Head Gasket Blown on 5.4 What Performance Mods

[toms89]

Well... if your tires are 5% bigger that puts your effective gear ratio back near 3.55. Installing 3.73's or higher is on my to-do list. This would increase the cruise rpm but not near as high as turning off overdrive and you get better torque multiplication throughout.

I do completely agree with you about the motor mods since you have it out and have to re-do heads anyways. I agree with arp hardware. I have it in both my mustang and Expy and use head and main studs.

If you can have your pistons flycut for extra piston to valve clearance you could consider aftermarket cams for better low end torque. Maybe towing or rv cam profiles. But of course this would add considerable expense. Cams for these motors are not cheap. Advancing your cams sounds like an inexpensive solution to lowering the powerband a bit. Still believe the pi heads and intake would be the best bang for the buck. With your knowledge and access to a machine shop this should be a practical swap for you. You could even port them yourself for significantly more gain.

 

[wheelerjb]

so did you finally decide on the P1 heads? What else have you found needs to be replaced? will the ECU need to reprogrammed as well? I'm starting to gather info for a potential rebuild and want something more than stock as well.

 

[flyin]

I know this is an after the fact statement but if you are doing this on a lift look into removing the body if you need to do remove the engine again. I have done many and it is not necessarily quicker but definitely easier on you and not nearly as "intrusive" as one would think.