5.4 swap

[groundpounder]

Good grief, I know I'll probably get tarred and feathered for asking this because I'm sure it's been asked eleventy-billion times. I swear I did a search for "5.4L swap" and found very little. Who's done it and what does it take? I have a line on a CHEAP 1997 GT and a another line on a very low mile 5.4L Triton. Thought I'd come up here and axe my homeys..... Techies only please!

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[Rusmisel01GT]

Is the Triton a DOHC?

[boostedsvtsnake]

you'll have clearance issues with the hood(depending on what intake you run) headers(depending on K-member) but other than that it will bolt right up. some people are notching the frame and some are just swapping k-members, depends on what you want to do with the car.

[04BlueGT]

Reichard racing makes adapter plates that allow you to bolt the 4.6 intake to the 5.4, thus allowing the stock hood to be retained.

I cannot remember his name, but at least one person on the forum has swapped in a SOHC 5.4 that was stock. His torque was excellent, but the hp was about the same. Again, he used a stock 5.4 without any work on it.

[ben790450]

If you went with a SOHC motor the torque potentials are endless. That solves a lot of the problems all us 4.6 guys have with having a lack of torque. The thing is thats a truck motor. Its torque curve is for hauling and it doesnt redline very high. I say go with a Navi DOHC 5.4 Thats 300+ hp and 350+ trq right off the bat. Plus the cool factor of having a 5.4 in there. Just swap it out with some cobra R cams and intake and ull be good to go! Good luck getting ahold of those! Well either that or just put in a 4v s/c lightning motor. 400 trq isnt bad!

[ben790450]

Look what i found. This is for 5.4 swaps and the like:

Heahs

4.6L DOHC
There are several different castings available for the DOHC heads. 4.6L & 5.4L heads will physically interchange, but the ports on the 5.4L heads are much bigger than the 4.6L heads. Neither the Cobra or Lincoln intake manifolds will work with this swap. If you were able to get the intake to bolt on, there still is not enough material around the ports to enable port matching to the larger navigator heads. Our single plane 4.6L intakes were designed with enough material to allow for this swap. The Navigator heads ports are too big for a naturally aspirated 4.6L street car but may make for some impressive horsepower on forced induction cars.

These heads can be divided into 2 basic designs pre-1999 twin port heads (also known as the "B" head) and post-1999 tumble port heads (also known as the "C" head). These 2 heads are interchangeable on any of the 4.6L blocks although it is usually not financially feasible to do this swap because it entails swapping intake manifolds as well. Both heads are very good castings with the tumble port heads getting the nod for making more high end horsepower. The heads on the Lincoln are the same castings as are used on the Cobra.

If you are building your DOHC engine for use in a truck or heavy car, you will probably be happier with the twin port heads. These heads with their IMRC plates, create better torque and at a lower RPM than the tumble port heads without severely limiting hi-end horsepower. These heads respond well to a port and polish job. You can also pick up extra horsepower if your engine is a Lincoln, by swapping the intake manifold for an early Mustang Cobra intake.

The tumble port heads have been available since 1999. These heads were never offered on the Lincoln Mark series due to the cancellation of this model in 1998. These heads can be found on the front wheel drive Lincoln Continental. Maybe if you come across a cheap Continental engine it's not such a bad deal after all. Obviously these heads are also available on the Mustang Cobra. The Cobra heads were modified for 2003. They are supposed to flow better on the intake and exhaust than the early castings.
The best heads offered to date have never been installed on a production vehicle. These are available on the FR500 crate engine. The heads on the FR500 are available from FRPP under part #'s M-6049-T46 and M-6050-T46. These heads are bare, but FRPP does sell a hi-lift (12mm) camshaft kit that includes cams, valves, springs, retainers, and rockers under part # M-6550-T46. The heads sell for about 800.00 each and the cam kit is 1495.00


All of the tumble port heads respond well to a port and polish job. Unless you have money to burn, justifying the additional expense of the FR500 heads may be difficult. The standard heads can be made to provide all the flow necessary for even the highest horsepower applications.

5.4L DOHC
Twin port heads have never been offered for the 5.4L engines. You are limited to the Navigator heads unless you come across a set of Cobra R heads (you might have a better shot at hitting the lottery). Being limited to the Navigator heads is not a bad thing as these heads flow a large amount of air. Port and polish these heads and you will see port flow in excess 325 cfm. There is no horsepower to be gained by trying to run Cobra heads, the Navigator heads with their large ports allows the use of much larger intake runners. Below is an outline of the commonly available DOHC heads.

4.6L DOHC
There are several different castings available for the DOHC heads. 4.6L & 5.4L heads will physically interchange, but the ports on the 5.4L heads are much bigger than the 4.6L heads. Neither the Cobra or Lincoln intake manifolds will work with this swap. If you were able to get the intake to bolt on, there still is not enough material around the ports to enable port matching to the larger navigator heads. Our single plane 4.6L intakes were designed with enough material to allow for this swap. The Navigator heads ports are too big for a naturally aspirated 4.6L street car but may make for some impressive horsepower on forced induction cars.

These heads can be divided into 2 basic designs pre-1999 twin port heads (also known as the "B" head) and post-1999 tumble port heads (also known as the "C" head). These 2 heads are interchangeable on any of the 4.6L blocks although it is usually not financially feasible to do this swap because it entails swapping intake manifolds as well. Both heads are very good castings with the tumble port heads getting the nod for making more high end horsepower. The heads on the Lincoln are the same castings as are used on the Cobra.

