351w swap

I have a 89 bronco just bought a few days ago. Well needles to say the 5.8 351w that needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Well I found a guy that has a 351m out of a 79 bronco for $300 runs and doesn't smoke. will the 351m fit right in inplace of the 351w? Its me and the kids play truck so don't need anything crazy in HP just needs to go forward. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Eric Davis


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To answer your question,NO a 351M will not bolt in where the 5.8 resided. The 351M has different motor mounts and a bell housing pattern. The 89 5.8 is fuel injected, Ford never made a fuel injected 351M. Fuel injected engines use different wiring than carbed engines,which mean wiring changes. What you are proposing is taking a step backwards in performance,fuel economy, and reliability. Forget the 351M and find a good running 5.8 or 5.0 and swap out your tired engine for one of these engines.

you can always tear down and take a look at your 5.8 thats in the bronco.does it run now?

It did run just got the engine out tonight, but it would barely push its self. And I had it checked and they said it had less than 100 psi compresion.

Although I don't think you would have that much trouble putting the M in the truck with stock parts( you will need another tranny), I agree with repairing the one in it. The fuel injection system alone makes the power better than what the carbed 351M produces. They are a little anemic in stock form...to say the least.

I found a local guy that said he would rebuild it for $1500 and I asked around people have said that he is good. He also told me he would put an RV cam in it for better low ebd torque.