Hey guys, new here, I've been wanting to put together a mustang that has a 5.4 4v engine in it. I was planning on finding a Lincoln Navigator engine from a wreck, and rebuild it with forged internals. Then Swap that into a mustang.


It's hard to use the search function when pretty much all of the phrases are under the letter count (5.4, GT, 4v, 2v, 4.6, etc) so I've been looking around at all the posts on here for the past two days, but decided there isn't if any information on this.


I am mechanically inclined and have a full garage to work with, so that isn't a problem, but people say putting a 4v engine into a 2v car is hard, but others i hear say it just requires extending the wiring harnesses, few sensor wires, new intake, oil pan, and 8 bolt flywheel. If thats the case I can more than easily accomplish that.


I'm aware that cobras are DOHC motors which would make the swap almost like swapping a SOHC motor with another SOHC motor, but the difference in cost is a lot when you compare the price of a cobra with the price of a GT.

Looking around, i can get a 2001 GT for about 8k, while a Cobra is about 15k. With the extra 7k it costs, I could buy a turbo or supercharger to put on or upgrade the suspension and brakes for better handling.


So basically:


- What is required to put a 5.4 4v engine into a 1999-2004 Mustang GT
- What does a Cobra other than engine and emblem have over a Mustang GT
- If I missed something out of what I've learned so far, is too hard to swap a 5.4 4v into a GT and better to buy a cobra? Is it worth the extra 7k to spend?


I plan to do this starting next spring/summer as a project. Right now I'm trying to learn as much as I can though about everything involved so I make the right choices.


Thanks in advance and any help given will be appreciated extremely!!!


Oh and most of this information I got from the 5.4 swap thread, its 99 pages long, and I'm currently on page 23, but slowly reading through them all

 

there is a huge thread about this topic. by huge i mean like thousands of posts.

 

you mean the one he is on page 23 on? as he clearly states end the end....?..

 

yeah thats the one.

 

Don't want to start any heat, but yeah, I guess I should have read through the entire thing before posting this, but its just so long

 

yeah but its all the info you need.

 

Yeah it should have it all. Not many people here have tried this, so yer gonna get the best info in there. If you still have question after going through it some more try talking to R3dn3ck

 

final... do me a favor, condense that down into your core questions and PM me cuz I could write a book on that essay up there.

We can bat back and forth about your thing without having to read between other peoples posts.

I'll delve into this thread with answers as time allows. Ready... go.

 

Kinda depends on your idea of hard. I think soldering wires is a bitch but it's not the least bit hard. 4v swaps are more involved in 2v but it's a common platform. It can only be so difficult and then even the factory would have said fugg it. It seems like you've got the gist of the things that you'll have to play with. Remember, 2v 5.4's are easier to fit but 4v will fit.

You're going to want to get a tubular (Maximum Motorsports or Griggs) k-member and then before you put it in, have some .4" aluminum spacers made for between the k-member and the frame and like .2" spacers for the tranny mount (check your driveline angle and adjust as needed to get some angle down at the back, the u-joints will burn up if you have a 100% straight line from crank through diff) and get longer bolts for any places you'll need them (grade 8). That will solve a bunch of your clearance issues and give you a little more room to play with. You could have a custom K-member made with a main beam and motor mount location (and steering rack) that's kicked down a half inch as long as all the suspension pick up points are the same as stock. I don't know how mandatory the spacers are but IIRC the 2000 Cobra R had a specially modified k-member to allow the 4v motor to clear the brake booster.

You don't seem to have a particular hard-on for 4v so I'd say ditch 4v and go 2v. You'll get a crapload of performance for the money and it's a assload easier. Just a thought... I mean you can do the swap and have money left over for the goodies with a 2v that a 4v swap will eat up in little thing costs.


1.Covered.
2.independant rear suspension which is questionable in durability. A well set up live axle will hand an IRS car its *** on a road course. That and the 4v engines rev to like 7500 out of the box... neat for a little 4.6 but for the 5.4 they really shine. They also came with bigger brakes and higher insurance premiums (by a LOT).
3. I'd skip the cobra. GT with a 2v or 3v or 4v 5.4 swap, good coil over based suspension, cobra brakes and call it a day.

Define a budget now... stick to it. Define a goal now. Stick to it. Changes in either cost you huge at the end.

Yeah...it's kinda a running commentary now. You can ask questions in it... I've given up on it being anything but repeated Q&A followed by status updates and more Q&A. That's cool. I expect to see you say hello in the big thread.

 

r3dn3ck is the 5.4 swap god.

 

Don't know how much final is watching this thread but:

I've had a few days to flog my car a bit and do some more tuning on it. The 2v was worth it. I thought I might have a want for the 4v recalling my experiences driving a 00' R but no.. I'm happy. The R was more powerful but it didn't have the all around feel that this motor gives me. It's the little things really I guess. It's made 5th gear worth having. I used to downshift to 4th to pass... not anymore. No need. To get an idea of the difference from my 2v 4.6 to my 2v 5.4 (5.5 hehe) it's like all the gears were dropped by 1... so 5th gear feels like 4th used to, 4th feels like 3rd, and so on.

This is every bit better than a blower ever would have been for me. Even roots blowers need to be doing 2000rpm to build much boost and they have to be at WOT to enjoy the boost... I have enough tq at 1500rpm to pass while staying in 5th gear with only maybe 30-40% throttle.

 

Thanks for the response redneck! Sorry I haven't been able to check back for so long

 

baseline dyno results are in. needs a tune an the new intake in the worst way. 4v would suffer less from plates but they'd still suffer.