[TennesseeMustangPerf]

I am swapping out my fiancee's 1994 Mustang 3.8L with a 4.6L V8, and unfortunately there is not a lot of information on this swap. As I go along with the swap (almost finished, THANK GOD!) I will update this parts list, but or now here is what all had to be swapped out and why. Hopefully it will guide you in deciding if this is the right swap for you, and if so it will assist you in the install. This will also, hopefully, keep you from buying a ton of stuff that you can reuse.



K member- It is believed that the K members are interchangable, this is true between 4cyl., 3.8L V6, and the 5.0L V8, but they are conciderably different on the 4.6L. I originally attempted to modify the K Member to work, but it is completely shaped wrong and DOES require hanging. Your old steering rack WILL bolt right up.

Engine, intake, fuel injector system A/C compressor, coil packs and wires, waterpunp, etc.- Well duh!

Computer- This might not be a requirement, you might get away with a chip, dunno. I had a GT comp, so in she went,

Engine harness- This will have to be changed out for obvious reasons.

Headers- I had to change headers beuase the ones that were on the motor (rown Vic police car) were too small in diameter and the flange hit the firewall.

Transmission- I had to change out transmissions bauase her AOD-E will NOT bolt onto a 4.6L. Thankfully, I had three 4R70Ws lying around. Standard (manual) transmissions should interchange though.

Transmission harness- The harness is the same between AOD-E and 4R70W, but the O2 sensor harnesses are different. You probably can modify your old harness to work though.

Which brings us to O2 sensors. I am not sure what the differences are, but the part numbers for the 3.8L and the 4.6L sensors are different, so I changed them out to be safe. Her old O2 sensors did screw right into the GT pipes though. Again, if using the old trans harness, you can reuse the O2s.

Brake booster- The Modular motors (even the 16 valve GT) will not clear the vacuum booster, so you will need to get a 1996+ GT hydroboost.

Brake booster to steering lines- The booster runs off the power steering pump, therefore you will need to get a set of 1996+ hydroboost and power steering rack lines.

Slight modification of the brake lines will be necessary, as the V6 lines go in from the side, the GT goes into the booster from the bottom.

Transmission tail piece- The ONLY reason why I had to swap these tailpieces out is because the Crown Vic has a larger diameter yoke, therefore the rear seal is too large, and for some reason I cannot get a rear trans seal for a 1996+ GT 4R70W transmission.

Exhaust- Includes intermediate pipe and mufflers.

Radiator- The hoses are in diferent places and are not the same size.

Overflow tank. To match the radiator.

Modification of the drive shaft- The old drive shaft will work, but you will need to either 1. have the shaft shortened approx. 1", or 2, cut off 1" off the yoke. The splines are the same from the V6 and the autos, but the motor pushes the trans. back slightly.

Motor mounts- They are not the same as the V6. I piked up a set of solid motor mounts for a GT for $49.00.

The dash wiring harness does NOT need to be removed for a 4.6L swap, but WILL need to be changed to swap out to a 5.0, as the pins are larger for the computer.

Starters- The starter is the same from a 3.8L to a 5.0, but are different for a 4.6L.

Alternator- Not the same as a 4.6, though 3.8 and 5.0 are the same.

A/C lines- As I stated above, the A/C ompressor is different, and the lines are too.

I have been asked this several times, and yes, fuel lines WILL bolt up the the GT rails. These do not need to be changed out.




I hope this helps out somebody, If I did not score the engine, all accessories, transmission, computer, and wiring harness for $100, and if I did not want to do something TOTALLY different to my fiancee's car, I would NOT have done the swap. This has been a nightmare, and will nickel and dime you to death. A 5.0 liter would have been MUCH easier, but in the end, I think it will be worth it. Good luck if you decide to do it though.
Rob

[Ole Yeller]

:clap

[Onemanzu]

good job... but the nightmare doesn't end their... in a few months the rear end on the car will start to go out at which point you will need to get an 8.8

what were some of the challenges you faced in doing this swap...

just trying to get some more info see if we can put together a well compiled piece for sticky status

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

The hardest part was getting my friend to come over and help after the first day. LOL. Kust kidding... THANKS TIM! The hardest part was probably dealing with the frustrations of having to do eveything three, four, five times and more untill I was all finished. There were things like the headers that had to be changed out because the Vic ones were different than the ones on a Mustang, things like that just P!$$ you off. Past that, the hardest thing was probably getting the actual motor in, we did it in the drive way and a cherry picker does not roll at all in gravel.
I will have some pics to post soon.
Thanks!

[ESG-642T]

Welcome to A nightmare -

(how you got all that for 100$? I won't even ask)

But:
now you have to look at suspension -
rear end -
drive shaft -
axles -

It gets fun

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Here we go...I am starting out with a pic of her car before it was painted/ modified. HARDCORE ENTHEUSIASTS BE WARNED... IT IS NOT PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Here is the tired out old sixer. 220,000 miles and still running... got her money's worth, that's for sure!

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Here is the new motor, fresh out of the Crown Vic.

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

A little better now that it has been stripped down and cleaned up.

[Onemanzu]

looks good ... can't believe thats a car... doesn't look like one at all... sad

got any of the engine in the car?

and hate to be nosey or anything but how much did it all cost you and such

[nba1341]

show the cleaned pics

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Sorry, I had to resize the pics... I will have them posted in about 10 mins. Thanks

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Originally Posted by Onemanzu looks good ... can't believe thats a car... doesn't look like one at all... sad got any of the engine in the car? and hate to be nosey or anything but how much did it all cost you and such

No problem, that is why I posted.
The motor, trans. computer, accessories, etc. was $100.
The Hydroboost was $100.
The lines were $65.
The A/C lines were $40.
The headers were $40.
The H-Pipe was $135.
Flows with tubes, $65.
Wiring harness- $65.
K member $100.
Radiator/cooling system $40 (thanks to a friend).
Most of the stuff was thanks to Ebay.

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Originally Posted by Onemanzu looks good ... can't believe thats a car... doesn't look like one at all... sad got any of the engine in the car? and hate to be nosey or anything but how much did it all cost you and such

By the way, the car is now show quality, if you can believe it. It was my main Christmas gift to her. Took me two and a half months, but it was worth it. I did it at the shop, she thought it was in for a 2 1/2 month repair for a fake "cracked head" issue. She had no idea!

[Onemanzu]

awhh thats cute

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

I took advantge of having the motor out of the car to paint the engine bay. This is the pic that closest resembles the actual color of the car.

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Here are a few pics of the motor installed... semi cleaned up.

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Finally, here are a few pics of the car. Quite a long way from the first pic, eh? The car is Ford Bright Teal basecoat, GM blue pearl in the clearcoat, Mopar Bright silver metallic graphics and House of Kolor Avalon Silver miniflake over the graphics with .0050 White Diamond powder.

[Florida Mustang]

This is a first class engine swap and you did a great job! Welcome to to the forum.


Florida Mustang

[TennesseeMustangPerf]

Originally Posted by Florida Mustang This is a first class engine swap and you did a great job! Welcome to to the forum. Florida Mustang

Thank you! I appreciate that!