NA4LSOHCBUT [Not ANOTHER 4.0L SOHC Build Up Thread!]

Hopefully this doesn't turn in to a "Jakee" thread , but we'll see....

This is the wife's 1998 Explorer Sport. 85,000 miles and she's decided it's "Mod'n Time"! She's a Daily Driver with some minor mods, but the brakes were completely toasted on a trip to Cali last September. 4,000ft elevation changes on 48 miles of twisting, ungraded dirt roads left us on the side of the road for an hour in a cloud of smelly brake fumes before I got any brake pedal feel at all back.

Obviously, we have our starting point... stopping.

Because it is a Daily Driver, there isn't any room for long down times or trial-and-error "fitting" sessions. Everything has to be comercially available, in stock and easily replaced. Since this is the first time we've EVER had brake problems (this is her second "Sport"), we figured an upgrade was needed instead of getting in to a "big-brake" fiasco. After consulting a half dozen "Pros" from various sites, we came up with a parts list.

Power Slot 8551CSR/8551CSL for the front,
Power Slot 8552CSR/8552CSL for the rear, and Hawk Pads for all.

Well, the ABS light now flashes after a sudden stop, so the parts are on order:

These are the cryo-treated slotted rotors since everyone agreed that the dimples and cross-drilling was more cosmetic than anything else. I was going to get the regular Power Slot rotors and have them cryo'd locally, but I got a good deal on them already done, with free shipping (over 64lbs!). I'll post who/where and how much once I've received them, and I'm sure they meet my needs.

I'll be doing a braking test (data-logged) as-is, and again with just a fluid flush (possible DOT 5), since the fuild is almost 2 years old. After that, the parts will be installed and properly bedded before any other testing happens. It won't be a real side-by-side comparison, since the failures were heat related, but I'm pretty sure we won't get the brakes that hot again here in Seattle.

After the brakes are done, it is a fresh set of intake gaskets and matched injectors, a custom "Y-Pipe"/Cat set up (to get the cats off the trans pan!), a Cat-Back Exhaust and a quality CAI.

The goals:
Better stopping
Better mileage
More power

 

[Fredness]

Didn't know you did that, I would have PM'd you instead!

Did you like the 70? I'm trying to go "Stealth-Mode", but I want the power too...

 

[aldive]

Didn't know you did that, I would have PM'd you instead!

Did you like the 70? I'm trying to go "Stealth-Mode", but I want the power too...

I love the sound, or the lack there of, of the 70.

 

[Fredness]

I like that, what about the power, any difference? If so, I'm guessing it was negligible...

I'm also not a fan of droning at freeway speeds.

 

[aldive]

No difference in performance ( mileage o=r seat of the britches power ).

 

[foxy]

Jakee,Did you see any discolouration on your gaskets ? not so much the lower ones but the 2 upper .If you see a darker colour then you have had a leak between the upper and lower .I have had to replace mine 4 times for whatever reason which I havn't found .Generally she would also throw a code but I 've come pretty good at replacing them .Geting the tension on the bolts needs to be spot on or else . I have put a ported mustang tb on mine and it came with it's own tps which I had to adjust to 96and that made a lot of difference not in power but in a better running engine .I changed mine from oe when I took the oe of there was a huge build up of carbon and certainly was'nt a smooth looking bore either .As a foot note, Aldive ,there was a guy who was looking at making an after market intake manifold from metal I'm not sure what happened there but I suspect some one was dreaming maybe

 

[Jakee]

Jakee,Did you see any discolouration on your gaskets ? not so much the lower ones but the 2 upper .If you see a darker colour then you have had a leak between the upper and lower .I have had to replace mine 4 times for whatever reason which I havn't found .Generally she would also throw a code but I 've come pretty good at replacing them .Geting the tension on the bolts needs to be spot on or else . I have put a ported mustang tb on mine and it came with it's own tps which I had to adjust to 96and that made a lot of difference not in power but in a better running engine .I changed mine from oe when I took the oe of there was a huge build up of carbon and certainly was'nt a smooth looking bore either .As a foot note, Aldive ,there was a guy who was looking at making an after market intake manifold from metal I'm not sure what happened there but I suspect some one was dreaming maybe

Yes - The gasket's are discolored. I've always had a smooth running engine (I can set a coffee cup on the intake while running without spilling a drop, if that qualifies for a smooth running engine) but maybe it was leaking? I'll go ahead and replace them, and thanks for the advice.

