achinaghost52

Hey guys, I'm new here. I'm a fairly big gearhead, but I've always stayed with cars and not trucks. But, there's a first time for everything and my fiance has an 06 F150, rwd and 4.2, and it has run into the dreaded leaking intake manifold gasket results in bent rod issue. It used to be her dads construction truck, it has near as makes no difference 300k miles on it, its been rear-ended by a semi, but she loves it. And since she loves it and I'm a car guy, I am perfectly capable of swapping in a used engine for her. I know its not really worth it, but its not always about the most economical option.

So, I'm keeping her PCM and wiring harness, accessories etc and just looking for a used longblock, because new cranks are about $350 from Ford, and then there's getting different clearance bearings and honing the bores etc. Used 4.2's on ebay go for about $700 + shipping, at least the ones that have been taken out of 04-08 F150's do.

My question is this. Do I need to use a 4.2 from the 04-08 generation? Or can I use one from the 99-04 or even one from a Freestar or Windstar? I looked on Wikipedia, not the best source I know, but it didnt mention any internal changes, just things like gasket design. Before I even put a new-to-us engine in, I'm going to make sure to replace that intake gasket haha.

Also, just for fun, I'm wondering if I can swap in a 4.6 2v. I'd go to the junkyard and find one from a Crown Vic, take its PCM and Harness etc, but a lot of the time you need to do things like modifying crossmembers and whatnot. I'm 95% sure the transmission will bolt up, because I already own a crown vic and the transmission is the same one as in her truck already, maybe the bellhousing is different, but I doubt it. I'm wondering if since this truck had a 4.6 option if thats even necessary. I read through 7 or 8 4.2-4.6 swap threads but I didn't find one where someone had done it successfully, just a lot of people talking about how it wasnt worth the money, or it would be too hard, or talking about how the wiring was tooooo complicated. If someone could point me at a successful swap thread I'd be much appreciated, as the 4.6 is about the same cost as the 4.2, and even if it doesnt make thaaaat much more power/tq it could be a route to look into.

Thanks in advance guys!

achinaghost52

Thought I'd upload a pic to show you guys the truck. Even though its beat to hell, I kinda like it that way
Anyone have any ideas on which 4.2 longblocks are compatible?

achinaghost52

I found a thread from a guy asking if the Freestar 4.2 longblocks were compatible with his 04-08 a few months ago, but it looks like around 200 people looked at it and didn't give him any replies.
https://www.f150forum.com/f4/4-2-fre...6-f150-366627/

Can someone point me towards a 4.2 guru or something so I can pm him?

gone postal

They're both Essex 4.2L V-6s, however FoMoCo has been known to do odd things with accessory drive systems for engines in differing platforms which makes swapping them between platforms difficult.

Can't answer the question with absolute certainty, but given the low production of the Freestar with that engine I'd concentrate on the known truck engine.

achinaghost52

Oh, that was something I hadnt thought of. Just looked up the belt routing diagrams for the Freestar and the f150 and nicely mirrored/flipped I'm guessing thats for fwd and packaging stuff.
Good call on the accessories @gone postal!