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supercharged 5.0 true fire 98 explorer sport

hi everyone, my name is tim . i live in selkirk, manitoba, canada and as if this date that i am posting this, i am 36 years old.

i bought my sport in jan 05 from a local ford dealer. it had 111,000KM's on it. this is the second sport i have owned. it was sitting on the lot for about 8 months before i came along. i am the third owner (i was able to track down the person that traded it in, and they got it from a friend, who bought it new in 98).

i started to do a few things to it after i first got it, then i found this site, and all hell broke lose! i've never been satisfied with something the everyone else has, so i started to tinker with it even more.

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mods include

interior

installed factory tilt, cruise, overhead console, auto dimming mirror, full length console, with a message center (it didn't have these from factory).

white face with blue flames indigo gauge covers (they light up blue)
blue l.e.d. everything
white l.e.d. interior lights
Kenwood DDX392 Touch Screen Head Unit
alpine 4 channel amp (all four speakers)
boston acoustic front and rear speakers
alpine mono amp (for sub)
2 12 inch jl audio subs
rockford fosgate cap
passenger side one touch window down mod.
custom transfer case shifter
tripple a pillar gauge pod, housing autometer boost, Innovate LC-1 wideband, and oil pressure gauge
12v power inverter with 120v plug in a 2 usb plugs built into the center console

exterior

BMW E46 projectors, mounted into stock housings using clear lens
6000K HID head lights
angel eye "driving" lights, with 8000k h.i.d.'s
clear parking/corner lights
billet grill (powder coated by Turdle)
blacked out ford emblems
custom front steel 95-98 bumper, with 4 inch round tubes welded in for driving lights
shaved radio antenna
shaved roof rack
black euro tall lights
l.e.d. license plate lights
smoked out 3rd break light
lund rear tailgate spoiler/wing (formally from the truck "blackjack" owned by EF member Spas)
hand made roll pan (made from 3 1/2 rear bumpers, with 1/4 inch diamond plate on the top, and it is removable)
aluminum T/A differential griddle/cover (powder coated by Turdle)
Motegi Mr107 20' rims
goodyear wrangler hp p245/50 r20
1 1/4 wheel spacer in the rear, 3/8 in front
and most noticeable, black with blue pearl paint, and blue true fire (ground effects are black with blue pearl as well)

Suspension

2 inch lowering blocks in the rear, reverse TT in the front (2 inch as well)
Explorer Express rear sway bar
4 door leaf springs
rancho rs9000 adjustable rear shocks
03-05 sport trac spindles with drilled and slotted rotors

performance

5L swap
347 stroker
TFS twisted wedge alum heads
comp gold 1.6 rockers
comp cams CCA-35-556-8 nitro cam
heavily modified edelbrock victor jr air gap intake (which serves as a valley pan now)
eaton m122 supercharger (metco 2.70 pulley, and ASP 8 rib 7 1/4 crank pulley) with custom made mount with bell intercooler core
8 rib serpentine belt conversion using pulleys from a 7.3 powerstroke
custom made 3 1/2 inch throttle body elbow
accufab 75mm throttle body
4 inch intake pipe
PMASS MH90 90mm Universal 3000 KG/HR MAF
amsoil cone filter
F.A.S.T. 60lb injectors
edelbrock fuel rails, trick flow specialties fuel pressure regulator with summit racing fuel pressure gauge
walbro 255lph fuel pump
1/2 inch steel braided fuel pressure line from tank to rail using 8AN fittings
torque monster headers
2 1/2 duel pipes with flowpro duel in and out 2 1/2 single muffler
accel extreme 9000 ceramic 45 degree plug wires with boot protectors
4R70W w/2600 stall with J mod
tuff stuff 200a alternator
tuning made possible with sct pro-racer package, and tuned with major help from member [MENTION=102869]Dono[/MENTION] and [MENTION=81804]4pointslow[/MENTION]
flex a lite duel 12 inch electric fans
big 3 upgrade (4 gauge wires)
meziere innercooler water pump
2 froozenboost innercooler rads

Transfer case

4406 manual shift from a 97 F150
modified stock trans cross member to accept 93 mustang 5L polyurethane tans mount
double cardan rear drive shaft

because of all the "fun" i had doing the bodywork, and some other things to my truck, i have nick named it "evil dora" or if you like, just plane "evil"!
and now the thank yous

my buddy gord leiss, who let this thing sit in his garage for 3 months while i did the body work to it. he also gave me a hand with some of the prep work, and painted it for me

kevin willson for doing the true fire http://affordableairbrushing.ca/

Joe Bukoski for letting me do the 5L/4406 swap in his garage

now people from this site, weather they knew it or not, they helped

BIG THANKS to tara a.k.a. explorersport77 for pictures of her truck. wouldn't been able to build the roll pan with out them!

