_GnarBro

By Ive been having problems with my 1996 v6 3.8L engine and I was thinking instead of going through all the money to fix it, if I would be able to drop a 1993 mercury cougar v8 5.0L engine in mine. The transmissions match, but I want someone's second opinion on if I would be able to swap them out

mustangman02232

Yes you can physically swap the motors, the bigger question is why would you want to?

_GnarBro

It's cheaper to get a cougar engine than a mustang, and the engine is bigger
How hard would it be to swap them out?

slonison

If you're asking this... forget it

JKs95stang

Not a good idea, won't be smog legal, a ton of work for VERY little pay off. All in all, just a waste of time and money, and not worth all the knuckle bustin'. If you want a 5 liter, just get a 94 or 5 cobra or fox body, ex-chp coupes are SEXY when done the right way. GL

jimkaray

IRC I'm pretty sure you'll need a K member from a 94-95 since 96 was the first year for the 4.6. You'll need other stuff so you really want a Mustang as the donor car if you want the swap to go smoothly and quickly.

jthorn9

Can you swap it, yes. Is it easy or cost effective, no.

Why you ask....

96 V6 = OBDII EECV
95 or earlier 5.0 (which is what you will need) = OBDI EECIV

Not compatable.

Basically you would need an entire 94/95 Mustang GT/Cobra to do the swap and even then those electronics are not compatable with the 5.0 used in the Couger as the Mustang had the "high output" 5.0, the Cougers had the less powerful standard 5.0.

LilRoush

Not in TEXAS you can't. It's not a legal swap b/c of the older motor going into a newer model year car, you won't pass the inspection or be able to insure it for street use.

Frantz

I know everyone says about emissions, but has anyone really tried to pass an older v8 engine (with full cats and everything) to newer v6 sniffer standards? I'd guess there is a decent chance it would still pass, but thats not based on anything, I just sorta feel that saying they won't pass is also not based on a whole lot.

jthorn9

If you really want a powerful car and are that dead set on keeping yours then spend around $10,000 and get the Coyote 5.0 swap kit.