V8's were only available on 2nd gen Sport Tracs, and they got the 4.6. I have ssen pics of a 5.0 2nd gen, called the Sporty Trac Adrenaline
Ford Explorer Sport Trac Gets Coyote 5.0 Upgrade
By
Chris Demorro December 16, 2011
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Back in 2006, Ford had planned to unleashed a supercharged Ford Explorer Sport Trac called the Adrenalin package. That 390 horsepower engine never materialized in the Sport Trac, leaving the SUV/pickup hybrid with just a base 4.6 liter V8 for power, which is a shame if you ask us as the big vehicle could use a bit more power.
Steve Schrader, of
Schrader Performance, agrees. That is why he decided to drop a 5.0 liter Coyote V8 into his Sport Trac, and the six-speed manual transmission that goes with it. More power, better fuel economy, in a killer sport truck package.
At the height of the SUV craze, the Big Three automakers were busy churning out hundreds of thousands of body-on-frame SUV’s that burned through gas and bank accounts. It all started with the Ford Explorer, the vanguard of SUV domination, which eventually offered all sorts of derivatives including the Sport Trac, a combination SUV/pickup with room for four, a short truck bed, and V8 power. There was even a 390 horsepower supercharged “Adrenalin” package planned for 2007, but instead it was de-contented and sold as a simple appearance package for the 2008 model year. As a result, Ford never got an SUV that could compete with the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.
Steve Schrader, who heads Schrader Performance of Gastonia, North Carolina, sought to overcome this shortcoming by installing a 5.4 liter supercharged engine with all the fixin’s. “But since there is no aftermarket parts available to upgrade the 6-speed auto 6r60 trans in these trucks, I was stuck with reusing the factory TC and trans, unless I wanted to do some very expensive auto trans swaps with a standalone to run it,” Schrader says in an email.
“Although the engine was great, the torque converter and trans couldn’t hold the torque of the 5.4 motor even at 10 pounds of boost. So on the dyno, we didn’t see intended results, but more importantly it was getting 9-10 mpg and wasn’t very friendly when towing a car trailer, as it was always trying to be in boost.” At that point, they yanked out that combo and went back to stock while formulating a new plan involving a new engine.
After securing a good deal on a 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 V8 and matching six-speed manual transmission (including clutch and flywheel), Schrader moved ahead with their new project. “The engine does fit in the engine bay perfectly, and mounts up to the motor mount for the 4.6.,” says Schrader. “But there is an issue with header clearance, so we had to do some ‘modifications.’” These modifications required taking a 4 pound hammer and a grinding tool to the frame, but Schrader was “determined” to use the stock Coyote manifolds.
The transmission also fit nicely, though it too required extensive modification to fit, and they will be going with a Barton 40% short throw shifter. But the most challenging part will be integrating two separate PCM’s in order to run the 5.0 engine properly, while maintaining all the factory features and gauges.
Schrader is hoping to turn this into a turn-key package for Sport Trac owners, and while this initial vehicle is the test bed, Schrader plans to add an off-road pipe, Flowmaster mufflers, and maybe even some nitrous. It should also deliver much better gas mileage and even more horsepower than the supercharged Adrenalin model Ford itself had planned.
As of now the engine and transmission are in the Sport Trac, and once Schrader gets everything sorted out, we’ll bring you more news (and hopefully video) about this awesome project.
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