4.2 ford engine swap problems

[snake]

Long story longer, "friend" overheats his truck (about 300K on it) and it won't start the next morning, he says it blew the head gasket (97 f-150 5sp). So he buys a wrecked truck ('98 F-150 auto) that still runs. We swap the engines and the "new" one won't start in his truck. It tries- acts like the firing order is wrong but that's been checked. It has a slightly low fuel pressure (32 PSI) with key on and starting fluid doesn't help it start at all. All the sensors and FPR stayed with the engine. It got dark and we were tired so I gave up on it for tonight... It isn't throwing any codes as of yet. We did swap the coil since we had one right there and his old one was newer with no luck. Questions: If we swap the PCM from the auto f-150 to the manual one the engine should run, right? Even though there is no auto tranny there, it should still start? Also, if the inertia switch was tripped I wouldn't have fuel pressure at all? I haven't even checked the fuses on this thing, it wouldn't start, we played around for 10 minutes and I went in the house... pissed. Any ideas?

 

[Road Angels]

ecm

use manual wiring harness and. pcm, ecm,ecu, and every other name for a computor, isnt it a 4.6

 

[snake]

No. It is a 4.2 V6. I suspect the PCM is bad and want to test it by using the auto computer on the manual truck. Will the engine start? I'm going to try it anyway...

 

[adsm08]

It will start if there is no PATS.

 

[snake]

We swapped the computer and it did start. Adsm08, is it possible his computer went bad, or did we have to have the computer from the donor truck to match the engine? And- if it did have pats (it didn't) that system would keep it down? How would you overcome that, reprogram at the stealership? Thanks, by the way you have helped me several times in the past and I appreciate it every time!

 

[Road Angels]

99 up pats f150, 99 up ranger pats except 4 cylinder 99's and yes stealship

 

[V8RangerBoy]

Need to check spark, fuel pulse (not pressure, actual electronic pulse at the injector) and see what you do and don't have. PCM failures are very, very rare in Ford and GM vehicles. See it every day in Chrysler stuff it seems like, but can't think of any I've replaced in the last 5 years on a Ford. I do tons of FICMs on 6.0 diesels, but never gas engines.

Also, many independent shops have the same exact programming and scan tool that the dealer does. Call around and check, it's a laptop based scan tool, called an IDS. I can't say I've ever looked in ours to see if you can actually DISABLE the PATS with it though, sorry. From what others are posting it sounds possible, though. Otherwise, you'll have to find someone with custom tuning capabilities. I used HPTuners to disable theft in my 5.3 GM swap, I'm sure it can do PATS on a Ford. Probably looking $100-150 to go that route.

 

[snake]

Thanks for the reply. I've never seen one go bad either, and it is odd that it would go bad the morning after an overheat- so maybe the computers were that different? He's running the auto computer on the manual truck, runs good but has an occasional "hiccup". Cleaned the MAF and it got rid of about 90% of it but it is still there once and a while. Oddly enough, it hasn't thrown an engine light since even though there isn't an auto tranny installed... weird.

 

[adsm08]

reprogram at the stealership?

99 up pats f150, 99 up ranger pats except 4 cylinder 99's and yes stealship

F you both. I don't insult you guys after you try to help me out by accusing you and your place of employment of thievery.

 

[V8RangerBoy]

That's interesting. My first V8 Ranger was a 5.0 Expo swap (one of the very first, if I may say!) and I wanted to keep it a standard trans. We used an M5OD-R2 with the auto trans computer and just built a resistor block to defeat the trans DTC's. However, it always had a hiccup around 25 mph, usually 3rd gear. It felt exactly like a misfire, and we could never decide what it was. I sold the truck and later had a member of this forum PM me out of nowhere. He had done the same 5.0 Expo swap and done a resistor block as well, and he was asking about the same hiccup.

Curious that you mention the same thing. Obviously some conflict between the auto PCM and manual trans.

Re: stealerships - just a generic industry term, bud. Most dealers run 30-40% higher pricing than independents, for one. Depends on the dealer, but lots of other reasons float around as well. Not gonna derail the thread about it.

 

[adsm08]

Re: stealerships - just a generic industry term, bud. Most dealers run 30-40% higher pricing than independents, for one. Depends on the dealer, but lots of other reasons float around as well. Not gonna derail the thread about it.

I know what it is, and I don't care. It is offensive and insulting. I work very hard, most days I come home with barely enough energy left to cook dinner and do dishes, let alone the rest of the stuff I have to do around the house. On top of that if my wife were to lose her job we would suddenly go from doing OK to below the poverty line. So to be accused, even indirectly, of theft or dishonesty because I choose to work at the top of my field, not the bottom, is something I find unacceptable.

In my area, at my Dealership our labor rates are higher than the independent shops, but only about 20%. We have to pay franchise and licensing fees to Ford for the use of their name, we have to pay subscription fees for access to Ford trade site that we need for training, access to our shop manuals, updates for our Ford scanners that are the only ones that can do certain things in the computer systems, and we have separate subscription fees to keep the scanners working.

Additionally the dealership's service shop is a premium product. Do you expect to pay the same amount for Boar's Head deli meat as you do for the pre-packaged generic store brand crap? Do you think that you can go to Yale or Harvard for the same amount in tuition as the local community college? No, you expect to pay more because it is better. Same with the dealer's service department, we cost more because it is a better product (or in this case service). This is the only area in business that I regularly see people complain so much about paying more for something that is better.


I understand that lots of people don't want to go to the dealership. Frankly there are a lot of cars out there that I don't want coming anywhere near my shop. Some things have to be done at the dealer, and that is just as frustrating to me as it is to the rest of you because we sell a lot of used cars (more than new ones) and we end up working on a lot of non-Ford vehicles, wasting an hour or more just to say "it needs to go to the dealer". That is not our choice or our fault. If you don't like that start sending letters to the manufacturer complaining about it, because they are the ones doing it, not us.