"Red Bull"

Red Bull
(Bandit #7)

Specs:

1998 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
5.0 V8
4R70W
4.10 D35 Open
4.10 Ford 8.8
Manual 4406
BFG All-Terrain's 285/75/16 (33's)

Mods:

Engine
302 bored .030 over (306)
XE264HR Cam
Dual Valve Springs
OBX Headers
Machined GT40P Heads
Red Powder Coated Intake, Oil Pan, and Valve Covers

New:
Injectors, valve seats and seals, lifters, pushrods

Steering
2003+ Sport Trac Knuckles
Mevotech TTX TRE's

Brakes
Sport Trac Brake Upgrade:
-12" Rotors (Front)
Ceramic Brake Pads

Lighting
6000k 30w LED's
Clear Headlight Corners and Lenses

Suspension
Warrior Shackles
Add-A-Leafs
2" Torsion Twist
1" Body lift
Bilstein 4600 Shocks
Mevotech TTX Ball Joints and Upper Control Arms
Extended swaybar links

Interior
Limited Steering wheel with redundant radio and digital temp controls
Digital HVAC
Custom leather upholstery (red leather in place of perforated leather)

Electronics/Communications
CB Radio

Exterior
Custom chili pepper red Paint PPG concept
Tupperware removed and holes welded up
"Serious Explorations" license plate frames front and back
Cut and re-welded front fenders 5" to clear larger tires
Limited Color Keyed Front Grill
Painted Rear Bumper
Chopped front bumper bed-lined

Sound
JVC KW-NT300 Nav/DVD/CD head unit
PAC adapter for steering wheel controls
Kicker DS68 6x8 Coaxial speakers
OEM 8" sub
SiriusXM

Exhaust
Flowmaster Super 44

Replaced:
Fuel tank
Cats
Tailpipe
Leaf Springs
Steering Rack
Inner Tie Rods
Front 4.10 Diff
Water Pump
CPS and Synchronizer
Radiator
A/C System
Front O2 Sensors
Muffler
Wheel Bearings
Multiple Fuel Pumps
Motor Mounts
Transmission mount

Rebuilt
Transmission
Engine

Kris' Old Registry

 

[MrQ]

Found the seals they used:

VS-305V - Seals by Size

<p>Rubber Positive Valve Stem Seal with Supreme FKM Rubber. Fits a Valve Stem of 11/32" and a valve guide of .562"</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Actual Dimensions:</strong></span></p> <table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="text-

usseal-eok.com

Actual Dimensions:

Stem	Guide	Width	Height
.307	.483	.696	.480

Way too big in the OD to clearance the inner spring. No wonder the engine was making that ticking noise with half the exhaust seals unseated. Damn glad it bothered me enough to tear into it this far. On the upside, I'm now learning how to install valve seals and springs; gotta take the good with the bad.

Going forward, I measured the spring seat (I guess it's called) and it has a .517 OD.

As that OD is in between a .502 and .530 you could go with either size valve seal depending on how tight you wanted the fit. @410Fortune , I'm assuming you went with the .530 to minimize the chance the PTFE seal wouldn't crack during install?

I'm not really wanting to futz with PTFE seals as a) they are difficult to install and you have to do them just right not to break them. (I have enough headaches without having to deal with a broken seal) and b) Viton is cheaper and easier to install, so I am looking at these on Summit:

These have the .500 valve guide diameter and have an OD of .546, so plenty of clearance for the inner spring.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-517-16

The other option is these with the .530 diameter and an OD of .575

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-518-16

Thoughts?

 

[MrQ]

Purchased the new valve seals and a different tool to remove the valve springs.

CCA-4504-1
COMP Cams 4504-1 - COMP Cams Magnum Rocker Arm Studs

CCA-517-16
COMP Cams 517-16 - COMP Cams Valve Seals

PRO-66784
Proform Parts 66784 - Proform Valve Spring Compressors

Stud is to make the compressor compatible with the pedestal mounts.

 

[410Fortune]

Comp cams sent me a "package" so I am HOPING that my springs clear the seals.....
My seals are PTFE, they were not terrible to install using the little install "condom" and plenty of oil
I commend you for hanging in there with this and finding this issue so quickly after the conversion!!

