5.3L Engine Swap

I have been thinking about what I would do with my ST if I decided to keep it indefinitely. One of the issues I have is that even with the 4.6L V8 I would really like to have a bit more power for towing.



I know there are supercharger setups available but I would not feel safe doing that to a stock engine, especially one with relatively high mileage.



There is also the possible option of replacing the 4.6L with either a 5.4L 3V or even a 5.0L Coyote. Neither of those would be a direct bolt-in. The 5.4L is probably too wide and would present exhaust routing issues and potential problems with engine accessories and hood clearance.



The Coyote would probably be even more difficult just due to all the electronic issues. It would require a different computer just to control the TiVCT and then how do you deal with the transmission programming, instrument panel, etc., etc. ? I know that one has been done but the end result was a two-wheel drive truck with a manual transmission. My truck is a 4x4 and I intend to keep it that way.



There is now another potential option that just might combine the best of all worlds.

Ford Racing now has a 5.3L shortblock assembly that is based on the 4.6L modular block. It includes a cast iron block, forged pistons, rods and crankshaft and 4-bolt mains and would yield a 10.5:1 compression ratio with 3V heads. It uses a 3.701" bore and 3.750" stroke resulting in 5.3L (323 cu in) compared to the stock 4.6L (281 cu in).



JDM Engineering has a kit that includes the above shortblock and the parts required to install your 3V heads. Although this would be more expensive than a remanufactured 5.4 you would be gaining almost the same displacement along with the possibility of adding a supercharger later without having to worry about the engine being able to handle boost.



It would also have the same physical dimensions as the original 4.6L which would eliminate any fitment issues associated with the taller deck height of a 5.4L block and all of the engine accessories and electronics would be a direct bolt-on. It would also bolt up to the existing transmission and exhaust system. It should also weigh about the same as the original 4.6L so there should be no ride or handling issues that might be encountered with the larger 5.4L.



Other than price, what am I missing?

looks pretty straight forward.i may look into that. if you would decide to boost depending if you have the pos 6r60 tranny you may have another issue with it being able to handle the power depending on what level you take it to. on the other hand a built 6r80 behind it would be awesome.

Shrader performance did the 5.0 and went manual transmission.



Way easier then trying to program the TCM.



My plan is 5.0 one of the trucks for a toy down the road when the price of the 2014-15 stang drops, buy a complete car and go from there.



Todd Z

Todd, with the 5.3L and 3V heads I don't see why there should be any electronics issues. Keeping the stock 6-speed 6R60 should not cause any issues either. As I alluded to in my original post, I am aware of the one 5.0 Coyote swap (Shrader?) but if I did a 5.3L I could keep the 6R60 and the AWD/4x4 drivetrain. Not sure I would even bother with a supercharger but at least with the Ford Racing 5.3L shortblock you could add a blower and not have to worry about whether or not the engine could handle the boost.

You would also not have to fool with all the other nonsense involved with a Coyote swap. No doubt the Coyote would yield better performance but I've done enough crazy engine swaps over the years (351W/4-speed in a 72 Pinto wagon, 5.0L/T-5 in an 83 Ranger) to know they are never as easy as the guys at Gas Monkey Garage make it seem.

Now if Ford offers the 2.7L EcoBoost with a 10-speed in a 2019 Ranger 4x4 crewcab this all becomes irrelevant. :grin:

I vote 5.3 swap should be pretty straight forward i wouldnt even call it a swap it is the same thing as pulling your motor and putting a stroker in it.

I think the 5.3L shortblock also uses a better engine block than what came in our trucks. The specs say it is a Boss block with 4-bolt main bearing caps. I assume that means it has four vertical bolts per cap which would be the same as the iron block 2003-2004 4.6L Cobras which were supercharged. I believe the only blocks that used cross-bolted main caps with a total of six bolts were the aluminum 4V engines like the one in my non-supercharged 1999 Cobra. I'm not sure what our stock blocks have but I assume they are only 2-bolt main caps.



Just comparing the specs for the 3V engines it looks like our stock 4.6L engines produced 315 lb-ft of torque while the 5.4L made 365 lb-ft. I would expect a 5.3L with stock 3V heads and cams should make at least 350 lb-ft. Due to piston design the 5.3L is supposed to have a 10.5:1 compression ratio with 3V heads while a stock 5.4L 3V had a 9.8:1 CR. That alone would improve power output but would probably require at least 89 or maybe 91 octane gas.

When did Ford make a 5.3 L engine. It is a 5.4 people!



I love you all!!!





Tom

Pay attention Tom.:grin:



The 5.3L is a bored and stroked 4.6L iron shortblock assembly from Ford Performance and would be a relatively painless way to gain displacement in a 2nd gen ST without resorting to using a 5.4L which is considerably taller and wider than our stock engines or a 5.0L Coyote which would require even more changes to make it work in our trucks.

Best current price I have found for the engine assembly (minus cylinder heads) is $5200 from RPM Racing Engines. Other parts are required to install your 3V heads, etc. JDM combines everything in one kit for $6899 but it might be possible to beat their price by sourcing the individual parts separately. Doing a quick search I was able to knock about $600 off JDM's total price by using multiple vendors, basically RPM for the shortblock and Summit Racing for everything else.

Roger,



Are you on FB? Shrader Performance just posted this on their FB page. I thought you might want to check it out. There are three pictures of the block in the post.

4.6 Shrader 800M Shortblock FOR SALE. Ready for boost or nitrous! Forged crank, forged Manley 11cc pistons/Manley H-beam rods, ARP main studs & side bolts, ARP2000 rod bolts, new oil pump, rear main cover, windage tray included. .020 over, 283ci. Balanced & Blueprinted, iron cobra block, For 2v or 4v heads. Showroom SALE! $4400 (normally $5200).

Click to expand...

the only issue that one would have is its ready fot 2 or 4v heads not 3 which is $$$$

Train,



Thanks and yes I am on FB.



That sounds like a good deal but as 08sta said it does not sound like it will accept 3V heads. Anything other than 3V heads means you are going to have to mess with the exhaust.



Unless you want to go with Trick Flow 2V or Cobra 4V heads with custom exhaust and/or forced induction you probably would not see much of a performance gain. The 5.3 from FP will accept 3V heads and you are gaining 42 cu in plus a balanced bottom end just as strong as the Shrader 283.



Even if Shrader was willing to put a 3.75" crank in their Cobra block you can't ever get to 5.3L because those blocks do not have siamesed bores and cannot be enlarged to 3.701" like the FP BOSS 5.0 block that comes with the 5.3.



Whatever money you saved on the Shrader engine would probably be spent on exhaust and other mods to make non 3V heads work and you would not be gaining much power, if any, over the 5.3.