Planning a 5.0 Overhaul

It's all in the tuning. I'm still have problems with mine also.. I went threw and replaced all my o2 sensors twice at James request and now mine has a miss at heavy load on the engine in lower rpms.. Im still trouble shooting that

ahodges said:

It's all in the tuning. I'm still have problems with mine also.. I went threw and replaced all my o2 sensors twice at James request and now mine has a miss at heavy load on the engine in lower rpms.. Im still trouble shooting that

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WOW! Your tuner had you replace your O2's twice (70-90 bucks) and the tune still isn't right?

I'd find a new tuner before listening to him and spending more money if I were you.

JCase said:

WOW! Your tuner had you replace your O2's twice (70-90 bucks) and the tune still isn't right?

I'd find a new tuner before listening to him and spending more money if I were you.

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James is the best in the business for explorers.

Tek - if you are still having issues with datalogging, depending on what version of windows you are running you may get better results if you right click on the icon to start the program and select Run As Administrator.

I beive him that they failed though because I was getting check engine codes also. I only bought one set and the rest were warranty. No worries

Glad to hear it worked out for you AH.

Thanks guys, I got the data logging going now. I just did a session last night. I'm still trying to figure out while whenever I'm on an incline and shift outta Park into Drive the RPM's drop super low and even lower when into reverse on an incline. It even stalls out here and there it drops so low. The other thing is the complete lack of any power just off throttle up to just around 2500 rpm's. I hope this is still in the tune to be tweaked out.

Quick Video update. Yesterday the truck started chugging kinda bad like it was missing. Not long after it threw a code of the IAC valve. It was a junkyard part anyways to track down my idling issues. So , I went ahead and got a new one from Advanced. It helped a bit, still seems like the truck idles down too low shifting into D and R especially on inclines. But the park idle has stabilized a bit. I need to fix my exhaust leak before I do any more datalogging because James said the Driver's bank is still running leaner than the passenger. So I'm going to take her to the muffler shop next week to see if they can help find exactly where it's coming from. I am noticing a louder tick now than before but it's hard to pin point the location. It sounds like it's not coming from the header flange on the head. We'll see.....

Sounds like you have a vacuum leak on top of an exhaust leak on top of a tune that may still need to be ironed out.

What part of the video is makin you suspect a vacuum leak? I do have a new pcv I plan to replace here soon. I wonder because I'm also noticing a faint oily smell when driving too. Not through the exhaust but from the engine bay. I need to track that down as well.

TekMan05 said:

What part of the video is makin you suspect a vacuum leak? I do have a new pcv I plan to replace here soon. I wonder because I'm also noticing a faint oily smell when driving too. Not through the exhaust but from the engine bay. I need to track that down as well.

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Nothing in the video, I haven't watched it.

You said it idles too low (almost wants to die) when shifting into a gear and you have a high idle in park (which the ECM may be trying to compensate for the leak).

I've seen on some Fords that the PCV doesn't like to stay sealed (on the V8's) and creates a vacuum leak.

An oily smell is another indicator of a leak in the vacuum system, though if it was working properly and sealed, there should be little to no oil being sucked up through it.

ahodges said:

I beive him that they failed though because I was getting check engine codes also. I only bought one set and the rest were warranty. No worries

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Wondering if they were Bosch lambda sensors?

Ok, IMO with the camshaft there is not enough air going in at idle. The IAC cannot compensate well enough, and things go bad from there.

When I had the x cam in our Mounty, I needed to add some airflow, without moving the throttl plate, which in turn messes with the TPS signal--so, I drilled some small holes in the throttle plate until I had the idle characteristics I needed with the tps voltage at .96v

I ended up with 2 holes, 1/8" in diameter. Start out with a 1/16" drill bit, install Thtrottle body and check idle. If you feel you need more, drill the hole out to 1/8".

It is a hassle , drilling, re fitting the throttle body, taking it off, re drilling, putting it back on, over and over, but I think you'll get it within 2-3 fitments

I did see he has a custom "Street Beast" camshaft from some guy named Ed.

I hope "street" vacuum comes into play with this guys pricey "Street Beast" camshaft.

Is this Explorer built for track racing?

Turdle said:

Ok, IMO with the camshaft there is not enough air going in at idle. The IAC cannot compensate well enough, and things go bad from there.

When I had the x cam in our Mounty, I needed to add some airflow, without moving the throttl plate, which in turn messes with the TPS signal--so, I drilled some small holes in the throttle plate until I had the idle characteristics I needed with the tps voltage at .96v

I ended up with 2 holes, 1/8" in diameter. Start out with a 1/16" drill bit, install Thtrottle body and check idle. If you feel you need more, drill the hole out to 1/8".

It is a hassle , drilling, re fitting the throttle body, taking it off, re drilling, putting it back on, over and over, but I think you'll get it within 2-3 fitments

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It sounds like a hassle but if it helps it's worth it in the end. Where did you drill the holes at on the plate? Did it matter where?

This is what James said initially after the last datalogg session after the first revised tune.

Thomas,



Bank 2 (drivers side) is looking leaner than bank 1. It appears that there is either a exhaust or intake leak on that one bank. You could swap the o2 sensor and see if the issue follows the sensor or the bank. Otherwise the numbers look correct.

He also followed that by saying it probably isn't the o2 sensor since I replaced it the driver's bank is still leaner. So what would you guys narrow that down to from that? Overall other than that he's seeing most of the numbers where they should be. I'm gonna try to get the PCV this weekend and see if that changes anything. Even with the new IAC it still takes a while to idle down in park on startup. It lopes a tad bit more but still should be a tad lower and still the RPM's drop shifting outta Park into Reverse or Drive. I smell oil but can't see any on the valve covers or dripping on the ground. There's also an oil separator connected to the vacuum lines from the front of the intake to the one that connects into the PCV system if I recall. I may eliminate that since I don't see any oil coming from there. I'll try to take some pics of the engine bay for you guys to see.

