The engine in my isuzu trooper bit the dust this morning. I have the opportunity to purchase a complete donor 08 f150 that was totaled. my trooper has a manual trans that i will be keeping.mainly because its a four wheel drive and the truck is 2wd. i will have the complete harness from the donor truck. My question is what electrical issues i might run in to using a manual trans behind it, and if anyone has any insight as in how i would wire the ecu to stand alone but keep as many of my factory gauges as possible.

 

sorry 2009 f150

 

You want to do what? Put a Ford engine in a Trooper??????

Good luck with that.

 

You're going to need a different ECU to use that engine with a manual trans (assuming that engine was available with a manual). That's just for starters. You're going to need a new transmission because yours won't bolt up to a Ford engine (Bell housings aren't standardized). You're going to need a new transfer case because your current one probably won't work with the Ford compatible transmission. You're going to need a new instrument cluster because I doubt the Isuzu one will be able to read from a Ford ECU. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

You're better off finding a direct replacement engine for your Trooper, or scrapping it and getting another vehicle.

 

No 2009 F-150's had a manual available.

 

The question you have to ask is, "Do you hate yourself and how much?"

The 5.4L 3V is a wide, tall and heavy lump. I'm not sure it would even fit between the frame rails of a Trooper and it is a tall motor, once it's in there you will still have to get the hood closed. If it did manage to cram in in the hole, you would have to beef up the front end because a 5.4L weighs about 650# before you add on any of the accessories. Then there's the matter of attaching it, all custom mounts for EVERYTHING under the hood. Now to the driveline, it won't bolt right up to your existing trans so you will have to get one from a Mustang since that's one of the only vehicles that has a manual trans and 5.4L. The transfer case and axles wouldn't last long under the torque of the 5.4 either. Forget about the ECM, that will all have to be custom done and the variable cams more than likely will be in-oped.

And that's just the start of it all...

 

Why are you assuming this donor truck has a 5.4 3 valve? Not that the other 2 engines would be any easier.

 

Got me there, I seen a 2008 then 2009 and somehow got 5.4L in my head. Anyway you cut in, if I was to attempt a project this big there's no way in hell it would be for a Trooper.

 

Wow, that's a blast from the past. I remember when I had an Isuzu Pickup and read the swap notes from a guy who swapped a 302 into an older Trooper. That was a hoot. I think his was carbed, too. On second thought, it may have been this Amigo...

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...jiwml4faxJS6kQ

Anyway, if I was in your shoes and didn't have emissions to deal with, I'd rather just find a suitable size Isuzu turbodiesel I4 to drop in there instead of the mess that a Ford gasser would be...

 

It just so happens that i work in a machine shop and that the mechanical aspect of the build is within my abilities. with the original trooper flywheel machined to bolt to the ford 4.6l with a half inch spacer behind it. I know for a fact the bellhousing wont just bolt up so the plan is to make an adapter plate out of 1/2" steel with counter sunk bolts. I am pretty confident in the strenght of the transmission and transfer case because it is only a modest increase in power, less than a hundred by my count. I like the way my 20 year old vehicle looks and love the compliments i get on it. I just want to ditch the 20 year old ineffecient gas hog v6 that got 16mpg hwy when it was new and gets no where near the mileage it did when new. For the money i can spend on a junkyard replacement engine I can get a whole donor vehicle with a low mileage engine and decent fuel mileage

 

here is a pic of my trooper for inspiration

If anyone happens to think of any other problems i might come across in process let me know. I appreciate everyones comments and I thank you all