dirtydiesel Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 im just curious on what people think about this.... i have had 2 explorers with these little engines. and they are pretty realiable if you take care of them. but its a ford... ya know? Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Isn't that motor made in Germany, though? Allies with Japan...I guess it's okay ;) Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 atleast somebody has something nice to say Quote Link to comment
Ken_B Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 Its an alright motor, had a couple myself. I think you might run into some fitment issues though and thats a lotta motor for such a little p/u Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I think it's a decent motor. Do you know the weight? It'd be a shame to drop something in 2x as heavy as the L motor in a 2250lb truck. Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I have the Cologne 3.0. They are nice reliable engines but overweight. The 4.0 is the largest of the lot and so has an acceptable power/weight ratio. But they don't fit in Datsuns very well. The 5.0 V8 apparently fits every bit as well, although that weighs 140 pounds more... Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 yeah i had thought about the weight issue. i really want to fit a vg30. in my 521. but i dont really have the money or time. i want my truck for the winter. and i want to get close to the same milage as my ninja.... Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 but at the same time drift Quote Link to comment
Suspect Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 My sister's boy friend has a ranger with a 4L in it. Its 4wd, lifted, and has 40" super swampers on it. I'm surprised that it can even get rolling but it seem to do pretty well. Its a 5 speed truck and with the big tires he has to run in 3rd gear on the highway. The 4.0 seems to be a good motor but if you are going to do the work on fitting it into a 521, might a well put a V8 in it. (just my thought) I've always liked big motors in small trucks. I build a V8 S-10 back 7-8 years ago. I used a 350 4 bolt main TBI truck engine. After 5 automatic transmissions, I swapped in a 5 speed. I still have the truck, just waiting for me to bump the key and run it down the strip again. Quote Link to comment
Z chopper Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I had an explorer with the 4.0 and so did a friend we both had gasket problems and found out it is very common for head gaskets to go on the 4.0 no matter how anal you are on the maintenance Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 VG30 weighs even more than the Ford Cologne V6... Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 in the last 8 years of owning two expolders i have only had auto matic tras and water pump issues. minus what happened to my last explorer. when it drop 3 valves. and all the coolant went down the exhuast. other than that i havent really had any complaints. it gets decent milage for a 6 cyl. Quote Link to comment
Z chopper Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 one engine I liked was the chevy 2.8 w/ 5spd that I had in my S10. But I really liked Buick 3.8 V6 with twin turbos :D Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 My Daily driver is a 1996 Ford Aerostar, with the 4.0 liter engine. I too have though about the possibility of fitting one into a 521. It would be easier to change the headgaskets in it in the 521, than it is to do it in the Aerostar. Quote Link to comment
I'm BLUE Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 The OHV 4.0 Exploder Motor is actually decent motor ,,, :D ,,, 150k+ on one I know of ,,, no problems except replaced alternator/serpentine belt/,,, of course the emissions crap is always interesting on fords :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment
yello620 Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 We had a member here that had a explorer 4.0 with a 5spd in a 79 620. He has since scrapped the truck though. I did get to ride in it first though. Freaking scarry. Didnt matter how fast we were going, it would roast the tires if you downshifted. He scrapped it cause he got tired of fixing broken datsun parts from the power. But he also drove it like he stole, everywere he went. It did fit reasonably well in the truck though. No hood cutting, but i think that he had to cut the trans tunnel a bit, and the radiator was a struggle for some reason, but i dont know the details of that issue. Quote Link to comment
fastdadd Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 he also just stuffed it in there because he could if someone took the time to do it right it would have been a nice truck Quote Link to comment
H5WAGON Posted July 22, 2011 Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 2.6 Ford V6 in my white wagon from a 72 Ford Capri....the 4.0 would be crazy.......You will need some sand bags for the rear end....:D Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 from what i hear from you guys is... wouldnt be too bad of an idea. but its too heavy and or doesnt fit very well. i guess ill do some more research. on engines cuz i dont really think my stock motor is up to the task of living another coupl years even after a rebuild. Quote Link to comment
RedBanner Posted July 23, 2011 Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 A carbed 4.0 with headers will tuck in a small space it not realy that big, grab the rear end while your at it, do what you have to to get it back as far as you can, or ka, ca, sa , vg, vq napz lz, vortec that thing. Ive ben looking for a chart of comparison weights but its hard to get it all compiled I guess. Quote Link to comment
dirtydiesel Posted July 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2011 A carbed 4.0 with headers will tuck in a small space it not realy that big, grab the rear end while your at it, do what you have to to get it back as far as you can, or ka, ca, sa , vg, vq napz lz, vortec that thing. Ive ben looking for a chart of comparison weights but its hard to get it all compiled I guess. i have pondered alot about engines. its mostly about keeping things they way they are and not having to modify alot. i dont have the shop space that i had 3 months ago. i had to move back into my garage. so now im back to doin my projects in my yard which my neighbors and city of everett doesnt fancy too much. i cant stay up till 3 am workin on my truck cuz my neighbors will call the cops about the noise. it sux. Quote Link to comment
d510addict Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 My dads 2.8 s10 was shit 3 blown motors in 10 years :( Quote Link to comment
herculesinwyoming Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 why not try a buick 3800 sc, best v6 ever Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 My dads 2.8 s10 was shit 3 blown motors in 10 years :( Never heard anything good about them. Asked several yards and they all said the bottom end bearings always go bad. why not try a buick 3800 sc, best v6 ever Have to agree. I think GM produced something like 27,000,000 of them over the years. Quote Link to comment
RedBanner Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 And they put them in the shittiest cars so no ones sad to see one cut up Quote Link to comment
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