I have a 2001 Ford Mustang with a 6 cylinder engine.
A buddy of mine has a 1998 8 cylinder Ford Mustang that he ripped out the engine, transmission, and wiring harness out of and installed newer ones.
Would it be possible to install everything he ripped out into my 2001?
Both vehicles are automatic .
Yes, it might work IF you install the Engine Control Module and the Transmission Control Module that were part of that '98 Mustang, but–then again–maybe not.
There’s a big weight difference between a V6 and a V8.
So, you have to determine if the front suspension/brakes are able to handle this extra weight.
Is the rear differential/drive shaft the same?
Also, if you have emission testing where you live, and the emission sticker under hood indicates the vehicle came with a V6, and there’s a V8 sitting under the hood, you fail the emission test right then and there.
Tester
There’s a magazine called Mustang Monthly that I suggest you take a look at. Some of the vendors there might know the answer to your question, as they deal with this kind of thing involving older Mustangs as part of their daily business. I expect you already know that it can be done, given enough time and money. The real question is : what is it gonna cost, and what are the downsides? In regards to the downsides, good idea to first fully understand what motivated the owner of the 98 to remove the engine and transmission?.
We already know the answer to that question
The newer drivetrain might have better hp, torque and fuel economy. Probably weighs less, too.
Or are you assuming he yanked them, because there were some problems? And now he’s passing his problems on to his buddy . . . might not be a very good buddy, if that were the case, and he’s not disclosing everything
But if there were problems with the engine, there’s not necessarily any reason to also yank the transmission and wiring harness
Tester has lots of good points. I’ll add a few more - Yes the rear axle is different, and smaller. V6’s use a 7.5 inch ring gear and V8’s use the 8.8 inch rear.
The wiring harness you have for in the '98 V6 will not match the 2001 V8’s needs nor will the 2001 harness necessarily match the 98’s. You would have to compare wiring diagrams for each car to see what needs to be changed to make the '01 harness work with the 98 car. You also need engine mounts and their frame brackets, adapters to allow the V6 shift linkage to work with the later V8 transmission. That will take some research right there. The driveshaft is pretty much a custom job. Maybe you could adapt the V8’s to the 7.5 rear, likely it needs to be shortened.
It would be far, far easier to sell your V6 car and buy a V8 car. There are LOTS out there!
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@Chris_Myers By Kelley Blue Book if your 2001 was in excellent shape $4000.00 is the top value for you selling the vehicle. Trade in is about 1/2 that. You could easily spend 2000.00 to do the exchange and it would not increase your value at all. Mustangman is correct you would be better off finding another vehicle.