im considering a 351w swap into my truck and i havent found any 351w's tht have been pulled out of trucks, but ive found some that have been pulled out of passenger cars (crown vic., etc). are these the same engines as the ones in trucks? i know cams and intake manifolds and some other misc. parts might be different, but are they essencially the same? another thing, if the 351w was originally carbed, can i switch it to efi with no problem (as long as i have all the parts, of course)? thanks

ps. im taking of the 351w's only, not the 351C or M

 

Yup, pretty much the same.

 

Ditto.



Take care,
~Chris

 

Actually, I take that back. Pre-1994 are the same. In '94, they became roller engines, and are different.



Take care,
~Chris

 

if i get a non-roller, can i convert it to roller without much work? will the block need any machining to convert to roller? thanks for the info!

 

Actually, it can be done, but it's kind of a pain. You have to buy a roller conversion kit, and then have to buy specific cams designed for the conversion. You won't be able to just use any roller cam. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Having a traditional cam will be fine, and you'll have a better variety to choose from that are designed with trucks in mind.

Take care,
~Chris

 

well i have found some late 80's 351's pretty cheap so if i do decide to go with a 351 ill just stick to the flat tappet cams. thanks for all the help. now all i gotta decide is if i want more torque (351) or if i want more mpg (302). desicions desicions...

 

I converted my '89 f-150 w/ 300 I-6 to 351w last month. Talk about a pain in the you know what. The best way to do it, and the only way to do it in my opinion is to find the model year of your truck and use a donor from that year (and a truck). I know, I was just like you ... "but I can find a cheap one out of ------". I used a 351 from a '90 E-350 for my '89. The wiring was completely different. The computer harness plug used basically the same pin positions, but the four plugs on the engine to the main harness used many different positions. Basically I had to take the entire main wiring harness (there is a lot) from the van and strip it to only the wiring perdenant to the engine itself. Once you have done this, you only have to splice the fuel pump relay wire (that goes to the inerta switch) and the ignition wire, along with a couple hot and ground leads. Also, you have to track the instrument wiring and splice it to run through the firewall (tach, oil pressure, water temp, cruise, dummy lights if so desired). I left the existing wiring harness in place and just unplugged the comp and engine and spliced where necessary. It sounds so easy, took me 3 solid days to figure out the wiring to this point alone. The 5.0/5.8 mounts differently to the frame and requires brackets that mount to the back of the K-member. 4 or so rivets have to be cut with a torch and replaced by bolts to install the brackets where the mounts bolt to. My suggestion is to purchase a donor of the same model and make (f-series) of vehicle to complete the swap, just like everybody told me to. If you use something else, you will spend just as much money adapting as it would cost you to purchase the correct engine, let alone the headaches. The engine harness for any 89 f series with a 351 was similar enough to plug right into the existing 6cy harness, except maybe one wire. (the injectors fire in 2 banks on both) Go to your local library and look up wiring diagrams in mitchels or use "mitchels on demand" (computer version that I found easier to use than the printed text). I also purchased the entire wiring diagrams from ford for my truck that I found on ebay, which were very useful. Took me 8 straight days to get the truck drivable (I still have little details).

You should be able to find a decent 351 complete with computer for about $750. You will spend $250-500 on any 351 plus the difference in cost adapting it.

Conditions under wich I would NOT perform the swap:
1. It was my daily driver (it was)
2. I was using an engine which I had to adapt the wiring when finding an engine that I would nott have to was a good possibility
3. I did not have a whole lot of patients
4. I was not attatched to the truck and it wouldnt bother me to just buy a different one with a 351 (really its cost effective by the time you count labor and headaches)

Reasons I would perform the swap:
1. the power increase is phenominal
2. I wasnt attatched to the truck (ie. this was my first real truck)
3. Now I can say I did

You cant take it to have the codes read (or anything else for that matter) without them charging a ton and shaking there head in frustration too. I'm glad I did the swap, but you always have those little kinks you gotta deal with. Its not for everybody for sure. Let me know if you have any questions about the swap.
Coreyparker64133@yahoo.com

 

# 2 on reasons I would should read " I was attatched to the truck"

 

thanks for the detailed response. i think i migh be better off justmodding my 302 because thisis my daily driverand all. thanks for the info!

 

I didnt realize that you had a 302 already because you said "now all i gotta decide is if i want more torque (351) or if i want more mpg (302)". If you are swapping from a 302 to a 351w the swap is considerably easier. The major difference between the engines is the deck height, meaning the lower intake manifold is different. They are very similar engines since they are from the same family, the difference being the stroke Most everything else ought to bolt up, including sensors etc. THe fuel rail, engine mounts (although the riveted brackets on the frame are the same as 302), fan shroud and computer may or may not be different. Your exauhst would likely be slightly different because the exahst ports on th 351 will sit higher, meaning that your headers/manifolds will bolt up, but will sit higher from your exahst flanges. The biggest advantage would be that you could use the same wiring and injection (you may need a new fuel rail). The only electronics that I am aware of that you MIGHT have to change would be the computer. You would probably have a good shot at buying ANY 351 and an intake and going for it. You'll probably have a couple purchases, and slight mods, but not to difficult of a swap really. The late '80s engines (85-87?) were available in the HO form and I am told that they have a little better stock cam and maybe better other internals (ie pistons). Also I have been told that the truck engines have stronger rods than some of the car engines. I am not sure on the differences exactly though, as I have just picked up on heresay.