 

[MrQ]

Comp cams sent me a "package" so I am HOPING that my springs clear the seals.....
My seals are PTFE, they were not terrible to install using the little install "condom" and plenty of oil
I commend you for hanging in there with this and finding this issue so quickly after the conversion!!

I found the OD on your seals and they are .630" so about .035" clearance from the inner spring. The ones I bought will have about .070". That inner spring is not supposed to move much, but with how close my old seals were to the inner spring they were landing outside that tolerance during compression. Technically these seals are made for tri-springs, but I only want to do this once.

 

[MrQ]

Well that went south faster than I expected. The valve seals I ordered were for a .503 guide and I expected there to be a little give in that dimensions since it's a viton seal to fit the slightly larger coil seat.

Nope.

It's strictly a metal sleeve for the guide with only the little viton seal at the top. No way in hell was it fitting on my .517 coil retainers. The .530's I looked at were the same style so they would probably be too loose. Looks like I'm going with the PTFE seals @410Fortune.

On the upside, the valve spring compressor with the stud worked perfectly!

 

[MrQ]

New seals are in, going to tackle the install this afternoon. If everything goes well and the skeeters don't bother me too much, Red should be completely back together by tomorrow afternoon.

Soaking the seals overnight in some 5W-30:

Yummy

 

[MrQ]

So much for this being done today.

My dumb ass broke one of the valve seals (as predicted). Fortunately the remaining 15 went one with out further breakage, but not without a lot of cussing and frustration with getting the spring compressor on each one, dropping and losing valve locks, the torment of getting the spark plugs out of the driver's side one by one, re-installing a spring and valve locks after forgetting to remove the valve seal sleeve (managed to salvage it), and the unbelievably loud air compressor going off every two minutes. Add in the heat and mosquitos and I was having a ball.

Replacement seals should be here Saturday; this better be the end of it.

 

[410Fortune]

agreed! Hang in there

You need a topside creeper
I need that spring compressor

Remember years and years of trouble free service after you win these battles

 

[MrQ]

Spring compressor and the stud you need to get it to work with the 5/16-18 threads in the head.

It's supposed to be used for stud rockers (LS), but there was a review on it that pointed me to using the stud to convert it for use with pedestal rockers.

It's too bad 90% of the engine stuff out there is LS crap... seems to be the lot of Explorer owners, modifying something made for another vehicle to work with ours.

 

[MrQ]

The last valve seal showed up Wednesday. I also picked up a used fan clutch from ebay to get rid of that loud tornado spinning on my water pump.

 

[MrQ]

And Red runs again!!

Took me about 7 hours to finish putting him all back together after putting in that last valve seal, but he runs great! So much better than before. The power is there, the torque is there, and the sound from the headers is there!

I installed all the rocker arms with oil applied to all the rods and valves so no dry starts and tightened them down in the proper order per @410Fortune . You can see which rocker arms I had to replace and were put back in the same order they were taken off.

My dumbass also lost two of the valve cover bolts, but a trip to O'Reilly's and some 1/4-20 x 1/2" hex screws solved that problem. I also managed to put the intake back on with the EGR tube still installed so that cut down on a lot of frustration. Changed out the camshaft position sensor while I was there and removed the coolant lines to the intake, so the next time I inevitably have to pull it there will be a lot less mess. The headers already ate one of my spark plug wires too. Did a complete re-routing to get them as far away as possible from the headers.

Now to finally put some miles on him!!

 

[MrQ]

Still have the ticking, but I am just resigning myself to this being part of the package. Once I get the new muffler on, it will be a non-issue.

I'm thinking of going with a flowmaster 40 or 44. There are a lot to choose from in that range, Super, Delta Flow, and standard. Definitely want true duals. I would really hate to have a drone in the cabin cruising, but I want a moderately aggressive sound when I get on it.

 

[CDW6212R]

A true dual exhaust means two distinct paths for airflow, half of the exhaust going through each path. I doubt you plan to do that, which means two mufflers and two tail pipes. That's what makes a dual exhaust better than a single, it has double the airflow because it's half the restriction.