ExplorerSport77's X "Hotness"

jon a.k.a. Turdle for selling me some real swanky rear shackles, as well as powder coating the diff cover and sending them up to canada. as well as much needed info on v8, and 4406 swaps as well as doing the grill and showing me how its done.

don aka dono for the help with the tuning, and wideband, as well as the supercharger

andy aka ahodges for some parts, and any help i needed for all the go faster goodies

5.0 swap - w/ 4406

jad2411 for finding me a link for my hidden antenna

ryan a.k.a. MustangP51 for doing his write up on making l.e.d.'s for interior lights, and how to make projectors

P51's HID Headlight (Projector) and Fog Conversion (PICS)

and N3ELZ cardomain page for L.E.D. switch and cruise pod mods

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-6
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-12
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/296394/2002-ford-ranger-regular-cab/page-23

bob a.k.a. rwenzing for showing me speedhut's sit for the gauges

Gauges, Custom Gauges, Tachometers, Speedometers, Shift Light, Pod

Buzz4x4 for his write up on blacking out ford emblems

How to Make Your Own Custom Ford Emblems

the late aldive for his write up on one touch down passengers window mod

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141027&highlight=touch+passengers+window+mod

BIG COUNTRY, for his write up on how to install a auto dimming mirror

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84968

BIG COUNTRY, 98formulaLS1, and Ryon40 for there write ups on how to install a message center

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225017&highlight=BIG+COUNTRY
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80670&highlight=message+center
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=245085&highlight=Ryon40

MountaineerGreen for his 4406 swap write up and "Custom" Driveshaft for a 4406 and 4" Superlift on the Cheap " (even tho its lowered

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166726&highlight=awd+4x4+swap
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185232

Simon, aka blueka for his "pickle" thread, and help anytime i picked the phone up the phone on the 5L swap

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271813

Jon, aka 4pointslow for any MAJOR technical advice i have needed

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219092

i wish i could find who did the write up on the overhead console install, but here is the link

http://www.explorer4x4.com/overhead.htm

Russ aka NICE59FORDF100 for his help on the wiring, and what to watch out for electronically.

hopefully one day, i will be able to help people on here just as much as the people that i have mentioned above!

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plus you know you have done something right when.....

your truck (as well as corkey) wins truck of the month

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=296023

is the feature truck on the fun hump day radio show (starts roughly around the 30 min mark)

http://explorerforum.podbean.com/2011/03/23/19-vroom-zoomboom/

and you drive 26 hours ONE WAY to the carlisle all ford nationals in june 2010 and 2011, and grab second place in the s.u.v. all category!

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then in 2014 you go back to the same show you have been to 5 years in a row (nothing by most, but its one hell of a long drive) and take first!

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Thanks. I had no idea.
 



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That is awesome!
Thanks for posting that video.
 






Very good, I'm glad to see it's done in house there. You hope they will do a really good job balancing it.

Building an engine is fun, it's really special and you are a primary factor in it surviving a long time. Go slow and enjoy it, clean and check everything closely. Double check as many measurements as you can, the piston deck clearance etc, calculate the quench that results with given head gaskets. You can adjust that a little as needed. Get to the heads and be meticulous with the valvetrain geometry, be slowest there adjusting the rockers and tightening them. Enjoy it.
 






picked the crank up tonight. don tagged along for a mini field trip as well. i think even he was shocked on how much stuff this guy has in his shop.
in his back yard
that he does after he has worked his full time job....
i also learned when checking crank end play when setting the crank in, you want to make sure both top and bottom match each other. never knew that.
he gave me the spec sheet for the balancing.

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long story short, tolerance is 5g. he got it within .60g! REALY? thats like the weight of your hair!
 






I'll say the shop is amazing. A ton of space, high end equipment, clean, and the guy has a ton of knowledge. We had a saying many years ago. "The S.O.B. really knows his ****" I'd say that applies here.
You know when you run in to a guy that truly loves what he does. This is that guy.

