99-04 V6 Windstar Manifold Swap

Ok, so alot of people were curious on how and why I did this. The WHY is easy; its different. I AM the black sheep with things it seems now-a-days, so it was a perfect project to get done. I originally got the idea from Tom Yentzer himself at Super Six Motorsports. Its bolted on to his 4.3L /w nitrous. I hit him up with an email sometime back, asking what was up. The perfect bolt on for a boosted/nitrous applicated motor, he said. Its plastic, lightweight, can hold some serious boost [up to 18psi] and it looks great. So I bought mine and took about 4 days and alot of running around to get it done.

Mine came off a 1997 Windstar minivan. Looks a little bit something like this...

Upper-Intake%20001.jpg



Its a direct bolt on, meaning nothing on the lower intake manifold had to be messed with or fabbed. However, comma, during installation, we saw that it was going to sit a good bit lower, so the fuel rails had to be "bent" out of the way a tad bit for a good fit with the help with some spacers. You can look around online and find some pre-made durable G10 Phenolic spacers. http://www.vapauto.com is a good site for that. I didnt buy one of these. So I just took an intake gasket and had it sent to a local machining shop near by my house. Had them cut me two 1/4" aluminum spacers, and the guy did a SWEET job. Couldnt have been more perfect.

DSC01606.jpg




Also, the EGR must be deleted in order to do this [requiring a tune, but thats later]. That took a good bit, that mofo would NOT come off. Some extra muscle and cans of WD40 did the trick trying to disconnect the line from the bung on the manifold. The EGR attachment up from had to be deleted as well. Took that gasket to the same shop, and he made me another little "plate" to bolt on there.

DSCN1878.jpg




Now, it was time to fit the intakes onto each other. Nice and easy....

DSCN1930.jpg




So after the main work is done, time to get some of the extra stuff done. The IAC and TPS had to be fabbed apart and relocated in my setup. The coilpack and throttle cables needed special brackets to be customly handcrafted to be get installed.

*NOTE* Theres a spot on the Windstar manifold where the IAC can be bolted to the top of the manifold itself, where its supposed to go originally. If you can find a manifold where you dont have to fab anything, just makes things a ton easier. The very first picture of this topic actually shows what its supposed to look like.

Pics:

Heres myself and someone elses setup to show the brackets for the coilpack.

DSCN1990.jpg


picture007cp6.jpg




Heres the relocated IAC. It was basically just constructed of a small square block with two bolt holes, and two larger holes with hose-bungs on one side. It bolted to the IAC via the two bolt holes and all you did was connect the respective hoses to the bungs and bingo. I had to ziptie mine to the rear [where you see in the pic] so that it didnt move around everywhere.

DSCN1984.jpg




The TPS is going to need the wires lengthened, so some soldering will have to be done, so itll reach your throttle body. This is the other guys setup, he had a better picture. lol.

picture002er9.jpg





The bracket that the other guy made to get his throttle cables installed. Mine was fairly different. I didnt install my cruise control cable, so mine only had one adaption.

picture006wd7.jpg




The MAF cable had to be lengthened as well, so those will need some soldering action too. By this time, you should see how everything goes, where you can probably do some tweeks in your setup. The way you do everything else from here on out would be all up to you, cuz after the main stuff is done, youll need to reconnect your air induction system, wether you can fab up your stock one or you use a CAI you already have. Mine? I did something I did with my 5.0 I had in Alaska. I went to Home Depot and bought some white PVC pipe. Spray painted it black, and fabbed a neat little setup. I wanted to keep using my K&N filter, but I didnt have an adapter, so I had to make one. I got creative and I made one out of the stock housing on our V6 air intake tubing, where the MAF housing originally bolts up to, cuz on the other side, you can slide on a filter [since thats where your stock filter slides on to], so it worked out quite well. That should do it, really. It took me about 4 days to do, since I didnt have alot of the needed materials on hand. Though, if I did, it woulda took me a weekend no problem.

The power increase? Dyno results on one guys stock 3.8L Mustang gave him an increase in 10rwhp and 26rwtq. After a tune and advanced timing, his final result was an increase of 22rwhp and 35rwtq. Mine? I didnt dyno my car before this, so I didnt know what I was making, but at the time, I wasnt making much. After the Windstar intake, I dynoed at 180rwhp / 215rwrq. I also had underdrive pullies, longtube headers, and some minor stuff done. So with some bolt ons and the Windstar, I was able to make a good 50rwhp increase on a six-banger. Impressive.

