Hey guys,

I posted this in the Engine forum but I thought it would work here too.

I'm going to replace the engine in my dad's 1989 F150 and I'd like some opinions.

The enigine is dead in his 89 with the I6 300 and a manual tranny. He's been using my 2000 with the 5.4 auto for the last few weeks and he wants to convert his to an auto when he replaces the engine.

Here's the question: Would it be better to buy a rebuilt I6 and find an auto transmission for it, or to buy a newer V8? I found a 5.4 with low mileage with an auto transmission for $2000, which is close to the cost of a rebuilt I6 and tranny from what I've found.

Conversion too tough or would you go with the V8?

Thanks,

Tim

 

the auto conversion will be tougher than the engine. go w/ the v8 though.

 

I'd pass on the 5.4. Unless you want to go through a lot of hassle and have not just the donor engine, but the the entire donor truck, you're going to have a tough row to hoe. If it were me, I'd try to find a wrecked F-150 with a 5.0 or 5.8 and do the swap as a whole. That way, you'd have not only an engine and trans, but you'll have a steering colum with the proper shifter, necessary cables, wiring harnesses, cross member, driveshaft, everything. Wrecked, and or beat up F-150's are plentiful and relatively cheap. Plus this project could be finished in a few days rather than a few weeks.

 

The biggest issue is we've put a lot into the truck that died recently. It has a new paint job, new tires, radiator, AC compressor, starter, Class II hitch, toolbox and such.

I guess another I6 is the simplest thing to do, but we do definitly want to convert it to an auto tranny.

Thanks for the help,

Tim

 

Is there a possibility of rebuilding the I6 instead of replacing it completely. See if you can find a good engine shop and get prices and compare that to getting a replacement.

The engines from 1996 and up will not just drop in like H_O_F150 said. The reason for this is the computer system on board. In the 1995 and down, it is called the OBD1 (on board diagonstic) and the 1996 and new have the OBD2's. The 2's have more sensor which means alot of the wiring harnesses will need to be changed along with a lot of other stuff.

Have Fun & Keep on Truckin'
Dean

 

I would never recommend putting in a 5.4l, it was never made to put in this truck, so it would take a lot of fabricating.

I swapped out my I-6 to a 351, if your not careful it will look like this:

Actually I did it the hard way and learned a lot, but plan on an extra $1,000-$2000 to put it in as compared to just rebuilding the I-6. If you go that route, I would be more than happy let you know whats involved.

I too was gonna go auto when I did the engine, but couldnt find a suitable tranny for the money I had available. I kept the M5OD for now and am actually quite satisfied. With the I-6 it seemed like a dog, but a stick is fun when you have power, plus Ford put in a dinky 10" clutch. Upgrading to an 11" clutch also made a big difference.

If you go auto, Id reccomend an on the floor shifter. Otherwise your looking at tearing apart the entire dash and replacing the steering column.

If you replace the engine, I too like to have the engine rebuilt at a local machine shop. Many assembly line rebuilds only replace what needs replacing to save costs.