I've been having problems with my '03 5.4. I have 132000 miles and she blew a head gasket in June. In July the number 7 intake valve stuck open and hit the piston. Now its misfiring on number 4. Needless to say I'm never taking it to a dealer to get fixed EVER again. I want to rebuild this motor but want to have one built to put in. Ideally I want an old carburated 351W, but the truck has an electronic throttle and other crap I don't really want. Is there any way to get around this or what is the oldest engine I can get away with? Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

I don't know if its possable to put a non modular motor in a truck like that

 

The only motor I've ever heard of being swaped into this gen f150 is a 4bt cummins

 

351 swaps have been discussed but I've never seen it complete or even know if you can get that engine into the engine compartment. I looked into a 302 swap a few years back before I stumbled on the 4BT swap since I had a friend who was willing to give me an extra ecm she had for her Cobra but eventually ditched the plan as it would've been $5000+ by the time it was all said and done.

What crap do you not really want? Most states don't have diesel emissions at all. 4BT swaps can include the electronically controlled ISB engines or the standard mechanical bits. Either way you'd need a standalone transmission controller (fordcummins.com will have the controller for your tranny) as well as needing to run a standard gas pedal (pull one out of a 03 or under 4.2, I can tell you for a fact it is not a drive by wire setup). For a carbureted engine you would need a different fuel pump while with a diesel it just becomes a pump that feeds the ve injection pump. Just a bunch of back and forth little things to consider.

 

Your money would be better spent on putting a 4bt in because you can get about 3 mpg

 

I believe he means about 30. Depends on what you want to use the truck for though. For racing, the 4BT is too slow. For pulling, its a good half ton option.

 

Ya I meant 30 zap good catch on my error man