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Anyone here done the 4.6 DOHC swap?

macmanmacmanMember
I've seen a few panteras with the 4.6's, and have been looking at a few motors. I have prior experience with the 4.6's as I had a 98 Mustang Cobra with 485rwhp.

If anyone here has already done the swap, and can spare some time at the keyboard, I'd really like to gather as much info as I can about it before I dive in. I'm guessing the 4.6 doesn't bolt right up to the ZF, what's needed there? And will I need anything unexpected like a wiring harness, the computer, etc?

Any help is certanly appreciated.
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macmanmacmanMember
Yeah, I heard that you will have to grind a little off the heads, but the cool thing is that the whole hump behind the seat can go away. The 4.6 doesn't stick out as much.

So you're building an engine from the ground up huh. That's great. I always wanted to with the Cobra because I was running a blower, but the stock motor always hung in there so I never had a reason. Smiler

I'm at square one right now. Haven't done a thing. Almost purchased a motor last week but decided that I had better do a little research first.

I know that there is a simple harness that can fun fuel injection, but do the 4.6's need anything special? What's your set-up for the wiring? Are you/will you be running a computer box?

Thanks for chiming in! This is good stuff.
macmanmacmanMember
Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I just fixed an electrical problem that's been haunting me, and this weekend I'm rebuilding the cooling system. Then I can sit down and start hunting for the right 4.6 at the right price. Smiler I'm gonna go with the 03 engine. Forged internals, gobs of power and easy to mod for insane numbers. I'm seeing them at descent prices too.
P pantera2023 (Guest)
Hello Gentlemen,
I'm also interested in the 4.6L DOHC engine conversion. What interface components need to be purchased/modified and do you have an amount for a reasonable cost for these components.

Bell housing:
Can it be modified or does one need to purchase an adapter plate. If a plate is used, how far does that push the transaxle back from the engine interface plane? What's the expected cost of the plate?
I've compared my bell housing to a 4.6 block bolt pattern and it looks as if the top 2 fastener locations line up, as well as the next 2 fasteners outboard and down each side. The dowel pin holes need to be enlarged so the fastener can now pass though it. What is done for other fastener points?

What is generally done for the Engine mounts? It looked to me like I could easily fabricate some. If purchasing them is recommended, how much do they generally cost?

What other components need to be modified and what is recommended. I.e. coolant lines, throttle cable, fuel supply components...

Does anyone have any sort of electrical schematic for grafting the 4.6 electronics into the Panteras lovely electrical systems, and what are the recommended upgrades.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Nate Weber
P pantera2023 (Guest)
Jon3613
That looks like a nice conversion. I see it has a coil. What would have to be done to make this system work with the coil on plug ignition systems and ECU from a 4.6.

I'm interested in discussing it further, do you have any contact info?

Regarding the other aspects of installing this engine into a Pantera, I see pictures of these engines in cars, but no mention of interface components or modifications on this message board or anywhere else? Someone must know the Bellhousing/Transmission interface mods that need to be done, as well as the others I asked about earlier.

Thanks in advance,
Nate Weber
M madguy (Guest)
I have done a 5.4 DOHC swap and can answer a few of the questions out there.

The stock bellhousing will bolt up to the mod motor with a few simple modifications.

The motor mounts will have to be custom fabricated as will the headers.

An aftermarket ECM will probably cost more but is a lot easier than trying to use a factory ECM. I am using the Accel Gen 7.

The block and heads will have to be ground away with an angle grinder in a few areas.

The cooling system will be a pain to route.

The 03 cobra engine are more than likely too long to fit in the engine bay.

If you have any other questions let me know.

madguy
M madguy (Guest)
sorry I have been away for awhile. The bellhousing mod is extremely easy. All you have to do is enlarge to bolt holes at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions so that the dowels on the 4.6/5.4 engine block can fit inside. The dowels are threaded so you can use them to mount the block to the bellhousing. There will be a total of 5 holes that line up which is more than enough. You will also have to modify the rear passenger side of the engine block so you can use one of those 351W adjustable hi-torque mini-starter. If you want I can give you guys the part number.

I just bought a digital camera so I can take some pictures to give you guys a better idea of all that I have done. Also I removed the stock 5.4 and am having it rebuilt for high rpm power.

madguy
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