EFI intimidating?

[Jakedog]

Ok, I'm going to do the 5.0 explorer swap as soon as I can. But I have to admit the process seems a little intimidating. I've been reading about it as much as I can. I am going to be asking A LOT of questions.
I'm a decent mechanic, but I'm worried this is going to be over my head.

Is there a step by step guide I can use? It would be awesome to have a guide on how to do it from start to finish!
Anybody else feel a little intimidated by this? Like I said, I'm going to be asking a lot of questions.
I'm sure there has to be someone with less mechanical skills than I have who has done the swap to EFI.

 

[sykanr0ng]

Are you going to swap in an Explorer engine or put Explorer EFI on an existing engine?

See EFI Guy's thread on reworking the harness.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257251

Have him program the PCM

There are several build threads, guys here have done what you are planning who have never done anything with EFI before.

 

[Jakedog]

My plan is to swap a 1999-2000 5.0. From what I've read, this is one of the easier swaps to do.

 

[hankjr]

Pa69broncoguy wrote a great swap thread. He added efi to an installed 351w, but the efi steps are the same. Do lots of searching and reading. It's not as bad as it might seems at the onset

Hank

 

[EBGeek]

I did a write up on my build, and while it was quite an undertaking, the assistance here and EFIGuy made it a breeze. I'm a fairly competent weekend wrencher, but looking back I'm not sure I could've spelled EFI when I started. I was more of a points/distributor kind of guy, but the experience has been a blast and I'm super stoked that when I bump my key, my engine doesn't require me tap dancing on the pedal to keep it running.

Depending on your timeline, EFIGuy might start rebuilding harnesses eventually, so I'd keep that in mind if you decide to go the OBDII route. Of course, you can always take the Mustang/OBDI route and put a distributor on it, but you'll have to find a different build thread for that process.

Engine part begins on the second post:
http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259510

 

[Mark]

If I can do it, anyone can do it.
I read and reread ALL the Bronco Driver articles, slowly collected the parts, asked questions here and got it done without any major problems. Learned a lot too!

 

[76Bronco302]

I had the same feeling you have. If you look at it in parts its not all that hard. The wiring leave up to EFI guy. He's great and really goes in depth on what you want out of your engine. Are you confused about what is needed to make it fit under the hood or what parts to obtain to make it all work together?

 

[Jakedog]

I had the same feeling you have. If you look at it in parts its not all that hard. The wiring leave up to EFI guy. He's great and really goes in depth on what you want out of your engine. Are you confused about what is needed to make it fit under the hood or what parts to obtain to make it all work together?

I am a little confused about what parts to start collecting. I already have a 23 gallon Sherman fuel tank. So I'm covered there. I will need a diagram of how to run the fuel lines. I would also like opinions on the fuel pump. Is it best to run an external or internal pump.
When I get the engine, what parts do I need to take with it?
Can I run the serpentine belt from the explorer engine?
I plan to keep my NP435; which I think would be awesome behind an efi motor.

It doesn't seem like a really expensive swap. I've found complete engines in the $700 to $1200 range. Most of the engines have over a 100k miles, but I've seen people run them into 200k+ miles.

All info is appreciated.

 

[ep67bro]

I am in the same boat as you. I am really considering an Explorer Motor swap into my 67. I will be following your thread.

 

[DanHall]

I will be doing the swap as soon as I get off my backside and get the rest of the work done. I am also swapping from a 3 speed manual to the Explorer tranny so my whole drive line is out right now. My other problem is I keep getting into the, while I'm in there trap....

I found a complete '98 Mountaineer, 120k miles, with body damage in the middle of your price range that I'll try to keep around until I'm done with the swap and have all the parts I need. I was able to drive it, run through the gears and check for codes that way. Heck the seller even drove it down from about 50 miles out so I didn't mess with licensing or insurance. No leak, no codes and it runs strong. Just another option if you can find one.

 

[76Bronco302]

I am a little confused about what parts to start collecting. I already have a 23 gallon Sherman fuel tank. So I'm covered there. I will need a diagram of how to run the fuel lines. I would also like opinions on the fuel pump. Is it best to run an external or internal pump.
When I get the engine, what parts do I need to take with it?
Can I run the serpentine belt from the explorer engine?
I plan to keep my NP435; which I think would be awesome behind an efi motor.

It doesn't seem like a really expensive swap. I've found complete engines in the $700 to $1200 range. Most of the engines have over a 100k miles, but I've seen people run them into 200k+ miles.

All info is appreciated.

