4.6L swap Has any one tried installing a mod motor without a MII type suspension. I took some measurements of a 95 two valve, non-PI SOHC 4.6L it measures 26" from valve cover to valve a mavericks shock tower housing measures 25" with a simple shave you can get about 26.5 but i would think you would need at least 30" to fit it well so if you move each shock inward 1.75"'s you would have 30" the only thing i haven't measured is if it would fit between the stock control arms i'm going to measure a mod engine thats out of the car to get the right measurements
well i measured the distance between the upper control arms and its 23" if a 4.6 would be installed at the same height as a 302 then it would measure 23.7 so theoretically if your raise it about 1" it would clear.assuming my measurements and calculation are correct. this summer i'm going to try this swap just for the heck of it.
If you do a mod motor swap...do an MII front end and eliminate the towers completely.not saying it wont fit with a tower mod but... you will rip your hair out trying to make it all work together.Good luck.
Agreed I suggest do a Google search for mod motors in the older Mustangs. I know that has been done quite often. They even have more room than the Mavericks. Find out what they did.
I wouldn't bother with a mod motor unless it's one of the 32 valve variants. If you're going to screw with putting a 16 valve 4.6 in there, you may as well just put a 302 in it. More cubic inches in a smaller package, with tons of cheap aftermarket stuff. A good old 5.0 kick's the regular old 4.6's a$$ in every way IMO.
also consider the 4.6 motors have rear sump pan that wont work with the stock stearing. i defintly wouldnt use a 2 valve motor. the 3 valve or 4 v would the the ones to consider. i would love to see a new 3 valve motor with the new 5 speed automatic in the mav. definitly would need to do a mustang 2 or some other type of front suspension. (i have reservations as to the performance level of the m2 suspension)
i know about the 2V aint that good of a motor but its just for the wow factor. not building a race car here.
you will need to relocate the rack & pinion to the front to clear the pan. then the strut rods will be in the way and the spindles wont work either.
I know just about everyone on here disagrees with me but I HAVE SWORN MYSELF AS A DISCIPLE AGAINST THE 4.6 SOHC. I think it might be cool to see one in a mav just for the fact of the outrageous amount of work someone had spent in a Mav. But other than that, ive been burned so many times by a 4.6 sohc, that i SWEAR THEY ARE FROM HELL. Just one small example; I bought a 03 gt with none other than the 4.6. Well me and my wife still had to sell her old car, so my podna at the bank set up a 90 day no-pay loan so we could sell her malibu and put that money toward the Stang loan where we would have low payments. Well we drove the car for the 90 days, where i was very displeased with its performance compared to my sn95 5.0. On the way home from the bank to re-vamp my loan, i started smellin a familiar smell....hmm what could it be? none other than the smell of burning coolant. U know like a semi-sweet firecracker smell then! All of a sudden!!!!! BOOM! BY BY 4.6. well called my buddy to come pick me and my wife up of the side of the damn road and he headed our way. well we waited..and waited....and WAITED finally he called, "bad news" he said. What might you ask??? his timing chain snapped in his car and bent all the valves. what in??? a t-bird with a 4.6 PIECE OF SHI* not to mention the numerous 4.6in bastar*s ive dealt with here at work. I HATE EM. o yeah both cars had under 100k miles NOTE. none of this applies to the DOHC motors or the 5.4. so if i were to go through the trouble to put in a eye catching motor, it would be a 4.6DOHC or a trition v10!!!!!!!!!!!!! screw anyone who tells you otherwise, bc this isnt my only 4.6 HELL story, there a numerous others. I just dont feel like typing anymore
I see more vehicles (mostly cop cars and taxis) powered by those engines with more then 350,000 miles on them in the junkyards, then any other type of vehicle or engine, from any other manufacturer, period. My aunt has a 1997 Expedition with 272,000 miles that still runs great, she bought it used back in 1999 with like 94,000 miles on it. The 4.6 SOHC has absolutely never been touched in it. It seems like they are kind of hit and miss though. A buddy of mine has a '99 Mustang GT with only like 85,000 miles on it, and he has had all sorts of problems with it, but of course it's rode hard and put up wet on a regular basis. When you do get a good one, it will run forever.
I totally agree. i have seen many at pullapart with many miles, no tellin if things have been done. but none the less there there. But m philosophy is that if you have a 4.6 that runs great, theyll never die. but if you have one that misbehaves..... its all over. not worth scrap metal! i know lots of people that have been down one path or the other. just like most women i know!!! nicest thing ever, or satan himself. one word to describe both BIPOLAR.
EITHER WAY, it is nowhere near the trouble to stick in a good mav. maybe a crapped one just to say you did it..? i still stick with, " itd be much more impressive to see a dohc 46 a 54 or a triton v10.
