Putting forged shortblock in, how hard?

svttech76 said:

1. it's not that hard if you have a decent amount of tool and some mechanical experience.. another thing is do you have any friends that are mechanics? if you do thats good in case you get over your head. I would jack the car as high as you can get it on some tall jack stands and take the engine and trans out as one unit.. to do this your going to tilt the hell out of the motor but it's easier

1b. swapping the heads is not that hard you will have to time the engine but there is a lot of articles on the net on how to do this.

2. No I would go with a aluminum block and go big bore, if your not going to go big bore I would just get a stock displacement short block and send yours as a core or sell it.

3. I would not bother stroking it.. these motors have tiny bores that what needs to be fixed to make big power.. Your money will be better spent using a 02-05 explorer block and having it sleeved for big bore. it's more expensive but will have a lot more potential.

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d98gt said:

I've yanked the engine/trans out of my 98 and it really wasn't a tough job. I thought it was going to be much more difficult, however once getting the misc items out of the way everything goes smooth.

I did this with basic tools (no air tools) and nothing really put up a problem. After a job like this is completed you will be more comfortable tackling the other jobs. I'm not real familiar with your mod list though it would be an awesome time to get a k member and headers of your choice as well.

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d98gt said:

Are you set on that setup on ebay or have you checked other options that are available by some of the other shops? What are your intentions for the car powerwise?

I'm always up for lending a hand--just do it before March as I will be in the DPS academy

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wmburns said:

Just my 2 cents worth. For someone worried about having enough "resources" to do a short block themselves, the 5.4 option is a bad idea.

The 5.4 brings a lot of extra issues to be considered such as exhaust manifolds, custom exhaust system, intake manifolds, hood clearance, tuning, heater hoses, EGR, decreased working space......

In addition, the 2v heads do not breathe well enough to support the 5.4. If you use an aftermarket intake adapter, then the breathing problem gets even worse. It will be difficult to get the full potential out of a SOHC 5.4. That is unless you supercharge.

If you supercharge, there will not be a "Kit" supercharger for your application. This creates a whole new set of issues as you build your own set up from parts.

This leads us back to one of your earlier concerns. Money and expertise. This is where the 5.4 option really falls short for you.

Recommend that you stick with any 4.6 platform (stock stroke or stoker).

PS, I suspect that someone will chime in about their 5.4 project. However, consider the expertise of the person doing the work. But here is the biggest indicator of the viability of the project that I can think of. I can recall reading two posts about ppl selling their 5.4 Mustangs shortly after getting them to work.

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