That might make a deeper sound too, and if you kept the pipe back there at stock 2.25", a 2nd one might fit if they were made right, together.

 

[MrQ]

A true dual exhaust means two distinct paths for airflow, half of the exhaust going through each path. I doubt you plan to do that, which means two mufflers and two tail pipes. That's what makes a dual exhaust better than a single, it has double the airflow because it's half the restriction.

That might make a deeper sound too, and if you kept the pipe back there at stock 2.25", a 2nd one might fit if they were made right, together.

Ahh, I have much to learn Obi-wan. What I meant was just using a dual in dual out muffler. If it won't make that much of a difference I'll save the money and just change the muffler.

 

[410Fortune]

Such good news here! After your struggles you did it! Now you can get years of trouble free service from the 306

Couple of things to note:
I also remove the hot water feeds to the upper intake, I do not live in Minnesota nor do I try to start my BII after leaving her out in the frozen rain storm ice age fest so I do not really need the intake pre heater that these hoses feed. However it was brought to my attention on this forum by @Turdle simply removing the hoses will cause a dead path in the cooling system and can cause some funky fuel trims. So now I loop the hoses together instead of just deleting them all together. No ill effects on my BII since I did the conversion in 2005, maybe 30K miles now

Do you need new injector wiring clips? I have plenty we can send you some Zip ties work okay too!

The ticking noise MIGHT be what people call "header noise" with headers the exhaust does sound different up by the engine, but you should not have any leaks at the collectors, if you do just loosen all 4 bolts, re align the down pipes and re seal, no leaks allowed!

Spark plug wires I route them along the fender skirts, a straight shot away from the engine, this way they come no where near the headers. Forget trying to stay along the top of the valve covers, that was a huge PITA to duplicate anyways....much better with the wires going away from the headers.
Where the wire sits between header collector tubes I use the fiberglass socks. Also you are not supposed to cross any of the wires. Ford put out a TSB about crossing cylinders 1 and 4 or some crap and that it can cause misfire issues, I just avoid crossing the wires at all when routing, instead they route "together" in a group, no crossing......

I love the blueing that occurs on new headers.... mine have been dipped in mud too many times to be pretty anymore.

I think a dual inlet single outlet muffler would do fine, trying to route two pipes out the back with the spare tire and rear axle, shocks, etc is just a big huge PITA. For your engine I would stick with a single 2.5" pipe out.........3" and you will lose some low end torque, just FYI

WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY I have been hoping to see this post WE WILL WIN!!!!!!

Question:
Did you dip that heat sock in trans fluid? Its all pink! It looks to be bleeding color into the one next to it too?

Tip:
I have a 1-1/8" wrench I cut in half just for doing the EGR tube on the header side of things....i really helps to get in there on these engines, half a wrench I can even put a cheater pipe on it if needed and still get the EGR tube off in a stock 5.0 engine bay.

 

[CDW6212R]

I have been planning to cut my 1 1/8" wrench the next time I do an EGR pipe, that reminds me thanks.

FYI for anyone needing another set of coolant pipes along the intake, they came with or without the small nipples. I bought four from eBay a couple of years ago, and was surprised that two didn't have them. I didn't try to figure out how the application was different, it's just good to not have them.

Now go drive it, and double check the fluids in a week, and two.

 

[MrQ]

Such good news here! After your struggles you did it! Now you can get years of trouble free service from the 306

Couple of things to note:
I also remove the hot water feeds to the upper intake, I do not live in Minnesota nor do I try to start my BII after leaving her out in the frozen rain storm ice age fest so I do not really need the intake pre heater that these hoses feed. However it was brought to my attention on this forum by @Turdle simply removing the hoses will cause a dead path in the cooling system and can cause some funky fuel trims. So now I loop the hoses together instead of just deleting them all together. No ill effects on my BII since I did the conversion in 2005, maybe 30K miles now

Do you need new injector wiring clips? I have plenty we can send you some Zip ties work okay too!

The ticking noise MIGHT be what people call "header noise" with headers the exhaust does sound different up by the engine, but you should not have any leaks at the collectors, if you do just loosen all 4 bolts, re align the down pipes and re seal, no leaks allowed!

