Ford engine swapping

[Rat Chevelle]

Hi, I am trying to swap a Ford Engine onto an 85-86 F-150.
I have done several LS-Chevy swaps using HP Tuners, however I am a newbie to Fords.
I did a quick search of the stickies and found mainly information regarding modifications to cars-trucks already equipped with the engine.
What about VATS, and does the ECM also control the transmission?
I have not bought the engine yet, but I suppose I should look into 05-08 F series 4.6 so that I can handle them with HPT.
Any help pointers will be greatly appreciated.

[1998Ws6]

Do you want to keep it automatic or manual?

Ryan

[Rat Chevelle]

I want to keep it automatic, and I am looking into buying a complete Engine, Transmission, accesories, harness and ECU from a 2006 E-Van.
It matches the year of HPT Ford support, and I am told by the truck recycler place that the ECUs are the same for the F series and the Van.
So I think I will go for it.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[53mercury]

I have swapped a 2006 V-10 from a superduty into my 1953 mercury M-250 retaining ALL the controls as if it was still a 2006. I work in a shop with 700+ ford trucks mostly superdutys but some scattered 150's and I have a pretty good knowledge of them. the swap is very doable just remember that the BCM in these model fords is actually the instrument cluster and things like tach,cheak engine light,oil press,etc is on the high speed can bus also the speedo goes through the abs module first then the pcm! the abs turns the a/c signal to a binary can signal which talks to the pcm on the can! make sense? what I have done is retained the abs module which unscrews from the solenoid block installed a tone ring in my 9" diff. you also have to retain the fuel pump module which is bolted to the d/s framerail at the rear of the truck the ford system is returnless using the fuel pump module the vary the voltage to the fuel pump. the van,truck,car,etc has the same pcm if it's the same model year and runs the modular engine 4.6,5.4,6.8 don't forget that these systems also run a GEMS or SJB (smart junction box) for fusing,relays,and minor functions like cab light, door switches, etc. I think you can eliminate that fairly easy. Ford also sells a stand alone pcm and harness to run these modular engines but I never priced it or seen of anyone run it! I took the engine harness, chassis harness, trans harness, and dash harness for my project did no mods to the engine and trans harness modified the chassis harness a bit (got rid of the evap system) and extensively modified the dash harness. Most of the hots and grounds for the pcm comes from the dash harness there will also be a external fuse/relay box outside that you will have to retain. sounds like a lot but buy the manual from ford and the schematics are very stright forward and easy to follow. I've done this twice now so it is doable just time and research before starting. the PATS system is easily bypassed on these units in saying that I never used hptuners to do it we have fords IDS laptop at work so I just used that but I'm sure hptuners can do it to! Any questions I can help you with I'll be glad to help lord knows I had lots of help on here when I done my chevy! By the way I have to ask why the 4.6L ? the 5.4L is also very plentyfull I would think. Don't overlook the the 6.8L engine either this is mostly what we run at our mine site and I can tell from years of experence this is one durable engine it's also has lots of potential over stock with a few mods like headers and exaust, bigger intake and throttle body, and a tune....... I took mine from 300rwhp to 400rwhp with just these upgrades I also spray 100hp shot of nitrous when I go the the track with "0" problems on a seasoned V-10 with 5000hrs on it! they are very durable!
Good luck
ps on 05 to 11 model years a4x4 truck has the same trans as a 2wd all you have to do is take the transfer case off and bolt a yoke on .....as simple as that!

[Rat Chevelle]

Wow, that is a lot of info, THANKS!
It is deffinitely quite a bit more than what I had in mind, but I am so glad you mentioned all these things since they will come handy.
I am thinking about separating all the controls and just using the ECU for the vitals of the engine and the diagnostic abilities with the OBD DLC.
Is that doable in a for as it is in a Chevy, I did my own harness from a factory one using only a six fuse box and a couple relays for the Fuel Pump and Cooling Fans.
I need no emmissions, EGR, cats etc, and plan to use an external fuel pump on a stock but baffled tank.
As I said I am just about to commit on buying an engine.
Oh and another question, specially since you (52 Merc) are experienced with Fords...
Is the ECM and OS the same for the E Van and the F series? I was told so by the automotive recycler I am getting this engine, he says the ECM is the same part number.
Is that so?
Thanks again
Rat Chevelle

[1998Ws6]

no, the strategy (Ford OS) are not the same between E-series and F150 vehicles of those model years with 4.6L engines.

