52 ford

(First post... I think)
Hey y'all. I'm about to be getting a 1999 F150 4X4 with a 4.6L. I had typed up about 4 paragraphs explaining what I want to do, and just erased all of that. I'm going to keep my post as simple as I can... The truck has over 220,000 on it. Good truck, 4.6 SOHC 2V, 4R70W, BW4406 (electronic ), and 3.55 gears with a LSD rear. I am going to keep it as a daily driver and when it breaks it will be a project truck until I can make it a daily driver again.

When the motor(or solenoid, or whatever) in the T-case wears out or for whatever reason it quits working, I want a BW4407 in it(If possible, or a BW4406 manual shift). I want to run all of the life out of the motor, then pull it and put in a new used one.

The question: What motor should I put in as a replacement?

I'd love to go all out with a BBF like a 460, but seeing as I'm not a part owner of Sunoco, that isn't practical. So, 302, another 4.6, 4.9 (I6, would that even fit?), or... It would be kinda ignorant of me to get a carb'd engine, seeing how its a EFI truck now. I'm just thinking, and figure y'all's input would be helpful. It isn't anything that would be happening this year.

It's 3:52 AM, I've been up since yesterday, I'm tired. Please forgive me for any typo's or any *** backwards statements, etc.

Thanks,
-Michael

jprevat

iTrader: (1)

Best thing you could do and keep all the electronics working as they should would be to find a donor truck with a 5.4 and trans, build them both and do a lightning swap (if you want forced induction) if not find a 4v 5.4 out of a navigator and go to town. Rewiring for anything thats not a mod motor will not br a cheap or quick undertaking.

52 ford

Thanks for the reply. I'd love to go forced induction, but speeding tickets add up quick and I don't see it as feasible to spend the extra money(on the supercharger). But a 4V 5.4 would be great. I'll have to call a few junk yards and see what they have for donors. If nothing else, a 3V would work just the same for me. What transmission should I try to find? It's my understanding you can get 4R100's, E4OD, 4R75W/70W, and the manuals. Is there any advantage to the 4R100 as far as longevity is concerned or is it just a heavy(-er) duty tranny? I've really only read up on the 4R70W and kind of ignored the rest.

jprevat

iTrader: (1)

Our stock trans is the correct way to go with the 4v. Its a bolt in procedure...literally. A 3v would be way too much work to fit in these 10th gens. You do have to swap the wires on the coils but there are a few threads on here that go in depth.

Wolvee

Just a little thought, when I stopped speeding, I stopped getting tickets. That could have been because of maturity but my wife probably wouldn't agree.

Carb's aren't a problem "IF" you know how to tune them and you don't mind slightly more frequent maintenance. They can make just as much Hp as fuel injection.

A SBF or BBF of any kind would be an enormous undertaking and the only real value I could give it would be if you prefer Pushrod maintenance.

A properly build Pushrod would cost as much a Modular engine and I can't imagine there's any real advantage unless you're trying to make high NA numbers. Since you say you're not affiliated with OPEC, then I assume this would be out of your budget.

IMO the best and only feasible conversion is the 5.4 in either the 2v or 4v variety. The 2v gives you the option to more cheaply grow into F/I with a lightning blower but not by much. The 4v is a better flowing engine but there are no SUV Tq cams made for the 4v that concentrate on low/mid range. Every 4v cam spec I've seen goes for the higher rpm hp.

52 ford

Alright, sweet. At least I know I'm not going to be knee deep in wiring now. Thanks, again.

Z7What

Why not just a Lightning motor?

Wayne

Jbrew

+1

52 ford

I'm not building a serious performance rig. I'll occasionally pull the Whaler, or a little 6x8 homemade trailer with all the fishing stuff and kayaks on it. Usually, just hauling wood, stone, brick, trash, etc. So, at least 16 MPG is what I'm aiming for, and I can't imagine a blown 5.4 would get it. I know the Navi got crap fuel economy with the 5.4, but I figure with a good tune, she'll touch ~16 MPG. This trucks is going down all the logging roads, trails, and paths on the land I hunt and fish. I know IFS is crap for off road unless your making a prerunner or something. I could get a pre 97 F150 4WD (D44 front) for less than a grand, though. So, no SAS for me. In fact, my buddy was about to buy an 80-something F250 with a new drivetrain, 6" lift, on decent 35's for 1200. Thing had Ranger bucket seats, straight body minus the typical over the wheel well Ford rust, Whole lot of room inside. Nice truck. Dude sold it the day he was going back to pay him. He bought a nice Jeep Grand Cherokee for about the same price from the same dude 2 days later. Nice little truck thing. It's no Ford, though.... Off topic... Point is, I could get a half decent trail rig real cheap, so no need to SAS mine.

Wolvee

You think about the wrong things too much. Coming from me, that means a lot.