Hi hive mind I am looking for advice. I have a golden opportunity in front of me. My 1997 F150 with the 4.6L 2V has 315k on the original motor (the entire truck including tranny/xfer case is original too) is starting to really get a bad headgasket leak/blowing oil. I hit the gold mine on FB market place. I found a 4.6 from a 98 with 52k on it that was out of a wrecked truck for 300 dollars. Dude bought it, never put it in, and then it's been sitting in his garage for about 5 years. I also got a 5x9 trailer worth of wiring harness and plumbing from that motor and a TON other parts from an additional 1998 5.4L V8...major major score...did i mention everything in the trailer was 300? (minus the hoist) See Below:










Fast forward to now. I have the engine on a stand and I am going through the motor before I swap. I am wanting some advice on upgraded parts, etc that you all have put in that could help with longevity (oil pump, gasket sets, etc) Also, I wanted to see if there was any advantage to swapping in a couple spare parts I got in the pile. First it the chain tensioner guides. In the motor I have the pre-load arm is metal and the other side is that Opaque orange plastic. In the pile of parts I have the black glass fiber re-inforced ones. Would there be any benefit to swapping the red circled ones with the black ones shown in the next photo? I'm not sure if the black ones are more durable, or if that's just a waste of time.





Additionally, I have a spare oil pump as well. Would be curious to know if its any better than the one in the motor. I think the share the same 06090330 part number so I think it's the same one regardless. Pics below.





I truly appreciate the input. This is the first true re-build i'll have ever done, and want to do it right. I was thinking about pulling the heads to inspect everything inside as well. Are there any gotchas for that? Unnecessary? Not sure if there are upgraded headgaskets that fix the rear passenger leak that seems to happen in this motor?

 

Your pictures did not post.

 

Huh? They show up on my end. I'll look into it

 

I'm not seeing them either. Just seeing grey circles with dashes in them. Use the "Manage Attachments" button in the advanced reply dialog and upload the pictures from your PC.

- Jack

 

They should be fixed. Sorry guys, I guess inserting from google photos failed me.

 

Yup, that fixed it.
Looks like you got a DEAL! I'm not any kind of "expert" on engine rebuilds, but if the black chain guides seem more durable than the plastic ones, this would be an easy swap in my opinion. Can't help you with the oil pump. Wonder why you have that extra part?

- Jack

 

The guy told me he took everything he could from the wrecked parts truck engine bay, and then a bunch of stuff from a 5.4 2v when he was going to fix his f150. Then his kid wrecked his truck and these parts all sat unused and he wanted them all gone. I have like, a 5.4 2v complete intake with injectors, oil pan, oil pump, front cover, a complete timing set, etc. all from a 5.4

 

Also, anybody know if the oil pan gasket is reusable? I have new intake/front cover/valve cover gaskets on order but I've been told the oilpan is reusable so I held off ordering one

 

If you have the engine out, I would replace it whether it's reusable or not. If it leaks and needs to be changed with the engine in the truck, you have some work to do, it's not easy. 20 bucks well spent.

 

A used engine with that low mileage shouldn't need refurbishing seems to me.

 

That's kinda my thought, I wanted to open it up at least a little to ensure that things were kosher and nothing nasty inside. So far everything looks good so I'm going to call it good, button it back up, and begin the swap. I just wanted to run it by this fine group of folks just to be sure there wasn't anything i really should be concerned about upgrading while I was in there.

 

Yes, that is a good idea to check it all out BEFORE putting it in your truck.

We've seen folks randomly pick up a junk yard engine (junkyard told them it ran), blindly put it in the truck, and it doesn't run or it's in severe need of work.

Then they come here asking for all kinds of help... we can't see things through the Internet is a lot of answers we give, depending on details.

Good job, and good luck on the rest of your progress.

 

Yep absolutely. I do know that this motor was from a pickup with 52k on it. Guess it was in a severe rear-end or something, totaled the car but the motors fine. The guy I bought it from had the pink slip from the salvaged truck it was pulled from so thats encouraging. Ive got the oil pan off and the bottom end looks good. Boreoscope is on the way to run down the plug holes and if it all looks good, its going back together and getting ready for swap.

 

This is my first motor swap so forgive the questions

I know there are internal differences, different bolt pattern on the flexplate, and some other things. Any bolt pattern differences? Starter location differences? or is it pretty much drop in if I have a complete motor.

Also question about the heater return hose. The Windsor has a metal heater return pipe that appears to have been bent when the previous owner pulled the motor. Is there an easy way to disconnect that tube? It seems pretty well attached to the block

lastly, I was told this motor was a 4.6L Windsor...its marked W, so I know its a Windsor. However the heads are marked 5.4L Alloy-A. Do I actually have a 5.4, or do they use the same castings for all the Windsor heads



Any other gotchas I should be aware of? I've read up on the swap itself and it should be fairly straight forward

 

One way I know of to determine if it's a 4.6 or 5.4 is take your 4.6 intake and see if it lines up right. The 5.4 manifold is wider because the block deck height is higher due to the longer stroke.

Easiest way to determine if a 4.6 is a Windsor or Romeo is count the valve cover bolt holes. Left valve cover has 11 on a Romeo, 13 on a Windsor.

NOTE that the VIN code for a Romeo is "W" and for a Windsor it's a "6". Go figure.