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96 Sho Drive Train To 96 Wagon Swap ?'

5.2K views 33 replies 11 participants last post by  superhuaman  
#1 ·
I searched and searched but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. If I had a 96 SHO donor, and I wanted to swap over the drivetrain to my wagon, what would I need to take off?

I already know:
engine
transmission
subframe
steering rack & pump
engine harness
PCM
overflow tank
sho speedo and tach (not the whole cluster)

But I'm not sure about:
radiator & condenser & fan
heater core hoses
a/c hoses & accumulator
accelerator cable
cruise control unit & cable
front coil springs
cv axles
dash harness
fuel tank
fuel pump
fuel lines

I know it can be done, I know it's not easy, but I could not find a write-up anywhere on how to do it.
 
#2 ·
Talk to SHOALL on the forums...he has a completed G3 V8 SHOwagon. I believe you need just about everything from the firewall forward. Getting a whole donor car would be the most convenient way to do it...ideally, I'd look for a rear-ended one since it was most likely running and driving before. :)
 
#3 ·
Thanks, i will look him up. Actually, I just purchased a 96 TR SHO for a steal ($911 delivered to my door from NY). Needs a trans converter seal (leaks fluid) and a RF fender (dented) but otherwise is complete and working. Cams have been welded. Has 181k. Rebuilt title. Did I do good?
 
#4 ·
Thanks, i will look him up. Actually, I just purchased a 96 TR SHO for a steal ($911 delivered to my door from NY). Needs a trans converter seal (leaks fluid) and a RF fender (dented) but otherwise is complete and working. Cams have been welded. Has 181k. Rebuilt title. Did I do good?
[/b]
I'd be worried about that kinda milage, but I guess for the price, why not.....its worth a shot
Andrew
 
#5 ·
donor car + wagon


I'm doing a gen II SHO wagon,

on the gen II you change all the wiring harness 's dash included

I got the 1993 lx wagon all ready( wagon great 79,000 miles no rust clean car few dents .......paid the price of .........$200 ) looking for a good donor car for the swap




Also if you do a work meet i could be in for that


Jeff
 
#6 ·
Yes the complete donor car is the way to go......You will need everything in the engine bay.......The fans a dn rad are the same. you will need the A/C lines as well from the donor. you will also need the complete body wiring harness and dash as they are wired totally different. also you need the fuel line and the pump.....the tanks are the same. any other questions PM me and I will reply asap. I only have access at work right now till I get my computer fixed.
 
#7 ·
Yes the complete donor car is the way to go......You will need everything in the engine bay.......The fans a dn rad are the same. you will need the A/C lines as well from the donor. you will also need the complete body wiring harness and dash as they are wired totally different. also you need the fuel line and the pump.....the tanks are the same. any other questions PM me and I will reply asap. I only have access at work right now till I get my computer fixed.
[/b]
i dont want to have to use EATC in my wagon...did you? PM sent. also iffy on converting the SHO tranny to column shift, what do I need for that?

I wish i could just keep the body and dash harnesses the same, since my wagon doesnt have abs, or sarc, or eatc, and i dont want it to.

some differences include:
tr sensor
wiring of cluster (particularly the shift indicator lights in the SHO)
eatc
floor shifter
sarc

but i reallllllly dont wanna have a console in my wagon :puke:
 
#8 ·
sorry for being so bothersome. i want to keep the column shifter, and i will have to make my own OD-off button, rather than finding a column shift 3.0 24v lever.

is pats an issue on the sho? maybe i will need to have it de-programmed from the pcm. :-\

is the fuel line a different size? or does it just come to a different place under the hood?

how did you end up having all the wires you needed for the liftgate? (from the SEDAN harness...)

so many questions :-(
 
#9 ·
OK lets see .......
I swapped mine over completely.....started out life as a vulcan GL with only ABS, power windows, locks and air. the fuel lines are shorter than the vulcan ones.......the selector part on the cluster comes out with two screws and yuor column one will go right into its place......I used the EATC but you could wire up the SHO dash harness with manual controls and then put it in your column shift dash.......the pats is easy it will work no problem but as long as you have one key you can bypass it so you can use a regular walmart cut key.
Yje rear harness on the other hand is a little bit more work......the most of the whole wiring swap. the tail lights are plaug and play but everything for the lift gat has to be spilced and well as the side markers in the bumper........everything in mine wroks except for the rear wiper. I am deleting it anyways so never bothered to figure out the wiring. I am also shaving off the roof rack too. if ypu swap out the complete engine and body harness it is totally plug and play until you reach the rear hatch. And you will have ABS then you just have to put the rear sensors in. the easiest thing to do is drop the complete front suspension with the subframe and then you wil already have the ABS front spindles. I did mine in 2 weeks over Christmas. So no problem answering any questions you might have.
 
#10 ·
how did it go when you added the ABS module/pump? what about the brake lines? would i have to take those off the SHO? i know the wagon doesnt have a rear prop valve. *EDIT* I forgot, your wagon started out with ABS. Mine didn't...

the reason i asked about the shift indicator was because the transmission range sensors for the trannies have different plugs, because of the shift indicator.
 