Ryan

[Rat Chevelle]

no, the strategy (Ford OS) are not the same between E-series and F150 vehicles of those model years with 4.6L engines.

Ryan

Thanks a lot for the info!
Now do you think I could open the ECM with Hp Tuners?
or should I just replace the ECM with an F Series?
Does it even have the same connectors?
All I care is that I can tune it with HPT...
Again thanks for the info
Rat Chevelle

[53mercury]

If it's the modular engine ie 4.6 5.4 6.8 and of the same model year then they all use the same proccessor (pcm) some things may be different in the OS most likely emissions related and MAF tune since the van uses a different intake pipe other than that? cheak the ford racing website that might give you some insite on what you can and can't delete! cheers

[Rat Chevelle]

Hi people,
It has been a long time but I finally got the engine to be swapped into the truck.
Now my problem is that I can not find the pinouts or schematics for the ECM for the 2006 Econoline 4.6 auto, if anyone has them and is willing to share them I'd appreciate it..
I got everyting from the donor van, incluiding the gas pedal and the MAF/filter as well as ECM and harness.
However being south of the border, it is a little (a lot!) harder to get these diagrams, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot
Luis Corbala

[53mercury]

So my guess is you are only modifying the the harness that has the inputs from the body right? You should not have to modify the engine or trans harness! I'll see what what I can come up with.... Just to be sure your ECM should have 3 plugs on it one for the engine one for the trans and one for inputs from the body. If this is so then I may have what you need.

[Rat Chevelle]

Yes, I only intend to modify the original harness.
I plan on removina all emission related stuff like rear o2's and egr and so on, I will delete these from the DTC's list.
And yes, I have the three plug input ECM, I will take some pictures of it tomorrow and post them.
Thanks a lot for the help.

Luis H Corbala

[Rat Chevelle]

Hi I said I was going to post pictures of the ECM so you could see them, here they are.
Hope this is the one you have info for.
If you need any aditional data please let me know.
Thanks a lot.
Rat Chevelle

[53mercury]

Ok so im away from work right now where I can get you the schematics but I have to ask by looking at the photos that's a 2 valve engine which should be from 99 to 04! I'm not aware that they used 2 valves in 06! if you can confirm the model year ill get the pinouts for you when I get back..... the processor is the one i'm thinking of.

[1998Ws6]

2011 E-series vans still use the 4.6 2V however in 2009 they changed to a new ECM that hptuners does not read.

Ryan

[Rat Chevelle]

1998Ws6 is correct.
That is a 2 valve E-Van series from 2006, I am attaching a picture of the vehicle's info from where I pulled it.
If you have any other questions please let me know, all I need is to make sure this ECM is supported by HP Tuners.
The two outer plugs are pretty much already connected, but the center one has a bunch of cables coming out and I still need to connect the DLC the electronic pedal and various outputs.

Thanks a lot again
L Corbala

[53mercury]

Interesting and I have to say the first one I've seen with a 4.6L! Where I work we have about 20 of these vans with either the 5.4 or the 6.8 but no 4.6!!! I'll have to dig and see what I can find. If the proccessor is the same... one plug should feed your engine, one your trans, and the other would be various in and outs ie power feeds,instrament cluster,etc. Learn something everyday! Lol

[Rat Chevelle]

Yes, and that center plug is the one I need to know how to connect, as I said before I need the outputs for the fuel pump, speedo, tach, DLC, check engine light, electronic pedal connectors, power, ignition and ground, etc. that's what I can remember off the top of my head.
But way more needed is the DLC as I need to make sure this ECM is supported by HPT.
If I have the DLC pinouts then I can do a pigtail standalone and program the ECM off the car.
Thanks again
Luis H. Corbala

[Rat Chevelle]

53 Mercury, I have pm´d you with my email, but in case you miss it it is [email protected].
Thanks a lot, I am looking forward to hearing from you.
L Corbala

[53mercury]

I have sent you the info of the connector you wish to modify o hope you got it I sent it via e mail. let me know if it didn't work I will try again.
Good luck
Terry

[53mercury]

In case your wondering I have tried to send it through this forum website but the file is not supported on here so I download it to my e mail and sent it that way.... I hope it worked!