i have a 1997 f-150. the engine locked up. rebuild is impossible in this case. i need to replace it. are all 4.6 the same? if not what are the differences by year and application?

i can't find any 1997 4.6 in my area but i can find a ton of earlier engines from 1996 back. what are the differences in the longblock assemblies for the different year 4.6 v-8? are the heads the same or compatible? are the shortblocks the same or compatible?

alot of yards are asking me if it has the romeo vin code or the windsor vin code. wtf?? aren't all 1997 new body and romeo engines? if not how do i drop a windsor 5.0 in there?

i can pay $1500 for a 40k mile 1997 plus shipping or i can pay
$500 for a 1993-95 crown vic longblock and pull it myself. i'd rather buy the $500 motor because the truck is a beater that just needs to run.

 

Well, I can't answer the question on the difference between pre-97 and 97 and later 4.6l engines, other than to say if it is a pre 97,it didn't come out of a ford truck - most likely the crown vic. These are tuned differently for the car applications vs the truck applications. The truck engines are tuned for more low end torque etc..

For the '97 trucks, the 4.6l engine was manufactured at two engine plants - Windsor and Romeo. Engine code 6 = Windsor, W= Romeo (this is more confusing than it ever needed to be) Post 97, all 4.6l engines are made at the romeo engine plant. There are some subtle differences between the two engines, mainly in the bearings I believe. Some people claim performace differences between the motors, but I don't think it really matters.

Do a search for Romeo or Windsor and I am positive you will come up with a bunch of threads on the differences between the engines.

Hope this helps a little!

 

thanx for the reply! i spent several hours today calling around various dealers and performance specialty stores. all they knew was that one engine has a 6 bolt crank and the other has a 8 bolt crank. although 1997 was first year for the mod in the trucks it was used for a few years earlier in the car lines. these engines are far cheaper mostly because they are older. my concern lies purely with degrees of compatibility. i only need the shortblock if my 1997 heads are a bolt on or a longblock if my heads won't bolt on but everything else (1997 manifolds, coils, accesory brackets, hoses, wiring harness etc.) from the 1997 setup will bolt up.

how are they tuned differently? is it the compression ratio? if so is it the difference in the heads or the pistons? is it the camshafts? if so will it work with my computer? is it purely computer? are the injectors the only difference? is it all exhaust piping? i need to know these things because it helps show the degrees of compatibilty among various years and applications of of the 4.6.

 

Thats right the engines are tuned somewhat different. The truck engines have tuned intake runners and this helps with the lowend torque wich helps when towing and doing work. Also the truck engine uses a 6 quart oil pan, a high capacity water pump and a different prom chip from the factory, than the 4.6 car engine. Over all I think you would be happier with the "truck only engine".

thanks Mike

 

thank you for the reply. i'm sure there are differences in intakes proms, manifolds, pans etc. however those aren't what i need to replace. i need to replace the rotating assemb in my shortblock. my engine is locked. what i'm concerned with is only with tthe compatibility of the long blocks. only the compatibility of the longblocks. if the longblocks aren't compatible then what is the compatibility of the 1997 heads with an earlier shortblock?

 

What he is asking is if the short block is the same.

the cams are in the heads and niether the heads or intake is part of the shortblock.


sorry, no definate answer here. Try calling the Ford info line for help

http://www.fordracing.com