I have the 2 bolt starter version of the 4.6 sohc used until 02/18/92, what engines will fit? What is the difference between the 3 bolt starter version put in after 02/18/92? and would it fit? or is there differences in the bell housings, wiring, etc...? I'm starting to get a ticking from the top passenger side of the engine, so it's gonna be need to be done this summer.

 

Wow you do have an oddity.. The older 2 bolt starter 4.6 used the same bell housing as the 3.8L, 4.9L, 5.0L and the 5.8L (Normally referred to as the small block Ford bolt pattern).. Your car should also have the earlier non electronic AOD trans.

According to the Hollander interchange the engine would have to come from:

91-92 Lincoln Town Car Build Date 11/1/91 - 2/18/92
92 Merc Grand Marq/Ford Crown Vic To Build Date 2/18/92

THe later 4.6 won't bolt to your trans.. And to swap and engine and trans from a later model would require swapping some wiring and the ECU to shift the electronic AODE trans.. Probably some other odds and ends that may differ too...

 

Yeah, it's a rare one. More of a pain really. Some idiot at ford is probably laughing still.lol But your answer is just what I thought. Looks like I might just want to park it and rebuild the top end and throw a oil pump in this one. Not really sure how low the pressure is right now but some times my oil light will flutter at a stop light. Thanks

 

I swear Ford just wanted to throw the 4.6 out there to see how it worked, but they didn;t have the AODE ready yet...

How many miles do you have on your car? You probably ought to check the bearings... The low oil pressure is most liklely what is causing your top end ticking.. There probably isn't enough pressure to properly pump up the hydraulic lifters and take up all the valve lash as it should.. Could just be the pump, but when you're already that far into it it can;t hurt to check..

The early 4.6 had some variety of oiling issue although because there are so few I'm not really sure what they changed.. For some reason I think the crankshaft and connecting rods were revised but I can;t be sure.. I can remeber those first 4.6 Poilce cars liked to throw rods though the block when in hot pursuit.. Never was lucky enough for that to happen when they were behind me though...

 

them early 4.6L had issues with valve guides drying out. and that being the early 1992 model with the AOD transmission, you need a transmission pressure brass bushing to replace the crappy disintigrating plastic one. i always told myself if i had to buy an aero body panther, i would still stuff a 302 under the hood since they have cheaper ways for mods than the 4.6L

 

I got about 160,000 miles on the body. The engine I changed it out last year with one that had around 80,000 miles on it. Funny you should mention the rod's, I bought this car with a rod through the block. But back to the current problems. The part that puzzles me is, the ticking normally doesn't start until the car warms up ( about ten miles down the road). Also the farther you drive it down the road the louder it will get. With a stethoscope it ticks loudest on the injectors, but I changed those and still have the problem (probably sound travel). I had some work done at the Ford dealer back in December, and asked them if they could figure it out. When I picked the car back up they told me not to worry about it.lol I replied to them that the engine is not a diesel. This will probably be an adventure, as I have never tore a over-cam engine oil pump out before. Just hope I can get the timing chains back where they belong. Thats my biggest worry.

 

There are actually many difference between the early '92 models (new body style), which are mostly built in 1991.

They interchange parts with the old 5.0 models back to as late as '88. I just happen to run another one of those issues when replacing my clockspring (airbag). I have to use the same as the older (body) style models. A late '92 or even '93 wont fit.

Best is to check with your dealer. We went through the part numbers, they had 3! for this year. Last 5 digits of the VIN number then helped us determine which one was the right one.

Greetings!

 

Mitoplock2, as the oil get's warmer it gets thinner which will cause the pressure to drop... The timing chains aren;t too terribly difficult to line up.. (Easier than a belt on a DOHC Hyundai!) The main bearing torquing procedure, and head torquing procedure are the ones to pay the most attention too.. THe condition of the gasket surfaces on the heads has to be pretty clean too, any questions about those, have them surfaced, and make sure you replace the head bolts!

The valve stem seals continued to be a problem till the mid 90's it seems.. (My 94 T-Bird was puffing smoke by 160K yet still ran great at 275K when I sold it) The 5.0 is cheaper to molest and rebuild, but out of the box even the early run of the mill 4.6 was making 190 rear wheel HP, (210 with dual exhaust) and could could fairly easily maintain mid twenties for fuel economy.... The best 5.0 only made about 235 rwhp.. The 4.6 torque was a bit anemic at first but with some intake and head redesigns that came right up there... And rebuilds are far less common too.. (not too many 5.0 bottom ends lasted 300K) The 4.6 has been on the Ward's "top tend best engines in the world" list for many years now.. I think last year it came in 4th to the Germans...
Now if you;re looking for a 450hp monster on a budget, the 5.0 might be the better way to go, but I'd still want a 4r70W/AODE behind it over an AOD...

92 Merc, You got one of these early gems too? Once again since they are rather few I haven;t encounted too many but I have heard some stores about how bad they mixed and matched parts from teh old and new...

 

Panther platforms were only 150 rwhp and slightly more with the dual exhaust on the 302s... earlier models prior to 1986 5.0s had less than 150rwhp... these cars are known more for the torque to get the iron rolling than the horse power... they can be built up since i know of a few people pushing close to or more than 300 horse power.

 

THe lack of torque is the drawback of the 4.6.. They are getting better but I have to say the low end grunt of a 5.0 or 5.8 is nice in a battle cruiser... My 96 MGM launches pretty nice but I have the feeling that the later panthers are lighter than the earlier ones.. I'll have to google curb weights..