2003 Lincoln LS Engine Swap

lite_em_up

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I have a 2003 Lincoln LS and it seems that when one thing breaks something else is sure to follow. The car has about 90,000 original miles on the car and the engine. I bought it from a family member due to the increasing gas prices they wanted something more economical... I am thinking about swapping to an LS?. I know I won't be the first person to do it, any suggestions? I was thinking LS2 possibly LS3.
 
I would suggest that you just stroke and bore the Jag engine, or perhaps get a larger Jag engine using the same architecture. It'll be cheaper and easier in the long run.

That being said, I can understand the allure of an LSx engine under the hood. As a Chevy fan, I have a strong attachment to these wonderful engines. As a realist, I also understand the difficulty you are planning.

As you can see from those threads, it is very possible to install an engine, but you are left with a bunch of failed systems and a constant check engine light. The fix to this would be to modify the LSx engine to use the Ford sensors so that the computer can talk to the engine. The computer won't care if it's the factory engine or the Chevy engine so long as the sensors read right. This is where the big work will be, because it will require modifying the Chevy engine to accept the Ford sensors including cam/crank positioning sensors. You may even have to have parts fabricated specifically for the job as well.

You will also need a programmer who can modify the computer to handle the larger engine. This should not be a problem.

You will also need to come up with a way to adapt the Lincoln transmission to the Chevy engine. It might be easier to go with a Chevy manual transmission on this as the programmer can just shut all the trans codes off. The pedal assembly from a V6 manual Lincoln should bolt right in, but you'll have to come up with a way to make Ford pedals work the Chevy parts. Once again, not too hard, but it's not going to be an off-the-shelf mod. If you decide to go with the Lincoln auto trans, this will require an adapter to make it fit and will likely require that the trans be beefed up to handle the additional power. The rear end may also need attention, not sure how much power the factory rear will handle.

It's very possible to make it work, but I'd plan on the job taking a year or so to do it right due to the one-off work that it will require to make it work and still have all the auxilliary systems work when it's done. I'd also plan on having about 15 to 20 grand available to finish the job.
 

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