5.4 Motor rebuild help.

[Fanatic1074]

Hello all. I am looking for some experienced input. I am going to rebuild my 5.4 in my 03 Expy. I need some help finding good prices on an engine kit (gaskets bearings etc.) I found one on Autozones site but i was hoping to try to find a cheaper option. Also their kit includes pistons. I doubt ill need them.

Also i was thinking about doing additional head work beyond valve job. Can someone provide input on what i need to tell the machine shop to do? I have never done anything like this. Im hoping to get more power kinda like the PI heads on the newer motors. Do i just have them mill the heads? If so how much? Also I am told that the block will support the additional compression up to 11.5:1, Can anyone confirm.

Thanks.

 

[tonydiv]

Might I suggest going this route instead. Just bolt it in and go.
Ford 8 Cylinder Engines

If you still want to go the diy route, I'd suggest having someone with some engine building experience help you. It's not as easy as it looks on the Poweblock shows.

You also don't want to pick up the cheapest gasket and seal set you can find. That is actually the place where you spend a few extra bucks to insure reliability.

Check with Summit Racing and Jegs, their tech people are very knowledgeable. They can get you everything you need.

 

[Fanatic1074]

I have actually rebuilt a few engines before (chevy 350 and 454 and couple others) and i will have a buddy that's done some before with me helping.

By cheaper i ment cheaper as in cost, not cheaper products. For instance Head gasket set on Autozone (felpro) is 199 but only 130 through amazon. Same product just cheaper on web.

I dont want to spend over 2k on a new engine when i can possibly rebuild this one for 700ish and a couple weekends of my time.

I guess what i really wanted was someone to tell me, what i can do to get the best power increase w/o having spend a ton of money. I would like to end up with 350+ RW HP and 450+ RW torque, i dont think thats too far off considering with my low compression (Average of 90 over the 8 cylinders) i just dyno'd the truck and it came in at 240 / 313.

Ill check those two places for input as well, but it just seems like i have better luck on forums.

Thanks guys.

 

[01yellerCobra]

For the 4V heads the big thing seems to be opening up the valve seats. I think the magic number is 90% of the valve size. It's been a while since I looked into head work though. However, if you don't have PI heads I would find a set to freshen up. They're a lot better then the NPI heads.

It's not the compression that kills the block, it's a rod coming apart and putting a nice window in the side. I doubt you'll get to the point of testing the block's durability. Do you ever tow with the truck?

 

[Fanatic1074]

For the 4V heads the big thing seems to be opening up the valve seats. I think the magic number is 90% of the valve size. It's been a while since I looked into head work though. However, if you don't have PI heads I would find a set to freshen up. They're a lot better then the NPI heads.

It's not the compression that kills the block, it's a rod coming apart and putting a nice window in the side. I doubt you'll get to the point of testing the block's durability. Do you ever tow with the truck?

Yes alot. This is why i want more power. I tow alot.

 

[mc0311grunt]

Look up mannys hardcore performance. He does wonders with lightning. For the power levels you want you are going to have to spend more than you think. Unless you find a supercharger setup you're going toneed more than just some head work

 

[Fanatic1074]

What about a place to order parts. Anyone know a good place?

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[01yellerCobra]

Yes alot. This is why i want more power. I tow alot.

The reason I was asking is because the compression you're shooting for. Personally I would run a little lower compression because of the extra load from towing.

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[Fanatic1074]

What's a good compression number to shoot for then?

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[toms89]

What's a good compression number to shoot for then?

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The higher the compression the more likely you get detonation. Odds are also highest at peak torque and higher loads. Towing increases the load greatly.. This is why I believe trucks generally run lower compression. You can bleed off some of your effective compression with more overlap in the cam but this will lose low end torque which is counter productive in a truck.

Getting the numbers your looking for are optimistic with out a serious complete system redesign or build. Compression, cams, heads, intake, exhaust, Gear ratio and tune to take advantage of higher rpms necessary to make the power.

Better airflow will always help to a degree but beyond that you need an increase in displacement, higher rpms or forced induction. The 5.4's biggest limitation as far as making power is the heads/ valve size. This is due to the relatively small bore vs stroke.

Running premium will allow more compression but it will then be required fuel. I cannot give you a number though... will have to research it.