As far as the transmission goes that you are wanting to run I can't help you with because I went with the 4r70w out of the explorer. Someone has done it though and can help you with that. So as far as the engine goes it depends on what year you get the explorer engine out of. Parts for the engine you will want to keep for sure is the serpentine set up. Moving the power steering reservoir back might apply depending on the type of hood you have. Stock hood you will most likely need to move it. A body lift will obviously help with this. Also depending on what year engine you get if it has coil packs or a distributor. If it has coil packs the bracket that they mount on will maybe need to be lowered. Body lift and hood apply here as well. EGR came on these engines I know on the later ones but not certain about earlier models. Your option on keeping that or not. I removed mine. A small concern only with the serpentine system is the idler pully on the passenger side. It can be very close to the front crossmember on the frame. Some use stiffer motor mounts and some use stock with no issue. One of those things that will need to be looked at when you get to that point. As far as the engine harness goes like mentioned before EFI guy is the man. He has a thread that shows you what from the explorer you will need. That link is above. You already have a tank. Some think an external pump is best because if it fails you can reach it with no problem. An internal pump is good cause it is cooled by the fuel and is quite. Down side is when/if it fails you need to drop the tank to replace. Each has pros/cons. Fuel lines will also depend on what year engine you get. Early engines had a return hose back to the tank. One hose into the fuel rail from the tank and another hose from the fuel rail back into the tank. Later years had a returnless system with only one line into the fuel rail. It is actually a return system but it returns it in the tank. Aeromotive makes a nice fuel pump kit that is internal with options for returnless or return. Check out my build thread if you want to see some pictures of most of the process.

 

[Timmy390]

Intimidating? Yes I think it is but that didn't stop me from jumping in. I'm doing a 351W swap as well so my situation is a but different.

However, if I were doing a 5.0 swap and EFI I would find a V8 Explorer/Mountaineer on CL and buy it on the cheap (junk yard is also an option). You will have everything you need for the most part. Take the wiring harness along with the ECU and send it to EFIGuy and have him do his magic. Pull the engine and drop it in with new properly balanced flywheel and balancer 50oz vs. 28oz. All you need after that is a fuel system and add some O2 bungs in the exhaust.

That's basically what I did with my 351W. Bought a running driving 96 E350 for $800 and pulled everything off it, sold some parts and then scraped it at the yard. I ended up $65 in the hole but for that $65 I got a good running 351W that had minimum wear, wiring harness, front dress with all accessories. I went and rebuilt the engine and decided to swap it to mass air vs. speed density. For ease I'm running a 95 mustang ECU so my costs skyrocketed but it didn't have to.

Tim

 

[KyleQ]

Just take your time and learn the acronyms and what the sensors do and its not scary at all. It looks like there are a lot of wires but most of it is for the fuel injectors - EFI Guy is going to be your best resource - I've done a few swaps myself and still find his knowledge and advice very helpful.

Ask the community - we will help you do anything as long as it isn't a SBC.

 

[sykanr0ng]

I am a little confused about what parts to start collecting. I already have a 23 gallon Sherman fuel tank. So I'm covered there. I will need a diagram of how to run the fuel lines. I would also like opinions on the fuel pump. Is it best to run an external or internal pump.
When I get the engine, what parts do I need to take with it?
Can I run the serpentine belt from the explorer engine?
I plan to keep my NP435; which I think would be awesome behind an efi motor.

It doesn't seem like a really expensive swap. I've found complete engines in the $700 to $1200 range. Most of the engines have over a 100k miles, but I've seen people run them into 200k+ miles.

All info is appreciated.

For that kind of money you should be able to buy a whole Explorer/Mountaineer, which would give most of the parts needed.

Like for example this one:

http://ventura.craigslist.org/cto/5241956949.html

Being a 1996 it will have GT40 heads, not GT40P, makes exhaust choices easier.

 

[EBGeek]

That's a fantastic deal, and if I'd known then what I know now, I would've bought an entire vehicle instead of buying mine all parted out.

 

[doghows72]

Before you guys get too deep be prepared to do the wiring yourself. Gerry (EFI guy) is taking a break from harness work. He will still flash your pcm.
I would talk with him if your not comfortable doing the harness work yourself. Just a heads up.

 

[needabronco]

Adding EFI really isn't that hard. If your using your existing engine, it's an intake manifold swap, a few sensors, fuel pump, and a wiring harness. If you buy a pre-built harness, you pretty much lay it over the engine and plug stuff in the correct sensor, hook up a couple of wires and turn the key. If your modifying a Mustang harness, it's a little more complicated, but not much more just take your time.

You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want. Yes it can look a little intimidating, but if you lay it all out on the garage floor before hand and wrap your head around it, it's really not too bad.

 

[shado72]

Lots of great info on here... Just bought a 1996 Ford Explorer. The owner said the motor been replaced with another motor 99k. My question is, how to determine if it's not a newer motor. Trying to figure out if I have gt40 or gt40p heads? Pics would be great if you have them. Sorry about the hijack.

 

[needabronco]

GT40 has 3 bars on the end of the heads, GT40P has 4

 

[HoosierDaddy]

You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want. Yes it can look a little intimidating, but if you lay it all out on the garage floor before hand and wrap your head around it, it's really not too bad.

^^^ That right there ....

If there is any way to make sure the new engine runs before the swap , that would be great from a troubleshooting stand point. Nothing quite like having a new efi system on top of an unknown motor.

I did the Explorer EFI on to an older motor.
I did mucho research and had a good understanding for the system by the time swap time came.

I had a brand new hpfp that was bad , I also had the wrong intake gaskets for the old heads(use the old style gaskets for old style heads), which made an antifreeze sprinkler out of the motor as I was filling it with the initial antifreeze fill.

HPFP failed after one year, replacement has been fine now for several years.

All said and done, I absolutely love the EFI over the carb set up, especially off road at harsh angles and in cooler weather.