I'm new to the F150s, just got an 89 model with a 351 engine. What I didn't know was that it was suffering from low oil pressure, so now I think I need to swap the engine. It still runs but only has 3 PSI of pressure when warm. I called a couple shops but haven't gotten much interest in doing an engine swap for me, so I'm thinking of doing it myself. How hard of a task is it? I've done a dozen or so engine swaps on BMWs but something about the ford scares me. What is the opinion and difficulty of swapping out a remanufactured engine in one of these? With decent mechanical skill should I be able to figure it out or should I keep looking for a shop to do the work for me?

Some questions I had about the engine swap
When pulling the engine do you pull the transmission with it or remove the transmission first?
Are there any hidden secrets or tricks that someone can share if I attack this myself?

 

first off, what motor are you swapping in there?

and also, have you looked into getting a new oil pump?

 

I'd be replacing it with a purchased remanufactured 351. The oil pressure is good when cold, but drops down to 3 PSI when warm, which to me sounds like the lower bearings are worn out. Since I plan on using the truck for long distance hauling, I'd like the reliability of a fresh engine rather than putting heavy oil and a high flow pump on it. I may be wrong though, I'm new to American V8's. All my background is with German inline 6's

 

If you can do a beamer you can do this truck. At least everything is written in English. Leave the transmission in, unbolt it and the torque converter from the engine and put a jack under it. If it's a stick just unbolt the tranny. On my 6 cylinder there is a main engine harness that you unplug so you don't have to unplug everything. Check for that and look for other smaller ones that aren't in the main harness, like the alternator. Even if you start unplugging wires, they only will plug into one place so you can't mix them up. The vacuum hose diagram should be under the hood, probably on the airbox. You can mark them though and make it even easier to reassemble. Also I believe these engines are mostly SAE and not much metric.

Take your time and watch those knuckles. Let us know how it goes.

 

Well, I think I'm going to make a couple more phone calls today and if there's no one interested I'll tackle it myself. I am ashamed to admit that I don't have SAE tools, so it's an excuse to go tool shopping

I'll take some pictures to help myself remember where things go, would there be a benefit in posting a writeup here? I've done that for the various BMW tasks in the past.

 

you just described exactly what my truck was doing and then i replaced my oil pressure sensor and everything went back to normal. lol. it was a $5 part, what could it hurt?

 

I changed my sensor too and my oil pressure came way up. It's definitely worth a shot.

 

I went ahead and got a mechanical oil pressure gauge, so I know it's not the pressure sensor :-(

 

These are easier than most imports due to simpler connections and usually more room under and around the engine. When removing the engine make sure that the emission pipes on the passengers side are disconnected and remove the ac pump if equipped and tie to the steering shaft. If you don't have ac you might think about removing the radiator support and pulling the engine out that way. For the power steering pump emissions pump and alternator can be left on the engine and switched over to the new engine while out of the truck.