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Old 05-08-2014, 04:13 PM
joel mcqueen joel mcqueen is offline
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Default 97 3.0 l vin U ???

IS THE 97 3.0 L VIN U ,, different from other vin U .engines like ..taurus ..cant seem to find an engine that anyone says will fit ..altho i find tons ..of vin u engines of different years .. sorry to make my first post ..a dumb question
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Old 05-08-2014, 09:55 PM
rangerlocal rangerlocal is offline
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Default Re: 97 3.0 l vin U ???

There are no dumb questions. Welcome. Anyway, engines are pretty much the same as far as mechanical workings and specs. The biggest difference is wiring and sensors. IIRC, up until 1991 wiring was very similar, then 1991-1995 was similar, 96 and 97 was weird and different from everything, then 98+ was all relatively the same on our trucks.

If you're looking to swap an engine, look for one the same year to make things easy. In your case, I believe you need a 97 or 96. But, you can always swap sensors, etc. over. If you get an engine from a Taurus, you'll need to swap the head gaskets as they are different for RWD. There are many posts here regarding engine swaps between the two, and yes they will fit, and yes they are the same engine. But sensors from your existing engine will need to be swapped over, the head gaskets will need to be changed, and the intake will need to be rotated 180 degrees.
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Old 05-09-2014, 05:32 PM
joel mcqueen joel mcqueen is offline
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Default Re: 97 3.0 l vin U ???

cool thanks ..i thought ..that was the case ..ive got a free 88 tuarus engine with 55 k miles .. so i think ill try it thanks again ..ill get pics and post my progress
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Old 05-09-2014, 08:56 PM
rangerlocal rangerlocal is offline
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Default Re: 97 3.0 l vin U ???

Wow...that's a big age gap. There have been many revisions to the 3.0 over the years as far as 1 cam change, timing and piston changes, so your existing computer program might not tolerate it very well. Or, it could go swimmingly, I don't know. I don't think anyone has swapped one with that much of an age difference between them.
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Old 05-10-2014, 06:03 PM
joel mcqueen joel mcqueen is offline
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Default Re: 97 3.0 l vin U ???

yea i know .. but the engine is free ..ill put them both on a stand ..and look them over real close..if theres to much difference ..ill get a tuarus 97 engine ..theres plenty of them around ..thanks for the help
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