JCase said:

I did see he has a custom "Street Beast" camshaft from some guy named Ed.

I hope "street" vacuum comes into play with this guys pricey "Street Beast" camshaft.

Is this Explorer built for track racing?

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I told him when inquiring about it before hand to be used in a daily drivable SUV with more power over stock. The bottom end is stock but re-ringed and new bearings. The heads are port/polished/shaved GT-40p's along with the matching lower intake ported as well. Also has Scorpion 1.65 roller rockers with the adjustable guide plates. Torque Monster Headers, high flow front cats, no rear cats, 40 series muffler Dual in/out.

If you don't have the stock throttle body and there aren't any holes in it right now then I would take Jon's advise, he's been there. I had been having a problem with it starting without giving it a little gas using a 75mm BBK TB. James said to crack it open with the set screw 3/4 - 1 turn and that should solve the problem. So far it has but the idle is too high still all the time and the first time I put it in gear after starting it, the rpms fall to 500 and then recover.

I wasn't and am still not excited about drilling holes in a brand new throttle body but if you notice, the stock ones have a single hole in the middle of the top part of the butterfly and the aftermarket ones like mine have no holes...

ahodges said:

If you don't have the stock throttle body and there aren't any holes in it right now then I would take Jon's advise, he's been there. I had been having a problem with it starting without giving it a little gas using a 75mm BBK TB. James said to crack it open with the set screw 3/4 - 1 turn and that should solve the problem. So far it has but the idle is too high still all the time and the first time I put it in gear after starting it, the rpms fall to 500 and then recover.

I wasn't and am still not excited about drilling holes in a brand new throttle body but if you notice, the stock ones have a single hole in the middle of the top part of the butterfly and the aftermarket ones like mine have no holes...

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That's exactly what mine does as well. It has stalled a few times though when on a hill. I have the stock throttle body setup, didn't figure I'd need to go aftermarket on that for what I have done on mine. Plus the budget for my engine overhaul was kind of tight as well. I'll try the drill hole idea, worse case scenario I can nab another one from a pull yard if it hurts more than helps since it's the stock one. Also gonna replace the pcv while I have the elbow off as well. What at PITA!!! Monday I have an appointment at the muffler shop to get some fresh mid pipe installed and he's gonna help me track down my exhaust leak that's getting louder. It's hard to track exactly but sounds like it's almost under the dash area not from the Header flange.

Quick update on things done over the past week.
Eliminated the oil separator had going from the pcv line into the driver side of the intake manifold.
_Replaced PCV valve.

Just doing these 2 things gained some of my low end grunt back and the oily smell is gone.

-Adjusted and replaced the TPS and got the voltage around .96 volts.
-Got some exhaust work done at the muffler shop
-Drilled a small 1/8'' hole in the throttle plate and set the throttle set screw. .This helped the idle somewhat. May enlongate it a smidge more. I think though once James unlocks my Tuner adjustable settings it'll lope more when I set the idle more around 720-750 range. She's driving really good now. My exhaust leak ticking is getting louder so I need to get that fixed up and hope it's the header flange gasket and not the primary tube flange. Also my air shocks aren't staying inflated right so I'm not driving her til the weekend when I can get over to my friend's brother's house with an air compressor. I think moisture got in the lines so we're gonna have to blow them out. Thinking of in time just doing shackles and going back to regular shocks. I'll try to snap some pics of the throttle plate over the next few days though!

Here's a video from right before I drilled the hole in the throttle plate. So the idle still isn't where it should in this video. I have been getting several compliments on the how aggressive my truck sounds now. I still haven't made any drive-by videos of her yet. I will once I can start doing some WOT runs

Turdle said:

Ok, IMO with the camshaft there is not enough air going in at idle. The IAC cannot compensate well enough, and things go bad from there.

When I had the x cam in our Mounty, I needed to add some airflow, without moving the throttl plate, which in turn messes with the TPS signal--so, I drilled some small holes in the throttle plate until I had the idle characteristics I needed with the tps voltage at .96v

I ended up with 2 holes, 1/8" in diameter. Start out with a 1/16" drill bit, install Thtrottle body and check idle. If you feel you need more, drill the hole out to 1/8".

It is a hassle , drilling, re fitting the throttle body, taking it off, re drilling, putting it back on, over and over, but I think you'll get it within 2-3 fitments

Click to expand...

Jon quick Question. On your Mounty was the throttle body aftermarket or stock Explorer? Because mine already had one from the factory and I just drilled a 1/8 on the top half of the plate? I ask because I don't know if you meant you had 2 additional holes or just 2 period. I'm replacing the driver's header gasket and I was gonna fiddle with the hole a little more. Still doesn't want to remain perfectly calm at idle. Getting closer but still not ALL the way it should be.

TekMan05 said:

Jon quick Question. On your Mounty was the throttle body aftermarket or stock Explorer? Because mine already had one from the factory and I just drilled a 1/8 on the top half of the plate? I ask because I don't know if you meant you had 2 additional holes or just 2 period. I'm replacing the driver's header gasket and I was gonna fiddle with the hole a little more. Still doesn't want to remain perfectly calm at idle. Getting closer but still not ALL the way it should be.

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It was an aftermarket throttle body. It had one small hole, which I increased to 2 larger ones.