And thats about it!!!



**BEFORE/AFTER PICTURES**

DSCN1991.jpg


DSCN1990.jpg




DSCN1988.jpg


DSCN1989.jpg




DSCN1987.jpg


DSCN1986.jpg
 
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Honestly, I dont know the limit. I really thought it may have been able to withstand less, though a guy off V6P claimed he was able to dyno his setup up to 18 pounds of boost. So thats where I got my numbers from.

Had to edit some minor stuff on the write up. It was fun to do!
 
That's damn GOOD work man! Just friggin cool as hell that you did that. You...have a LOT of patience and determination.

That intake looks like it would only fit on 99 and up Mustangs. The intake runners on a 94-98 3.8 are straight parallel with each other. The intake you used has offset runners. So perhaps maybe the lower could be used along with it? Or do the cylinder heads have a different intake port location and size?

Is that your heater hoses on the passenger side, right above the PCV breather? The hose that says "Thermoid" on it. If those are heater hoses, DITCH the Thermoid for Goodyear or better stuff. The Thermoid hose is WAY TOO WEAK. I had problems with that brand constantly splitting like a sausage after I revved up the engine past 4000 RPM. Went through 4 friggin ass hose repairs until I finally figure out it was the crappy ass hose quality. When I replaced it with a Goodyear hose, it never brke again. Take note, this is on a bone stock 96 3.8 motor. No mods or anything. If you want, take a piece of Thermoid and then a piece of Goodyear hose and place them side by side. Compare the stiiff and durable Goodyear hose to the soft and flimsy Thermoid hose. You'll feel the difference right away.

I like the clear hose going to the coolant overflow reservoir. Looks cool how you can see the coolant within it.
 
Ill definately look into the hoses!! About the intake and what years they can be used for. The "1999-2004" can be a tad bit misleading. Only reason I gave the years is because of the fact you pointed out, its a splitport manifold. Which V6s had the newer splitport setup? The 1999 thru 2004. So, that being said, if you were to take your 94-98 V6 and do your splitport swap, then youd be able to use the Windstar manifold.

Keep in mind, for the record, youd have to swap everything basically. If using the splitport lower and upper, youd have to take the heads made for a splitport engine as well.
 
Couple of questions for you
1. Your radiator hose looks very close to your belts, any rubbing issues with this modification?
2. What type of clear tubing did you use for your overflow?
3. Any issues with the PVC intake holding up to the heat?
4. Where did you put your coolant overflow when you relocated it? What type of overflow container did you use?

Nice work, I am hoping to do this to my 99 3.8
 
Ill definately look into the hoses!! About the intake and what years they can be used for. The "1999-2004" can be a tad bit misleading. Only reason I gave the years is because of the fact you pointed out, its a splitport manifold. Which V6s had the newer splitport setup? The 1999 thru 2004. So, that being said, if you were to take your 94-98 V6 and do your splitport swap, then youd be able to use the Windstar manifold.

Keep in mind, for the record, youd have to swap everything basically. If using the splitport lower and upper, youd have to take the heads made for a splitport engine as well.
[QUOwhat length hoses are needed or what all is needed to do this swap already bought the intake just trying to get more info before i go at it TE="onebadsixxx, post: 8010914, member: 151734"]Honestly, I dont know the limit. I really thought it may have been able to withstand less, though a guy off V6P claimed he was able to dyno his setup up to 18 pounds of boost. So thats where I got my numbers from.

Had to edit some minor stuff on the write up. It was fun to do![/QUOTE]
What
 
Ok, so alot of people were curious on how and why I did this. The WHY is easy; its different. I AM the black sheep with things it seems now-a-days, so it was a perfect project to get done. I originally got the idea from Tom Yentzer himself at Super Six Motorsports. Its bolted on to his 4.3L /w nitrous. I hit him up with an email sometime back, asking what was up. The perfect bolt on for a boosted/nitrous applicated motor, he said. Its plastic, lightweight, can hold some serious boost [up to 18psi] and it looks great. So I bought mine and took about 4 days and alot of running around to get it done.

