M90 rebuild (rudy)

well figured i would start a new thread.just a quick background.did the whole build on my explorer but built it using stock head gaskets and head bolts.did it really as a safety net and i just couldnt afford head studs at the time.well to say the least i blew the head gaskets off from it wile i was in the mountains on a forum trip about two years later.

i picked up a 1994 ranger,its got the 4.0 OHV and is a 5 speed 2wd.the plan is to pull the motor out of the explorer and rebuild it.

this thread will basically cover the rebuild and build up of the new ranger.it will basically end up as a street race truck.ive named it Rudy so let the fun begin.


UPDATE
new motor specs
BORE: 4" JE asymmetrical pistons (custom over bore)

RODS: 6.058 Manley (longer rod)

VALVES: IN-1.8 EX-1.5 Manley heavy duty (.150 over)

Transmission:T5 hybrid from a 2006 Mustang and 93 Fox
HEADS: 93TM HEAVILY ported with custom brass guides and copper gaskets/O-ringed with ARP studs
CAM: 422 Comp cams with 988 springs and Toms custom lifters,push rods and 1.7 roller rockers
Complete blueprint and balanced internals
GM M90 supercharged with one 1" intercooler plates with ASP 8 rib belt conversion. .
pushing 16 lbs of boost with small shot of NOS
Running on E50
Dyno tuned by Dyno Tune Performance outa Virginia using SCT

old thread and pic
3800 M90 Build
ported and polished gm 3800 gen 2 m90
Water to air intercooled
port matched 76mm inlet and intake tube
mustang 75mm race tb
90mm maf
36lb injectors
255 fuel pump
sct 5bank dyno tuned
2.7" pulley 10lbs of boost!!

and the new 1994 ranger 4.0 OHV 5 speed 2WD with 115,000 miles on it.o and i only paid $1,000 for it:shifty_ey
RUDY

 

[jd4242]

Just stopped by the machine shop to go over the lost and talk price..but he was busy as hell,he had a film crew there from Volvo Penta filming something to do with production crackshafts being outa balance. .

So we didnt really talk about anything but he did show me my pile and especially the copper gaskets. .they looked really good and were really soft.told him id come back later in the week and we could go over everything. .im pretty excited to say the least!!! Everything looked top notch and high dollar..better perform that way also!!

 

[malohnes]

Well almost died today..i was merging onto the highway and passing some cars to get over into the fast lane and hit a 18 wheelers tire tread that was laying in the lane like a chocolate covered doughnut. .i hit dead on with my passengers tires..as soon as i hit it it lifted the passengers side of my truck up into the air..i landed slightly sideways and fishtailed twice all wile doing 70mph. .

To say the least im happy i lived and definitely needed to change my underwear! !

I broke my newish front valance, chipped my BRAND NEW rear rim and dented my gas tank..i put it on the lift and you could see black marks all down the bottom side of my truck..lucky it didnt do more damage. .

Whoa-That's scary for sure! Glad you're ok and your truck too. Sounds like you managed it well...

Exciting progress on your build! Watching...!!

 

[jd4242]

Stopped by again today.block is still in the machine. .

He uses SS wire for the "o-ring" and its in the block.believe he said its a .55 wire and extends .25 outa block.the gaskets costed me $340

Rest of the work he didnt have a figure but said heads were gonna be about $400 and block should be around $150-250...so looking around $900-1000 (HOPEFULLY LESS) in machine work including the copper gaskets

 

[4pointslow]

My pocket hurts just thinking about it. Gonna be worth it though! Thing is going to scream!!!

 

[Dono]

From where I'm sitting, with all that custom work it seems like you stole it.

Awesome. wont be long now.

 

[jd4242]

My pocket hurts just thinking about it. Gonna be worth it though! Thing is going to scream!!!

Im sure hoping. .i think the heads and having a lightweight balanced bottom end is gonna make a big difference. .i gota do something about my IATs though, saw 180*ish yesterday racing a turbo civic SI. .especially since i plan to add 6 more pounds of boost

Im hoping wrapping the headers and isolating the filter helps ALOT..also gonna add a small fan to my front mount heat exchanger. .after about 30 mins of driving the water is heating up to 140* and the IC is turned into a heater core. .ill see 110-120*(way to high) pre charger but my after stays around 140-150* from the water being so hot..its been around 100*+ ambient here lately though

Im also trying to find a machine shop with a louver press.i want to press some louvers in the hood above the filter where it will be isolated from the engine bay temps..

From where I'm sitting, with all that custom work it seems like you stole it.

Awesome. wont be long now.

Yea im thinking he will remember he had to slightly turn the crank for the bearings to be within spec,he also put a bevel on the rod bearings. Also not including the time hes spent having to make custom fixtures to hold the block.im sure im even forgetting some thing also but guess that might be the good part of him having it for almost if not more than a year..

Hes also a pretty good friend of mine and knows i just had a baby so.plus the fact im paying CASH helps.

Im gonna have to borrow some money to pay for this though, all the money i had saved has been spent on the baby or bills as my girl is still outa work for another 2 weeks

One day i need to sit down and add up all the machine cost and parts cost..think im about $1,500 in machine cost and around $2,500-$3,000 in parts(internals, rockers, injectors, gaskets and all)..again sure im forgetting something. .pretty freakn penny for a 4.0 OHV but if it makes what it should,it should be comparable or cheaper than something else making same power..o and i have something that noone else has!!!

