than a 302 will with the same gearing. Smething is wrong with your truck. My little F-150 can get 7,000 lbs moving without effort. Your truck should be able to pull that without breaking a sweat.

A 302 is a great engine and it will pull a heavy load too, so let's not start another 300 vs 302. All I said was a 300 will get a load MOVING easier, that's all. A 302 will keep it moving better than a 300 can. A 351 can do both. A 460 can do both even better! Have I made my point? Sorry, off topic.

 

OK, I'll check for codes & state of tune. Maybe I'll uncover the source of this gutless wonder. Thanks guys