I am installing a 5.0 in my 92, and I am trying to keep it legal and want to know if anyone has done this and had the REF say it is ok. I am in Socal. The problem that I have is the conversion headers are not legal in cali, so I am looking for someone that has done it before. I believe the exhaust manifolds from a 96+ explorer 5.0 will work but cant find any used ones, and new they are $360 each. Any help would be great.
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V8 swap
- Thread starter 92Ranger
- Start date
did you try www.car-part.com
you can find anything.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams." -- Willy Wonka
you can find anything.
"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams." -- Willy Wonka
SpareChangeRacng
Well-Known Member
Let me warn you on what you are in for.... BAR refs. are the most evil smog nazi's there ever were! It took me 7 tries to get my 3.8L swap oked! Even after the thing passed the sniffer smog test the 1st try. They kept coming up w/ little things I needed to fix. For example I had a non ford vacuum regulator and I was told to put a ford one on there or it would not pass. This is the typical BS they put you through. Every time I'd go I ask "are you sure this is it? If I do that it'll pass?" They'd say "yes", but the next time I was there I'd get more stuff to fix. They are EVIL BASTARDS I tell you. I still think the only reason I passed is because they were sick of my coming in every other day to get the thing tested. I believe they don't want kids running around w/ supercharged 3.8's and other big motors in these dirt toys (also other hot rod stuff, etc.) so they do whatever they can to make you give up. Once they realised this was my daily driver and I wasn't gonna leave um alone til they passed me they backed of a LITTLE. Steve
DSRacing
Mini Metal MOD
As long as the motor you are putting into the truck is the same year or newer than the vehicle,
and the related smog equipment is attached for the year of the engine, you should have no problems. So your options are 92 and newer 5.0. In my case I went with a 93 Mustang into a 90 Ranger, and have to make sure I put on all factory emissions equipment and ECU originally installed for that year. There are other options regarding years of the ECU and engine, but that is the basic scenario.
As far as the headers go, which company were you looking at? Kaufmann products make both a shorty style and full length headers. They will tell you neither are emissions legal, but if you put their
shorty headers next to the factory exhaust manifold there is no difference except thicker flanges and larger diameter tubes. The HEGO sensor and catalytic converter are installed downstream of the headers. There are a few other companies who make conversion headers, and the costs are close to the price you stated up to about $550. I like the Kaufmann shorties because they tuck the tubes closer to the engine to lessen clearance issues. Hope this helps. I'll take a photo later and post a pic of the headers if you like.
and the related smog equipment is attached for the year of the engine, you should have no problems. So your options are 92 and newer 5.0. In my case I went with a 93 Mustang into a 90 Ranger, and have to make sure I put on all factory emissions equipment and ECU originally installed for that year. There are other options regarding years of the ECU and engine, but that is the basic scenario.
As far as the headers go, which company were you looking at? Kaufmann products make both a shorty style and full length headers. They will tell you neither are emissions legal, but if you put their
shorty headers next to the factory exhaust manifold there is no difference except thicker flanges and larger diameter tubes. The HEGO sensor and catalytic converter are installed downstream of the headers. There are a few other companies who make conversion headers, and the costs are close to the price you stated up to about $550. I like the Kaufmann shorties because they tuck the tubes closer to the engine to lessen clearance issues. Hope this helps. I'll take a photo later and post a pic of the headers if you like.
BIG_FAT_LOSER
Well-Known Member
Make sure you tell them it is a 5.0 from a truck, I beleive it is a little difficult to do a smog swap from a car motor into a truck. My brother is pulling a inline 6 out of his Bronco to put in a 5.0 HO, this is the advice he has been given.
If your gunna go.........go Ghetto...
If your gunna go.........go Ghetto...
SpareChangeRacng
Well-Known Member
Maybe that's why I had so many problems - my motor was from a car. The motor was newer then my truck, plus I had all the SMOG BS hooked up and they still gave me hell about Calibration #'s, transmission, etc. Make sure you get the engine and computer calibration #'s that match your transmission is all I can say. I had to play musical trannies (2 diff trannies in and out 3 times each w/in 2 days) to appease those BASTARDS! Steve
DSRacing
Mini Metal MOD
Was the 3.8 out of a FWD car, if it was and you installed it in your truck with a transmission not originally designed for the motor, I could see where you had problems. Just making a guess not knowing your exact situation. The 5.0 came equipped with multiple transmissions over the years which makes it easier to complete the swap without any major hoops to jump through. All that needs to be done is to call FMS and tell them your engine/trans combo and they can match up the proper ECU to the application. FMS has at least attempted to accomadate persons doing the 5.0 swap, but I don't believe something like the 3.8 is nearly as popular and your more or less on your own.
It may have changed in the last couple of years, but how it used to be was that you could not put a HD engine in a LD vehicle. So the only way to get, say a TBI 454 in a 1/2t GM truck was to exactly match the 454SS truck, but you're never going to get a TBI 454 in a '90 Corsica labled. You can always put an engine that is newer in. You can not regress, i.e. put in an engine that is older than the vehicle's vintage. The logic is that with a newer engine you are installing a cleaner running engine.
