let's talk about power gains...

[Lightnig]

Only had the '97 for about 3 weeks thus far, and still getting the basic maintenance up to spec so this is more looking at the long run...

Have been enjoying driving it, but for having a 5.4 it just feels, uhhhh, choked. Simply doesn't have the response that I feel it should. Feels like the power is there in the back ground, but something is preventing it coming to the surface.

Mind you, I am not expecting it to perform like my '08 Bullitt, or even my dear departed 89 SHO, but there is definitely something holding it back from being what it should be.


So, should I look at the typical old school upgrades to free up the power my machine should have? As in; Intake, exhaust, air filter - or should I hold off on that stuff and go high tech right from the get go? Tuner?

I don't have a large disposable income to blow on the truck trying different things, but don't mind spending cash on something that is going to yield real benefits in gaining back the power that this engine should have had in the first place.



It;s not like I am trying to make a race machine out of the old girl, I just want to see it make the power that big ol' 5.4 should be making...




p.s. please don't say K&N. I rank them right up there with phantom grip, tornado, and chevy...

 

[FordandPolaris]

I do like my K&N haha... Well I would say do the Gott's mod and filter for sure cause those are relatively cheap. It could also be the rear end gears holding you back. I know I have ridden in similar models with the 3.55's in back and it is like riding in a snail compared to my truck coming off the line. Granted it could be in my head, but its just what it feels like to me. If you really want extra power though, look at the PI heads they started using for 99 and newer model engines. I cannot speak on the tuner as I have never used one before, but from what I have heard from others, they do make a sizeable difference in waking the motor up. PM a member named Baker Edition (unless he chimes in on the thread here), I have read about his experience with his Edge, and as far as I know, he can get you a discount with their products.

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

So, should I look at the typical old school upgrades to free up the power my machine should have? As in; Intake, exhaust, air filter - or should I hold off on that stuff and go high tech right from the get go? Tuner?

It;s not like I am trying to make a race machine out of the old girl, I just want to see it make the power that big ol' 5.4 should be making...

[/I]

Like you, I took all those into consideration before I mod'd mine back in 98-99.

I started 'small' by opening up things as you described and the no-brainer for me was after towing from the East Coast to the West Coast getting horrific gas mileage and like you're describing, wishing I had more in the first year beast especially on hills and long grades.

I did see a significant gain on the return trip 30 months later, but quite a bit of $$$ invested. I also suffered w/ the blown plug back in '11 and since the rebuild, again another outlay of $$$, am very impressed w/ everything the folks on here have taken advantage of with regard to changes in technology, and trail/error coupled with their experiences.

I am the original owner, thus feel I know her pretty well.

 

[Lightnig]

yeah, could look at gearing all right, but for that cost I think I would look at engine mods first - which I son't want to undertake right now, rather stick with bolt ons at this time. btw, it's got the 9.75" 3.73 LSD diffs, so don't see a lot of improvement there unless I go to 4.30's or something similar, but then there goes any hint of fuel economy.

Although I do really like the idea of a set of PI heads, along with an improved set of cams at the same time. Nut that will be a year of two down the road before I am ready to start sinking that kind of effort/money into the beast.

Right now I am leaning towards starting with a CAI of some type, brand/style yet to be determined, and tuning.

Main reason I am looking at tuner pretty much right off the bat is that if I select the right one it will be able to pull double duty on both the Expedition and the summer car ('08 Mustang Bullitt, which is coming off drivetrain warrantee in a few months, so time to start playing... )

SCEBFEX, what all did you change out on your 97, and at what point did you start seeing improvements?



As it stands now, the tentative game plans is as follows (and likely in this order as well)

CAI
tuner
cat back exhaust (possibly to true duals)
headers, including high flow cats​

Anything obvious missing from that list?

for the moment I am ignoring the big mods; engine internals, transmission mods, and power adders (although I am sure a low boost centrifigal blower would really wake her up...)

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

SCEBFEX, what all did you change out on your 97, and at what point did you start seeing improvements?

for the moment I am ignoring the big mods; engine internals, transmission mods, and power adders (although I am sure a low boost centrifigal blower would really wake her up...)

Some pics here: http://www.expeditionforum.com/members/43969-albums199.html

Bigger MAF & air intake
Opened up exhaust
S/C & Aftercooler
Oversized trans pan

Immediate improvement, esp bottom-end torque. Remember this is only a 6psi system compared to what Tom is running @ 14psi.

 

[Brusky]

Tuner is a great start will definitely make drivability much better. ( took mine off once to see the mpg difference and didn't tell my wife and she called me saying something was wrong with it bc it just didn't go like norm does) so they def make a difference. Another mods that I noticed decent gains for little $ and easy install was underdrive pulleys, lots of controversy with many people but I have had no problems at all and have had them on for about a year now.

 

[Lightnig]

I had briefly considered underdrives, but considering the historical loss of alternator charging ability I passed on that idea pretty quick.

The truck has a largish winch installed, and I will be adding a set (or two) of high power driving lights, so the thought of losing any charging ability kind of left me cold - so to speak...

 

[01yellerCobra]

Once a tuner is married to a vehicle it can't be used on another vehicle. You'd have to unlock it from the Expy, load up new tunes, and then load it on the Mustang.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[hammerg26]

Since I used to race mustangs, this thread caught my attention. One of the first things we used to do on the "old" Fox bodies was change gears (3.55 or 3.73, maybe even 4.10)... but from an engine standpoint, we would add larger MAF, larger throttle body with spacer, headers, exhaust (i.e. Dynomax mufflers with x-pipe or offroad H pipe), K&N (or simliar), etc. The idea was more air in and more exhaust out... from there we had to get into the intake, heads, etc.
Would those work on my 99 Expy?

 

[Lightnig]

yeah, that's pretty much my line of thinking.



Already got 3.73's, time to open up the intake side, then tune, then exhaust.