Explorer 5.0L differences?????

[Fordman75]

I've been looking for an Explorer 5.0L at the local salvage yards and they keep asking me what date engine I need.

The choices they give me:

thru 1/22/98
from 1/23/98 thru 8/9/98
from 8/10/98

Can anyone tell me whats the difference and which one I should go with? I'm going to be converting it to a carb so I'm not really concerned with the fuel injection.

Thanks.

[Mercracer]

You don't care about the differences. Get the lowest mileage engine. The primary differences are in the exhaust and EGR which you could not give a flying crap about.
If they list a low mileage 96 for cheap, grab that because you can use any header, not just a P head specific. That aside, P headers are not that expensive and you should just focus on the lowest mileage engine that you can afford.

[Fordman75]

Does the P head have any performance advantage? When did they change over to the P head?

There is a yard 20 miles from my place that has 3 Explorer 5.0L's.

97 with 70,000 For $550.00
98 with 80,000 for $400.00
97 with 100,000 for $300.00

Thanks.

[Freshmeat]

The 97s might be P motors. They switched in mid-97. You can tell because on the lower right corner (looking at the exhaust ports) you'll see "GT" or "GTP". P obviously specifies the P heads.
The Ps flow a bit better, I think (they modified the spark plug location, putting it more to the center of the combustion chamber)... but ultimately, Mercracer is right- go with the lowest mileage motor you can afford.

[Mercracer]

Does the P head have any performance advantage? When did they change over to the P head?

There is a yard 20 miles from my place that has 3 Explorer 5.0L's.

97 with 70,000 For $550.00
98 with 80,000 for $400.00
97 with 100,000 for $300.00

Thanks.

Go with the 98 for the $150 less.
The P is more efficient, so your mileage should be better some small amount than if you had a 96 motor.
Check the 97 motor to see if it has the GT or the GTP cast in the heads and either 3 or 4 bars cast into the ends. I have yet to see a 97 motor with GT-40 heads.

[Mercracer]

The 97s might be P motors. They switched in mid-97. You can tell because on the lower right corner (looking at the exhaust ports) you'll see "GT" or "GTP". P obviously specifies the P heads.
The Ps flow a bit better, I think (they modified the spark plug location, putting it more to the center of the combustion chamber)... but ultimately, Mercracer is right- go with the lowest mileage motor you can afford.

The flow is near the same with the P heads sometimes flowing better depending on who is testing them. The efficiency shows in the fact that they flow the same or more on the exhaust side with a smaller valve.
I have yet to see a 97 without P heads.

[Fordman75]

Thanks for the info guys. That's what I needed to know.

[Freshmeat]

I don't look around often, but I was told they switched mid-97, so for 97s I say to check before purchase. Never hurts to be careful.

[N A]

Forget about the "GT40" and "GT40P" differences. Get the '97 motor!!!

[Freshmeat]

I'd opt for the extra 10,000 miles to save the cost of a camshaft, personally.

[Fordman75]

I'm going to look them all over but I don't think I'll be buying the $550 one. Hell I might end up with the $300 one if it looks decent. You never know. I still need to pick up a transmission and a explorer rear diff too.

[N A]

I went car shopping with my brother and one dealer lied about 10,000 miles on a car. 10,000 miles is a shit load of miles. You don't put that many miles on a car in one night!!!

[gadget73]

not really. Its used, so it should have the bearings checked anyway. My 120k HO motor had visible crosshatch marks and the bores and crank were within spec. Go for the 98 with 80k, pull it apart and check it out. Its never a good idea to slap a used motor in a car without doing some inspection anyway so 10k one way or the other is pretty much inconsequential.

[Freshmeat]

My P motor had 100k on the clock for $650 and it's fantastic... when everything else allows the car to run. :nonono:
How wide of an axle do you need? The Explorer axle would be fantastic if you can use it because you can get 3.73s, a traclock, and rear discs on one axle for $200 (and some times less).
One thing to note, though- the Explorer axle is offset by a few inches, so you'll need to run some good U-joints to take the extra beating of the added angles.

[gadget73]

Find a limo axle. They weigh a friggin ton, and have the coolness of ABS drum brakes.