5.04runner

hey can anyone tell me if a '96 or '97 explorer with the 5.0L v8 is a H.O. motor? and if so is it comparable to like an '89 mustang?
thanks

vandert

Actually I'm pretty sure they are better due to the GT40 based intake manifold and GT40P heads on them And they are roller's as well.

I took some GT40p's off of an explorer and put them on one of my stangs in the past just to give you an idea of how good they are, intake is better as well.

5.04runner

cool man, thank you. do you think that motor puts out as much HP as the mustang motor?

and do you know anything about like a '90 5.0 HO out of a police crown vic? i guess it has the police intercepter kit on it. do these have the GT40 heads as well?

vandert

It does put out as much and if you trade the intake elbow off of it it will put out more And nope the police interceptor's on 5.0 were still E7T heads which are dog's

They just had cooling mod's done and tune and tranny work.

ozziesironmanoffroad

until you get caught by one... lol.

5.04runner

right on man, thanks for the info. my buddy picked up a '90 crown vic so we were wonderin if the police intercepter kit was anything worth getting excited about.
And about the exploder motor i found one in a junk yard here and pretty sure i can get the whole vehicle for next to nothin. oh, does that exploder motor have a distributer or that crazy new electronic ignition stuff? i guess i should go check myself instead of being lazy and just asking people questions but it's like -30 F below!!!! so COOOOLLLDDDD!!!

5.04runner

LOL, I'm pretty sure they'd say screw it once you hit a trail in the woods and put the hammer down lol, the troopers up here are pretty laid back lol

vandert

Exploder should be Dizzy still, they didn't really start the Coil on Plug stuff till the mod motor's, but it is electronic as hell other than that with the EFI

5.04runner

ok, so, i went to the junk yard and bought that explorer. it's an early 1997 model with the 5.0L v8. and my buddy has that crown vic. he said he'd trade me for mine. the intake on that crown vic has 5.0 H.O. on the top. does that mean it's the same type of 5.0 H.O. as in the mustangs? i guess is what i'm getting at is which one makes the most horsepower?

vandert

Yes, it is the same engine, rated at 215 hp, the Explorer engine you have has GT40p production pieces on it which means it's better, I wouldn't trade if I was you.

The heads on the explorer outflow the E7's on the HO by Quite a bit, and the intake manifold top and bottom are GT40P peices as well, don't get stuck on the HO plate, I actually swaped the heads and intake manifold off of a Exploder onto a nitrous build I made on my last 5.0 as they are close to aftermarket flow.

5.04runner

right on man. thanks. i decided to keep the exploder. i also found out that the pulley system, like the power steering and fan and that stuff is like 2 inches shorter so this should make it easier to clear the radiator supports. i don't know what type of distributor it has. it has like four plugs on two seperate sides of what looks like a square distributor? i just hope this isn't more complicated to wire up then my buddies when we did his. i need to find out if the engine wiring harness is the stand alone system/ computer like the older 5.0's. i'm having a really hard time finding good info on these motors. i've checked a few for and mustang forums and everyones just got thier own opinions

Tribaltalon

NO, the explorer has less power because of the cam. But a cam swap is easy and straight forward. Just don't put too big of a cam or you will run into piston to valve interference. A trickflow stage one Cam would get you around 275-300 rwhp with headers and good tune. Even installing a mustang stock cam would gain a little power while maintaining stock idle characteristics.

5.04runner

hmmm i dont really think a cam is going to give me an extra 60 to 90 horse power, especially not a stage one cam. i'm pretty sure that'd be like putting an rv cam in a 22re. a difference in power yes, but not a huge gain. plus these explorers with this motor have stock shorty headers on them already. i don't really want to be messing with the computer either. my friend has a super nice snap-on computer but i don't think we'd be able to figure out air to fuel mixtures with it. maybe though. i'm just going to leave it stock for the time being just to get it in the 4runner and get it wired up and running. maybe if it's not enough power i'll look into bumpin up to a more lopier cam. thanks for the info

5.04runner

Quote off of explorerforum.com "Hey another Houston guy, we will have to meet up for sure. I run the Trick Flow Stage 1 and absolutely hate it. I do have the TM(Torque Monster) Headers and a bunch of other crap, but that cam is definitely not for our trucks!!
Maybe with a converter it would work better and that is a bit down the road for me."
Charles

dunno if thats a creditable source of info so i'll have to do alot of research myself. thanks again

Tribaltalon

My ls1 went from right at 300 rwhp to 415 hp CAM only. The cam plays a huge part in horsepower numbers. In fact I plan on building a 5.3 with a nice cam with a turbo 350 or 700r4 for my 4runner. Should net around 350 hp with not as crazy and lopey of a cam.

vandert

^^^^ he speaks the truth man, it's the potential in the heads and intake manifold which is why I'm really telling you to get it, head and 1.6 rocker arms will wake that er right up, along with a tune etc...

But, on the 6.0 LS2 cam by it'self will get you 90 hp easy at the rear wheels. Don't hate on the cam, and your spot on with the converter robbing alot of power. You can get a HO cam and it will give you a bit more, I ran my HO cam with 1.72 RR's and picked up a bit with the heads and intake mani then threw nos at it, but if your going through the trouble of changing the cam, get a custom grind or a decent cam, I've had good luck with trick flow, and with comp cam's

If you go with bigger RR's though you might need different valve covers though, I had to run taller ones in my app.

JamesD

Do a search here. I posted a bunch of info. Use the Explorer motor with speed density from a Mustang meaning computer and wiring harness. Ditch the explorer computer and run the HO speed density stuff. Use a stock HO Mustang cam. Plenty of low end torque and 100% drivability. You do have to change the valve springs in the Explorer heads since they suck and and they are only rated for.475" of lift, roughly. So run the explorer intake, heads and rest of the engine. You can use the exhaust manifolds for the swap since they are narrow and probably fit the best but they suck for horsepower. Again, do a search.

James