 

[Jakee]

Fredness - Let your wife know that once you finish with her truck, she'll LOVE to drive it. Much more fun to drive something that responds!!
I know I'm pretty dang happy with what I've got this far.....except for the problems I've ran into ofcourse....

 

[Fredness]

I've mod'ed every vehicle (actually everything) I've ever owned, so over the past 20 years, she's seen the benefits. She just has this "thing" about me tearing in to a car that is not even 24 hours old, swapping intakes, pulling wires and reflashing firmware...

Like everything else, she gets over it. She's a trooper...

aldive: Thanks, series 70 it is, that's what I get for listening to "tech support" I should know better, and just stick with my gut feelings.

I'm sure it will be "too quiet" for most of you, but I'm not big on noise, unless it's floored.

 

[Jakee]

Being quit is where it's at! That's why I went with the Gibson....although I really don't consider it quite anymore.

 

[Fredness]

Ordered my Volant 19640 intake and making an appointment for the Series 70 and mandrel bent tail pipe. (stainless tip, exit behind rear tire).

Still no brakes parts...

 

[Jakee]

Very good choices.

Are you going to get rid of the 2-1/2" to 2-1/4" step down right before the muffler? (The stock ball seat connector)

 

[Fredness]

That's up to "Stan's Headers", I've told them what I want and they are going to make it happen. Ideally, yes, it will be a new flange on both sides instead of one flange and one slip-fit.

They have 2 of the 70 Series mufflers I need in stock. Appointment at 8am. 0-60 data-logged before and afters in route.

 

[Fredness]

Wow, how things change...
Arrived at 7:50 with no data-logs (since the LiveWire doesn't support pass-thru logging, yet) and when they opened I had a good chat with 3 of the techs. We decided the factory set up was a nightmare, we wanted to get rid of the *******ized factory 1/2 flange and 1/2 slip fit system and that the ideal pipe was in fact 2.25" in, 2.5" out for my goals/desires. The factory system appeared to be in good shape, but it lacked the tone and flow I needed for this project. The Wife's only stipulation: exit behind the tire, not the rear. OK!

Here it is on the lift:

Here it is removed:

The factory muffler was actually leaking at the top slip-fit connection, but no one knew until it was out. This is one reason I wanted a fully welded/flanged system! Next was the factory piping itself, it was a pressed/formed system, not crimp bent, but not a traditional mandrel bend either. Other than the 2" OD size, it wouldn't be bad looking/performing once the muffler and resonator were replaced/removed, respectively. The bends were relatively smooth, sans a slight creasing at the apex of the inside bend.

Once we agreed on an overall design, the subject of mufflers came up. I originally wanted the Series 70 FlowMaster, but, they told me the FlowMaster had the highest backpressure of all the mufflers they sold due to the baffles. Since they got so many requests for them, they installed them. Hmmmmm.......

I want quiet and low backpressure, so they recommended the largest MagnaFlow they stocked, a 22", 5"x11" oval case (P/N: 14580), reversible 2.25" dual/2.5" single. Lifetime warranty and no additional cost (list $220!!!!) over the FlowMaster quote. The 2.5" tailpipe follows the factory path, but the final turn once it passes through the leaf spring/frame area is eliminated to point it ~45* down just behind the tire. The 2.5" pipe looks HUGE compared to the 2" stretched ID that the factory used.

If they don't have one of these, (15'x4' Mandrel bending machine), don't bother...
Stan's has 5 mandrel benders and half a dozen crimp benders...

The install was without incident (except for the "company break" from 10am to 10:30, ).
The finished product?

See for yourself:

Cost: $395 (add $150 for stainless, but it's not needed here). Before you say ANYTHING, figure in the fact that this is a one-off, mandrel bent system from the only place in the state with the proper equipment/skills, it was designed on site, features the use of all factory hangers, heat shields, has a lifetime muffler/lifetime materials/workmanship warrantee and is fully welded (no clamps). Kinda makes a $295 "you-install-it" cat-back look like a rip-off! The best I could do locally was a generic "turbo" muffler and 3" crimp bent out the back for $250.

