this has been the best read of any thread on here yet...good luck with the install.....

 

Wish I could have joined you guys today. I look forward to seeing the photos.

 

Good Luck, Lantana! Hope to see you at the next Cars and Coffee with your new creation...

 

I has been a very long day but we got the V6 out and the V8 in! I am tired and about to eat but will post more about today a little latter. Here are some pictures.

 

amazing how its looks like it belongs there....there must have been plans in the future for a V-8...nice work

 

Awesome!!! I hope its a smooth ride for ya!!!!

 

Wow,

Is there any clearance issues as it looks a little tall. Maybe just the pictures. I am sure you are exhausted and exited at the same time.

 

Looks like you shoe horned it in.
Nice job.

 

Well I am cleaned up and had a nice dinner and feeling pretty good. We started by putting the car up on jack stands as high as we could so that we could work easily under it. It was a lot of work getting the the V6 out. The guy in the first picture is my uncle and we were just about to remove the V6. The V8 was a tight fit. We had to drop the sway bar to give more cleaance. once the engine was in the sway just clears the front of the oil pan. We had to change the connector that attached to the a/c compressor as it was a different style than what was on the V6 harness. It bolted right up to the trans and engine mounts from the V6 was just and bolted right up as expected. The head pipes mate up to the exhuast maniolds but they are at a slightly different angle. We will see tomorrow if it will bolt up or I will have to take it to a muffler shop prior to trying to start it. We still have to install the water pump, a/c compressor, power steering pump and alternator. We are try to make sure that the car is also serviceable if the radiator or any accessories ever go bad. So far the only issue is that the fans would need to be removed to change the alternator. We will find out tomorrow if a/c and power steering lines will reach. We will have to lengthen the wires that feed the alternator and starter. they are in the same harness but we need four more inches becuase of the engine length. So far so good and I am glad that for the most part everything is going as expected. We do have a couple of different wires in the V8 harness to figure out and compare to the V6 harness.

With the engine cover on it did llok like the hood would not close but we tested this and there is no problem.

 

I'll tell you, this is a heck of a great project and very interesting.

 

 

Woooo Hooooooo....... Way to go Lantana! Wow, I can't wait to hear about you getting it fired up. Congrats on a successful first day. Hang in there buddy, and good luck tomorrow.

 

Thanks everyone for the encouragment. We did have one issue in that we needed remove the pulley from the tensioner to get the power steering pump off and it was held on with a tamper resistant Torx which I did not have. It took a few hours driving around to find the tool. You will also notice that we did not put the accessories and water pump on the engine before putting it in the car. We did this to make sure the car was serviceable in the future. If you have to pull the engine to change the water pump we wanted to know that. so far it looks serviceable but much tighter. If you want to know how tight, lift your hood and ingamine everything about four inches closer to the radiator. We hope to have the mechanical work done tomorrow and then depending on the exhaust we will either be ready to program or take it to the muffler shop.

 

Amazing stuff.


Can't believe she bolted right up to the tranny and mounts. I always find it interesting that it seems the ECU stuff is always the hardest part of these projects. Good luck!

 

Sure looks sweet sitting in there!

Is your uncle wearing his Texas Motor Speedway coveralls?

 

Yes he is. He liked the gift!

 

It goes without saying that I'll never put a V8 in my XF; but still, a very informative read.

Anyone who does not understand just how much of these cars are MB need only read this thread to understand.

 

Great work Lantana! I'm so glad the V8 bolted right up. Kudos to you. You must have done your homework for sure.

 

Hi Lantana,

Please check alternator Ampere, I installed new alternator when I did my swap. V6 alternator is a 120A but V8 engine needs 180A !

Is exhaust manifold angle suit pipes?

Karim.

 

excellent work! That engine looks like it should have been there all along.