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Topic: NEW 5.0L Explorer motor (Read 12024 times) previous topic - next topic

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Purchased a new (not rebuilt/remanufactured) 5.0L. Was meant for a 97 Explorer.  All labels on the intake, valve cover gasket etc match stating "prototype".  Apparently it was built in 97, sat in a dealership, than sold along with other motors.  Engine is complete from coil packs to oil pan. GTP heads, intake etc. All paint marks still there, barely any flash rust on the bare metal.  Pics coming soon.
87 TC (southern car)
88 XR7(Mustang front brake upgrade)
78 F250 Supercab (southern car)
76 Marquis (southern car)
71 XR7
89 Escort GT (southern car)

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #1 –
Is that the one I saw on Ebay?
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #2 –
It may have been.  He said it was on ebay the other month.  I spotted it at the Jefferson Swap meet.  I called him back on it this week and he said it was relisted, but I told him I'd buy it if he'd deliver it from chicago.  It still has the Ford crate with "5.0L" stenciled on the side.
  I see you're from OK, I was just in the Tulsa/Joplin/Kc area looking for old cars,  I'd love to move around that area someday.
87 TC (southern car)
88 XR7(Mustang front brake upgrade)
78 F250 Supercab (southern car)
76 Marquis (southern car)
71 XR7
89 Escort GT (southern car)

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #3 –
I'm way down in South Central Ok. 30 miles from Texas. I have my Mountaineer engine (same as Explorer) that I bought for $125.00 and it had 15,xxx miles on it. Love it. What are you going to do with the engine?
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #4 –
I may be wrong, but I'm not sure they put P heads on '97 5.0's?

Of course, that isn't to say someone had a set, slapped on it...etc

Anyway, sounds like a great score, I'd love to find something like that. Distributor, HO cam, headers. Done. Well, till Tax time, then a supercharger, lol.
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #5 –
I believe that in late '97 is when they started using the "P" engines.The "P" heads are said to be one of Fords best cast iron heads. Better compression and plug angle than the GT-40's. Most people are scared of the "P" heads due to the revised plug angle, and the myth that special heads must be used. Not true. I use my BBK unequal length shorty headers and plug wires with a 90 degree boot. Nothing to it. I also had the heads ported and a set of Trick Flow springs installed. If nothing else, you will need to replace the valve springs. They are way too soft for performance use.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #6 –
Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;359499

Anyway, sounds like a great score, I'd love to find something like that. Distributor, HO cam, headers. Done. Well, till Tax time, then a supercharger, lol.


I's also add a fox timing cover and water pump. That way you can use the Fox 5.0 accessories on the front. You would also need a 65mm or 70mm Fox throttle body and EGR spacer as well.
 
Quote from: vinnietbird;359503
I believe that in late '97 is when they started using the "P" engines.The "P" heads are said to be one of Fords best cast iron heads. Better compression and plug angle than the GT-40's. Most people are scared of the "P" heads due to the revised plug angle, and the myth that special heads must be used. Not true. I use my BBK unequal length shorty headers and plug wires with a 90 degree boot. Nothing to it. I also had the heads ported and a set of Trick Flow springs installed. If nothing else, you will need to replace the valve springs. They are way too soft for performance use.


+1 on the valve springs. Even with a stock HO cam you will run into trouble. IIRC the max lift the stock GT40P springs can take before coil bind is somewhere around .500 lift.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #7 –
It's going in my 88 Cougar.  What's a good cam to go with?  I'm looking to keep it very streetable, nothing wild, maybe one step up from a stock Mustang.  How are the E303 cams?  Can I use the Explorer oil pan?
87 TC (southern car)
88 XR7(Mustang front brake upgrade)
78 F250 Supercab (southern car)
76 Marquis (southern car)
71 XR7
89 Escort GT (southern car)

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #8 –
You'll need an oil pan from a fox car for sure. If it was me, I'd use an HO cam over a letter cam for a daily driver, but some folks like the choppy idle...I do as well, but an HO cam is hard to beat..

Oh, some paint for that block... :)
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #9 –
Remove everything down to the long block, and swap on everything from a Fox 5.o....

-Fox oil pan
-Fox headers (I used BBK unequal length shorties with Taylor wires and 90 degree plug boots...zero problems)
-Fox timing cover
-Fox water pump
-Fox accessories and brackets
-valve cover (although you can use the ugly Explorer covers if you choose)
-install a distributor
-Fox harmonic balancer
-Fox oil pick-up
-threaded adapter that the oil filter screws on to
-valve springs
-drill and tap a hole into the number 5 runner for the Air temp sensor
-keep the Explorer injectors
-Mod the t-body to work for the Fox chassis (takes about 5 minutes using a stock Fox body t-body throttle lever)
-Fox body throttle body spacer (65mm to match the upper intake and throttle body)
-install the water pipes on the lower intake
-Fox fuel rails
-You can keep the Explorer thermostat housing
-Fox IAC
-Fox sensors on the lower intake
-May have to cap some holes in the lower
-

Take care to remove all of the Explorer parts intact and sell them as new on Ebay. You can make some bucks from them
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #10 –
What about the flywheel?  Will a smaller starter work from the 90's t-bird/cougars?  I'm also going with roller rockers.  Does this motor already have a double roller chain stock? I'm assuming the stock '89-93 Mustang ECU with MAF will work with this setup.
87 TC (southern car)
88 XR7(Mustang front brake upgrade)
78 F250 Supercab (southern car)
76 Marquis (southern car)
71 XR7
89 Escort GT (southern car)

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #11 –
No, it doesn't have a double roller timing chain. The flywheel should be fine for an AOD, and yes, the ECM and Mass Air will be fine. Remember, under the outside accessories and oil pan, it's still just a 5.0 underneath. The smaller starter from a later model 5.0 will be fine as well. You will need to pull that flywheel off and install the Fox block plate and ditch the Explorer plate. They are different.

Because of the age of the engine, even if it has never been fired, I'd also install a new rear main seal. Cheap insurance against leakage after the engine and tranny are installed.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #12 –
Apparently it was one of the prototype engines.  The guy said it was probably ran briefly, rocker arms loosened and then put away.  There is still some oil in the cooler/filter.  I pulled a plug and you can still see some numbers on the top of the piston. I'm assuming it wasn't broken in. This will be a summer project along with some body work, I'll try to keep you guys informed anytime progress is made
87 TC (southern car)
88 XR7(Mustang front brake upgrade)
78 F250 Supercab (southern car)
76 Marquis (southern car)
71 XR7
89 Escort GT (southern car)

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #13 –
Even if the engine was used, due to the age, swap the rear seal and intake gaskets. Start looking for a good cam and springs, roller rockers will be nice. You really don't need much to make it a strong running engine. We're here if you need us.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

NEW 5.0L Explorer motor

Reply #14 –
Thats crazy.  Looks like its got a factory oil cooler.

I can't believe ford would put better flowing heads on that engine, then choke the  out of them with those puny soda straw manifolds.
My car is a gravity hybrid.  The gasoline engine gets me up the hills, and gravity gets me down.