#11 ·
BUMP

I got the 96 TR SHO today. Looks like it's a parts-only car. :(

The original plan was to sell it as a driver, using my old Vulcan with 100k (just rolled over). But there's wayyy too much rust[holes] in the rear (was a NY car, ugh), the windshield is cracked, etc, etc.

I'll put up pics tomorrow night, if anyone cares, lol. I will be parting it out until the mechanic at the junkyard swaps my subframes. Then, I will make sure my wagon is "done", and get rid of the rest all together.
 
#12 ·
Sorry for the bump, but I just found something out - I don't think I really need to swap all the harnesses out.

I discovered that the engine to body harness connector (on the transaxle) is the same for SLO and SHO. The transmission range (TR) sensor has a different plug, but all the necessary wires are there. If I put in the ABS module (electronics only) and a front wheel speed sensor or two, then that should give me a speed signal. The PATS module will go in the dash (obviously) and connect to the common data bus, which is on the back of the data link connector (DLC). This way, I won't have to change the entire body/dash/underhood harnesses. This revelation came after I had already pulled everything out of the SHO parts car. *banghead* But...do you think it will work this way? There is only one wire different in the connector on the transaxle - it is a different color, but goes to the same place on both ends - from the PCM to the CCRM.
 
#13 ·
After installing a AX4N in my 96 Taurus Wagon, when it came from Ford with a AX4S, and all the Ford Dealer people told me it couldn't be done, I will not tell you that you cannot make it work. BUT it will take a careful study of the original parts, the replacement parts, and the parts manuals at the Ford Dealer to figure out how to do the conversion sucessfully.

I will tell you that in most cases, it will turn out to be much easier to swap the parts out, then to try to reuse the existing parts in the case when the part numbers change. After all, if the parts were exactly the same, they would have the same part number on them. If you checked the part numbers and they are exactly the same, then by all means, don't swap them, you don't have to.

BUT, if the part numbers are different... like in the case of the wiring harness you are looking at, you have to trace down every wire, not just where they end on the connectors, but on every connector. Wires could be cross connected inside of the harness. When you looked at the connectors for the PCM and the TRS, did you meter them out? Did you check both wiring harnesses to find whick wires from both ends are connected to more than one pin, and which pins are connected to each other? Did you make drawings?

Testing each pin against each other pin could take hours, or days. Yes if you are wrong about a single pin, you could damage or destroy one or more electrical components, or the car may just not start, and you won't know why.
 
#14 ·
When you looked at the connectors for the PCM and the TRS, did you meter them out? Did you check both wiring harnesses to find whick wires from both ends are connected to more than one pin, and which pins are connected to each other? Did you make drawings?[/b]
I looked in the Ford 1996 Service Manual and EVTM on CD. The same wires (color/circuit number) are present in both plugs. My transmission mechanic friend tells me that A.) the AX4S TR sensor should bolt onto the AX4N and B.) the AX4N should have the speedo drive gear present even though it is not needed, and the speed sensor hole is plugged.
 
#15 ·
Well you will have to keep us posted on this one and hopefully everything works out. the SHO AX4N is not the same as the SLO AX4N.......my car was a AX4N car and they are different casings......if just one wire is different then it might not run causing you to have to search thru them all while it is in the car.........I switch everything out and I had the car in and out in 2 weeks of evenings and Saturdays.......then I hoped in purged the pump twice hit the key and it purred to life.......
 
#16 ·
I will try to keep everyone updated on the situation...and post pics when it is done.

So far:

Got alt & belt
(Alt was seized and case broken, belt was the invisible kind ;))
Need an A/C line
Need a tranny converter seal (and perhaps the converter too)
 
#17 ·
Got some bad news and some good news...

The bad news:

Engine only has one cam welded out of 4. Mechanic is on vacation until tomorrow. The best welder around is on vacation until next week this time.

The good news:

I got my SHO gauges installed into my SLO cluster. Also in the mix...a Duratec shift indicator to match the SHO's AX4N, and a Duratec shift lever (with OD cancel switch). :D

Image


Closeup of the gauges:

Image
 
#19 ·
Yeah, I know. Lol plus I don't really like the floor shifter's console. The shifter itself is ok but... :puke:
 
#20 ·
Hopefully had the cams welded yesterday. Will find out on Monday. Dropping off the car on Tuesday to receive its new powertrain. I wish I had a lift so I could say "I did it all myself" :glare:
 
#21 ·
car is dropped off at mechanic, going under the knife tomorrow or soon... :dunno:
 
#23 ·
BUMP...

"Procedure has been completed and unit is functioning within normal parameters."
 
#26 ·
lol Trent, did you buy that car off of SHOForum.com under parting out?

im assume the SHO is white as well?

funny cause i was looking at it when the guy said he was parting it out. and had 181K on the engine.

i assume you are going to do an engine rebuild before you install it? 181K is a lotta miles, but i guess the engine had 93k or something