Completed Project 5.0 swap - w/ 4406

[ahodges]

LOL! I had to take the intake off to fix a leaking lower intake gasket (coolant), not really sure why it failed. So while the whole thing was off i decided to do everything else that is on my to do list!

I'm talking about the J mod. When I had it tuned the first time, the transgo shift kit that was in it, was installed backward by the tranny shop and it slowed the shifts instead of increasing the speed. A little while after I had it tuned I took the transgo kit out and did the J mod.

I'm going to look real hard at getting my air intake down by the lower valance and take a real serious look at methanol/ water injection.

 

[Dono]

Yea, anything you can do to get that air going in to your motor as cold as possible.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the results are. I'm sure your truck really pulls hard as it sits.

 

[ahodges]

Well, some progress has been made. The engine is back together (still haven't started it) and the super custom intake is just about finished (filter is below the radiator). I'll post pictures and more info once it is completely buttoned up!

Had an interesting discusion with the tuner about methanol injection. He no longer supports any kits or the tuning for them because he has had the kits fail on him too many times. He says he loves the idea and has done it on several cars but in his experience the kits aren't high enough quality, thus not reliable enough to put his reputation on the line. So long and short, I aborted the methanol injection and setteled for the relocation of my intake along with moving the air intake temp sensor to the appropriate place.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

the super custom intake is just about finished

your going to make us wait?

you're a very very evil man......

and funny you post this now. i was just thinking of the rockers i bought from you, and they still havent moved off the bench where i put them...

 

[Dono]

I could see the tuners point. In my case, James tuned for about 12:1wot. I set my spray to bring a/f to 11.5. I can, and do, run out of washer fluid. I could see taking out a motor if you made the most out of the method injection in the tune and your reservoir went dry.

I can hardly wait to see intake pics, and the results of that and the iat sensor in the right spot. I'm betting you will have way more power under part boost conditions after tuning.

 

[blakshukvw]

I installed a Snow math kit on a 911 turbo that I built for a customer. Damn car didn't even make it past the tuning stages and back to the customer before the pump died. They were using crappy rv water pumps. Anyway, with that much invested in the engine, it wasn't worth the little extra from the method at the risk of it failing again and burning the motor down. Too expensive.

 

[ahodges]

Good to know about the meth kits. Weird I couldn't find anything negative earlier!

It snowed here again last night and this morning so my evening was spent doing snow removal instead of working in the x. Sorry guys, you'll have to wait one more day! . On the bright side my new air filter should be here tomorrow to complete the ensemble!

 

[ahodges]

4" True cold air intake

Alright, here they are! I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Words can't describe how packed in there this thing is.
Picture one is of the custom mounting bracket I made.

Custom made elbow bolted to the MAF sensor

Looking up from underneath showing the clearance to the frame.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

so i will be that guy who asks, are your worried about it getting wet, or sucking in water at all? otherwise, nice job. bet that wasnt easy to put in

 

[Dono]

I have another question. Do you have a body lift?

It sure looks like your M90 sits low. That would mean there would easily be room for an intercooler between your M90 and mount.

Nice job on getting that filter out of the engine bay. I'm with Tim though on the water. I'm going to have the same obstacle when I get my turbo roughed in.

 

[ahodges]

Nope, no body lift. As it is the M90 is higher than the fenders. If I were to do an intercooler I would spend the time and money to do that on a larger supercharger.

As for water, I ordered a filter sleeve which is water resistant to slide over the cone filter. Between that and the limited amount that it gets driven in the rain, I should be ok, I hope! The most its been in the rain since I put this engine in is during the trip to Ford Nationals last year.

Here is a follow up on the IAT sensor. So far so good! I fired it up for the first time since I put the lower intake back on and it ran strong without a check engine light coming on! Hopefully it continues that way. I ran it a couple miles down the road and all systems were a go! Only one hiccup.. I forgot to plug the #4 injector back into the wiring harness so I had a mysterious miss for little bit .

Does anyone want a parts list for this intake setup? My disclaimer is that I only have 1/4" clearance to the lower idler pulley (thankfully the engine torques away from it), and this will not work with a stock fan.

 

[blueka]

I'd be more worried about road debris smashing it...


Si

 

[delexploder]

Nice work as always! I think a simple shield like the factory plastic one or maybe sheet aluminium would work fine, not impeed air flow, and look cool,

 

[ahodges]

I was thinking about making a shield for it, either out of stainless or maybe aluminum. That would also prevent water spray from hitting it directly. I'll put it on my list.

 

[4pointslow]

Air

Looks great, good size tubing too. Does it feel any different?

 

[ahodges]

Thanks! When I had it out the ambient temp. was ~32 degrees and I only ran it down the road 2 miles. Within that time I thought it felt really good but it's hard to say considering the much cooler than normal temperatures than what I normally run it in.

 

[Dono]

Andrews truck is a beauty.
Everything done is first class.

Tim tells me its even better in person.

 

[ahodges]

Geez. Thanks guys!

I moved onto the next project already.. Based on what I've been reading I realized that I'm probably pushing my rear end to its limit. So, I was going to have a guy from work weld the axle tubes in, however when I drained the oil (with only 6,000 miles on it) I saw the dreadful metallic sparkles in the oil. Took it out of the truck and checked it all over and discovered my spider gears have met their demise. Now I'm currently weighing options between upgrading the 8.8 vs. jumping to the 9". Anyone know of anyone else with an explorer that has put a 9" in?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i know there was a thread here a while ago with some guys arguing (i was one of them) that a 8.8 should be fine with some upgrades. the reason why i say that are there are mustangs running 10's and 9's with that diff and they are fine. their argument was a mustang dosent weigh 4500lbs. IMO, a 8.8 with upgrades should work.
BTW, yes i did tell that to don about your white glove truck, lol!

 

[delexploder]

Wield the tubes, we like nickle rod and a stick wielder, do a c-clip eleminator, ect, good example my buddy has a built 04 cobra with a solid 8.8 swap, it pulls tire and lands hard on the rear, im real surprised he hasn't busted the windshield or back windows and it has frame connectors, point is it started to turn the rear into a banana and chewed the spider from all the side load, so we cleaned it out put it in a jig and he wielded it, he's a pipefitter, and with fresh ford parts and the usual stuff like most mustang guys do and its been abused with around 700 HP without the bottle and big tires with everything staying put and in spec, that said I have another buddy with a twin cam 5.4 SC 03 who is running a nine, you already have a disc brake 8.8 and its cheaper ,