347 RE-Power 1996 Limited AWD

As things are getting closer and closer thought I would update.

Started late last year, reading posts and asking questions. I decided to go ahead to drop in a built 347 into my 1996 explorer which has over 300,000km (almost 190,000 miles) on it. The truck still runs great BTW, and has been in the family since new and its been in my hands since last Oct.

First impulse was a cheap 1996 complete 1996 5.0L Explorer motor on fleabay. Shipped it to the engine builder to use as a donor.

It is a 347 built by Fordstrokers with a custom cam from Camshaft Innovations.

- Scat rotating assembly
- Mahle pistons
-Trick flow fast as cast 190cc heads
- comp gold rockers
- trick flow Track Heat intake.
- Torque Monster Headers built with the correct exhaust flange.

Other items of note
- 1" phenolic spacer
- 70mm accufab throttle body with modified throttle arm
- 30lb injectors
- 255lbs/hr fuel pump
- re-use the explorer intake elbow 70mm dia.
- black trick flow valve covers
- utilize some of my MAC intake

Supporting items
- 75mm Prom M MAF (Henson Performance)
- Wideband 02 sensor (Henson Performance)
- tuning (Henson)

Other to-do's
- exhaust will be re-done from the headers to cat back with mandrel bent tubing and new cats. Larger mandrel bent intake tubing to match larger diameter of MAF and TB.




This motor is being bolted to a Lentech 4R70W with 2600RPM 11.5" stall converter.

I'd like to thank many people for advice and tips but especially Don - CDW6212R for pointing me in the right direction with Fordstrokers and equally important was providing me with a custom made 28oz balancer with the explorer timing ring machined and pinned on there.

2010man for selling me his 1994 Mustang Cobra OEM crank pulley. This part is not made by ford anymore and has the same diameter of the explorer pulley but bolts to the custom 28oz balancer that Don sent me.

Also Turdle and tmsoko for answering some questions.

here it is at the engine builder


here it is at my shop, patiently waiting. mocked up driver's side header and intake.


Here is a used 70mm accufab throttle body next to a stock explorer 65mm TB. I modified the arm on the TB to match the location of the stock explorer linkage so both the throttle and cruise cables/linkages with match up.


I will post more updates as they come.

 

[Highroller]

Sorry, I never recorded a sound clip. Mine got torn down for some weird tranny/converter issues and a horribly squeak from my front engine seal. My tranny had a couple hundred miles on it and then I was in the boat you seem to be in? Also, I have a TrickFlow stage 1 cam that doesn't seem to fit my application and drivability suffered. Like you said it will be a new year and maybe I can make some head way. Really tempted to return mine to a stock drivetrain with the full exhaust, cold air intake and a tune.
Then again a 2wd regular cab '97 Ranger with my powertrain, Exploder 8.8 and a Powerdyne SC might be better!
The sound was very mellow and then it would be very angry under a heavy load.....

Charles

 

[ford99_1979]

The set backs are really discouraging. I hear what you are saying.

A 2wd ranger with that powertrain would be much fun. I think I remember you from generation-edge web forum. I had a 2001 ranger. which you can see in my signature.

My tranny was rebuilt and is being sent back now. There was some minor finger pointing involved, but ultimately It costs me time and money. Moving forward though the tranny guys spoke to Henson to get on the same page as far as a tuning strategy for the tranny. Now I have a new tune to go with my new/rebuilt Lentech trans.

The transmissions are all dynoed before they are shipped. Because the 4R70W is electronic, they use a box to turn up or down line pressure etc in the dyno. That is in a certain controlled environment and things may look good. When that tranny is married to the vehicle and its computer there may be differences in what the trucks computer calls for in real world driving and what strategy is programmed. In my situation I did not have proper line pressures and may have burnt up 4th as well.

So i was instructed to run a 0-300PSI gauge hooked to the trans (temporary) so I can monitor the line pressure during different driving scenarios. So I can then report back to the tranny guys up to discuss what pressure readings i'm getting. The idea is to see that I have correct line pressure.

We'll see how that goes.



