[southrivermotorsports]

Ok, Im the guy that asked about timing the 4.6. I have something else to discuss. I also have a donor car, a 1995 t-bird with 4.6 and 52,000 miles, keep in mind the one Im working on is a 97, some have told me not to put the 95 engine in the 97 as it has issues such as eating valve seals, this engine runs like a champ and shows no signs of having any problems, from what I can see the only change I would have to make would be the intake, other than that it's a bolt in. That being said, why shouldn't i just drop the 95 engine in place instead of spending $600 on rebuilt heads plus gaskets and such and then most likely paying someone to time it for me? What Im thinking is drop the 95 engine in there, take the 97 engine and add the pi heads everyone is telling me to use, maybe add cams and even a supercharger and drop it back in there later down the road. Opinions?

[merccougar93]

Well, changing head gaskets is not as hard as it sounds, although its a good days job, maybe 2 if you have to rebuild the heads and have everything you need at hand. It would be easier than changing the motor out, IMO.

[G O R T]

The early engine did not eat valve seals. The original seal material did not last.
The EGR was always clogging on those too.
You can change the seals yourself with spring compressor. Might want to look into it.

[Canuck623]

95 engine OBD I, 97 engine OBD II. You would have to change all electronic sensors, injectors, PCM, the list goes on. Not as easy as it looks. Not to mention the car would no longer be legal for Federal emission standards.

[thundercougar]

Canuck623 some Fords actually had ODB II ports in '94 before the mandated year of '96. Thunderbirds were one of those cars. As far as the swap I think the '94 and '95 OBD II port was not as advanced as the '96 and above. so the swap would invovle some research.

[Canuck623]

Originally Posted by thundercougar

Canuck623 some Fords actually had ODB II ports in '94 before the mandated year of '96. Thunderbirds were one of those cars. As far as the swap I think the '94 and '95 OBD II port was not as advanced as the '96 and above. so the swap would invovle some research.

Yes some had both DLC ports but the OBDII was dead. No or limited data. If you have access to a factory scan tool you might be able to go in and reprogram it. That's what we did back in the day but I doubt anyone will still have that software laying around. The 95 Ford DIT diesel was the same. Both test ports but the OBDII port didn't work till it was programmed.

[thundercougar]

did not know that about the OBD II ports in those vehicles. thanks for the info. always helps to know small things like that.