Motor swap

Asked by Shawn Mar 13, 2018 at 12:08 PM about the 2000 Ford Mustang Coupe RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Replacing motor in 2000 Mustang, 3.8L manual trans. VIN digit 4. I got a used
motor. 2002 3.8L VIN digit 4 but out of an automatic. I see my 2000 is
externally balanced the 2002 is internally balanced (have drastically diff
harmonic balancers). Is this because of year diff or manual/auto trans diff.?

1 Answer

It is the year difference. The 99-01 3.8 was known for it's vibration and harness at times especially lower rpm. So in 02 the 3.8 underwent what I believe is called NVH. Noise and vibration harness. They efficiently reballenced the engine. This is actually a common swap in your case because the motors ran much smoother. Still had the notorious exhaust manifold leaks and lifter tapping but both are not hard fixes. should go well even being auto as long as all the things are there in the manual roller. I'm actually thinking of this swap myself if my 3.8 ever quits kicking.

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