Hello, My name is bobby and I am new to the site.Thanks for the info.Very helpful. I bought an 87 F150 with a 4.9L. with the engine,fuel injection, radiator etc in the bed of the truck all torn apart. The block had a hole in it with a connecting rod gone through the block along with a broken camshaft. I am running into some problems and even considering selling it but I want to try. I have an opportunity to buy a complete 4.9l with fuel injection and all brackets etc. from a wrecking yard from a 1994 with 89000 for six hundred. Is there any thing that must be done electronically or mechanically without too much more money.Are the plugs and solenoids compatible etc. The truck has been sitting for about two years. I even thought that the tanks should be emptied and cleaned. I could really use some advice. The head appears to be in good to excellent condition. I thought about buying a shortblock from that place in Washington state and trying to put it all back together. Please help.All suggestions appreciated.Thanks,bobby

 

Buying a whole engine would probably be better, since you can't be sure that what you have is enough to put even a short block back together. All the electronic parts are compatible from '87-95, except the wiring harness & its connectors vary every few years. That just means you might have to rearrange some pins in a connector, or cut one off the donor harness and attach all the wires to your harness.

Emptying and drying the tanks wouldn't hurt - I use a 100W drop light underneath and a vacuum cleaner set to blow into the tank for a few hours to remove all the vapors. Then you can look around inside for rust/sediment/damage.

A few cans of Liquid Wrench ($2ea) and a bottle of Anti-Seize Lubricant ($8) would be wise investments, as would a Haynes manual ($12), a compression tester ($20), a digital multimeter ($8-100), and a vacuum pump/gauge (MityVac $30-50).

 

Thanks for the info. I just got back from looking at the engine at the wrecking yard. The wiring harness is indeed totally different. The wrecking yard man said that it really wouldnt work by just switching the harness due to accessories involved. He suggested that I use just the long block and switch intakes/fuel injection. I cant see why it would make such a difference its still 12V.Thanks for the help

 

He's wrong - I've done similar swaps a few times and I researched it heavily before the first one (my truck). With some diligence & a Haynes manual, you can match up your wiring to the donor wires and make the connections.

 

Thanks Steve. I trusted YOUR opinion even before I went there. The engine really looked good and even kind of clean. I will request a compression test as you recommended and he will give me two weeks to put it in and give him back my old parts.Once again he wanted 600.00 for a 94 4.9 with allattachments.Thanks,bobby

 

Definatly clean the tanks... BUT... Be careful with the vacuume. More than one guy has been blown up while using a wet/vac on fuel tanks. Dead men tell no tales.... When the fumes get to the spark in the motor, thats all she wrote. I know your blowin and not suckin but if inside a garage the fumes are gonna be coming out. And the vac motor is exposed. Fuel tank cleaning solutions are available and work great. Not only to remove old gunk, but come with a PART ll conditioner to coat the tank against further corrosion.

Have you thought about going to a 2 or 4 BBL carb and ditchin the fuel injection? They are suppossed to unleash the power of the six. I have a 96 4x4, 5spd in excellent condition and am not impressed with the power/torque or gas mileage for the power output... I just can't hack up a perfectly good but weak set-up.

I would love to recam and go with a small four or two BBL. People claim the mileage isn't any worse than injection and maybe even better. The best I can get is 15 MPG. But like I said the power is poor, poor, poor. If it has so much torque it should be able to hold speed on a mild hill. It doesn't. Some people claim 250 -300 h.p. from the six. Much better than my 145 - 150.

You are in the perfect position to go either way. Stock injection. Or rip snortin slightly modified cam and carb. I would go modified.

Chris...

 

shotgun
There has to be something wrong with your engine. I'm running a junkyard '95 engine in a Bronco with 32s and at least 1000lb of extra weight (just over 3 tons last week on the scale), and although I rarely see 12mpg, I have no trouble with "mild" hills and can even peg the speedometer (a '94 PSOM) with 3.08 gears.

If you do decide you need a carb, PLEASE don't trash your engine - you can sell it for more than a carbed engine would cost since there are plenty of people who (like me) want to go the other way. MAF 4.9Ls are rare enough without destroying one to make it a common 300ci.

