I recently bought a '00 F-150 with the 4.6 V8. The body, original paint and interior is in perfect condition.... however the underside is pretty rusty, but I'm dealing with it right now by making all the repairs and painting it with POR15. I plan on keeping the truck for many years and with what I'm doing, the body and chassis should last a long time.

My main concern for longevity is the 4.6 modular engine. I expect to be able to get 200k or possibly more out of it, but when it dies, I really don't want to replace it with the same engine.... I'd like to do a pushrod 302 swap. I dislike the 4.6 because it's size takes up so much room, likes to spit out plugs that are hard to change and like to break off, exhaust manifolds that leak because of the studs that like to break off in the heads... I can go on. Call me old school, but the 4.6 is just a poor deign IMO.

I've been reading that the 302 won't mate up to the exisitng trans, so my question is... what earlier year truck would be the best donor as far as getting an engine, trans and transfer case?

Secondly, what would need done to make the 4WD system operate? Would I need to do away with the dash control and go with locking hubs, or can the stock '00 system be made to work with the donor parts?


Things I'm not concerned with are:

1. Engine/trans mounts and exhaust... I can fab those up myself.
2. Driveshafts... I can have mine altered or have new ones made if compatibility issues occur.
3. Wiring/ECU/fuel delivery... I can handle all that.

Would really appreciate some advice since my knowledge of older trucks and what would work is limited.... thanks in advance!

 

That's a concern?
The 4.6 hardly ever spits out plugs and all but never hear of them breaking off.
I'm not sure what is such a poor design... considering it an engine I would say averages an easy 200+k without major issues.


Search the swap you are speaking of, it has been brought up many times...

 

The Ford modular 4.6L (and variations of the basic engine) made Ward's best engine list 6 times: '96, '97, '05, '06, '07, and '08. I'm not a fanboy of that engine, but it gets credit where it is due. It never really delivered on power, but the millions of engines running in the American taxi and police fleets are a testament to it's reliability and longevity.

If I were you, I'd drive the wheels off the truck (as you originally intend) and save for a new Coyote 5.0 in the meantime. XD

 

Just an opinion;
You sure are glutton for punishment.
The 302 won't go as far as the 4.6 in miles of life given all other things being equal.
The present 4x4 control system is by a seperate module controlling a transfer case motor and vacuum solenoids to operate the front actuator.
In 4L the motor's PCM has to change shift skeds or you wind the motor to the moon trying the get it to shift gears because the sensed speed would to low.
Dash gauges are a big issue with a different motor and operating system.
Depending on what motor and what control system you end up with, the dash gages may all have to be retrofitted.
Depends on how much your willing to work out issues and what reliabilty it will have over tme.
I would investigate an 01 or 02 5L Explorer with 4x4 as one of the closest hardware fits for the motor you want, trans fit etc.
There will still be a lot issues to solve if you ever get them solved.
I just would not even consider what you want to do because of the incompatabilities involved in to many areas.
You will be a long time working things out before the truck becomes usefull.
Think this through long and hard.
Back yard engineereing is tough when you consider it takes the factory a gang of engineers years to work out a model good enough to sell to the public with reasonable reliability and life and then even things don't always go perfect.
Good luck.

 

why cant we reach through the internet and smack people into shape? these threads are getting annoying... As stated before, you will have one hell of a time getting the motor to run, gauges to read, transmission to shift properly. My 4.6 wasn't a powerhouse, but it was strong enough to do what it was told to do. It only had one issue. A factory head gasket bug. yours will not have that issue being a 2000. Run it til it dies, then if you want to hack your truck to bits trying to put a crappier motor in it go ahead.

 

Some people really love and believe old and simple is superior.
Which in some cases they are. IMO they would not be at all a good candidate for a swap into this truck as a daily driver. Considering the cost, time, what you would have left of the truck when you were done and end product efficiency. The truck would be a hacked up Frankenstein with less power and crappy gas mileage. That doesnt sound like fun.

