I want to put a set of heads and a torque converter on my '03 F150 4.6L but I'm being told that the motor can't be pulled because there's not enough room!?!?!? I was told by 2 different people that the dealerships actually take the cab off to replace the heads- WTF??? Has anybody got experience with this?

 

cant pull the engine because theres not enough room. thats bull****. i've pulled 5.4's and 4.6's out of those trucks. you can leave the engine and the cab on the truck and do the work but it would probably be easier to do it with the engine out. theres members on here that have done motor swaps to there trucks from 2v's to widea$$ dohc 5.4's. theres plenty of room for the engine to be pulled

 

Most dealers will pull the cab off to do a head job.
But the motor comes out through the engine bay without a problem.
The guy that dose my work wont do the heads without pulling the motor(he says it's much easier that way& you can do a better job)
Just remove the hood,fan,radiator, intake-manifold and it comes right out.

Phil

 

It's entirely possible to pull the heads with the engine in the truck (I usually pull 'em with the engine in the truck), but it is a lot easier with the engine out of the truck. The service manual for a while said to remove the engine if the heads had to come off, FWIW.

 

Like everyone is telling you, you can change heads with the engine in the truck and you can pull the engine with the cab on. Personally, after swapping heads on my mustang with the engine in the car, I would definitely yank the engine if I had to pull the heads off of my truck engine. It was a pain in the butt working on the mustang engine in the car, but the truck is so much taller it would be ridiculous. By the time you get the heads torn off, the engine is almost out anyway. It's so much easier to do the work on a stand it just makes more sense to me. I could see doing it in the vehicle if it was one head, but not both.

EDIT: I kind of got off track with the whole engine in/engine out thing. You're doing the torque convertor too so either the engine or trans has to come out. Bottom line: engine comes out with cab on.

 

This.

 

I would pull the motor - Definitely. I have to do a good job, no buts about it and it would be a PITA in the truck. Pulling the motor isn't that big of deal anyway. Specially when Auto Zone lets you use their engine hoists for free.

 

i did a PI head swap on my truck years ago working by my self in 22 hours non stop working.... no trouble at all, didnt pull the engine.

 

Pull the motor cause its gonna be alot easier and you'll find something else you'll want to fix while it is out.