It was great to go there. All that said, I really hope I never, ever have a need to visit him with the motor I have in my truck now.
 






Good deal, you love to find people who truly like what they do.
 






cleaned the block last night, or as best as i could, just hope its good enough.....
started at the crack of noon today by laying in the crank, and one by one checking clearance with plastic gauge
mains were where the machinist said i should have them

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got lucky there i guess. next was end play

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a tad over ideal, but i'll take it!

so i pulled it all out, and put assembly lube in (thanks again don!) and clamped the mains down

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next were the rods. i started with the number one to see how it was.

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a little on the large size, so i hope it will be ok.
then thats when the wheels started to fall off..
i went to put number 5 in. tried to smack it home, and it stopped just short from the second ring from the top. pulled it out, tried again. same deal. looked at the ring compressor that i borrowed, and figured maybe it wasnt sending them in strait. went to a place that has lone a tool, and got one from there (brand new one at that). same ****. i looked a little closer and saw the oil ring wasnt sitting right. tried messing with it only to make it worse. went to a buddys to see if he could have any better luck. a hour later (for one piston at that) he had it sitting where it should be, and showed me what to do if it happen again. well, it still wouldnt go in all the way (this time the second top ring fell out of the compressor). tucked it all back in and it finally went in.
i am taking a little break right now. was ready to drop the dead blow hammer for my 3 lb sledge hammer. i will go back out in a little while and mess with it some more.
 






Good time for a break. The pistons are the one tedious part of an engine build. That can be very aggravating, and the piston compressor is the magic tool. I built my first few engines with a borrowed clamping tool, the old kind that is a large band that you twist tighten. It didn't hold very straight and usually it had to be re-tightened one or two times for each piston. The slick new kind that's just a big tapered ring is much better. I only have two of those, each one is unique to the bore size.

Just get each piston lined up straight/centered over the bore, and then go slow without letting the tool move.
 






we do it with the block still upside down , makes it easier to see whats going on , we also lube the cylinders and rings with a bit of light oil
 






Those are great pictures!
What is the spec for the rod bearing clearance?
I agree with Don, the newer tapered one piece tool is the best if you can find one the right size for your application.
I have used many ring compressors lately and I have found another design I like a lot.
Check this one out, it works very well.

RCW60.jpg
 






Those are great pictures!
What is the spec for the rod bearing clearance?
I agree with Don, the newer tapered one piece tool is the best if you can find one the right size for your application.
I have used many ring compressors lately and I have found another design I like a lot.
Check this one out, it works very well.

View attachment 97737

I've seen that type and wondered if it would work well. Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll hunt that the next time I need a new size.
 






we do it with the block still upside down , makes it easier to see whats going on , we also lube the cylinders and rings with a bit of light oil

really. i would have thought it would be harder to do because if the block surface was facing up, the rod would hang down and not hit the cylinder. all i did was turn the crank so the journal was at its lowest point, pushed the piston in then tapped it while guiding the rod. i also did lube the cylinder, but i thought you left the rings dry

Those are great pictures!
What is the spec for the rod bearing clearance?
I agree with Don, the newer tapered one piece tool is the best if you can find one the right size for your application.
I have used many ring compressors lately and I have found another design I like a lot.
Check this one out, it works very well.

View attachment 97737

i would have to think the rods would have been the same as the mains. i will have to ask the guy who balanced the crank next week. have to go back and get a dowel from him, and pick up my blower mount. which brings me to another find. i was cleaning the gasket off it and i noticed a crack in one weld. i sprayed so wd 40 on the inside of it, and it dribbled out. one vacuum leak found that went undetected. then i stared looking closer and found a few other cracks. the guy who welded it for me the first time sure did a ****ty job.
i didnt have that style of ring compressor, i had the one with the razor sharp edges on it. you know, the one that cuts threw your skin, and also destroys your plastic gauge while its still in the package. and also forces you bleed all over you motor. yea, that one.
another find i forgot to mention, and this will go back to a experience dono had about 2 years ago. one of the wheels broke off one of his lifters causing the lifter to fall into the cam, locking it, breaking the dowel that holds the timing chain in place, and bending a few valves and destroying his cam. fast forward to now, when i was taking my motor apart, i had a hard time getting one lifter out. i figured it was a burr holding it so i was going to leave it to last, slide the cam out, and let it drop down from the top. well, i was about to do that when i looked threw one of the lifter bores and saw something that almost gave me a heart attack. the pin that holds the wheel in place at the bottom of the lifter was backed out about a 1/8 inch! i was able to push it back in with a screw driver. if i didnt have to take the motor apart that would have been a ticking time bomb. i will never use comp lifters again. EVER! there might have been 6,000 miles on them, maybe.
i also went back and worked on the motor till about one o'clock last night. the short block minus the cam and timing chain is now done. my problem with the pistons not going in was that i wasnt hitting them fast enough and hard enough for them to slide in.
i now get to go outside and fix a broken wire on the driver door of my ranger because the controls on the door decided to die on me earlier....joy.
 






