97 Explorer motor in 95 Mustang Gt

Alright so I have a 95 mustang GT with the original 5.0 that has 201k and a blown head gasket. The engine is tired so rather than replacing the head gasket I’m looking to swap in a 96-97 mountaineer or explorer motor. I know there’s threads for this but they don’t really give me the details I need, this is my first motor swap so I could use some detailed info. I know I’ll have to swap my accessories, oil pan, pump, and pickup tube, and that I’ll need a intake elbow adapter for the throttle body. What else will I need?
 
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You'll need the timing cover and water pump off your 95' as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think those are P heads, so you will need P swap headers. As I understand it they are getting hard to come by. While you have the timing cover off, put a new timing chain on it, and a cam as well. The cam will really liven it up. The explorer intake will not clear the factory strut tower brace. You can leave it off, and never know the difference.

Kurt
 
According to what I have read here you likely will need to upgrade the valve springs on the heads if you go with a different cam, even with a ho cam they float at about 4500 rpm.

Sorry I overlooked that. I generally overlook wear items like that. Springs and valve seals are cheap, and I change them every time on an engine swap.

Kurt
 
Sorry I overlooked that. I generally overlook wear items like that. Springs and valve seals are cheap, and I change them every time on an engine swap.

Kurt
Will I need anything extra to make the A/C Work? And thank you for the info I was unsure on whether I needed to swap the timing cover or not. I bought the car used and it never had a strut tower brace had no idea that was a factory option. As for my trans will it bolt to the explorer motor without any problems ? And do you happen to know if I’ll need to drop the manual trans to pull the engine out?
 
Will I need anything extra to make the A/C Work? And thank you for the info I was unsure on whether I needed to swap the timing cover or not. I bought the car used and it never had a strut tower brace had no idea that was a factory option. As for my trans will it bolt to the explorer motor without any problems ? And do you happen to know if I’ll need to drop the manual trans to pull the engine out?

The transmission will bolt right up. You can take the flywheel off the old engine, and stick it on the new one. You can pull an engine with the transmission in the car, but usually it's just easier to take it out. I always pull the transmission and engine together, because it's easier. AC is no problem, you bolt the SN accessory brackets to the new engine. You can actually unbolt the AC compressor, and zip tie it to the inner fender, and never have to let the gas out.

Kurt
 
The transmission will bolt right up. You can take the flywheel off the old engine, and stick it on the new one. You can pull an engine with the transmission in the car, but usually it's just easier to take it out. I always pull the transmission and engine together, because it's easier. AC is no problem, you bolt the SN accessory brackets to the new engine. You can actually unbolt the AC compressor, and zip tie it to the inner fender, and never have to let the gas out.

Kurt
Alright man I appreciate it, you got a cam and a set of valve springs you’d recommend ? Is there any cam(besides stock) that I could swap in that wouldnt require a tune? At least not immediately? I don’t want crazy horsepower, just a nice lope and a little bit of extra power. Sorry for all the newbie questions, this is my first time getting this in depth with a engine.
 
Alright man I appreciate it, you got a cam and a set of valve springs you’d recommend ? Is there any cam(besides stock) that I could swap in that wouldnt require a tune? At least not immediately? I don’t want crazy horsepower, just a nice lope and a little bit of extra power. Sorry for all the newbie questions, this is my first time getting this in depth with a engine.

I've never run that combination. Others here would know better. I searched it, and a combo with an Anderson N41 came up. Never hurts to call Comp Cams. Tech support is there for a reason. Valve springs will have to match the cam.

Kurt
 
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