The other thing that I need to get into my head is that 4th gear is really only for highway cruising, if a guy wants to get on it (WOT), you have to shift into 3rd first. My understanding is that 4th gear only has about 60% of the capability of 3rd. So in order not to destry my trans again I will remember that.

I really just want to get a tranny in there that I can trust and I want to drive the 347 like it should be driven!!

 

[CDW6212R]

The 4th gear is just a band, remember that and you should be fine. That OD band isn't strong enough for serious power, or heavy towing. You should be able to run it any way you like, except above the 3rd gear speed or towing heavy loads. What is your rpm limit, 6000rpm or close to that? I'd bet in 3rd gear it will go too fast, you won't need 4th at WOT.

 

[ford99_1979]

I don't know what my max rpm limit is to be honest. I know 3rd is plenty fast enough to get into trouble. Really what it means is if i'm driving on the highway and want to pass some slower moving cars I go into 3rd before stomping on the gas. This is different then what most people think of doing in a stock automatic vehicle. With the rangers I have had in the past, both of which were manual trans I most certainly would shift into 3rd to make a spirited pass. Just something i need to be mindfull of.

 

[CDW6212R]

That I would leave to the trans builders, they should know their work.

I'm going to have the J-Mod in a car VB, so I think I won't have that issue. I'll ask Alan of Dirty Dog, he knows the 4R70W very well for high performance. If having trouble 4th/3rd downshifting with WOT is a common thing, I hadn't read of it. That would be removing the load from the OD band, and the next weakest link is the direct clutch, which is engaged in both 3rd and 4th. Did Lentech say what the issue was, what part is stressed so much doing that?

 

[Nate_V8]

So what's going on? Did you get the thing going? Been waiting patiently!

 

[ford99_1979]

So what's going on? Did you get the thing going? Been waiting patiently!

Hey Nate, the truck is going good. I drive it everyday . The Lentech Tranny had to be pulled out and rebuilt because the OD band was burned up. That was due in part to not having enough line pressure/shift pressure in the tune and also hogging on the thing in 4th. I guess the line pressure was not high enough for the shift and also not high enough to hold on to the power in 4th after the shift. In the end James from Henson got in touch with Lentech and they got on the same page for transmission strategy on the tuning side of things. So once the tranny went back in everything has been good so far.

So its been about two months now and all is good. The weather has just been brutal this winter so my fun has been limited. Plus we just moved into a new place and i've been super busy with all that. Good news is I now have a 28'x32' garage to fix some annoying little things that have been bugging me with the truck. (floppy door handle, stereo issues, find some interior rattles, good detail inside/outside, BrianDye style rusty rear bumper, check shocks because they may be loose, oil change, front/rear diff fluid change, etc etc...)

On the exhaust side of things, i'm just going to run the MAC exhaust for now and I have gotten used to the sound and looks I get.

As I said before I will be going to the strip when it opens up and see what the truck and I can pull off. We are both rookies in that department! See if all this was worth it.

The explorer is a great truck and I enjoy it, but that Flex we have is probably faster than my explorer and probably gets twice the fuel economy. People say that the 4R70W is or can be a strong tranny but there is something to be said about a newer transmission with 6speeds that is super smooth and stays in the power band better than even a built 4R70W.

 

[CDW6212R]

It's good to hear from you Brad. It sounds like the drivetrain is done, and all that's left is the odd little things. Let us know how it does when you get to the track.

 

[Spas]

Track should be open by now, yes?

Read the whole thread and have to say thank you for posting so many details- it's always good to learn from other people's efforts. I'm seriously envious of the $$ that you've been able to put into your build... mine is literally one new part at a time, and those are few and far between! Did you ever find an affordable dyno?

 

[ford99_1979]

Track should be open by now, yes?

Read the whole thread and have to say thank you for posting so many details- it's always good to learn from other people's efforts. I'm seriously envious of the $$ that you've been able to put into your build... mine is literally one new part at a time, and those are few and far between! Did you ever find an affordable dyno?

Thanks Spas,

I'm certain the track is open now. A few things have happened since my last update preventing me from going there.

I had a huge intake gasket failure which means coolant into the cylinders which means vacuum leak and also burning lots of white smoke. I think that it was there for a while because I could smell a little coolant then it "let go" on me and I had huge white plumes of smoke on start-up for a few minutes.

