EFI, a tale of two motors Help!!

as many of you know iim working on my EFI swap, and thanks to the many replies ive received, things are moving along. Last week, i found an explorer serp setup at the boneyard and was quoted $300. my plan was to buy this and attach it to my 88 Lincoln Mark VII motor. just for sh!ts and giggles i called another boneyard today, and they have a '96 explorer 5.0 that is complete from intake to oil pan, flywheel to fan for $450. so, here we go again! LOL

my question is, what the heck to i do?! LOL. okay all kidding aside, is it easier to take the entire explorer engine and put it in the bronco, or put the front dress from the explorer on the lincoln. i have it pretty much figured out what i need to do to the lincoln engine to get it in there. i have a mass air setup from a 91 mustang, and the computer should be here soon enough. but will that, or should that work with the explorer?

im looking for easiest, least amount of mods to get this thing in and running.. Ive heard the lincoln motor run, which is a positive. the explorer motor, who knows, supposedly it has 89,000 on it, where the lincoln has 101,000 on it.

i know that bc sells a kit to to use the stock gas pedal that will work for the lincoln, will that work on the explorer intake? can i take the lincoln intake and put it on the explorer engine?, is that even worth it?

so many questions, please help!!

thanks!!

TheLimeRanger said:

as many of you know iim working on my EFI swap, and thanks to the many replies ive received, things are moving along. Last week, i found an explorer serp setup at the boneyard and was quoted $300. my plan was to buy this and attach it to my 88 Lincoln Mark VII motor. just for sh!ts and giggles i called another boneyard today, and they have a '96 explorer 5.0 that is complete from intake to oil pan, flywheel to fan for $450. so, here we go again! LOL

my question is, what the heck to i do?! LOL. okay all kidding aside, is it easier to take the entire explorer engine and put it in the bronco, or put the front dress from the explorer on the lincoln. i have it pretty much figured out what i need to do to the lincoln engine to get it in there. i have a mass air setup from a 91 mustang, and the computer should be here soon enough. but will that, or should that work with the explorer?

im looking for easiest, least amount of mods to get this thing in and running.. Ive heard the lincoln motor run, which is a positive. the explorer motor, who knows, supposedly it has 89,000 on it, where the lincoln has 101,000 on it.

i know that bc sells a kit to to use the stock gas pedal that will work for the lincoln, will that work on the explorer intake? can i take the lincoln intake and put it on the explorer engine?, is that even worth it?

so many questions, please help!!

thanks!!

Click to expand...

if you pass this let me know, I'm looking for an explorer complete engine;D;D;D;D

Except for the fact that you don't really know it's condition, I'd try to use the Explorer motor. Some of the little details are pretty nice, including the nice intake and such. Is your '88 Lincoln a roller motor? Probably is, but I seem to remember there being some late holdouts in that regard.

Either way, you'd have to use some of the stuff from each. You can't use the Explorer MAF, and even the TB might be incompatible, and you'll have to drill new holes in the heater tubes and lower intake for the coolant temp and intake air temp sensors respectively.
Other than that, the Exploder motor should have more torque, and perhaps a little more power all through the range I would think. Are you putting the 110k mile engine in as-is already? Or have you refreshed it at all? Seems pretty brave to me, even though you heard it run.

The $300 seems at the high end for the serp setup, but it's not completely out of line either. Can you get more than $150 for the rest of the Exploder engine? If so, that might help. Otherwise it might not be worth the effort to pull it.

Paul

DirtDonk said:

Except for the fact that you don't really know it's condition, I'd try to use the Explorer motor. Some of the little details are pretty nice, including the nice intake and such. Is your '88 Lincoln a roller motor? Probably is, but I seem to remember there being some late holdouts in that regard.

Either way, you'd have to use some of the stuff from each. You can't use the Explorer MAF, and even the TB might be incompatible, and you'll have to drill new holes in the heater tubes and lower intake for the coolant temp and intake air temp sensors respectively.
Other than that, the Exploder motor should have more torque, and perhaps a little more power all through the range I would think. Are you putting the 110k mile engine in as-is already? Or have you refreshed it at all? Seems pretty brave to me, even though you heard it run.

The $300 seems at the high end for the serp setup, but it's not completely out of line either. Can you get more than $150 for the rest of the Exploder engine? If so, that might help. Otherwise it might not be worth the effort to pull it.

Paul

Click to expand...

i was going to rebuild the 101k motor, but i had second thoughts. first, budget, its just not there right now, second, i am worried about break in. i dont actually think im going to turn the key and this thing is going to fire right up with no issues to work out. break in might be a problem. so for now, no rebuild. when i get things worked out, i can always pull it and have it rebuilt.

i did A TON of reading and sifting through the archives on this site last night. thought about it some last night, here's where im at:

option 1:
dont bother with the explorer engine, drop the $300 on the serp setup and hope that all the parts are there since im not the one taking them off. if anything is missing its multiple trips to the boneyard and a lot of hunting.

option 2:
buy the explorer motor and use it. need to drill and tap a few things (this thread is awesome btw http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119070&highlight=explorer+throttle+body). Not crazy about the throttle body issues to deal with concerning the gas pedal, THAT makes me nervous. i like a nice clean look. if i could use my throttle body on that intake?? then i would go this route for sure

Option 3:
buy the explorer motor, take the front dress off myself, put it on my Lincoln motor and sell the intake and heads. if i Can i get at least $150 for the intake and heads at the minimum i didnt spend anymore than i was going to in the first place, AND i get all the parts without worry of which hole they came out of because i took them off myself. not sure that $150 is realistic for the intake and heads?.

Option 4:
buy the explorer motor, use my MAF, Computer, and my upper and lower intake. Can i use the distributor also? read something about a steel gear last night, that could really throw a monkey wrench into the works. And sell my lincoln engine. i could probably get $150 for the long block minus the intake.

id be interested to hear everyones thoughts,i was up all night reading everything i could get my hands on!

and as usual, thank you!

A couple of things that (as usual!) hinge on a couple of other things.
Your distributor should work fine, IF it's from a roller-cam equipped motor. That's the deciding factor in what material the gear is made from. If it's the steel or bronze gear, it's fine. If it's the rougher, cast iron (or steel?) gear, then you'd have to get a replacement gear for the distributor, to be compatible with the roller cam in the Explorer motor.
Again, if the existing Lincoln engine is a roller, the distributor is good to go.

Another question for the experts. Is the '88 Lincoln engine a 50oz engine? I think so, but again, if I remember, there were a couple of hold-outs for the change-over from the early 28oz (imbalance factor) engines to the later 50oz imbalance engines.
If it's indeed a 50 oz engine, then you can use the Explorer serp setup right down to the damper/pulley. If it's not, then you have to either have the Explorer damper re-balanced to work with the Lincoln engine, or have a special damper made. Either is do'able, but also one more item on the "to-do" list.

Sorry I can't remember the specs on the Lincoln, but as soon as someone chimes in with the details of whether it's got a roller cam and 50 oz imbalance, you can make a more informed decision.

Paul

thanks Paul...i know ive been asking a ton of questions lately. the more i read, the more questions i have! i want to do this right.