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My 4.6 swap


Wow, talk about needing a couple extra large shoehorns to get everything stuffed in.
Would love to see the exhaust manifold/ frame clearance and cylinder head/ac air box solutions.
 
Some more information on the truck how it sits before I go into the build. I wanted to wait till the truck was almost done or done to start posting about. I always hate waiting to see the next update so i should be able to post a lot of my information very quickly.

Details about the swap.

Motor
- 2005 mustang 4.6 3v
- 1999 crown vic manifolds w/ 2v to 3v adapters
- custom 2.5 in side exhaust
- ron fransis 3v manual wire harness
- stock 2005 mustang computer tuned with HP tuners
- crown vic motor mounts with
-custom plates welded to truck
- A/c delete (for now ill have to see when everything else is figured out)
- A/c delete pully
- heater box modified
- low mount power steering system
- factory ranger lines hook to a standard 4.6 pump (this one came off a 98 mark 8)
- don't know if it works yet i don't have any fluid in it yet.
- oil filter relocation using 0n 3 performance oil filter relocation kit
- relocates filter and lower radiator hose outlet (lower hose is more like a 2005 mustang set up)
- return style fuel system
- 225 lph warblo pump
- aeromotive fuel pressure regulator
- older style ranger fuel filter
- used half the stock fuel system
- other half is An braided line
- 99 5/8 belt
- explorer radiator
- mark 8 electric fan
- radiator hoses are mostly mustang
- upper is the mustangs cut down
- lower is a two piece hose.
- JLT 110 intake

trans. - 1996 f150 m5od r2
- using f150 clutch and flywheel
- stock ranger drive shaft
- had drive shaft shorted 2in (lowering the vehicle helped lead to this)
- ranger hydro clutch system works with this trans.

diff.
- 1995 explorer 8.8 w/ discs, 3.73, and limited slip and sway bar
- aftermarket diff cover

- custom steer shaft
- used 2 joints

Ill try to get pics put up. I am running out room to upload pictures. If there is anything you think i missed or you want to know. Let me know.
 

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So I am sure some are wondering why i chose the the motor I did. I wanted a 4.6 because i had already owned a push rod 5.0. And i know they are good motors but i wanted something different then the normal ranger v8 swap.

I was original thinking of getting a hold of a 2v or 4v 4.6. But i ran across this 3v for cheap. I was pulled under warranty at 26k for a misfire at idle. The miss was due to one of the intake valves breaking and dropping.

After going out and inspecting the motor I decided that it could be saved. The valve had bounced on the piston a few times and the wedged itself back into the head. I got it for $350.

And after running across a set of heads on craigslist for $100. I had a motor that makes 300 hp for fairly cheap.
 

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After getting the motor together it sat until i got ready to attempt the swap.

Once the motor was pulled and test fitting began a few things became obvious. This motor was big!

The factory exhaust manifolds were not going to work. at least not if i wanted to keep the engine low.

The steer shaft was going to have to be modified.

The heater box was going to have to be cut down.

A custom motor mounts were going to have to be made.

But some good things are that the oil pan looked like it was going to clear. The tunnel clearance looked good and once the exhaust manifolds were removed the engine sat nice and low.

It looked like the motor was not going to clear the hood. But in fact it does.

Fire wall clearance was tight but there was room.

The booster looked like it was going to clear in the stock location.
 

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Once i had an idea where i wanted the motor. i decided to try and fit the motor and trans. through the top.

After that didn't work I decided that it would just be easier to pull the cab.

Once this was done it was much easier to set the motor in and get everything where i wanted.

The trans. that i had originally got was a t45. after seeing the shifter location of the t45 i decided not to use it and went with the m5od r2.

Using the trans to help set the motor in place. Getting the motor level we welded on some plates to use with the crown vic motor mounts.

The trans cross member had to be moved back about half an inch. Which was achieved by just opening up the holes in the cross member.

With the cab off i test fit the starter and it had plenty of clearance.
 

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Sorry about the pics i can make them bigger but i will max out the attachments really quick.
 
Once the motor was set in one place the i could start dealing with all the little problems.

First was the heater box clearance. I ended up loosing A/c with this swap which kinda sucks but I have 2 windows. :)

I just cut the box and capped it with some sheet metal and put silicone along all the edges and painted the whole thing black.

Next i tackled the exhaust. This one was tricky and took a while to figure out. The stock 4.6 mustang manifolds were not going to work. 3v f150 manifolds did not look like they were going to work. And there are not very many options for a 3v motor.

I had a buddy that had a 2005 crown vic motor with manifolds. These were a 2v motor and would not fit. But i had seen 2v to 3v swap plates. These manifolds did to fit because of there exit location.

So after looking for a long time i ran across a set of 99 crown vic cast manifolds. With some swap plates these hugged the block good and they had a nice exit location.

Even tho these manifolds fit good i did have to do a little trimming to the upper control arm mounts. I just cut off the little corner on the mount to give it that little bit of extra clearance.
 

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Sorry about the pics i can make them bigger but i will max out the attachments really quick.

You can upload them to a host site (like photobucket) and then link them to here. That is what I do.

Sweet swap, very cool to see something out of the norm. Going to race, show or just cruise with it?

Me also starts to wonder how a 3V compares to a Coyote for size...
 
Last edited:
You can upload them to a host site (like photobucket) and then link them to here. That is what I do.

Sweet swap, very cool to see something out of the norm. Going to race, show or just cruise with it?

Me also starts to wonder how a 3V compares to a Coyote for size...


I will host them on another site when I get a chance. Then I can upload all the pictures and i wont have to leave any of them out.

The truck will go to the drag strip once. I base lined a time with the old 2.5 in it with the best of 18.9 lol. I was probably the slowest thing out there that night. But it was still a blast. I may also try my had at some auto cross once i do a few more suspension mods. Other than that i will just drive it.

Last i understood a coyote was a little wider but its valve covers sit a little lower. I really don't think anyone would have a problem fitting one in. And it had crossed my mind but at the time just to get the motor was a good chunk of change.
 
Alright with the exhaust manifold in place and the cab off i figured now would be the best time to do the rest of the exhaust.

I built this kit using 2.5 in tubing that i sourced from ebay and parts stores. Every thing is mandrel bent. It was all bought in pieces and then welded together.

The muffler is one off ebay. They called it a 40 series. It was one of the cheapest ones i could find with the 2.5 in duel in and out. After receiving it I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is built heavy.

Next because everything is bare or aluminium coated steel i just sprayed the whole thing with some high temp paint.

And then it all exits out the passenger side under the box. Just like a lightning. :)
 

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Now that all the exhaust is done i thought it would be a good time to go to the part of this build that was going to be the most interesting. The steering.

Because the motor is so wide the steer shaft has to be moved. there is just no other way around it. There was another guy other there that did a 4.6 2v swap and i tried some of his ideas for that steer shaft but none of them worked for me.

Here is a link to his post.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=139482

He used alot of factory pull out parts. Like a crown vic steer shaft. But i just could not fit that thing in where i needed it.

So i went aftermarket for the most part. I sourced my u joints form the circle track world.

I used all ranger form the steer column down to my first after market u joint. I got rid of the collapsible part of the steer column. but the factory brake away is still in place under the dash.

I cut the factory connection to the rack off and welded it to one of the u joints. Some parts of the u joints are welded, some have a bolt running through them with a set screw on the other side.this helps to get rid of any extra play in the joint connection.

The support is a heim joint threaded into a piece of tubing that is welded to the frame of the pickup.
 

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