My mechanic said the bolts were like hand tight on the lower intake manifold. Fordstrokers, is washing their hands of the problem saying that they should have been re-torqued ............ I have yet to read all of the fine print on from Fordstrokers paperwork/warranty.

So the intake gasket had to be replaced obviously, but it also took out all my 02 sensors, including my Innovative wideband 02 sensor. I may have had a vacuum leak from the start which would mean all my tuning with Henson was basically a waste of time.

So all 02 sensors have been replaced with the exception of my wideband and I still am chasing down check engine lights.....

So that's where i'm at. I need to get rid of all the check engine codes and start over again with Henson or just say F*%$ it and take out my front driveshaft temporarily and go get the truck tuned locally on a dyno.

ALL people who have done these types of swaps or heavy modification know of the problems that are associated with such endevors. It makes a person really question their sanity and dips into their pockets.

My goal here is to get the thing running good again with NO check engine lights and get the thing tuned AGAIN....... Then maybe I can go to the strip with a little confidence.

I will say throughout all these problems I drive the truck everyday and I am enjoying it. Less the problems and low fuel economy.

Doing a little stereo refresh next week with a new JVC double DIN reciever.

 

[Turdle]

You put a 347 in your explorer and question your sanity?--naw.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks for the update Brad. I'm glad to hear that it's fun to drive and works every day.

 

[ford99_1979]

You put a 347 in your explorer and question your sanity?--naw.

Haa, good one Jon. Maybe I should point a finger at you for making it look easy and making me want to do it too

Thanks for the update Brad. I'm glad to hear that it's fun to drive and works every day.

Right now, I have a check engine light and it stalls occasionally at idle, which WILL get rectified. But Ya it has been fun, feels better now than ever and i'm not tuned right. I love the sound, the rumble and the enjoyment of having a little bit of a wild daily driven truck and I never get tired of people asking me "what's in that thing".

I moved a few months back and i'm working on a bunch of projects with the new to me house. Right now Its hard to work on anything when my garage is a mess. So i've been busy with insulation, and drywalling that sucker so I can organize my tools and junk. Then start playing with the truck again a bit more.

 

[turboexplorer]

Thanks for the update. Love this build, what codes are you throwing? I have access to all data and flow charts for just about every code out there. May be able to help if wanted. Post codes and ill look.

 

[ford99_1979]

Thanks for the update. Love this build, what codes are you throwing? I have access to all data and flow charts for just about every code out there. May be able to help if wanted. Post codes and ill look.

Thanks, and yes I'll accept a little help on the codes. More info the better!

P0135 - o2 heater (htr-11) ckt (b1,s1)
P0155 - o2 heater (htr-21) ckt (b2,s1)
P1000 - obd systems readiness test not complete

 

[turboexplorer]

Great! I'll check it out Monday.

 

[Spas]

I blame Jon too Glad to hear that your truck is still enjoyable despite the problems at least. This may sound kind of sick but I'm actually looking forward to all the future gremlins... because that will mean that I've finally gotten my project to the point of running!

I'm very curious to see how my 4r70w holds up now, being that all I had done to it was a rebuild with OE parts and a Baumann shift kit...

 

[ford99_1979]

Spas, I hope your build goes well. Now i'm watching your build as I was not aware of it. I'm jealous of the procharger.

I couldn't tell you if your tranny will hold up or not. Lots of people like the baumann shift kit. Daily driveability with mine is........ ok. My tranny shifts hard going WOT but the higher stall speed torque converter slips. I don't have any prior experience with A) performance built tranny's B) I don't have anything to compare to other than the stock slush box. So my comments are, just comments..

At times I wish I had a manual tranny and the option for just RWD. ya ya I could do a 4406 swap, but i'm just not going to.

 

[CDW6212R]

Hey Brian, what stall speed do you have? I went with 2800rpm because I have no real experience with how they drive every day. I figured I would select the next one based on how well I liked this first one.

 

[ford99_1979]

I have a 2600RPM stall speed converter. I'm curious what your thoughts are on the 2800RPM unit and where you would go from there.

Brad