Progress Thread 5.4 swap starts now!

The time has come!! Today I get my old 96 mustang gt back up and going with a 5.4 sohc! Picked up the engine and trans for $200 months ago! The heads have new valve guide seals and a valve job, the bottom end is completely untouched, but the bearings look great and the cylinder walls. Just gonna roll with it for now. I’ll take pics as we move along with the install. Yesterday we dropped the engine and started mocking up the front accessories.

Just gotta cut the pws/coil bracket to get it to clear the extra idler pulley on the 5.4. That extra idler pulley is really cool, it stops the belt from flapping like crazy.

Still have to move the coolant cross over pipe and grind the alternator so that the intake manifold clears. Other than that it looks like it’ll be pretty smooth.

Bracket came out great!! Just had to notch it to clear the idler pulley

Chevron gas only after 10k miles. I’m thinking maybe some oil blow by... but the engine wasn’t smoking at all. Who knows either way we wanted to see if it would still be looking good.

Separating everything to be pressured washed. No more grease and grim!

So 1996 coolant cross over tube works on doorman pi intake manifold... not on factory newer pi intake manifold. Can’t remember if I took the intake off of a crown Vic or mustang in the wrecking yard. I’m either gonna drill and tap a new spot for the 2nd coolant temp sensor or see if I can find a pi intake with the cross over for 2 coolant temp sensors. Either way it’s going on for now and it’s a fix for later. Just FYI for anyone doing the swap.

It’s getting there!! The coolant cross over from the 5.4 intake fits onto the 4.6 and has the dual coolant sensor bungs! So far just getting lucky. Now we are sealing the rear main seal cover and heading to th junk yard to get our valve covers

Getting there, got some valve covers from the junkyard. Got our trans and 8bolt flywheel and clutch in.

This is it for today... it’s in!! Can’t even really tell it’s a 5.4 unless you know what to look for. It doesn’t fit under the stock hood, pretty sure we gotta notch the hood a bit. Totally need to pull the engine again and cut a tab off the passenger side exhaust manifold, and I think that’s it. Monday the project will continue

The beast saga continues!! Hooking up all the connectors and lines, adding new pws steerings because the one off the pump blew out a long time ago. Not much left to do after besides all the suspension that needs to go back together, and exhaust. Saving the exhaust for last, I heard it can fit sometimes with out modifying the h-pipe or bending the down pipes and also heard you have to do just that. I’ll be sure to let you guys know when I cross that bridge

IT IS DONE!!! Runs like a champ!!! Can’t even notice the weight difference at all, can definitely feel the more torque plus having a healthy engine!

My last notes on putting this thing in, the exhaust was so darn difficult. I have pypes off road h pipe and cat back, the thicker pipe is a nightmare to make fit, it’s still not right but a job for tomorrow. Had to cut the passenger side exhaust manifold tab off, and shave down the exhaust down pipe flange to header. That is the only way to clear the body with out bashing the body in.

For the first time in 5 years I had to adjust the steeda clutch cable and firewall adjuster, the 11 inch 8 bolt cobra flywheel and stage two clutch is fricken amazing!! The best clutch I’ve ever felt in a cable clutch car, to me feels hydraulic like my gt500, so I approve of it. Hopefully the throw out bearing that came with the kit doesn’t squeal or go bad, just couldn’t afford ford racing throw out bearing this time around.

All the wiring came together perfect, didn’t need to cut or extend anything. The only modification was to the exhaust that I’m still dealing with.

Also fun fact... Ford Expedition valve cover does not have a PCV valve in it like the mustangs cover do, it’s just a blow through piece, so hooking that cover up to the throttle body vacuum sucked in so much oil! Don’t make that mistake!! Exhaust and intake are still trying to burn it all out.

Also the hood had to be notched on the supports to clear the egr vacuum line, throttle body, and most importantly the throttle linkage!! I kept having the throttle stick and couldn’t figure out why until I heard it hitting the hood on WOT . So notch the hood!! I’ll take pics of that tomorrow.

Also I used stock ford intake manifold gaskets on adapter plates to block and intake to adapter plates, with sealant around water jackets, held fine and seems much better than the adapter plate gasket, the stock gaskets fit bigger than the holes so no restriction.

Other than that it was all strait forward, was worth the money, and my buddy now has a reliable daily driver. This was my car for years, I’ll always miss it, and it was an amazing experience to do all this work to it. I read so much on the 5.4 swap years and years ago that I went into this very confident. Thanks to everyone whoever posted anything 5.4 swap related, I’ve read countless posts on them and appreciate all the information.

I take these pictures and write my experience to help the next person. As my buddy adds more mods to the black beast I’ll keep taking pictures, helping him, and posting here my thoughts and result. More pictures and results to come, the mods never stop.

Alright First idle after start up. The intake leak sound was the pcv system... as I said expedition covers do not have pcv valves just a blow throw outlet that looks just like a pcv valve so yeah... and high idle was also do to the vacuum leak created by not having a pcv valve. Solved those problems already. Will post more pictures and videos tomorrow after I fix the exhaust. For now enjoy!!

View: https://youtu.be/w8uuSzRyt2I

A little bit of bad information. I have way too many intake manifolds... the coolant cross over tube I used I have no idea what car it came from but it definitely was not the 5.4 intake because my buddy found that intake last night and it’s totally not it. I think it might have been either the original 1996 cross over or something I didn’t know I had. Or the crown Vic we got the other intake off of.

Also here is the the hood we had to cut to clear the throttle body linkage, throttle body, and EGR.