99 motor in 98 gt

[GoneMad96]

hey all i just baught a 98gt for daily driver but wanted to make a tad more power thinking of just swaping the entire engine, not sure the cost of what i will be needing to put the 99 motor in, what u all think?

 

[XxMustang281xX]

I think you should get an 03-04 Cobra engine! lol

 

[streetstang03]

put a 347 stroker w/ a 200 shot in it instead

Seriously though, I would just do the full PI swap or a Mach 1 motor for a DD

 

[myponyrocks]

if you're gonna do an engine swap at least pick up a Mach/Cobra 4v Going 98 2v to 99 2v is just a waste.

 

[GDawg]

Heads and intake would be a lot cheaper than an entire 99+ swap. The rest of the engine is pretty much the same. If you're going for an entire engine swap, go for a real power swap.

Just my $0.02

 

[thomas91169]

the bottom end, aside from a few miscelanneous revised parts, is exactly the same.

the difference in power is all in the top end of the motor, (heads, cams), the 99-04 GT's are what are called "PI" motors, stands for "performance improved". just basically higher flowing heads and better cams.

the PI swap is a very common procedure among pre 99 4.6L's.

if you really want to go crazy, id suggest going with a 5.4l forged bottom end and some 4v(or built 2v) heads/cams. but if youre just looking to get to the 99-04 level, then a PI swap is what you want.

you can do a search for PI swap for ****loads more info.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

if you're gonna do an engine swap at least pick up a Mach/Cobra 4v Going 98 2v to 99 2v is just a waste.

I don't agree at. A '99-up low mileage PI engine can be had for as little as $1,200US. That's not bad for a complete engine and a 35hp bump in horsepower. Not to mention that every bolt on from then on out is going to be worth more power as well.

Sure he could do a 4V swap, but expect a $3,000-$5,000 price tag to go along with it....and that's for a used motor.

Not very cost effective as far as I'm concerned?

 

[thomas91169]

I don't agree at. A '99-up low mileage PI engine can be had for as little as $1,200US. That's not bad for a complete engine and a 35hp bump in horsepower. Not to mention that every bolt on from then on out is going to be worth more power as well.

dont understand why you would swap an entire motor(unless the one in question is tired) when the only difference between the two is the head/cam setups(and possibly a little different tune, nothing a handheld couldnt compensate for).

 

[Gearbanger 101]

dont understand why you would swap an entire motor(unless the one in question is tired) when the only difference between the two is the head/cam setups(and possibly a little different tune, nothing a handheld couldnt compensate for).

Compare the cost of a set of heads/cams/intake to the cost of the engine swap. They're not that far apart in price. On top of the additional horsepower, he'll get a fresh motor for his trouble. For the less mechanically inclined, this is easily the better option. Out with the old, in with the new and he doesn't even need to remove a valve cover.

I'm not saying a PI component swap is a bad idea either, but swapping the complete engine would be easier and just as cost efficient.

 

[Outlaw97GT]

I don't agree at. A '99-up low mileage PI engine can be had for as little as $1,200US. That's not bad for a complete engine and a 35hp bump in horsepower. Not to mention that every bolt on from then on out is going to be worth more power as well.

Sure he could do a 4V swap, but expect a $3,000-$5,000 price tag to go along with it....and that's for a used motor.

Not very cost effective as far as I'm concerned?

+1

 

[myponyrocks]

I don't agree at. A '99-up low mileage PI engine can be had for as little as $1,200US. That's not bad for a complete engine and a 35hp bump in horsepower. Not to mention that every bolt on from then on out is going to be worth more power as well.

Sure he could do a 4V swap, but expect a $3,000-$5,000 price tag to go along with it....and that's for a used motor.

Not very cost effective as far as I'm concerned?

but if he allready has a 98 engine that isn't too bad off why do the swap at all if just going from non-pi to pi? If you're gonna do a swap (for the time labor whatever) wouldn't it be more efficient to actually move up?

Otherwise its just cheaper to do a PI swap and then *poof* you have a 99+ motor no?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

If you're gonna do a swap (for the time labor whatever) wouldn't it be more efficient to actually move up?

Otherwise its just cheaper to do a PI swap and then *poof* you have a 99+ motor no?

There's actuallly a lot less time and labour involved in swapping the engine, than swapping out the heads/intake/cams. If one is mechanically inclined enough to do it themself and doesn't care about the cost of labor, then I say go ahead and swap over the PI components to the '98 engine.

I simply like the idea of having a whole other engine at your disposal. Yank the old one out, put the new one it and you're done. Trust me....after pulling the 4.6L out of my Cougar twice now and havinging to pull it all apart and put it back together twice as well, I'm 100% confident that a simple engine swap is the easier and more cost effective way to go.

 

[BLK_ROUSH]

b If you're gonna do a swap (for the time labor whatever) wouldn't it be more efficient to actually move up?

I concur with Gearbanger on the point of overall cost effectiveness and comfort of starting with a fresh new long block period. Overall better platform to improve, because a 4V is going to cost (on avg) more.

Also you have an engine (if you keep it) to build up later.

 

[stangGT97]

I completely agree with BLK_ROUSH and Gearbanger... the mileage on the 98GT is unknown, we'll make the assumption that its probably somewhere in the 100k range (which is average for an 8 year old car). Swapping the heads/cams/intake will yield more power, but you're still running on old internals. Who knows how hard the car was driven! Starting fresh with a complete PI engine you will have all brand new parts and you are free to do what you want with FI since you wont be limited by compression. Swapping the engine will not only be more cost effective now, but throughout the remainder of your car's life.

side note- does anyone know where to purchase a complete PI engine?

 

[myponyrocks]

ok I'm tracking what you guys are saying now. Makes sense, as I didn't know what all went into doing the PI swap, I thought it was just a simple head and intake swap, but I guess I didn't actually THINK about what that means.

 

[GoneMad96]

my concern to would be the exhaust set up would i order a 99 exhaust or a 98 exhaust? worry about headers fitting and such! actually the motor only has 68k on it. its yellow vert had some nasty rims on it and just flows but thats all done to it. my 96 is strictly for racing now.

 

[CanadaStang]

my concern to would be the exhaust set up would i order a 99 exhaust or a 98 exhaust? worry about headers fitting and such! actually the motor only has 68k on it. its yellow vert had some nasty rims on it and just flows but thats all done to it. my 96 is strictly for racing now.

Just reuse your 98' exhaust manifolds and exhaust system, if you want to order a mid-pipe later, just order one for the 98'.
You'll also need to reuse the 98' coil paks, sensors, fuel rails, wiring etc. The only thing that requires some fabrication is tapping for the 2nd temp sensor. If the 99' engine still has the all plastic intake you could try the T-fitting trick, Tom says it works great.

Edit: Oh, and yes it's much easier to swap engines than it is to do the headswap!

 

[stangGT97]

You should be able to use your existing midpipe with the new motor. I believe that all that has changed from 96-2004 is the number of cats and the location of the O2 sensors. The width of the engine did not change, and hence the manifolds should not be moved outward or inward. Note that this would not be the case if you switched the a 4V setup - the 4V manifolds will sit out wider than those of a 2V engine, and hence you would need a new crossover pipe to bolt up