2003 Lincoln Town Car-L Powertrain Swap Question

[wireflight]

Greetings, all, and happy holidays. I've got a 2003 Town Car Cartier L with a little under 300k miles on it, and I'm curious how difficult it would be to use a 2011-2012 F-150 donor and swap the OE engine & transmission for the 5.0 V8 and the 6R80E. I don't yet know how many splines my axles have, but I've got a 3.27 gearset and I was thinking of maybe going down a step or two in the multiplication department (i.e.: numerically smaller -- maybe a 3.08 and possibly a 2.73). The alternative is to find a late-model Mustang GT donor, but I think the F-150 electronics and hardware will give me a better starting point.

Presently, I average 22.4-25.6 mpg tank-to-tank throughout the year, on long trips, I get between-fillings averages around 28.5; I'm thinking with no significant change in my driving style, the changes will boost my economy about 1 mpg across the board under conditions of normal use, with either no -- or almost no -- consumption penalty on long trips.

The car has some bodywork issues (mysterious rain-water ingress) that I will be solving about the same time, so swapping-in a different wiring harness isn't a problem. I may eventually be interested in a significantly revised dash and instrument panel, but I'm presently a long way from being ready for that -- and probably 5-6 years from changing the front cap for hugely-improved lighting without killing the aero or aesthetics (not sure if that's possible).

Here's my question: how much trouble is it going to be to bolt-in the 5.0 Ti-VCT V8 and the 6R80E? The 2V 4.6 is a fairly snug (side-to-side, firewall area) fit, soooo....

Thanks!

 

[Town]

Welcome.

All the L models have the 31 spline axle shafts, and all the 2003 and up sedans. The differential oil capacity increased on all the 2003 and up models including the L I would think you can get any differential ratio that you want.

I am not familiar with the new for 2011 5 liter DOHC 4V all aluminum engine. The 6R80 appears very long in 2WD trim. I like the 6R60 in 4WD truck trim, but it is a close ratio trans for good pulling and acceleration. The later 6R80 is a bit stronger but the same close ratio configuration, so I would not expect improved mpg over the wide ratio 4 speed trans. Any mpg improvement would likely come from the engine and differential ratio, but the 4.6 2v is hard to beat on economy.

Interfacing a new wiring loom and PCM, etc with the existing modules to run the Town Car features would seem to be very difficult. So good luck with that.

Do you think that Crownvic.net or mercurymarauder.net might have some experienced users who could help you with your project?

Good luck.

 

[wireflight]

Thanks! I hadn't considered that. I figured at the very least, I'd be looking at "chipping" the car to better match the tune to the weight and aero of the sedan vs the same of the truck; the modern Lariat isn't too shabby on features; connectors may be application-specific, but off the top of my head, I can't think of anything that shouldn't be pretty much standard in any properly-equipped vehicle. There's even a lit that I'd like to do on improving features, but I don't want to get too far ahead on planning and hopes. Thanks for the prompt response and help.

 

[Town]

The Town Car has an air suspension module and sensor network that also operates the variable assist and variable ratio part of the power steering and networked to a host of sensors such as the ABS brakes speed feed, and the Driver Door module (DDM) and LCM for door ajar information. The supplemental restraints system for air bag deployment and seat belt pre-tensioning interfaces with the Lighting Control Module (LCM) for key in ignition to arm the system, and it links up to the crash sensors at front and side of the car. The EATC with the PCM controls the HVAC using electronic actuators, relays and blower fans, etc that involve multiple systems for the L model. Then there's the remote access, memory functions and adjustable pedals and seats and the lighting and the instrument cluster and not to forget the PATS.

The above technology is just a fraction of what is installed in a 2003 L model and of course is quite old technology. The 2011 trucks will use a different technology network and module operation altogether. My son's 2007 Explorer has some similar features to my Town Car but they operate quite differently with different modules. So trying to interface completely different technologies on the same vehicle will be an enormous challenge.

Good luck.