98 Engine swap?

[Shadow-D]

I had an idea and I thought I'd bounce it off you folks.

I have a 1990 full size bronco with a newer 351W and the E4OD trans that has a fresh rebuild but that the body is too far gone to repair.
I also have a 98 Expedition with the 4.6 but I'm not sure what trans it has, that has a head gasket issue and has never towed anything in it's life. Trans has just started to slip a little.

I'm looking to get a newer car but to do that, I need to get rid of my Bronco. Problem is I still need something that I can tow with.

Question is... Does anyone know of any issues that would prevent me from swapping the 4.6 and trans in the Expo with my 351 and trans?

Thanks
D

 

[tonydiv]

I'm going to be swapping out the motor in my truck in the next year or two, so I've been looking at the available options.

If you need to pass emissions, the 351 swap may not work for you. But if emissions testing isn't in the picture, then I think it's a viable swap, even if it is older technology. It has 20hp less then the 5.4l, so it won't be a speed demon, but if you're used to a 4.6, you should be happy. The good thing is, that there are tons of cheap speed parts out there for a 351W.

Some quick measurements should tell you if the motor will fit in the engine bay.
You'll need to fab up the motor mount brackets and probably re-work the trans crossmember. The driveshaft(s) may also need to be shortened or lengthened.


You'll need to use the computer from the Bronco to control the motor and trans. You didn't say if either truck is a 4x4. If so, I would contact the folks at Jeff's Bronco Graveyard to see if an adapter is needed to mate up the old trans to the Expedition transfer case.


As for my future project, I've pretty much decided that I'll be going with a performance rebuilt 5.4l. Mainly because it is cheap and easy. It should put out about 320hp, which is a nice power increase, but not enough to start tearing up the rest of the driveline. Although.... that new 5.0 sure would be a cool swap. Hmmmm...

 

[Shadow-D]

Thanks, I assumed that all Expos and Broncos are 4X4.
I was hoping that the swap would work without too much work seeing that the 351 is still new with less than 20k on the clock and the trans has less than 16k.

I kind of had an idea that I might need to do something with the computer, but I wasn't sure if the top end parts (i.e. using the long block)would work or not. I guess they won't.

Thanks
D