 

Didn't you just do that ?

Yuh Big Bully..


Okay, you can stop now lol.

 

 

long morning.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far. I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers pertaining to the 4.6.... it's just that I prefer a 302 instead. Reason being, I can put a Trick Flow top end kit on a 302 and make about 350 hp... plenty of hp for a truck this size and what I plan to use it for. And I'll have much more room under the hood to work on it and have a much simpler engine to maintain.

It's not a matter of if I do this swap, but when. I was glad to hear an Explorer would be a good donor because I had already been considering it. My plan was to take the engine, trans, transfer case, gauage cluster, ECU(s)and harnesses out of an Explorer and transplant it all in the F150. Like I said, the wiring is not a problem for me and it won't be all hacked up... I know what I'm doing. If it all works in an Explorer, it will work just as well the F150.

So I guess some more info on how to go about integrating the 4WD system would be nice.... and/or some more suggestions about other possible donor trucks that would be the easiest route.

Thanks in advance.

 

If you think it's worth it, then go ahead! Just make sure you take plenty of pictures for your build thread. It's your truck and your money. A complete donor swap is probably your only chance to get it done the way you want.

I feel I must point out the irony of wanting to use a "simpler" engine vs. the complexity of trying to get it to function with the truck's systems.

You sure you don't want to do a lightning swap? lol

 

The modular engines especially the 2v's are so much more reliable then the Windsor motors. Its not even a sure thing that 200k miles willl be anywhere near the end for it. There are lots of guys who take care of them who have them last well over 300k. Then to top it all off swapping ANY push rod engine in is a MAJOR ordeal. They are so different you could put a chevy or dodge engine in and it would be the same amount of work/hassle. When you finished you has a much worse truck then you started out with..

 

One more thing I've been on this board for a few years now and seen several threads like this. I have yet to see 1 guy come back talking/showing a finished product not 1. I'm sure somewhere in America some guy has done it. Never seen 1 though. So if you do do it make sure to come and show it off.

 

Why downgrade to an old 5.0L? The mileage will be crap and you will loose your speedo, odo, tach, all your gauges, and plenty of other things controlled via the PCM.

IF (not when, but IF) that 4.6L ever dies (my 4.2L has over 300k miles and its no where near as reliable as a 4.6L), I would just go for a 5.4L. More power and mileage than the old Windsor 5.0Ls, and you get to retain all the trucks basic systems

 

While you're all entitled to tell me the 302 is not a wise swap, or that it can't be done, or that even if it can be done, it will be a hassle.... it would be nice to get more positive helpful information than negative comments.

I currently own 10 cars and do all my own work, I've restored several and enjoy modding them... not much of it has been easy, but it's what I enjoy. I might be new to this forum, but not new to modding and fabricating on cars. To give this statement some credibility, just check out my latest build (almost completed) and you'll see I really do know a little about turning a wrench. http://captocapri101.smugmug.com/Car...1526&k=hdhb2xJ

Here's some pics for the ones who don't want to click the link:













The reason for the 302 swap is to have exactly what I want (which is usually the reason I take on projects like this).... I've always liked the body style of the '00 F150 but want it with a 302... and I've come here to hopefully get some helpful information on how to get it all done.

Like I've said, if I take a donor Explorer engine, trans, tranfercase, ECU, harnesses, gauge cluster and and do the swap... none of those items care if they are in an Explorer chassis or an F150 chassis, they will work just the same. The wiring/exhaust/driveshafts is not a concern for me, but some information on how to make the 4WD system work IS.... and that is what I'd like to dicuss if possible.

It's already been suggested that an Explorer would be a good donor vehicle, but it's a smaller truck than the F150 and wouldn't the parts be weaker? So why wouldn't an '87-'91 F150 with an EFI 302 be a better option? Not being a truck guy, I need some info on how the 4x4 system worked on the '87-'91 trucks vs. my '00 F150.... that way I can figure out what I need to do to get the 4WD system working after the swap.

Once again, thanks in advance!