Advice on upgrading engines
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Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2013
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Advice on upgrading engines
I recently purchased a 2004 4x4 Heritage. I bought it for a fun truck to take fishing.
It has a 4.6L V6 engine. The power is ok, I suppose, but I want to upgrade to a V8.
Obviously I am going to have the Ford house install it, but am I going to run into any issues upgrading like this? Is it possible it won't fit? Drive train connection issues?
I know its going to cost me out the butt, but I don't care.
What do you guys think?
It has a 4.6L V6 engine. The power is ok, I suppose, but I want to upgrade to a V8.
Obviously I am going to have the Ford house install it, but am I going to run into any issues upgrading like this? Is it possible it won't fit? Drive train connection issues?
I know its going to cost me out the butt, but I don't care.
What do you guys think?
4.6L is a V8 just the smaller one than the 5.4L also offered or the 4.2L V6. The 4.6L is a decent engine that could be upgraded to give solid performance. Swapping one for the other really isn't overly difficult, you will need the PCM for the new motor or re-flash your existing to accommodate for the change and you will want to check which transmission you have and if it's a match for the new motor set up, you may want to rebuild it or replace/upgrade it as well. A common swap on the 1997-04 Heritage was for the Supercharged 5.4L out of a Lighting or Harley with some luck you can find motor, tranny and PCM in a junk yard for about $5500 and throw another $2500 in parts to rebuild it all and have a very solid setup.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,380
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From: Tonopah. AZ.
For what you want to do especialy if your going to pay the 'ford house' labor rate you would be money ahead to just sell the truck and use the money plus what the upgrade would cost and buy a truck equipped the way you want it.
Uberhater,Troll,Whatever
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,177
Likes: 113
From: East L.A.
"It has a 4.6L V6 engine. The power is ok, I suppose, but I want to upgrade to a V8. "
As stated, the 4.6 IS a V8 (the V6 is a 4.2). The smaller one of the two available when ours were made.
Many owners have improved the 4.6 (and 5.4) drivabilty by installing a "tuner" (like an Edge, etc.). My truck has the 4.6 and a Gryphon (Edge type tuner) and I am very happy with it.
If you are going to replace a 4.6 with a 5.4, you will need to do some homework. The two valve 4.6 engine PCM will normally only work with a 2V engine (OLDER 5.4 version than our year models' 5.4). Unless you are very "electronic engine savvy" and have lots of $$, you'll probably be better off swapping trucks (for a bigger engine) rather than swapping engines. This ain't the '60s-'70s anymore...
As stated, the 4.6 IS a V8 (the V6 is a 4.2). The smaller one of the two available when ours were made.
Many owners have improved the 4.6 (and 5.4) drivabilty by installing a "tuner" (like an Edge, etc.). My truck has the 4.6 and a Gryphon (Edge type tuner) and I am very happy with it.
If you are going to replace a 4.6 with a 5.4, you will need to do some homework. The two valve 4.6 engine PCM will normally only work with a 2V engine (OLDER 5.4 version than our year models' 5.4). Unless you are very "electronic engine savvy" and have lots of $$, you'll probably be better off swapping trucks (for a bigger engine) rather than swapping engines. This ain't the '60s-'70s anymore...