Lightning Engine Swap in a Ford F-150?
Sure, you can swap the entire drivetrain from a Ford Lightning into an F-150. But is there a better way?
When the Ford Lightning first shocked the world back in 1993, it ushered in a new era of pickup truck performance. Packing a 240 hp, 5.8-liter V8 and a performance-oriented suspension, the first-gen Lightning captured the imagination of truck lovers everywhere, despite its relatively tame real-world performance. But when Ford brought the Lightning back in 1999, they did so with a more serious powerplant.
The second time around, Ford kept the 5.4-liter V8 present in the regular old F-150, but slapped a supercharger on it. That meant 360 (and later 380) raging ponies, good enough to make the new Lightning pretty darn quick. Like any hot rodder worth his salt, F-150 Online member FunFord was wondering if he could simply swap this blown mill into his F-150. So he headed to the forums to find out!
“Would everything bolt right into an F-150 from a Lightning? Are the frames the same? What all would have to be switched over to make it work? Thanks!”
Right away, kwilt chimes in with a pretty daunting list.
“You’d need a driver’s side motor mount, the intake, supercharger, and much more. One of my friends just installed a Lightning motor in his 2000 Harley F-150 and the driver’s side mount he has for his regular 5.4 didn’t fit around the oil cooler. So I guess you don’t need a new mount if you don’t use the oil cooler.”
Falcon11 decides to be “that guy” and state the obvious. Though it is a fair question!
“Why not just buy a Lightning? Makes more sense than doing all that.”
The OP’s answer, of course, is that he already has a good bit of money invested in his F-150. So brahmus has an even better solution.
“With the Monster box 4r70W there is a cheaper alternative. The stock Lightning block can handle about 450 rwhp safely and so can a built 4r70w. In my opinion, if you aren’t going with a built block, don’t do the whole swap. If you already have a 5.4 all you need is the upper setup like they sell on eBay all the time. If not, you can pick up a low mileage junkyard 5.4 fairly inexpensive will all you’ll need. The little details can be had at Madenterprise.com.”
But if you want to go all the way, zeuss347 has taken on his Lightning project full bore!
“I have an ’01 Lightning that I totaled. I’m in the process of putting everything from it onto my ’02 SuperCrew 2wd. I have already swapped rear ends and attempted to swap clusters, but it would not start and went into theft mode. I’ll need to do that after I swap motors, transmissions, and ecus. Makes it a lot easier having a whole truck to pick from.”
One thing’s for sure. And that’s making Lightning level power in a regular F-150 is something you can achieve in a variety of ways. Some people have managed an entire drivetrain swap, but is it worth it? Check out the entire, fascinating thread and decide for yourself!
Join the F-150 Online forums now!
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