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4.6 Swap Into 240SX

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Posted by: WDRacing

Hey guys, I've been lurking on these boards for a long time now. Although I've never sealed the deal and purchased a MK VIII I have been in love with them since 93 when my Dad got one as I headed off for boot camp. But back on topic.

I spent a lot of time in Japan a few years back and became a Nissan fanatic. I currently have a 95 240SX that has a rod residing on the wrong side of the block. I've decided that I've had my fill of turbo 4's for awhile and would like to swap in a V8. My selections are limited because I like to be a tad different. Everyone and their brother is swapping the LS1 into something. But I don't know of anyone that's done the 4.6 into any of the Nissan S Chassis'. It's a tad wider then the LS, but I think she'll fit fine, since I've seen a 454 wedged into the rails before and fabrication isn't something that scares me.

My questions aren't whats going to be involved in the swap, everything there will be custom for the most part obviously. But I'm a tad unclear on the details of the MK 4.6 compared to the Mustang 4.6. If my reading has been correct, the 93 on up has been equipped with the alum block that came only in the Cobra version of the Mustang. Which is a BIG reason I'm using the MK for a donor car. If this is incorrect please tell me!!!

Question 2, is there a better year I should be looking for. Let me explain that, I know as the years progressed the MK got better and so did the 4.6, but is there a BIG difference that would sway me to avoid the 93 I'm looking at now. Assuming the compression etc is all good.

Question 3, this is going to be done using the factory ecu and harness for both the tranny and motor, are there any big issues with either? I haven't read about any, but I'd like to know now if I have to go with a standalone.

Question 4, will the tranny hold out under daily driven 450-500 ft lbs with a big cooler? This will be getting a big single turbo so I can drag race on the weekends and show it across the country.

Question 5, am I missing anything important? If you were swapping this motor what would you be thinking about? If these are all repeat questions that are posted constantly, please allow me to be the first to apologize. I moderate our Nissan forum and know what a PITA it is when noobs ask the same things over and over. If this is the case, just link me to a FAQ or something so I can educate myself.

One more thing, whats the weight of the motor and tranny? Thanks for anything you guys can do to assist. I'll be taking millions of pics and documenting the entire process. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.

WD

Posted by: Roadboss

Sounds like some fun instore for you. If you nose around the below you may pick up some info on sizes etc.

http://www.karkraft.com/new_page_2.htm

Posted by: LEOV5

You might want to also go to www.hybridz.org , they do all kinds of swaps there. Foreign and Domestic. Good luck on this one!!

Posted by: MediumD

The regular Mustang 4.6 SOHC is the iron block 2 cam motor, the Mark VIII is the teksid (good) aluminum block DOHC 4 cam version.

All year Mark VIII motors are pretty much the same. 93-95s are setup for OBDI, 96-98 for OBDII. 97-98 (gen 2) have a different intake manifold (less flow, but easier to work with since the throttle body on 93-96s is in the very back.)

Shouldn't be too bad to use either EEC-IV (93-95) or EEC-V (96-98) powertrain control modules...

For those power levels a big cooler is a must, and take a look at the "Ford OD transmissions 101" article at http://www.tccoa.com/articles/tranny/index.html.

IIRC the weight is around 435lbs for the 4.6 DOHC aluminum block/heads motor, without accessories.

I would be looking out for clearance issues with the very wide DOHC heads... especially header clearance since the exhaust ports for each bank are about eleven feet apart (give or take.)

Posted by: WDRacing

Thanks for the articles fella's. I'll give those a good read through. As far as width goes, the VH45 is the DOHC motor that Infiniti used in the Q45 series and it fits without any issues, so I should be good. Only one real way to find out though. Worst case I have to do alot of cutting and welding.

I did a boat load of reading yesterday so I'm pretty excited about this project.

WD

Posted by: jbird97

Gl with the swap, sounds pretty cool, cant wait to see the finished product.

Posted by: WDRacing

The transmission article was excellent. Totally effected what model I'm going with. Apparently the 95 on up had quite a few improvements. Most of the MK's I see for a good price have fairly high mileage. I'm thinking I should do atleast a minor rebuild since I plan on making some decent power. Will be a first for me, but I've wanted to rebuild a tranny.

Posted by: WDRacing

Wow, not a lot of traffic through here.

Quick question, on the MK intake mani, do you think I'll have an issue with pre TB alcohol injection getting effective dispersal? I'm a big fan of methanol injection and boost since the MK has some pretty high static compression. I was figuring on a daily driven 4 psi and then quite a bit more when I run meth at the track.

WD

Posted by: Calabrio

With the exception of the transmission and the headlights, I think I might take issue with the premise that they improved the Mark VIII through the production run. In fact, my understanding has always been that the earlier ones were the stand out examples, with the better blocks, better timing, better build quality, and greater quality control.

Posted by: WDRacing

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calabrio

With the exception of the transmission and the headlights, I think I might take issue with the premise that they improved the Mark VIII through the production run. In fact, my understanding has always been that the earlier ones were the stand out examples, with the better blocks, better timing, better build quality, and greater quality control.

I was doing some reading on the transmission and decided that all of the models were very good for what they were designed for. Even the 96 on up will need some work if sustained high torque is in the equation. Reading about the terminal speed of the internals was pretty cool. I have never taken the tranny into consideration prior to this build because they were always stock manuals. Nissan does trannies really well... heh I said trannies

I don't think I'll have any issues at all with the motor itself. I think she'll put down 500ft lbs all day if done right. The tranny will just be rebuilt and I'll get a aftermarket converter.

WD

Posted by: The_purple_lincoln_slayer

Ive always heard 94 is the fastest. You can have mine for 1000.00 engine runs good but it needs a tranny. It goes into nuetral in 3rd. pm me if ur interested.

Posted by: buddylee

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_purple_lincoln_slayer

Ive always heard 94 is the fastest. You can have mine for 1000.00 engine runs good but it needs a tranny. It goes into nuetral in 3rd. pm me if ur interested.

were did you hear that?? 1993 would be what you are referring to

Posted by: 21stcenturygadgetguy

Well, I think the 94 is the fastest, but I have too, its MY 94---

Posted by: mespock

What would be nice is to see the build of this car. When you start the project start a thread like Chicken's lastest project and keep us posted.

Would love to see what this engine does in a little go-cart.

Posted by: 98LSC32V

96-98 MK8 motors had the Cobra valvesprings. Don't expect to rev to 7000 with the old style valve springs and expect the motor to live for long.

Posted by: jamie97lsc

technically they arent cobra springs, they are bee hive style, which were used in the cobra's but also in 96-98 mark VIII. i wouldnt call them cobra springs, but bee hive springs, you cant call them cobra springs if they were used in the mark VIII at the same time as the cobra's were gettin gthese motors dropped in too!!

Posted by: poniesviii

Another thing, some people seem to think we have forged cranks. Have to steal that from a newer cobra, and it's 8 bolt not 6.

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