Spark plug wires I route them along the fender skirts, a straight shot away from the engine, this way they come no where near the headers. Forget trying to stay along the top of the valve covers, that was a huge PITA to duplicate anyways....much better with the wires going away from the headers.
Where the wire sits between header collector tubes I use the fiberglass socks. Also you are not supposed to cross any of the wires. Ford put out a TSB about crossing cylinders 1 and 4 or some crap and that it can cause misfire issues, I just avoid crossing the wires at all when routing, instead they route "together" in a group, no crossing......

I love the blueing that occurs on new headers.... mine have been dipped in mud too many times to be pretty anymore.

I think a dual inlet single outlet muffler would do fine, trying to route two pipes out the back with the spare tire and rear axle, shocks, etc is just a big huge PITA. For your engine I would stick with a single 2.5" pipe out.........3" and you will lose some low end torque, just FYI

WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY I have been hoping to see this post WE WILL WIN!!!!!!

Question:
Did you dip that heat sock in trans fluid? Its all pink! It looks to be bleeding color into the one next to it too?

Tip:
I have a 1-1/8" wrench I cut in half just for doing the EGR tube on the header side of things....i really helps to get in there on these engines, half a wrench I can even put a cheater pipe on it if needed and still get the EGR tube off in a stock 5.0 engine bay.

Thanks man! I looped the coolant lines on the intake as well. Though it made more sense then leaving them open.

Those are just some cheap high temp socks. I do think the one you saw had oil on it, but the color bleeds away pretty quickly, seems to do a good job regardless. I routed all the lines as far away from the headers as possible, (No crossover) we'll see if that can make them last any longer.

As for the muffler, I'll just stick to using it and the stock tail pipe. I'll try it with and without the resonator to see if it makes any difference.

I've pulled those collectors apart two or three times now, never seems to get any better. I'll just deal with it.

I gotta keep an eye out for any additional oil leaks.

And finally, he needs a decent bath. I think I can get one more cut and wax out of the paint before I have to re-do it. Who knows, it might not even be red anymore when I do.

 

[410Fortune]

"blue bull" doesn't sound right!!! LOL considering a color change?
You went from internal engine issues to worried about the paint, this is what I call a WIN!!!!!!

 

[MrQ]

Aaaannd... Red threw a tantrum again. Ran fine all week. Was prepping to take him to Austin Friday to see my parents for Memorial Day. I also adjusted the manual shifter linkage (was always popping out of 4 high) and threw in the front driveshaft so he was no longer neutered.

And then he decided to just stop starting, I had literally just started him 5 minutes, but now, nothing, not even cranking. And he blew 3 separate 50 amp maxi fuses for the starter relay during the diagnosis.

So out comes the starter Friday night. Wiring looks a little funky where it connects to the starter, so I cut it apart and re-soldered it. Pop!
Ok then it's gotta be the starter solenoid. Pick up a new starter the next morning and get it hooked up. Pop!

I grab my multi-meter, my laptop with All-data, and start some serious pin point tests. Found out there was ground in the starter relay wire. Pulled out the whole starter wiring harness and took it apart. Turns out there was a *tiny* nick in the starter relay wire that runs under the engine.

Out came my soldering iron again. I cut the section out, soldered it back together, shrink wrapped it, put new plastic loom around that whole section of harness, and then for good measure, ran two layers of electrical tape around it. No pop!!

Got everything back together and loaded him up for the trip. I get him about 10 miles down the road and he starts bogging down and backfiring. There was also a really bad vibration under the floorboard.

Well ****...

So I threw up my hands, limped his ass back to the house and just took Stripe.

Red is not on my happy list right now.

 

[MrQ]

Fixed. Had to shift over the transmission a bit to get everything aligned on the front driveshaft and differential. And again the damn spark plugs wires got messed up by those headers. My stupid ass ran them on the inside of the steering shaft instead of the outside.

Let's see how long this lasts. I also put a hose clamp on the return line for the power steering reservoir that appeared to be leaking, but I don't think it's the source of my incessant oil leavings.