Mine came off a 1997 Windstar minivan. Looks a little bit something like this...

Upper-Intake%20001.jpg



Its a direct bolt on, meaning nothing on the lower intake manifold had to be messed with or fabbed. However, comma, during installation, we saw that it was going to sit a good bit lower, so the fuel rails had to be "bent" out of the way a tad bit for a good fit with the help with some spacers. You can look around online and find some pre-made durable G10 Phenolic spacers. http://www.vapauto.com is a good site for that. I didnt buy one of these. So I just took an intake gasket and had it sent to a local machining shop near by my house. Had them cut me two 1/4" aluminum spacers, and the guy did a SWEET job. Couldnt have been more perfect.

DSC01606.jpg




Also, the EGR must be deleted in order to do this [requiring a tune, but thats later]. That took a good bit, that mofo would NOT come off. Some extra muscle and cans of WD40 did the trick trying to disconnect the line from the bung on the manifold. The EGR attachment up from had to be deleted as well. Took that gasket to the same shop, and he made me another little "plate" to bolt on there.

DSCN1878.jpg




Now, it was time to fit the intakes onto each other. Nice and easy....

DSCN1930.jpg




So after the main work is done, time to get some of the extra stuff done. The IAC and TPS had to be fabbed apart and relocated in my setup. The coilpack and throttle cables needed special brackets to be customly handcrafted to be get installed.

*NOTE* Theres a spot on the Windstar manifold where the IAC can be bolted to the top of the manifold itself, where its supposed to go originally. If you can find a manifold where you dont have to fab anything, just makes things a ton easier. The very first picture of this topic actually shows what its supposed to look like.

Pics:

Heres myself and someone elses setup to show the brackets for the coilpack.

DSCN1990.jpg


picture007cp6.jpg




Heres the relocated IAC. It was basically just constructed of a small square block with two bolt holes, and two larger holes with hose-bungs on one side. It bolted to the IAC via the two bolt holes and all you did was connect the respective hoses to the bungs and bingo. I had to ziptie mine to the rear [where you see in the pic] so that it didnt move around everywhere.

DSCN1984.jpg




The TPS is going to need the wires lengthened, so some soldering will have to be done, so itll reach your throttle body. This is the other guys setup, he had a better picture. lol.

picture002er9.jpg





The bracket that the other guy made to get his throttle cables installed. Mine was fairly different. I didnt install my cruise control cable, so mine only had one adaption.

picture006wd7.jpg




The MAF cable had to be lengthened as well, so those will need some soldering action too. By this time, you should see how everything goes, where you can probably do some tweeks in your setup. The way you do everything else from here on out would be all up to you, cuz after the main stuff is done, youll need to reconnect your air induction system, wether you can fab up your stock one or you use a CAI you already have. Mine? I did something I did with my 5.0 I had in Alaska. I went to Home Depot and bought some white PVC pipe. Spray painted it black, and fabbed a neat little setup. I wanted to keep using my K&N filter, but I didnt have an adapter, so I had to make one. I got creative and I made one out of the stock housing on our V6 air intake tubing, where the MAF housing originally bolts up to, cuz on the other side, you can slide on a filter [since thats where your stock filter slides on to], so it worked out quite well. That should do it, really. It took me about 4 days to do, since I didnt have alot of the needed materials on hand. Though, if I did, it woulda took me a weekend no problem.

The power increase? Dyno results on one guys stock 3.8L Mustang gave him an increase in 10rwhp and 26rwtq. After a tune and advanced timing, his final result was an increase of 22rwhp and 35rwtq. Mine? I didnt dyno my car before this, so I didnt know what I was making, but at the time, I wasnt making much. After the Windstar intake, I dynoed at 180rwhp / 215rwrq. I also had underdrive pullies, longtube headers, and some minor stuff done. So with some bolt ons and the Windstar, I was able to make a good 50rwhp increase on a six-banger. Impressive.

And thats about it!!!



**BEFORE/AFTER PICTURES**

DSCN1991.jpg


DSCN1990.jpg




DSCN1988.jpg


DSCN1989.jpg




DSCN1987.jpg


DSCN1986.jpg
What throttle body did you use?
 
