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4.6 SOHC swap thread/tutorial


Got302ci

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
65
Vehicle Year
1995
Transmission
Automatic
So here is my 99 ranger that I swapped a 4.6 that I hand built into.

First off I wanna say that my number one objective during this swap was to not mod the body or frame in any way. In other words everything I did to bolt in the 4.6 was using brackets or off the shelf Ford parts so that I could theoretically unbolt this drivetrain and bolt it into another ranger.

I also have OCD and when I do engine swaps I want it to look factory when I am done.

My reason for doing a 4.6 swap vs a bolt in 302 was for a number of reasons, the 4.6 is a modern design, it is lighter, stronger, breathes better and are infinitely easier to work on.

The 302 is not a bad engine, I have one in my explorer, it is just a very old design that Ford kept upgrading until they finally designed the 4.6 as its replacement.

It also makes more power with less displacement then the 302.

The engine was from a 03 CVPI, it was basically a running core as far as I was concerned because the police beat the snot out of there cars. I paid 300 for it complete minus the accessories.

I first took it down to the bare block, had it cleaned, magnafluxed, bored, line honed, and they cleaned the deck.

I retained the stock crank because it is just fine for the power levels I will be producing. I went with forged rods and forged flat top mahle pistons.
With my PI heads I have a static CR of around 14:1, it will be a e85 only truck as I live in Minnesota and e85 is everywhere.

It uses all ARP hardware, ARP main studs, ARP head studs, ARP rod bolts and ARP flywheel bolts.

Yes its overbuilt considering it is a NA engine but that is the only way I build things.

Now for the clutch and trans, I went with a LuK gold clutch from Napa for a F150, its just a stock clutch but its actually bigger then a mustang clutch and I figure it will hold the power I will be producing just fine.

The trans is a M5OD-R2 from a f150. It was a rare find as not many 2wd 4.6 f150's were made in manual form and the v6 trans has the small block bolt pattern and is incompatible with the mod motors.

I chose this trans because it was cheap, had a hydraulic slave, and the shifter would be in the same location as before.

So the swap started off with me bolting the trans and engine together and dropping them an as a unit, yes this is not only easy but went very smoothly.

Next I bolted the trans to the crossmember using the stock trans mount and then supported the engine with a cherry picker wile I centered it and then used some steel plate to adapt the engine to the stock 4 Banger mounts.

The stock driveshaft was used and bolted right in place and slid right into the trans.

I had swapped a 8.8 in at a earlier date, its got 4.10's in it and I installed a lock-rite locker in it.


I chose to go with a hydrobooster and M/C from a mustang gt to save space and because I like hydroboosted brakes.

To get the mustang master to connect to the rangers hydraulic lines I used a adaptor fitting in the front and made a custom steel line for the rear.

The steering shaft is a semi custom piece, the lower section is from a crown Vic with rack and pinion steering, I then made a custom center shaft with a heim joint. The u-joints are from a windstar and are replaceable as the center shaft uses ford ends on it.

I made a steel plate to bolt to the firewall using the stock holes that the o.e. shaft boot bolted to in order to mount the heim joint.

The entire setup only uses 3 u-joints and are all replaceable using common Ford parts.

For the FEAD I used a Vic power steering pump and bypassed the a/c compressor using a grooved pulley on the tensioner and a shorter belt. Its a common mod in the mustang world.

The heater box was a easy mod, just cut it using a cut off wheel and built it up with duct steel and aluminium tape.

The fuel system is as follows:
High flow GT supercar fuel pump
Return style fuel rail
39 pound FRPP injectors
I ran a return line using the evap fitting on the top of the pump module, I used gates barrier hose that is compatable with alcohol fuels.

The oil filter situation was next, it was obvious I could not fit a filter in there where it was supposed to go.
The first option was to use a aftermarket relocation kit, however I remembered that certain F150's and expeditions had a factory remote oil filter setup on them.

In keeping with using off the shelf Ford parts I set out to find said setup, apparently Ford no longer makes the setup anymore so I had to get it used.
I got the filter adaptor and mount for 10 dollars and the engine adaptor for 25. Doorman makes replacement hoses and I got a set for 130 from oreillys.

Well that did not fit so I decided to go with a remote mount setup using AN fittings and braided stainless line.

As a side note I also tried the high mount setup for the P/S pump as the newer F150s use where the pump mounts to the head. This did not work however as the pump was hitting the LF forward control arm mount. This would have been nice had it worked however because it would have allowed me to use a forward pointing filter mount from a 3 valve 4.6............

So I put the Vic timing cover back on and bought a remote setup.........

The P/S lines are all -6 AN lines/fittings.

The radiator is a exploder 5.0 piece and the fan is a combination of a Vic fan and a 5.0 exploder shroud.

The PCM controls the fans high speed, low speed is not used in my case as its pointless.

The engine wiring is a combo of a Vic harness, a e150 harness and the rangers harness.....

The remote oil filter setup is a combination of a moroso adaptor plate, a generic remote filter mount and some AN lines. The bracket is custom.

The intake is just some mandrel bent 3" exhaust tubing and part of a Ford MAF sensor mount.


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Last edited:
Sorry the pics are not in order but you get the idea!!

I have not driven it yet, its getting towed (by a exploder with a 302, ah yes the irony) to a place near me that will re-program the PCM then dyno tune the engine.

YES I will post pics of the Dyno Sheet with RWTQ and HP!!
 
Wow, looks great!
Kept the rad in the stock location, nice. You've made it look quite "doable". I've got an '01 that is wanting a similar swap.
 
Radiator, trans, and trans x member are all in the stock locations.
 
If the ac could stay I'd be all over this. It just gets to hot here.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic
 
Ok I will do that when I get a chance and organise the pics.
 
I have a dohc 4.6 out of my Lincoln I really wanna put in my next ranger idk how that's gonna work its heads are twice as big. 8.5 inches tall

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
Someone on here did a dohc swap and it was very tight, in my opinion the sohc is plenty of engine for a ranger.......
 
Very true 300hp at 6500 rpm might rip it in half

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
300 hp only busts stock axles and shit...


frame on these are happy with 300 hp.



cool swap :icon_thumby::icon_thumby:


turned out great for the box you kept yourself in. thats a tall order for such a small box.
 
Ya Ik stock 28 spline axles suck :(

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
Just a small update, took it to get dyno tuned last Friday and found out I had two bent axles, bank 2 hego was not registering, had a coolant leak, oil leak and my brakes would partially apply themselves when the Eng was running.

Coolant leak- needed new radiator so I installed one
Brakes- apparently you can not simply tee the hydroboost and rack return lines together, so I re-plumbed the return lines and added a seperate return fitting to the tank.

I replaced both axles with new ones.

The oil leak appears to be coming from the oil filter mount so I will re-seal that.

Going back Monday and ill let you know what she puts down :icon_thumby:
 
My dohc 4.6 had the leak at the oil filter mount.it was a very common problem with the early ones Idk about the sohc but there was a coolant like tied in with the adapter housing

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
My dohc 4.6 had the leak at the oil filter mount.it was a very common problem with the early ones Idk about the sohc but there was a coolant like tied in with the adapter housing

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

I think your autocorrect did a number of parts of that post.
 

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