If you are building your DOHC engine for use in a truck or heavy car, you will probably be happier with the twin port heads. These heads with their IMRC plates, create better torque and at a lower RPM than the tumble port heads without severely limiting hi-end horsepower. These heads respond well to a port and polish job. You can also pick up extra horsepower if your engine is a Lincoln, by swapping the intake manifold for an early Mustang Cobra intake.

The tumble port heads have been available since 1999. These heads were never offered on the Lincoln Mark series due to the cancellation of this model in 1998. These heads can be found on the front wheel drive Lincoln Continental. Maybe if you come across a cheap Continental engine it's not such a bad deal after all. Obviously these heads are also available on the Mustang Cobra. The Cobra heads were modified for 2003. They are supposed to flow better on the intake and exhaust than the early castings.
The best heads offered to date have never been installed on a production vehicle. These are available on the FR500 crate engine. The heads on the FR500 are available from FRPP under part #'s M-6049-T46 and M-6050-T46. These heads are bare, but FRPP does sell a hi-lift (12mm) camshaft kit that includes cams, valves, springs, retainers, and rockers under part # M-6550-T46. The heads sell for about 800.00 each and the cam kit is 1495.00


All of the tumble port heads respond well to a port and polish job. Unless you have money to burn, justifying the additional expense of the FR500 heads may be difficult. The standard heads can be made to provide all the flow necessary for even the highest horsepower applications.

Cooling System

The 4.6L, 5.4L & 6.8L cast iron blocks use a cooling system that is different from the one that is used on the aluminum blocks. The aluminum blocks use a bypass hose (this is the hose that runs in front of the engine to the thermostat housing) to keep flow constant through the block to help eliminate hot spots. This is due to aluminum being more susceptible to hot spots than is cast iron. If you are running an aluminum block do not eliminate this hose. The cast iron blocks utilize a conventional cooling system (no bypass hose).

Oil System


The oil pump used on modular engines is what's referred to as a gerotor pump. It contains two internal gears with the middle one being driven by the crank. The clearance between the sides of the gears and the internal sides of the oil pump are critical. These pumps are not as robust as the pumps used on the older push rod Ford's. If any debris gets into the oil pump it will gall the sides of the aluminum housing, creating a situation where the pump will not prime. If you are reusing an oil pump be sure to pull the cover off the pump for a close inspection of the housing for galling. Replacing this pump after installation of the engine is not a fun job.
There have also been failures of the powdered metal gears utilized in these pumps when used in
hi-performance applications. There are billet pump gears being offered by some vendors to address this problem, do a search on Google

[ben790450]

You know what i say. F*ck the 5.4 i want the 6.8! MWAHAHA! V-10 Mustang! It has been done before i just need a totally custome k member and all that good stuff haha. oh wait wait here it is: Twin Turbo 6.8! Too bad they dont make a 4v 6.8. Now that would be something.

[ben790450]

Look at this they make a custom oil pan for the swap:

http://www.cantonracingproducts.com/pr_15786.html

[ben790450]

Ok im looking around and there are a lot of ppl that have put the 6.8 triton with a cobra t-56 in a fox body and a few that have put it in sn95's. Haha thats awesome

[groundpounder]

Ben, where did you get your information? I would LOVE to visit that site and call some people.

There are some things that I think I know about Triton 5.4's:

I was under the impression that Tritons are only SOHC, but in 2004, there was a 3V version (still SOHC, tho). Lincoln came out with the DOHC version of the 5.4 (and 4.6 for Aviators) that was called the InTech. The Navigator DOHC heads were exclusive to that app, but the Aviator DOHC heads were the same casting as 03-04 Cobras and Mach 1's. 95-98 Triton 2V 5.4's made 235HP/330tq. 99-03 5.4's made 260HP/350tq. The 3V Triton made 300HP/365tq. Lightning Tritons made anywhere from 360-380HP , and H/D Tritons made 340HP. 5.4 InTechs made 300HP/355tq. I'm sure all of these factory numbers are conservative!

Sounds like the 4.6->5.4 swap is a lot like the 5.0->5.8 swap - taller deck heights = different hood and intake (unless you have an adapter), but lots of things bolt up - bellhousing, accessories, etc.

With all of this seeming interchangability, the big question in my mind is what about engine management? Would, say, an 5.4 InTech drop in a 1997 Mustang and you could hook the harness right up? I know that the intakes would have to be changed, but to how? With the adapter mentioned, is the sky the limit? Just adapt the Mustang intake to the 5.4, plug in the wire clips, and you're away? That seems way too easy.

But what about accessories? Just bolt on the brackets from the stang for A/C, P/S, alternator, etc with no problems? Again, seems too easy or it seems a lot more people would be doing it (for the torque).

Also, what about bolt ons mods? Do underdrive pulleys just go right on? CAI? Bigger MAF and injectors?

I understand that hood and shock tower clearance will usually be an issue - just get a cowl hood and use special headers, no?

Clearly, if these answers are as simple as they seem to be right now, then I am going to move on this 97 and this truck Triton out of a 2000 F-150 (260/350) or find me a 96-04ish GT and start looking for either a low mile Navigator engine or an 04 3V. Jeez, that would be AWESOME!!!

ORIGINAL: Rusmisel01GT
Is the Triton a DOHC?

I think it's a Triton out of a 2000 F-150, which would make it a SOHC with 260 HP and 350 ft lbs of torque. Bolt on mods on that would OWN!!!