Wow!
Any idea what lifters you are going to use?
Did you find someone to weld your supercharger manifold?
Glad you made some progress and got most of the short block together.
 






The lifters I've read are mostly similar in price and reliability, very good but not much choice except the link-bar lifters. Some people run 7000rpm's without problems using the Comp Cams parts. Woody has suggested on SBFtech another brand(maybe made by the same factory), Morel. I'm not sure there is that much difference between all of the roller lifters. I'm tending to think the link-bar type will be my choice for a 351 Clevor I'll build later for 6500rpm. It's a tough issue, and the prices are $300+ versus $450+ I think.
 






bought crane lifters. don sent me a link to morel's. want them, but at the moment, too much $$$. will get them in the future. i called summit, and the ones that are like morels he said are back ordered. my machinist said he has someone that can weld alum, so i gave it to him. i will probably get new alum cut, and make a new mount and sell the old one (and tell whoever wants it its not perfect). i have a intake tube, pulley bracket, and coil mount kicking around here. would just have to get some spacers made for the pulley mount bolts, and some bolts together and i would have a complete kit
 






talked to my machinist, and showed him the clearances for the bearings. he said the mains are spot on. the rods, he said i shouldnt run any type of thick oil, but something like a 5w30 and i will be ok.
so here is where i am

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set the heads on tonight, set the lifters as well.
then again, it happens.....
when i was putting the crank in, i was able to literally spin the motor with one finger. i set a few valves and went to spin the motor.....CLUNK....
it was locking up. i really started panicking.
but it felt like it was only in one spot. i started back tracking on what i did, then it came to me. when i did the first few valves i had the balancer off. after doing one bank, i put it on and thats when it started happening. looking around i noticed this

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looks like i also found what was scratching my balancer up as well. i am also trying to figure out if this is why my balancer bit it in the first place. i had a stock motorcraft pump on there up till around September if i remember correctly. i changed it trying to see why it was running so hot. this is a stock aftermarket replacement pump. this also has a life warranty as well. the motorcraft one (which i saved) is flat at that spot where its rubbing on this one. i called don and asked him to see if his was close or rubbing as well because he replaced his when he first built his motor. he had said its close, but not hitting. i did try clearancing it a little, but i think there might be a hairline crack in it. ill give my parts store a call in the morning and see how much they love me.
 






Interesting. For what it's worth, I'm running a Motorcraft water pump but my balancer is turned down too so I probably wouldn't have had that problem regardless. I wonder if it was making some noises before that you didn't detect right away.
 






I would strongly suggest throwing that aftermarket crap in the trash and go with a Motorcraft water pump.
On my stock 1998 4 door, I had an aftermarket water pump that had the shaft break without warning.
When it broke I had just crossed a bridge back into NJ and snap!
The belt then became useless since it popped off so no power steering, and of course there wasn't any coolant circulating so engine got hot.
To make matters worse when the water pump broke, the fan and pulley assembly attached to the broken shaft hit the radiator that was not very old.
Of course the radiator started leaking so it had to be replaced.
This was all posted under my 1998 4 door thread.

I just paid over 100.00 for a Motorcraft waterpump for my 1998 2 door, and I don't feel bad about spending that money on it because engine life may depend on it.
 






Yes, it seems some parts like a WP we used to take for granted as any brand will do, it won't now. It may be the time to call a water pump another OEM only part.

There is that one other high flow brand Flowkooler I think, that Centaurus tried the WP on his 302. I wonder if that is going to be a good choice also for our hipo engines.
 



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