mustang to explorer

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:00 pm

ive been a little confused about how come 5.0 mustang engines are goin for hundreds less than most explorer engines ? with that in mind can i just take a mustang engine and use explorer front accessories since they are more compact to save room? just exploring different options. anyone in ohio or PA? that wouldnt mind me checking out their project or some detailed picks? ive looked over malcom's several times. thanks.

blk94xlt · Post by **blk94xlt** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:26 pm

the explorer motors are going for more beacuse they are not as old as a 5.0 that came out of a mustang, less mileage. They were still using the 5.0 in the explorer til 2001 I think. Also an explorer motor probably hasn't been hammered on like a mustang would have been.
Using a mustang motor with the explorer accessories is what many are doing. It will work.

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:15 pm

the mustang motor has more power doesnt it? isnt the HO around 280? and the explorer around 215? of course ive heard them say switch computer and fuel system to mustang spec on the explorer. but the actual installation of the engine is the same correct? just different accessories and such?

MalcolmV8 · Post by **MalcolmV8** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:22 pm

Asides from the front accessories there are a few other things to remember. For example in my case I put a 2000 Explorer motor into a 94 Ranger. The Explorer motor had a returnless type fuel rail setup. I had to change over to a Mustang return style fuel rail. Also I was using a 92 Mustang ECC which expects 19lb injectors so I had to swap out the Explorer 17s for a set of 19s. My motor also had EDIS which I swapped out for a distributor to work with the 92 ECC. There were also a few sensors on the motor to swap out but nothing major. I believe it's all covered in here
http://www.v8-ranger.com/blue/blue.php

None of these are a big deal. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of them.

Later
Malcolm

MalcolmV8 · Post by **MalcolmV8** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:27 pm

travi273 wrote:the mustang motor has more power doesnt it? isnt the HO around 280? and the explorer around 215?

I had a 95 Mustang GT. The last year they used the 302 in the Mustang and if memory serves me right it was only rated at 225hp. The Explorer motors are good motors. They have GT40P heads and GT40 intake right from the factory. Sure they are only rated at 215hp but almost 300lb torque too. You could change out the truck style cam and really wake up the motor. If you hit a few Mustang boards you will see guys putting the Explorer GT40P heads on their stangs for more power over stock heads.

travi273 wrote:but the actual installation of the engine is the same correct? just different accessories and such?

Yes it's basically the same thing. Just another 302

cjcnomor4 · Post by **cjcnomor4** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:45 am

i'm using the explorer block, heads and front accessories. i'm also using a 92 mustang pcm, harness and sensors. the intake is aftermarket for a mustang as is the transmission.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:27 pm

Travis,
There used to be a regular (Matt Harwood) here at the site who wrote a conversion manual on doing the V-8 swaps. He's located in Cleveland.

www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com
Dave in Wisconsin

cgrey8 · Post by **cgrey8** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:42 pm

I thought that the GT40 and GT40p heads were similar. However after reading some forums and a GT40 vs GT40p website, they appear quite different.

The GT40 heads have a larger exhaust valve (1.54" vs GT40p's 1.46"), thermactor/EGR provision, and 65.5cc combusion chamber. However even with the larger exhaust valve, the GT40p heads still outflow GT40 heads mainly because the GT40p heads don't have the bump for EGR nor thermactor taps in the exhaust flow. The GT40p heads also yield a higher compression due to their 59cc chambers.

The altered sparkplug angle was supposedly a last-minute move on Ford's part to get the Explorers to pass emissions. When it was said-n-done, they moved the sparkplug which changed the plug angle and resulted in getting a more controlled combusion, lower emissions, lower cc combusion chamber, and better flow both in and out. The intake flow is only nominally better than the GT40, however the exhaust valve outflows the GT40 by a pretty substancial amount.

My presumption is Ford's intention was not to produce a head that outflowed their prized GT40 head, it just kinda did and nobody complained. Because the new GT40p heads were so much better than the GT40 head used in 96 and early 97, this allowed Ford to install a milder cam that is more in-line with a truck's need for low RPM performance without loosing much at the higher RPMs.

What that means is if you want to spice up a stock GT40p Explorer motor, a cam change will give you some pretty significant increases in performance since the performance was already moth-balled a bit with a milder cam. Port the heads out some and get even more bang at the top-end. It's kindof a shame that these altered plug-angle head designs were never experimented with when the 5.0L was at its prime.

