1989 5.0L swap compatibility

[BeaverMeat]

My engine has developed an issue. I'm thinking I spun a crank bearing... felt a loss of power 'jolt' and my oil light came on. Oil is good, no leak other than the leaky pan gasket. (don't have a gauge to monitor pressure as this motor has been swapped into a 1981 Volvo 240 so all I have is an idiot light) Seems to be a slight dull knock at the back of the engine... having it diagnosed.

If it comes down to needing a whole new engine... What years of motors will swap right in without messing around with wiring and such?

Thanks

 

[General karthief]

86 up 5.0 push rod block so you have roller cam/lifters. You want to get the HO version with the valve reliefs on the pistons, they are available in the explorers too. Stay away from the non HO engines like in crown vics/grand marque and truck engines, they are low compression unless you're rebuilding with new pistons.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Do you just need a short block?

96-01 explorer/mountaneers are probably going to be the most common junkyaard 302 you’ll come across that you can use.

 

[BeaverMeat]

Considering all the wiring and pluming is set-up for the 1989 Mustang 5.0L engine that is in the car I'm wanting know what years will everything plug'n'play without resorting to rebuilding. Meaning grab another engine and throw it in. Could I put an engine in from a '93 for example? Will all the wiring harnesses be compatible without having to resort to splicing.

This is a worse case scenario if the bottom-end rebuild costs outweigh the cost of installing a whole new engine.

 

[General karthief]

Yes a 93 will work, the basic block is the same like said befor, there are some differences in heads between the mustang and explorer but all your will swap over to them too.

 

[BeaverMeat]

Yes a 93 will work, the basic block is the same like said befor, there are some differences in heads between the mustang and explorer but all your will swap over to them too.

Wiring harness?

 

[General karthief]

Wiring harness?

What harness are you using ?
The 86- 93 injector harness is interchangeable and I believe the 94-5 are very similar if not identical, we don't know how you wired the volvo.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Wiring doesn't matter if you are tearing the engine down to a short or long block and just swapping your entire top end. If you do that, you can get the long/short block from from any 87-95 Mustang 5.0 or 87-92 Lincoln Mark 7. Strip it down to short/long block, and just swap all your engine components over.

If you are looking for a 100% direct swap of the entire engine, youll need to find an 87-93 Mustang 5.0. You can still use the Mark 7 engine if you do a partial teardown and reuse your accessories

If you want a little bit of an upgrade, you can get an 96-01 Explorer/mountaineer motor. They come with GT40/GT40P heads, and a slightly different version of the 93 cobra intake. Strip it down to the long block, swap in your HO cam and use that as the foundation. Just need to be mindful of exhaust clearances of the GT40P head spark plugs.

Or strip it down to a short block, swap on all your top end parts/cam and sell off the GT40/GT40P heads and intake for $100-200ish. Explorer 302's tend to be the only 302 found in a junkyard these days. If you can find a foxbody or Mark7 with the engine still in it, it's a rare sight.

I guess the question is what portion of the engine do you intend to swap in? Short block, long block, or complete?

 

[BeaverMeat]

Good to know. I'll have to wait and see if my block is still good.