I am un able to open links could some one please list a parts list? I pretty much have everything together except the hoses I am unsure of the length and size. Before I dive in I want to make sure I have everything cause it's my only car and running out to pick up something that I may have forgot will become bothersome. Thanks
 
Hello everyone!! i want to add to this forum by saying that I've discovered a new intake swap for the 3.8!!! I dont know if anyone still drives these but id like to share anyway
I've had my 02 v6 3.8 auto for about a year now and wanted to start hoppin this little power house up a bit. looking around on howto's and mod walkthrough sites i came to the conclusion that the Windstar intake seemed like a good place to start. So after calling pretty much every auto wreckers/ part stores within 200kms of me without luck... Id had enough.

Its a Friday afternoon, about 3 and build the courage to drive down to the nearest U-pull just to take a look around and maybe get lucky. Well I did...sort of.
I walk down the rows of cars row after row, all the way to the back fence. things were looking bleak. then I saw it, the only ford van in the entire yard, a 2004 Freestar handicap accessibility van. I pop the hood surprised to find an essex desinged 4.2 v6.
I pulled the upper and lower intake fitted with the identical IMRC that the 3.8s do. $54 out the door with throttle body.
Brought it home and immediately started tearing the cast aluminum manny of my car, all was looking good the lower bolted right up no problems. The IMRC connector was the same.

Here's when the issues started popping up, the IAC and TPS wires needed to be lengthened to reach, knot a big deal. but coolant hoses were more of one.
If you're familiar with the 3.8 engine bay you'll recall a metal coolant pipe that comes up from the water pump, this will not reach around the new manifold because of height issues. long story short I just cut mine if anyone's interested in knowing more ill respond to specifics and post pictures.
I almost forgot to mention that the IAC and TB will need to be clearanced in the hood, but conveniently its right where the v8 GT hood scoop would sit so there's a solution
 
Hello everyone!! i want to add to this forum by saying that I've discovered a new intake swap for the 3.8!!! I dont know if anyone still drives these but id like to share anyway
I've had my 02 v6 3.8 auto for about a year now and wanted to start hoppin this little power house up a bit. looking around on howto's and mod walkthrough sites i came to the conclusion that the Windstar intake seemed like a good place to start. So after calling pretty much every auto wreckers/ part stores within 200kms of me without luck... Id had enough.

Its a Friday afternoon, about 3 and build the courage to drive down to the nearest U-pull just to take a look around and maybe get lucky. Well I did...sort of.
I walk down the rows of cars row after row, all the way to the back fence. things were looking bleak. then I saw it, the only ford van in the entire yard, a 2004 Freestar handicap accessibility van. I pop the hood surprised to find an essex desinged 4.2 v6.
I pulled the upper and lower intake fitted with the identical IMRC that the 3.8s do. $54 out the door with throttle body.
Brought it home and immediately started tearing the cast aluminum manny of my car, all was looking good the lower bolted right up no problems. The IMRC connector was the same.

Here's when the issues started popping up, the IAC and TPS wires needed to be lengthened to reach, knot a big deal. but coolant hoses were more of one.
If you're familiar with the 3.8 engine bay you'll recall a metal coolant pipe that comes up from the water pump, this will not reach around the new manifold because of height issues. long story short I just cut mine if anyone's interested in knowing more ill respond to specifics and post pictures.
I almost forgot to mention that the IAC and TB will need to be clearanced in the hood, but conveniently its right where the v8 GT hood scoop would sit so there's a solution
The Freestar manifold appears to be a plastic copy of the truck intake manifold. While it offers good torque gains, the power up top is going to fall off. The Windstar intake is worth more power over the stock split port mustang manifold everywhere through the curve. Figure the windstar made 200hp at 5k, mustang is 193 at 5500rpm, and the larger 4.2 made 200 at 4250rpm. Nothing wrong with the long runner f series/freestar manifolds but the hood clearance issues arent worth the minimal power gains. Windstar fits better, looks nicer, and is just as cheap. I picked one up for $45 and used a stock gt 65mm tb. Worked fantastic
 
So I live in Seattle, I have the stupid manifold sitting at my house, but I have no way to turn off the egr in the computer. So it sits.

Is everybody just investing in a tuner to do this? I can't find a shop that is able to do it locally.

Ideas? Others around here?