my passenger side head gasket is leaking down into the valley below the intake manifold. im not sure if i should just get a pi swap kit or just find a used PI motor and install that. any suggestions???

 

go for the whole motor

 

and im thinking it would take less time to swap a whole motor than put new heads on.

 

I say go w/ just the heads so you get that compression bump and more power. But if you're set on running 87 octane, then go w/ the engine.

 

update: theres a rebuilt 4.6 npi at my old auto shop. im gonna go take a look at it today. hopefully ill be able to pick it up for a few hundred bucks

 

Didn't happen

 

i found a 2000 4.6 near me. would there be any problems fitting that in my car?

 

nope... a little tinkering on the intake fitting or just get the PI intake too... you can get one off corral.net for 50 bucks most days.

Everything else basically just bolts right on. I'd give you mine but I need to find a shop to put my 5.4 in. Who's doing your install?

 

id be doing all the work myself. what year motors have the 6 bolt flywheels? i know mine is an 8 bolt. and if you u know anyone who might want to sell a PI motor, let me know. i live near modesto so it wouldn't be a problem if I had to go down to the bay to get one.

 

Let's work a little dealio... if you've got the tools and skillz we can help each other.

I'd straight give you my motor (6 bolt/w clutch & FW)if you can do my 5.4 install. I'll help. Just don't have most of the tools. I'm in Livermore, just over the Altamont from you. Could even use my garage if you need.

 

hmmmm.... very temprting!!! iv never done a motors swap on a modular before so this would be my first time. my buddy would be the one whos gonna help me. hes really good and knows a lot. ill give him a call as soon as i get out of class.

 

red would be a HUGE help in that swap! He knows everything about everything...

 

well what tools do you not have? how many miles on the motor? when would u want to do it?

 

I figure we'll need air power (makes it lots faster but not really mandatory), a couple more floor jacks, several of the larger size sockets, fuel line disconnect tools, MIG welder, chop saw, you know... little stuff. My install will be complicated by a little custom work on the exhaust, nothing really challenging.

Yours will require a lot less hassle.. just pull it and replace it. My motor has about 65K actual on it. Several dyno runs but nothing near hard on it, no spray or boost. It put down 244/280rw on the last dyno. You know how I am about maintaining my car... the term constantly would seem to apply.

I'm down whenever you are. If your buddy can arrange a shop with a lift over a weekend we should be in hog heaven, and I could definitely even make some cash move his way on the deal.

In any case, other than the mess of stuff to disconnect and reconnect, it's a walk to pull the 4.6. putting the 5.4 in will take all 3 of us but if you know your way around a wrench, it's not even close to hard.

 

Just to clarify, we would be working on this up here in Sonora? Right?

You would drive your car up here, and somehow bring the 5.4 up as well?

You want me to just pull the 4.6, and drop the 5.4 in? Right?

You are going to do the rest?

do you need any accesories/sensors off of the 4.6?

Is this all right? I just want to make sure everything is clear.

 

i'd need a bit more than that. we'd have to end up with it in a running state. It'll take three guys with solid skills to pull off both swaps over a weekend. I can probably get one other wrench with a truck to help us out. I'll need my accessory pack but I have spares of most things if you need some. The tensioner, front cover, and crank pulley will go with you. I have new pullies on the way but I'll want to transfer my WP and oil pan. I have a couple spare WP's if you need one.

I'll be able to tune my car to at least a running state.

 

do you have shorty or LT headers?

will all of my accesories fit onto that motor?

what do you plan on using the welder and chop saw for?

to be as time concious as possible the least amount of parts swapping would be good. do you have a special waterpump on your 4.6 or could you use one of your spares on the 5.4? another thing we could do is i could get my motor before u come up and then you wouldn't have to pull the oil pan off of your 4.6.
you could just use mine if you wanted.

if it takes longer than a weekend, are u gonna need to get back to your house?

will my t45 tranny bolt up to the 4.6?
are the splines on the input shaft the same?

could i get you phone # so i could give you a call?

 

shorty.
yep
exhaust modification.
Lots of ways we can do it. Nothing involved is hard or takes long.
yep... but I can come back the following W/E and finish up.
Splines are for the clutch.. motor itself has nothing to do with motor bolt-up. All modular engines use the same bellhousing.

nine two five five one eight five one six seven. Daytime or nighttime.

 

k, so we would be doing it at my buddy's house. hes got all of the tools and space we'll need. i dont know when you want to do it, but a good time for me are: October 19,20,21 or the following weekend 26,27,28

or we could start the first weekend so that way we could use the next weekend if we needed to.

 

Sounds decent. Lemme check with some folks on their status and I'll let you know as soon as I can.