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:16 pm

yea i was wondering why no one has written a book about this because ive seen one at summit racing for chevy for the s-10 but i looked on their shelves and didnt see one for Ford. So i guess ill be a little more patient and buy the explorer engine instead of the mustang.as far as programming goes such as the MAF... i saw one online for close to 400 (Pro-M) and summit has one for the 5.0 for $1,600. i know that it prolly isnt needed but nice to have since im an engineer major and plan on gettin to this stuff even more so apon graduating.anyone has a site with other style programmers that will plug nicely in to my laptop?? just planning ahead and taking notes. thanks guys.

cgrey8 · Post by **cgrey8** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:02 pm

I'll see your Engineering degree, and raise you a Master's in Computer Science so I know how you feel. I'm chompin' at the bit, waiting for an excuse to buy a TwEECer tuner to start toying around with the puter. But right now I'm in the middle of trying to find a house closer to work, so my finances are on hold for what could be a long while.

However, if I ever do decide to do major engine upgrades, I'll probably buy another Explorer engine and build it while it's on the stand, then swap engines when it's ready. This past weekend, I drove the 97 Ranger (4.0L auto) for the 1st time since I got my 89 going in January. It was depressing and frustrating to drive after getting used to the V8. So if I ever do something that would take my 89 out of service, I'll want to minimize that time as much as possible. Besides, if I have a spare engine laying around, it's a good excuse for Project #2 right? My V8 is from a 97 Explorer, and my 4.0L is a 97 too so swapping it wouldn't be nearly as difficult from what I understand. I still have the 97 Explorer harness, computer, and pieces. Who knows, they may come back together some day and find their way into my 97 Ranger. It's nice to know the Explorer motors have lots of potential.

Although when it comes to things like MAF and other upgrade components, check eBay for good deals. The more comfortable I get with the truck, the more I am feeling the need for an upgraded MAF myself. I'm running a Mustang stock 55mm MAF. Another 20hp in the upper gears would be appreciated, but not for $300+ for a new MAF.

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:36 am

yea i was looking at those tuners... tweecer? is that a brand or just a common name for a tuner? well the motor will stay on an engine stand til im completely satisfied with it bc right now im still driving the 4 popper ranger until the motor is finished. once finished ill drop the insurance after i buy another truck and retire this one to project use. that way im not left without a ride. i know the computer stuff can become complicated rather quickly but the more i learn the more interest it sparks. so we shall see where the road follows.

cgrey8 · Post by **cgrey8** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:44 pm

There are a number of different ways to tune. They range from chips, to ECM add-on tuner devices. TwEECer (pronounced tweaker) is an add-on tuner. It's biggest claim-to-fame is it allows you to instantaniously change between 4 different custom tunes as well as the ECM's factory tune at the flip of a switch. Their better version also lets you historically trend information so you can view the behavior over time on a graph. Powerful stuff...

Read more about TwEECers and how they stack up to other technologies here:

How TwEECer compares

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:36 pm

i was reading about the tweecer and it def sounds fun to my. so the tweecer tunes the actualy computer? where as the Pro-M MAFtunner only deals with your mass air flow sensor? summit racing has one from AEM. the one from AEM has 7 definable swith inputs and 16 gerneral purpose im guessing that means it has 16 settings already that come with it (the module is specifically for 5.0 EFI) then 7 you can make of your own. its supposed to give you graphs and everything else... seems like a tweecer to me but the tweecer runs about 600? the MAFtuner from Pro-M is just under 400 and the one from AEM (summit racing magazine) runs $1,600. im guessing the the Pro-M is completly different from the tweecer and the AEM. im wondering if anyone knows the difference between the tweecer and AEM maybe the AEM is just a higher priced brand? or a more advanced option ? while typing this i continued reading and comparing the 2... summit sells AEM for 1615.95... on the AEM website its over 2000?
http://www.aempower.com/product_ems.asp im sure you guys have a better understanding of this than i do.

stranger · Post by **stranger** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:27 pm

the tweecer gives infinet control of all pcm parameters,maf curve,timming curve,idle,and even trans control.depending on pcm.along with fast refresh data logging.
the maf tuner gives only maf control(a/f ratio)
the aem is a programable replacement pcm

travi273 · Post by **travi273** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:40 pm

so then the tweecer plugs in to the one you already have? and reprograms the PCM? so the tweecer and AEM are basicly the same just the AEM comes with a complete new PCM where the tweecer allows you to use the old PCM? as far as adjusting.... the AEM needs to be in the original posistion of the old unless you lengthen the wires of course corret? and using the tweecer you can place it anywhere basiclly? Which would you prefer tweecer or AEM? obviously the price difference has a huge influence.