I am about to swap the motor in my 2006 screw 5.4. I picked up a 2008 motor and was having my neighbor put it in. He is a mechanic / body guy. His idea was to pull the cab to swap the motor. According to the service manual this is not the way to go. Anyone have any suggestions or advice on this subject.

 

What are you swapping?

New for old...

4.6 to 5.4....

 

I am swapping a 2006 5.4 3 valve to a 2008 5.4 3 valve same motor just one is basically new and the 2006 is destroyed.

 

Does the 2008 5.4 3v have brown cop boots?

 

I only pulled the cab to beat warranty time. It'll come out in the normal manner though.

 

I am not sure the tops look black are the boots a different color? I would have to pull the motor off the pallet rack to check. I am looking at some pictures but the sticker on the left valve cover says 11-12-08 20:34.

 

His reasoning was he had done a body swap on an expedition before and said it was very easy to pull the body off the frame.

 

From what I can remember....
The 08 will have an electronic clutch for the fan so you'll need to use your 06 engine wiring harness and your 06 fan clutch...

This is where you might run into issues....I can't pinpoint exactly in 08 production line when Ford started to build the 5.4 with the revised heads....it was basically to change the sparkplugs back to a traditional design...where I'm going with this is IDK if the cops are compatible with the 06 wiring harness connectors or if the cops will be compatible with the 06 pcm....

 

I will pull a plug and check. Being so late in 2008 my fear is it is a 2009 motor. It looks the same but who knows. I was planning on pulling the 2006 and comparing them on the engine stands.

 

Here are pictures of the motor

It was used for altenator testing. 6 hours on the motor.

 

Definitely a 2009 5.4 3v intake on it....

 

Will it work is the question?

 

It will work. I put an engine in my 04 with a build date of dec 08', it had the new head design, which is why I bought it. My replacement engine had the intake like the picture you posted too.. You can just switch yours over with no trouble.

I had to do the following. I have a lariat so you may or may not have to do all this stuff (I have the package with sensors everywhere for the in-dash computer)

Swap from old engine to new (compatability issues)

Waterpump(different threads)
Oilpan(old one had a sensor, new one didn't)
Fuel rail (old one had a sensor, new one didn't)
Air Intake (you'll have to do the same)
Intake manifold (had too few vacuum ports in the back of the intake)

I did put in the new fuel injectors with it, I pulled the plugs while the block was out of the truck and put some anti seize on em (new plug design anyway)..

Make sure you check the intake manifold for vacuum ports against your old one. I didn't and it was a bitch to do once the engine was in the truck.

All in all, I've put 35K on my 2008/2009 motor and it runs a lot better than the 04 ever did.

If you need any advice or have any questions, let me know.

 

One more thing... you'll need to pull the hood (obviously), the radiator, the fan, condensor, and the plastic cowl panels up near the windshield to get the motor out. It would REALLY help to pull the intake manifold off to get it out as well.
I didn't pull the intake , but I should have.

It's pretty tight coming out, but if you just remove everything it'll come out fine.

 

The COP's plug up with the OEM wiring harness on the older truck, I didn't have to modify anything. Basically, once you put the required parts on it from the old motor, it bolts right in.
Started on the first crank and haven't ever had a CEL in 35k miles.

You're right about the fan though, OP is going to have to swap the waterpump so the old fan assembly will screw onto it.