i dont follow the 4.2 much, only enough to know it likes hydrolocking
But i think its the only one that has a different bellhousing.

 

well i happend to come across a decent milage 4.6 for only 500 bucks so i think im gonna drop that in over the weekend. i still like the idea of the 5.4 swap but this is a cheap and easy one for me to do. thanks for the help guys. while ive got my engine out ill definatly look into what went wrong and decide if i should keep the engine as a spare or not. ill let everyone know how the swap goes and try to take some pics, im pretty bad for that though.
bill

 

so ive been stuck at work to much lately to really get into this swap, but i have got whatever work done when i could. as of right now i have the engines sitting side by side and ive swapped over things like my powersteering, pully's, etc. and changed the rod bearings along with all new gaskets.

so im looking at the cams and thinking i wouldnt mind putting in a new set. how much work is putting in a new cam? it seems simple until i try to figure out how to get the timing right. do i need a cam alignment tool or is there an easier way? thanks guys,
bill

 

i'm in the same boat,my 97 f150 also has a loud knock and i'm looking for a motor also,she has 263,000 miles on her and i'm not sure what i will do,truck is in great shape with newer tranny and 315's on her.if you go with the 5.4l please let me know what it takes,rob

 

way ahead of u... check out JMC's posts on 4.6 to 5.4 swaps. also, i recently did a lightning 5.4 transplant into a 97 f150

 

well now's the time for an update since im a bit stuck.
ive got the "new" engine in and it seems like its a really decent engine, no ticks, knocks, bangs, clunks or smoke. so for that im really happy.
my problem is its running a little off, seems like the timing to me, also i get a 171? engine code saying that the engine is running lean on bank one. im hoping that i can take it in and have the timing adjusted, does this sound like a good route to take? or should i maybe try something else?

 

well i finally got the truck running right, thought i would try to put in some new wires and found a decent deal on a set of bosch. as i went to change them i found that there was alot of water sitting in the spark plug holes that must have got down in there after i washed the engine bay once i got the new engine in. cleared out the water and she fired up and had lots of power. i then changed out the plug wires and everyhting seems to be back up to 100%. feels great, thanks for all the help everyone!