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Ford Modular engine

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The Modular engine, or "mod motor", is Ford Motor Company's modern overhead camshaft (OHC) V8 and V10 engine family. It gradually replaced the Windsor small-block and 385 big-block engines over several years in the mid-1990s. The engine is modular in that it can be adapted to V8 or V10 with a variety of 2-valve and multivalve heads. It is used in Ford trucks, (called the Triton) in Lincolns (called Intech) and in Ford and Mercury cars. In 2004 Ford introduced a 3-valve SOHC with a Variable Cam Timing system, this engine will eventually phase out the 2-valve SOHC, although it has replaced a 4-valve DOHC engine, at least temporarily, in the Lincoln Navigator.

The engines were first produced in Romeo, Michigan; additional capacity was added in Windsor, Ontario.

Contents

4.6

The first in the family was the 4.6 L (281 in³) 2-valve SOHC V8 introduced in the 1991 Lincoln Town Car.

Over the years, the 4.6 came in 2-valve, 4-valve, and 3-valve versions (single-, double-, and single-overhead cam respectively). It has also came with both iron and aluminum blocks. Bore and stroke are roughly square at 3.552 in (90.2 mm) and 3.543 in (90 mm)respectively.

Until 1999, all car engines were produced at the Romeo plant. In 1999 and 2000, Mustang's engines were produced in Windsor. Production was moved back to Romeo in 2001. Most truck engines are from the Windsor plant, however there are many later model trucks with Romeo engines. All aluminum blocked engines were produced at Romeo. While the basic design remains the same the two plants had different designs for main bearings, heads (cam caps), valve covers (number of bolts) and crankshaft (number of flywheel bolts).

The Modular DOHC was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 1996, while the SOHC was on the list for 2005.

2-valve

Vehicles using the cast iron 16-valve SOHC 4.6 include the following:

Cracking manifold

The original 2-valve engine, as used in the Lincoln Town Car, came with an aluminum intake manifold. However, the nylon-composite intake manifold was later used, and was found to crack at the front crossover, leaking coolant and possibly causing engine failure. A class-action suit was filed on behalf of owners, resulting in a settlement announced on December 17, 2005.

The following vehicles were included in this class-action suit settlement:

References:

4-valve

The 4-valve DOHC version was introduced in the 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII. It featured an aluminum block, variable length intake manifold runners and cylinder heads with split intake ports. The engine was revised for 1999 with new cylinder heads featuring tumble-style intake ports, new camshaft profiles, and an improved, fixed runner length intake manifold. These changes made for 1999 resulted in not only more peak horsepower and torque but also a much broader powerband.

Vehicles using the aluminum 32-valve DOHC 4.6 include the following:

3-valve

Modular 3-valve SOHC V8 in a 2006 Ford Mustang GT
Enlarge
Modular 3-valve SOHC V8 in a 2006 Ford Mustang GT

A 3-valve SOHC head with variable timing was introduced in 2004 in the Ford F-Series. Block material varies between the aluminum block used in the 2005+ Ford Mustang and the iron block used in the 2004+ Ford F-Series and 2006+ Ford Explorer, though aluminum heads are used in all applications.

The 3-valve SOHC engine was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 2006.

Vehicles using the 3-valve SOHC version include:

5.4

See also Ford Triton engine
A 5.4 L SOHC version is used in Ford Trucks and SUVs and called the Triton. The Triton was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 1997 and 1998 and again for 2000 through 2002. A supercharged version powers the Ford F-150 Lightning in 2-valve configuration. The 5.4 L 4-valve DOHC version also made an appearance in the limited production Cobra R in 2000, the Ford GT, and the upcoming 2007 Shelby Mustang GT500.

The Ford GT uses a highly-specialized version of the Modular engine. It is an all-aluminum dry-sump 5.4 L 4-valve DOHC version with a Lysholm screw-type supercharger and it showcases numerous technological features, such a dual fuel injectors per cylinder and oil squirters for the piston skirts, not found in other Ford Modular engines. It is rated at 550 hp (410 kW) and 500 ft·lbf (678 N·m), though independent testing has shown these numbers to be conservative, with GTs often producing numbers similar to the manufacturer flywheel ratings at the rear wheels on chassis dynamometers. The Shelby GT500 uses a 4-valve DOHC version of the iron-block 5.4 L Triton with an Eaton M122H Roots-type blower and air-to-liquid intercooler. It produces 500 hp (373 kW) and 480 ft·lbf (651 N·m) (SAE J1349 certified).

See also Ford of Australia entry, below.

Applications:

6.8 V10

The 6.8 L V10 is another in the modular family. It was created by adding a pair of cylinders to the center of the 5.4 L V8. It uses a balance shaft to smooth the vibrations present due to the added cylinders. Output was initially 265 hp and 405  ft·lbf but output steadily increased over the years, eventually making 362 hp (266 kW) and 457 ft·lbf (620 Nm) with the introduction of the 3-valve SOHC version. The Ford V10 was used in the 1997-present Ford E-Series vans, 1999-present Ford F-Series (Super Duty), and 2000-2005 Ford Excursion SUVs, as the Triton V10.

5.0 Cammer

In 2005, Ford Racing Performance Parts introduced a 5.0 L crate engine for use in motor racing and home-made performance cars, officially called M-6007-T50EA, but more widely known as "Cammer". Because the latest Mustang has only 3-valve heads, FRPP developed the Cammer from the previous generation's 4-valve DOHC engine. The engine received further modifications in the engine wiring harness and electronic engine management system. Additionally, the Cammer is fitted with a special race specification version of the Ford Racing FR500 magnesium intake manifold, race-prepped FR500 cylinder heads, FR500 camshafts and an increased compression ratio, but the biggest difference is a 3.700" bore (3.552" is stock for modulars) achieved by resleeving the alloy/aluminum block.

The 5.0 L Cammer is used mainly in Mustang racing cars in the Grand-Am Cup and the SCCA World Challenge's GT class, but can be installed in a variety of other applications, including road cars, dragsters and sports car racing prototypes. The Cammer-powered Mustang has proven to be very competitve in Grand-Am Cup, having achieved five victories and podium appearances in nearly every race in the GS class during the 2005 season, giving David Empringham the championship title with the Multimatic Motorsports team, and Ford the manufacturer's title.

Robert Yates publicly expressed interest in using a similar 5.0 L 4-valve DOHC Modular V8 to compete in the NASCAR Winston (now NEXTEL) Cup series. Yates made those statements after the Robert Yates Racing-developed 5.0 L Cammer engine proved to be successful by taking a class win in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

References:

Ford of Australia

Ford of Australia uses modular V8s in the Ford Falcon and Ford Fairlane sedan model ranges, as well as in its high performance Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) division models. The DOHC Modular V8s are coined Boss by Ford of Australia, with a number designation referring to power output in kW. The 230 kW Barra engine and Boss 260 and 290 shortblocks, heads and crankshafts are built in Windsor, Ontario. The Boss engines include some locally sourced parts such as intake and pistons. All are built with cast-iron blocks.

Ford of Australia Modular Engines:

World Record

References

See also

 

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