what am i doing wrong

[tavo123]

1997 xlt 5.0 home made electric fans home made cai and vortex muffler one inlet 2 outlets best time 16.965 at 81.79 mph it has 235000 miles 1/8 mile 10.932 at 65.17 i was expecting 16.5 at the quarter but im worst then stock why? plz help

 

[Sedition]

Advance the cam a little

 

[james t]

You're running high 16's in a 4500lb. SUV with 230k on the odometer. I dont think you're doing anything wrong... that's pretty respectable all things considered.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed- I don't really think any of your mods mentioned are going to net you anything above stock anyhow, and being that it has 235k on it, it's lost some since new.

 

[tavo123]

Advance the cam a little

how?

 

[Sedition]

Well, your camshaft sproket is probably keyed into position on the camshaft so you will have to move the timing chain along one place on the sproket. Mark the original postion with a white paint marker or something so you don't get lost. When advancing the cam you want to move the chain back one space so the camshaft ends up in an advanced position relative to the crank.

Keep in mind this mod is not for the weak hearted, It will give you some gains but you will have to work for it. You will have to pull the radiator and remove the harmonic balancer in order to remove the front timing case on your 5.0 to access your timing chain. I can't really tell any more you just have to understand what has to be done and do it.

 

[rickybobby]

how?

If you have to ask that question then im not sure this mod is in your ability range. If you go the wrong way and retard the cam a tooth it can damage the engine, and you need to know how far one tooth will advance it, if you go too far you could end up with detonation also. I had the cam advanced 1 tooth on my car and it wouldnt idle at all, but being a 4cyl with a belt rather than a chain 1 tooth is going to be different than your 5.0

 

[Jason c]

Hey you did better then I did last night. The best I could get was 17.012. Was kind of disappointed I didn't get into the 16's.

 

[deweyville65]

Your timing chain and sprockets are more than likely worn with that many miles on them. The ONLY true way to know where your cam timing is, is with a cam degree wheel. That process is pretty involved if you have not had any experience doing that. What I would do is, replace the timing chain and sprockets with an aftermarket kit. Years ago I always used a Cloyes timing set. Look in Summit or Jegs website. There may be others nowadays. But BEWARE that moving the cam timing one tooth on the sprocket COULD cause valve/piston interference. Back in the 60's, that was the accepted way to get a Ford 360 engine to performe. But this aint the
60's.

 

[tavo123]

Hey you did better then I did last night. The best I could get was 17.012. Was kind of disappointed I didn't get into the 16's.

do u have tmh and a tune on your truck? nice truck by the way

 

[Jason c]

Yes. That is why I was expecting better.

 

[tavo123]

Yes. That is why I was expecting better.

there is something wrong there did it peel to much at the start? a friend of mine has a 96 with just 410s and a tune the home made stuff that i have and a shift kit and he did 15.6. so ur time is kind of wierd he also changed all the fluids he said it helped out a lot

 

[Jason c]

there is something wrong there did it peel to much at the start? a friend of mine has a 96 with just 410s and a tune the home made stuff that i have and a shift kit and he did 15.6. so ur time is kind of wierd he also changed all the fluids he said it helped out a lot

No peeling, its AWD. Something is not right, just have to figure out what. I have changed all the fluids within the last 5000 miles. I only have a little over 100,000 miles on it too.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

No peeling, its AWD. Something is not right, just have to figure out what. I have changed all the fluids within the last 5000 miles. I only have a little over 100,000 miles on it too.

That would be the AWD robbing you of power. Swap in a manual TC and lock the rear will give you significant improvement.

 

[tavo123]

my friends is a 96 2wd and on mine is a 97 awd but something went wrong so i took off almost everything from the awd so now im a 2wd, i did drive my truck for a while with the awd set up to me it was real slugish but im not an offroad guy u might be so if u have to get out of a ditch ur on the right truck

 

[Jason c]

That would be the AWD robbing you of power. Swap in a manual TC and lock the rear will give you significant improvement.

Added to the list.

 

[Cobraguy]

Well, your camshaft sproket is probably keyed into position on the camshaft so you will have to move the timing chain along one place on the sproket. Mark the original postion with a white paint marker or something so you don't get lost. When advancing the cam you want to move the chain back one space so the camshaft ends up in an advanced position relative to the crank.

Keep in mind this mod is not for the weak hearted, It will give you some gains but you will have to work for it. You will have to pull the radiator and remove the harmonic balancer in order to remove the front timing case on your 5.0 to access your timing chain. I can't really tell any more you just have to understand what has to be done and do it.

Oh my God...

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!!!!

If you want to advance the cam, do it right. Get the proper gears...and take the time to learn how to measure the camshaft so you know what you have. If it's beyond your capabilities, find a good shop to do it for you. Personally, with that many miles, a new stock chain would probably be a huge benefit.

 

[deweyville65]

Cloyes timing sets used to actually be no more expensive than a stock replacement. Of course, that is used to be.
Hay cobraguy, is Lopers still in business down there. And, I will argue the point about Phoenix being the greatest city on earth.(LOL)

 

[Cobraguy]

You don't think it's so great the last couple of weeks! We hit 119 one day. Man it's been hot. But it broke yesterday. Only 100...and FANTASTIC! But humid...

Yep...Loper's is still here. Two stores. One in Mesa on Country Club and one in Phoenix on Indian School. Great inventories, and decent prices. I try to support them every chance I get. Get this...they still run that operation without any type of computer at all!! Hand written invoices, and inventory manually controlled. Talk about old school! LOL