I have tried to get an answer from 2 different forums and everyone instead of helping tells me to drop in a 4.6 or 5.4 V8. NOT WHAT I WANT FOR NOW

i recently blew up my engine and went to the junkyard the next day and pulled a 4.2 v6 from a 2001 F150 and only when i got home i noticed that the wiring is different and some censors as well as injector color.

is there any way i can make it work in my 98 F150 without major wiring / ecu modification ??

WHAT DO I DO ?

Thank you

 

I've heard that ford changes their wiring randomly from year to year. Don't know why they'd do that. But the 1997 - 2003 are all the same trucks really. I would think that everything would match up even though things may be a little different. I mean there are only so many connections to hook up. If it were my project I'd just stick it in there and start seeing where stuff fits. Is the new engine out of the same type of v6 150? Like xl vs xlt? There may just be some extra things on the new one that you just dont simply need.

 

Well help us out. How is the wiring different? What sensors?

 

how do i wire a 01 knock sensor to a 98 wiring harness? what are the wiring colors that i have to splice toghether

 

I swapped an 01 engine into my 97 and just used the sensors and intake from my 97 engine since they are a little different. The intake is different in the way the IMRCs are set up and your 98 computer wont run an 01 IMRC. Other than that just cannabalize any sensors off of the 98 and put them on the 01 where the wires dont match up.

 

It looks like I'm about to jump into the same boat as you soon. About the newer engine, I'm guessing there's no place in the block to screw in the older knock sensor (like in a block plug)? I'm sure you've already looked but I'm not quite that far yet. I'll start looking around for the knock sensor question / answer too now that I see that it may be an issue that I'll face soon.

I'll let you know if I find something!

 

i recently did the same thing... put a 2000 in my 1999. There really wasnt much difference. All of the sensors had the same plugs, just a few in different places. I just left the unused plugs on the new engine in place to plug the hole and added my sensors wherever I needed. No big deal. I also had to take the plastic intake off and use my older style. I did not change the injectors...still trying to figure out if I needed to or not. Anyway its pretty straightforward swap, the knock sensor (i think it was the knock sensor, passenger side on side of block under the motor mount)on your old engine will need to be taken out and put on the new one, to do so you will have to remove a big plug that looks similar to the one on your old engine but is not the same. Like i said i did just do this about two weeks ago so its still fresh in my memory, if you have any questions just pm.

 

It may or may not help but please remeber that some of our engines in 98 were built in Canada. Firing order is differant for one thing. Make sure you check your engine number to see what you actually have.

 

*ALL* 4.2 V6's were built at the Essex plant in Canada, and the firing order is the same across the board. 1-4-2-5-3-6.

 

I'm in the same boat. Front what I can gather, 1997 through 2000 are the early series of 4.2 and they share the same sensors. 2001 starts a newer series. You'll notice the obvious signs like the intake manifold is different. I can't offer much beyond that. I'm sorry. I'm looking for another 4.2 from the earlier series to avoid what you are going through.

 

Do you actually have yours running? Is it throwing any codes?

 

Mine is running just fine with no codes for that, I got some codes for the maf sensor that was damaged other than that nothing.