Engine swap question

how many miles, if it runs good why bother to swap out the engine

It should not be that hard. You would need motor of course, ecu, wiring harness are the main things. There would other things you will need, different headers if motor has none, mid-pipe should bolt to sohc or dohc models. You might have to change motor mounts. Your tranny should bolt up. Not 100% sure on everything, but most all the mustangs with sohc or dohc 4.6's 96-04 are pretty much the same under the hood(other thatn different motors and trannys). The swap would be like installing a new motor. Everything should bolt right up. Good Luck.

SonicStangGT said:

It should not be that hard. You would need motor of course, ecu, wiring harness are the main things. There would other things you will need, different headers if motor has none, mid-pipe should bolt to sohc or dohc models. You might have to change motor mounts. Your tranny should bolt up. Not 100% sure on everything, but most all the mustangs with sohc or dohc 4.6's 96-04 are pretty much the same under the hood(other thatn different motors and trannys). The swap would be like installing a new motor. Everything should bolt right up. Good Luck.

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Bolt right up

I guess you think I would be hard.

SonicStangGT said:

I guess you think I would be hard.

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i dont want to think if you are hard .

But if you meant to say "I guess you think it would be hard" then yep it is hard.

How would I know ............My GT has a DOHC now ..................... its hard unless you are a guru. im not let that be clear

Bolt right up? Not a chance...

Think about all the throttle linkage, that fact that the instrument cluster runs mechanically in a 96 and electrically in anything 99+ for mileage and speed purposes. There are numerous sensors that the newer motors have that the older ones didnt. My advice is to do as I did, get a new PI motor, pretty simple swap. But don't do the cobra swap, unless you have patience and fabrication know-how. Good luck

If you want a nice power boost and your engine is in GOOD mechanical condition just supercharge/turbo it. I know you said high miles, but those are just numbers.

By the time all the cost adds up to swapping either one of those Cobra engines you will be able to have bought some kind of forced induction kit. You can make decent power even with your engine.

If your engine isnt in the best shape, perhaps a PI (99-04) engine like the others suggested. The car wont be a rocket but it will be a nice improvment, and if you get a new or lower mile engine that is in good shape you can throw some boost at it later on down the line.


Now, if you have your heart set on a Cobra swap, by all means go for it. It is just a headache and it wont be cheap in the end.

Yeah, I'am not hard, OPPS, My bad centennialstang. I guess it would'nt be that bad for someone with experiance and if you didnt have any it would be impossible. But if you have your heart set on a cobra motor, I would try to find a donar car to get parts from.

I suppose "bolt right up" is in the eye of the beholder

putting a DOHC in a SOHC Mustang doesn't require any real fabrication as it's an engine that was offered in a Mustang...it just requires finding ALL the right parts (and there are a lot of different ones) and/or some modification of current parts to work with the new engine...

I mean it's not like putting a 351 Cleveland in a 66 Mustang or a 390 in a 56 F-100 or a BB Chevy in a 41 Willys Pick-up....those are the sort of swaps that I wouldn't consider "bolt-ins"