 

Steve83

I would never chop it up. And I appreciate stock configured vehicles, especially as they age. I have so many other vehicles to drive. I only use it to tow a 22ft center console boat or my 12' straight bed utility trailer or camping. The truck is ext cab with 3.55 gears, 5spd and a tall fiberglass cap with bedliner. It has 78,000 miles and is in excellent tuned condition. I bought it used in 1999 with 68,000 miles on it so I don't know it's past treatment. I did get 32 BFG TKO's when the Firestones got recalled. (No charge to me) Which I know doesn't help with power. It is on the 96 photo page with the old 31 tires.

I would love to just regear with 4.11.s But 2 reasons hold me back. One the truck has factory limited slips in BOTH axles. Which I had never seen nor talked with anybody else that had them. Offroad pull is awsome. And problem 2: The local trans/axle guy is good. He hates the FORD TTB front axle for gear swaps. Pain in the butt to remove reinstall. Then run to check gear lash. Then remove again. He said you always remove atleast once if not more to get the run-out correct. He does many local mud runners axles. Because they never drain the diffs of water afterwards. Maybe just spoiled by the straight axles? He wants big money just for labor and would prefer not to do it.

I can live with poor MPG, but I have trouble backing up the sixes reputation for pullin torque down the road. It reminds me of driving a Military 21/2 ton truck. Always rowing the gears just trying to keep up a little speed. And lose it on any hill. Lots of work and stressful in traffic. Even the cruise control running empty, will floor the go peddle on the slightest grade to keep up. If it had torque it shouldn't have too, in my opinion.

To add to my delema. I had sold the 22ft boat before going over seas. I never weighed it but it was a pig. 8FT beam. My new boat will be a 22ft also and when fueled and rigged weigh in at 4000 lbs. Pushin it for my trucks setup. The 4.11's would solve my problem, I think. I don't need any faster than 60 - 65 while towing. The acceleration would be much improved. Some say an increase in mileage with a gear swap. But the swap would be $12 - $1500. Of course I would need some type of locker in both axles. That is the only way to go.

Chris

 

must of done some major abuse to throw a rod through the block...

 

In 1987 and 88 I replaced a few 300s with rods sticking out the side of the block. never did figure out what caused it and the newer ones never seemed to have that problem.

 

I have only seen one rod go through a 300 block. Owner said oil light came on and then BOOM. Rod through the side. It was in an early 90's truck. 92 I think. No ruff treatment while he owned it.

Chris

 

I will try to figure out how to post the picture of this hole in the block, but get this, the hole was caused by the connecting rod in the next cyllinder.When I looked at the block, I saw that the camshaft was broken also.thanks,bobby

 

DAAAAAAAAAAYYYUUMMMMMM!!! For that kind of loot, you could get a mail-order custom job! I've never seen a 4.11 8.8", but they can't cost that much in good used condition from a junkyard. The highest price I've ever heard for an 8.8" is $800, but I've bought one for $70 and sold one for $200. Right now, the only spare I have is a 3.55, but I'm driving on it until my 3.08 is ready.

The mileage will go up only if the gear change moves the engine RPMs closer to the engine's peak efficiency most of the time, which is HIGHLY dependent on exactly what you do with it, so it's about impossible to predict.

 

From what I have been told: To squeeze a 4.11 into an 8.8 rear, you have to get a new carrier/ring gear. Uping the price. X2 axles uping the price. Plus lockers or LSD, uping the price. Plus labor, uping the price.

With my 32" tires I am closer to a 3:08 rear now. I would think mileage may not get better but don't think it would be any worse. I am in and out of fifth. Fourth gear for some reason seems really gutless. Reguardless of RPM. Third seems to respond good.

If it wasn't for the cost, I would have done the swap along time ago...

Chris

 

3.08s on 30" tires is a lot of difference from 3.55s on 32s - that's a 16% decrease in ratio and a 6% increase in tire size, making a total difference of about -8%, so you're still way lower.

This site says there is no case break for the 8.8", and they list 4.10 gears (and lower!). You don't need to change the axles anyway - they work with any ratio. Their price for a complete axle with L/S and your choice of ratio & brakes is $833 plus shipping, but I know you can get a used one for less than half that if you shop around.