F150 3.5L Ecoboost Swap Discussion
10-19-2017, 02:26 AM
#21
Ecoboost into old iron
Walt--Could I ask for a little more info on the 3.5 Ecoboost swap? You are the first person I have found that seems to have serious information on this topic.
I am starting a '60 Thunderbird resto-mod project. Want to build a 21st century T-bird, what Ford might have built in.1960 had they the tech. Had been planning a Coyote/6r80 driveline until my recent purchase of a '17 F-150 Limited w/3.5 EB & 10 speed trans and subsequent falling in love What a sweet combo!
Have read your other posts with great interest. I understand the enormity of most of the project and am not (yet) afraid. Thinking of buying a totaled '17 (love that trans!) F-150 complete and robbing all the parts necessary. Since the 3.5 has a rear sump, I will likely have to fab a tubular crossmember to accommodate. I'm on board with you until we get to the BCM. I have previously contacted Dakota Digital who can custom build digital instrumentation to fit into the OEM gauge bezels, but that was when I was planning to use a dedicated controller for the Coyote and 6R80. But now that we are talking an OEM module, BCM, and CAN bus, I am unsure how to integrate into the old car. I guess I'm worried about just how much of the truck will I have to build into the car? Thinking in terms of just how much of the car will have to report back to the BCM to avoid a slew of error messages from missing sensors. Things like taillight monitoring, addressable message screens, blind spot cameras, auto wipers, etc.--all the new stuff that's in today's vehicles. How much of that stuff could I leave off without getting into trouble? Though I like the look of the old column and steering wheel, I am not entirely opposed to swapping out if I must, though I wondered if the 150's keyless entry might overcome this. I could go so far as integrating the center GPS/radio/screen into the car, but changing the OEM look of the old instrument panel would be a deal breaker. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
I am starting a '60 Thunderbird resto-mod project. Want to build a 21st century T-bird, what Ford might have built in.1960 had they the tech. Had been planning a Coyote/6r80 driveline until my recent purchase of a '17 F-150 Limited w/3.5 EB & 10 speed trans and subsequent falling in love What a sweet combo!
Have read your other posts with great interest. I understand the enormity of most of the project and am not (yet) afraid. Thinking of buying a totaled '17 (love that trans!) F-150 complete and robbing all the parts necessary. Since the 3.5 has a rear sump, I will likely have to fab a tubular crossmember to accommodate. I'm on board with you until we get to the BCM. I have previously contacted Dakota Digital who can custom build digital instrumentation to fit into the OEM gauge bezels, but that was when I was planning to use a dedicated controller for the Coyote and 6R80. But now that we are talking an OEM module, BCM, and CAN bus, I am unsure how to integrate into the old car. I guess I'm worried about just how much of the truck will I have to build into the car? Thinking in terms of just how much of the car will have to report back to the BCM to avoid a slew of error messages from missing sensors. Things like taillight monitoring, addressable message screens, blind spot cameras, auto wipers, etc.--all the new stuff that's in today's vehicles. How much of that stuff could I leave off without getting into trouble? Though I like the look of the old column and steering wheel, I am not entirely opposed to swapping out if I must, though I wondered if the 150's keyless entry might overcome this. I could go so far as integrating the center GPS/radio/screen into the car, but changing the OEM look of the old instrument panel would be a deal breaker. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
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chimmike (10-19-2017)
11-28-2017, 09:45 PM
#22
Internet Expert
I've been scouring the net as well, I can't believe there isn't more info after all this time. I'm looking at a 67 Mustang swap but the Coyote just seems easier as all the brackets and mounts are available. No love for the 3.5....
I was at SEMA this year and talked to these guys - http://www.hotwireauto.com/?page=sales-ford
Supposedly, you can send in your stock harness and they can make it work without needing the BCM and assorted other stuff. If that is true, that is exactly what we need. I would love to see if this works with the F150 engine/auto trans combo. Having the factory PCM control the engine and trans and having the ability to be tuned by any of the ecoboost vendors would push me to do the swap.. I just don't want to be the leader, I want to follow someone else.
I was at SEMA this year and talked to these guys - http://www.hotwireauto.com/?page=sales-ford
Supposedly, you can send in your stock harness and they can make it work without needing the BCM and assorted other stuff. If that is true, that is exactly what we need. I would love to see if this works with the F150 engine/auto trans combo. Having the factory PCM control the engine and trans and having the ability to be tuned by any of the ecoboost vendors would push me to do the swap.. I just don't want to be the leader, I want to follow someone else.
11-28-2017, 10:01 PM
#23
Senior Member
@glb52, you might want to check out the F100 EcoBoost thread over on the Garage Journal forum. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...d.php?t=147380
Fair warning, be prepared to spend several days reading that thread.
Fair warning, be prepared to spend several days reading that thread.
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glb52 (11-30-2017)
11-29-2017, 10:05 AM
#24
Thanks for the tip!
TTA89--Checked out the Hotwire site. I'm sure you know they list a twin turbo/auto combination harness, but I'm not sure they include the 10-speed. I have sent them an email requesting confirmation and other information about controllers, etc. Stay tuned, hope to have more info soon. Thanks again!
11-30-2017, 08:46 PM
#26
Reply from Hotwire
Mike--Below is the reply. Hotwire sent. I had asked as well about controllers, which they neatly bypassed altogether for my application. But if you are not insisting on the ten speed trans, they may already be there for you, for they do list a harness for the 3.5 and auto trans. I get the impression they intend to use factory PCM's because they list only a few "specialty" controllers for sale and none of them relate to the 3.5 EB. Nice people and quick response, you might drop them an email with your specifics. Good luck! Here is their reply to me: Good luck!
We have not done a project with the new 10-speed yet. In general, both GM
and Ford have not required extensive integration with the rest of the
vehicle for the transmission to operate properly. Since they jointly
developed that transmission we can hope they kept to the same strategy.
But we can't be sure until we try it.
For us to proceed we would need the factory harness to see what's involved
in wiring the new transmission.
Chris Squier
Squier, Inc / HotwireAuto
We have not done a project with the new 10-speed yet. In general, both GM
and Ford have not required extensive integration with the rest of the
vehicle for the transmission to operate properly. Since they jointly
developed that transmission we can hope they kept to the same strategy.
But we can't be sure until we try it.
For us to proceed we would need the factory harness to see what's involved
in wiring the new transmission.
Chris Squier
Squier, Inc / HotwireAuto
12-01-2017, 12:07 PM
#28
Senior Member
I know that that is a lot of custom fabbing for his pickup, but somewhere in there he talks about the challenges of getting the ECM/BCM programmed by a dealer/friend to make everything work. It is in there, but it is a treasure hunt.
12-12-2017, 04:46 PM
#29
Junior Member
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Into a '99?
I have a '99 single cab with 4.2 and 5-speed that I've been driving for almost 15 years now. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it, but I'd like more power while keeping it a V6/manual. Would the 3.5 EB go in without need for tons of fabrication and expertise? Will the programming allow me to use a manual transmission? This would be my first attempt at any sort of engine swap.
12-12-2017, 04:53 PM
#30
Senile member
I have a '99 single cab with 4.2 and 5-speed that I've been driving for almost 15 years now. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it, but I'd like more power while keeping it a V6/manual. Would the 3.5 EB go in without need for tons of fabrication and expertise? Will the programming allow me to use a manual transmission? This would be my first attempt at any sort of engine swap.
Electronics would be a challenge in and of themselves.