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Only the heads are different between SAI and non-SAI engines. If you're swapping a short block, just keep the SAI heads.
The ECU from an SAI truck will throw codes if it doesn't see the SAI components and get valid signals from them. In addition, the VIN of the truck contains a marker that says whether or not the truck came with SAI from the factory. If you swap for a non-SAI ECU/BCU/cluster set, I believe that you will then present a different VIN from the one on the body plate. That may or may not be a problem, depending on what you want to do with the truck in the long term.
ok so your saying the non sai will hook up to everything it can that’s non sai and then run.
And at that point I could do two things
rebuild the heads off the old one to use and swap them out down the road.
or get the ecu and bcu and cloister from a non sai 03-04 disco and swap them and I should be fine.
and oh yea save all the sai parts from the old engine
ok so your saying the non sai will hook up to everything it can that’s non sai and then run.
I don't know what you mean. "Hook up to everything it can that's non-SAI" is basically "hook up everything that any engine would require." I already said that the only place any SAI components connect is to the heads. That's a total of four air injectors and four small bolts for the retaining brackets. Personally, I don't know why you wouldn't refurb the SAI heads if you're going to the trouble of doing a whole engine swap.
I believe that it will run without the SAI, but it will throw a CEL and with that lit up, you won't be able to tell if anything else goes wrong.
Originally Posted by merebel
And at that point I could do two things
rebuild the heads off the old one to use and swap them out down the road.
or get the ecu and bcu and cloister from a non sai 03-04 disco and swap them and I should be fine.
and oh yea save all the sai parts from the old engine
Whether or not you "should be fine" if you swap the ECU, BCU, and cluster depends on your definition of "fine." There are a lot of other systems that could be set different between your truck and the donor vehicle (e.g. air shocks or coils, various accessories, etc.). You would need to get your hands on a Nanocom to make sure everything was set correctly for your truck. You (or a subsequent owner) might also run into trouble registering it or having it inspected if the VIN stored in the system is different from the VIN on the vehicle plates. Depends on how closely someone looks.
I don't know what you mean. "Hook up to everything it can that's non-SAI" is basically "hook up everything that any engine would require." I already said that the only place any SAI components connect is to the heads. That's a total of four air injectors and four small bolts for the retaining brackets. Personally, I don't know why you wouldn't refurb the SAI heads if you're going to the trouble of doing a whole engine swap.
I believe that it will run without the SAI, but it will throw a CEL and with that lit up, you won't be able to tell if anything else goes wrong.
Whether or not you "should be fine" if you swap the ECU, BCU, and cluster depends on your definition of "fine." There are a lot of other systems that could be set different between your truck and the donor vehicle (e.g. air shocks or coils, various accessories, etc.). You would need to get your hands on a Nanocom to make sure everything was set correctly for your truck. You (or a subsequent owner) might also run into trouble registering it or having it inspected if the VIN stored in the system is different from the VIN on the vehicle plates. Depends on how closely someone looks.
hey thanks that does answer what i needed.
this is our daily driver so I have to minimize down time.
And then I will get the original heads done and do a head swap when things are easier for me.
all I need to do then is make sure the heads on the replacement engine are true also I plan on going with the arb head studs too.
and like I said earlier I am getting confused on this.
thanks mollusc
Ok hoping someone might know this.
if a non sai engine is put in to engine with sai.
will it work??
I have read get a used cluster ecu bcu from a non sai 4.6 and swap them out too.
swap the heads and sai components to the none sai engine
install it and it will run but will pop codes like crazy due to sai missing?
too bad you can’t just put the electric parts back in and just plumb it with vacuum lines??
just trying to get a handle on this as I am getting confused
keith
I swapped my 4.0 without SAI into my 03 that had a 4.6 with SAI. Runs fine just the check engine light code (I just hit suspend on my gauge) works fine
looks like you need the BCM/ECU and a new keyfob remote from a non-sai truck for it to work with no codes. I'd contact will tillery(although the one below sold) and order up what you need.