 

[jd4242]

Slow roll in 1st hit.was seeing IAT around 148* before the pull so timing definitely was being removed..still broke traction even with the slow roll... not bad for stock..

 

[4pointslow]

Those needles moved pretty fast!
Awesome!

 

[jd4242]

Those needles moved pretty fast!
Awesome!

They move little faster with cooler temps when all the timing is in it..o and whole lot faster with Nitrous on!! Haha

 

[jd4242]

Figured id leave this here for those that dont know..i borrowed some money to pay for the motor and figured id borrow a little extra..motor still aint done fyi

Bought a 03 lincoln aviator with the 4.6 dohc motor.its pretty nice,has some issues right now but working them out....

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/03-lincoln-aviator.449011/

 

[jd4242]

Motor is done..hes double checking everything on it and getting a price together. .only problem is he has my 4.6 dohc heads also and that means hes gonna want all the money for both jobs before he lets anything go...

 

[jd4242]

Stopped by the machine shop to drop valves off for the 4.6 block and went over the 4.0 parts..heads are 100% done..they will clean my .567 lift with .090 before coil bind..they look really nice,like real performance heads..lol

We talked and looked at the block..he didnt cut the groves at his shop,someone else did it..the grooves look good but he used copper wire,which is still good choice. .

But i didnt notice this in person till i looked at the picture, the block HASNT been DECKED before the grooves were cut..i dont know how this got past both shops..it looks like the block has been milled but very very badly,you can see grooves and dimples still in it everywhere. .im not accepting it in that condition. .hes going to have to mill it and send it back to have the groove recut as they will be too shallow and the wire will protrude to far..

The gaskets are nice though and are .050 thick..dusty in this picture from old ones sitting ontop it.

Good read about gaskets

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2006/10/engine-sealing-high-performance-head-gaskets/

 

[Dono]

****ty on the deck surface, that's for sure. at least the bottom end isn't together.

 

[jd4242]

****ty on the deck surface, that's for sure. at least the bottom end isn't together.

Yea im doing assembly. .it looks from the marks in it that its been milled but very very poorly! !

 

[jd4242]

****ty on the deck surface, that's for sure. at least the bottom end isn't together.

Stopped by again today to drop some parts off,the owner wasnt there but talked to one of the machinist. .he said he definitely decked the block before sending it to get it grooved. .said he couldnt get all the ""cast pits"" out without decking the hell out of it and we would run into valve to piston clearance issues and pistons coming out of the deck to far..also said who knows how deep or if more ""cast pits"" would show up..i felt the block and we put a believe micrometer on it the what appears to be grooves did not measure or couldnt feel them.he said only reason you see them is because the block has been sitting and got dust and **** on it.said a Scotch-Brite pad would shine it up like a new quarter. Also said as long as ""cast pits"" are not next to water jackets or cylinder that they dont matter and would be filled with copper sealant, said most important is that its flat...

Ill be talking to owner again when i pick the 4.6 heads up

 

[Dono]

I hope the machinist is right.
Before my mls gaskets went on I block sanded my deck to make sure I didn't see any low/high spots and to make sure it was perfectly clean.
The block sanding doesn't take much material off the iron block at all. It did turn out to be a great check for imperfections.

 

[jd4242]

I hope the machinist is right.
Before my mls gaskets went on I block sanded my deck to make sure I didn't see any low/high spots and to make sure it was perfectly clean.
The block sanding doesn't take much material off the iron block at all. It did turn out to be a great check for imperfections.

Yea it still isnt sitting well with me,thats why i want to talk to the owner..with the wire in them,i cant really block sand or anything other than Scotch-Brite pad..

It definitely felt smooth as glass and didnt show anything on the tool but still why does it look that way..i still see gasket impressions..the camera definitely makes it look worse

I personally want him to measure how far that wire sticks out and the max its allowed and then mill the block more to that difference, or a "c-hair" more!!

 

[Dono]

I see what you are saying now, looking at the surface I see the old gasket impression.
Maybe they just barely touched the block, checking for flat/true more than anything?
I'm interested in how this goes.

 

[jd4242]

I see what you are saying now, looking at the surface I see the old gasket impression.
Maybe they just barely touched the block, checking for flat/true more than anything?
I'm interested in how this goes.

The biggest issue is the size of the valves,the lift (.567),duration and the pistons do come up over the deck "slightly" more than stock,i remember that..we dont know why either because i basically copied the stock specs.i think the rods are slightly longer than advertised or the pistons "compression distance" was slightly off.or even the stroke on the crank..

I dont know if you remember but i tried to have the copper gaskets made around .030 to increase compression since im on E50 now and was told i didnt have room.

I did send a stock piston and rod to be copied to JE so it should've equaled the same.

I do know i have to much money and time into it for it to blow a copper gasket or for it to smack/damage one of my custom valves or pistons. .not sitting good with me

 

[Dono]

Wow, that could be a huge issue.
Assuming noting smacks together, I wonder what your compression will be.

This sounds horribly wrong. I see why you are so concerned.