Smog Refs can fall victum to the bureaucratic power complex too. Some of them are really good, most of them are not. A friend of mine was one. He's a car guy and he knows the stuff backwards & forwards. He discovered that few of the licensed smog shops even had a clue, much less knew what was up.
His attitude about engine swaps & gray market cars was that if you were honestly trying to do it right he would go out of his way to help you out. If you were trying to sneak something past him he WOULD catch it and he WOULD screw you to the wall.
TS
I used swerve around my halucinations, now I drive right thru them.
Smog Refs can fall victum to the bureaucratic power complex too. Some of them are really good, most of them are not. A friend of mine was one. He's a car guy and he knows the stuff backwards & forwards. He discovered that few of the licensed smog shops even had a clue, much less knew what was up.
His attitude about engine swaps & gray market cars was that if you were honestly trying to do it right he would go out of his way to help you out. If you were trying to sneak something past him he WOULD catch it and he WOULD screw you to the wall.
TS
I used swerve around my halucinations, now I drive right thru them.
DSRacing
Mini Metal MOD
When I researched this last year, you are correct, you can't put a motor rated as heavy duty into a light duty vehicle. So for my situation I can install a Ford 5.0 from a Mustang, but not a 460 from a heavy duty truck. At least not with the emissions laws for Ca. Other states may allow it, but not here.
I used the Kaufmann motor mounts with their shorty headers. I didn't have any problems with the firewall, but I took out the core support so I don't know about the radiator clearance. While I was at Kaufmann's shop there was a truck there with a similar swap and it had a nice large aluminum radiator in it which kaufmann sells along with a puller electric fan.
DSRacing
Mini Metal MOD
Unfortunately, I've been waiting for the aluminum radiator to be delivered from them for about two months. It was back ordered when I received the majority of my order back in Dec. Kind of stalled out my plans, but have been using the downtime to collect all the odds and ends (brackets, emissions) needed for the engine. Apparently Kaufmann is in the process of moving to a new location, and their telephone number no longer works. So it's hurry up and wait time. By the way, how did you run your fuel lines. Did you run entirely new lines or adapt the existing lines from the frame to the fuel rail? I was hoping to make use of the existing lines and fab up S/S braided lines to connect the two. Problem is finding those connectors Ford uses.
SpareChangeRacng
Well-Known Member
The 3.8 was rear wheel drive, but the transmission caused a lot of the problems. The guy (BAR Ref.) I was going to didn't seem to know a TON about engines, just the typical stuff (if that makes sense). I was trying my hardest to do everything by the book, and he didn't seem to try and help me out. Also he didn't evne tell me how to correct what I was doing wrong until I had gone in and had him look at it 5 times! The major problem was I had an engine/transmission w/ an auto trans calibration #. The crappy AOD blew up in the truck so I replaced it w/ a T-5. I showed him the truck and he gave me a bunch of crap about the wrong calibration # etc. He asked me why I had a 5 spd. in it etc. I explained that the AOD bew up and that it was cheaper to put the 5-spd in, plus I was on the street more then the dirt then, so it was more fun to drive.
What he did not tell me until the end was that the 5 spd version of this setup had EGR valves and the auto's did not. SO, if I had a 5 spd then I had to have en egr setup. But because I did not have the firewall cut out like i do now I didn't have room to put and egr setup on it. So I had to go find an AOD and set the truck back up for an auto before he would pass me. Like I said before he didn't tell me this until I had had him look at it 5 F--king times! Long story short I bought a used AOD (which also blew up in the truck) put it in just to have it tested and then pulled it to put the T-5 back in.
I was worried about smogging the thing because he put a specail note on my BAR sticker saying "auto trans only" (that A$$), but now since I am going full dirt build it's getting a c-6 so that shouldn't problem any more. Steve
What he did not tell me until the end was that the 5 spd version of this setup had EGR valves and the auto's did not. SO, if I had a 5 spd then I had to have en egr setup. But because I did not have the firewall cut out like i do now I didn't have room to put and egr setup on it. So I had to go find an AOD and set the truck back up for an auto before he would pass me. Like I said before he didn't tell me this until I had had him look at it 5 F--king times! Long story short I bought a used AOD (which also blew up in the truck) put it in just to have it tested and then pulled it to put the T-5 back in.
I was worried about smogging the thing because he put a specail note on my BAR sticker saying "auto trans only" (that A$$), but now since I am going full dirt build it's getting a c-6 so that shouldn't problem any more. Steve
DSRacing
Mini Metal MOD
What a pain in the A$&, but thats part of the reason I went with a built C-4 in mine. I originally planned to go with the AOD for the overdrive, and have a manual valvebody and upgraded input shaft, but get this, I call the company to place my order, and whom I've spoken to 3 times before over the phone explaining what I needed, and he tells me the AOD will have no compression braking with the the manual valvebody intalled. WHAT!! at least he told me before not after I sent him the check. The C-4 or C-6 doesn't have any computer inputs, and removes the problems of the calibration numbers not being correct. So you can run a ECU for either a manual or auto trans with no problems. It just comes down to doing your homework, and from the people I have talked to over the past year who have done the swap many times, the BAR referees (in San diego at least,) are will go out of their way to help you complete the swap properly.