Time: 3hrs (would have been 2.5 if it wasn't for that darn break! )

Sound: OMFGBBQR0X0R11!!!! In English: 100% dead-on, as requested. Nice throaty rumble at idle that is barely noticeable, until you blip the throttle. Barely audible at cruise with the radio off and windows up. NO droning at freeway speeds and it has a slightly subdued "roar" at WOT. The wife likes it, so all is good...

Performance: Not sure on the "butt-dyno", probably more placebo-effect than anything, but the fuel trims NEVER lie. .84 STFT's suggest there was a real improvement that requires some learning and possibly a tune [I ran without a tune for better before/after results].

 

[Jakee]

Looking good. I think you made another good choice on the muffler. I have a feeling that I'll have to get away from the baffled muffler on mine eventually.

Your stock set-up looks way different than mine did.

Let's see the 0-60 data again.

 

[Fredness]

That is why I chose a "custom" exhaust rather than a commercial cat-back, there were no listings for the '98 Sport, and those that did showed it as a single in/out. The only one that resembles our set up is the FlowMaster V8 4dr Explorer system, and I didn't want to risk it.

Overall, I'm very happy with it.

0-60 to follow, I'm out of XCal2's, got two more coming via 3 day air. SCT is working on making LiveLink3 work with the LiveWire.

While I was there, we worked out a plan for the front half. That's later though...

 

[Jakee]

Does the front part have anything to do with the plans I described or is the dia different? (Curious to know what these guys think about the dia. pipe after the header)

 

[Jakee]

Forgot something. (Sorry)

I bet the 0-60 will show around a 1 second gain with the exhaust (Or very close, maybe 3/4 of a second).
The intake will be another second (Almost, 3/4 of a second maybe).

From there, it gets tougher. Let's see how close I am with my Butt dyno!

 

[Fredness]

We discussed 2" and 2.25", but decided that would be determined by the exhaust manifold outlet.

I started installing the brakes yesterday, but came across some very interesting snags.

1. The right rear lug nut that was sheared (before we bought it), had to be replaced so I could go to the track. Last week I had the local tire shop attempt it, but they said the rotor was seized and wouldn't come off. They failed to mention that while attempting it, he wacked another stud with a hammer so bad it mangled the threads, and a thread file or a die couldn't fix it! I had no idea I was driving for a week with 3 lugs holding the right rear tire in place...

2. The right front tire had a lug spinning in the hub. If you can't get the wheel off, there's no way to do brakes.

I got three new studs this morning and was able to get the old ones out easy enough by whacking them with a hammer. One good blow was enough. I fished then out from behind the axle and wiggled them out at the bottom, no need to remove the axle, or the emergency brakes. I searched last night on how to install the lugs. Most eveyone agreed on using a stack of washers, a 1/2-20 nut and lots of grease. Well, the nut got very hot, the threads on the stud were questionable and the washers galled, even with lots of Mobil1 Synth grease. That's why I bought three when I needed 2, it's just how things go sometimes!

The "ring" around the hole in the top right is from the washer galling...

I managed to get a hardened tool that used an impact gun to pull the stud through a hardened spacer (with more grease) and it worked like a champ. Self centering and it had over 1.5" of thread grip, no way it was going to stretch any threads.

The spun lug was a *****. It wouldn't snap off, and so I decided to drill it out. 2-$14 1/2" titanium drill bits, 2-3/8" high-speed pilot bits, a can of penetrant and 2 hours later, bingo! I managed to get it this enough to snap off after a couple hammer blows.

The Cryo-treated PowerSlots are on, along with the Hawk Performance pads. I'll post some pics very soon and give you a few 60-0 runs once they are past the 250 mile mark. The bedding procedure went well, and it really felt good doing the 50-10MPH "hard" braking!

P.S., can any one tell my why PowerSlot recommends using only Hawk Performance pads, but they have a different bedding procedure than Hawk? Hmmm....

 

[Afboy143]

how much did all four rotors and pads cost you?

 

[Fredness]

...buybrakes.com order was placed 2-10-07 with an email reply saying my order will be shipping in a day or so - total was $600 for 4 rotors and 4 sets of Hawk pads, no one would price match or give free shipping (82 lbs!!!).

From page 1, I would rate "BuyBrakes.com" as a 10 for product, a 10 for price and a 3 for customer service/speed.

Volant intake arrived today!!
I'm waiting for the rotors/pads to bed BEFORE I do the intake so I can run 0-60 and 60-0 runs back to back.