1994 4x4 Engine Transmission swap ideas

[FR-425]

Oh, and if you buy two, NAPA will likely come down on the price or throw in bolts.

 

[kckershovel]

Qty is for 1 pair. In the listing it states sold as a pair.

 

[kckershovel]

I understand Napa is the sure thing. I am just hoping to hear from someone who has bought these heads or someone who knows for sure if they are good or bad. We can all arm chair speculate. I agree on the bolt box looking cheap (hopefully the money was spent on the bolts and not the box lol).

Hell for that matter look at these from a different seller

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-4-0-FOR...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f27b050e7&vxp=mtr

 

[FR-425]

Qty is for 1 pair. In the listing it states sold as a pair.

OK, I missed that I'll look again.

Yep, It does say sold as pair. My bad.

But I also noticed that, that particular pair are 98MT castings which are not compatible for 94'

If you really wan't to buy from them just be careful to make sure they know exactly what you are looking for. email them your info and get a pre-order invoice emailed back to confirm they are sending you the correct heads.

Just try'n to help you proceed with caution.

 

[arco777]

$515.oo is for 1, "one" head.... Not a pair... NAPA is $408.00 per head.

Notice the quantity = 1

The picture shows two views of the same head, top and bottom.

Both listings say "SOLD AS A PAIR."

I would do the research before pulling the trigger on these or any others. Check their feedback on eBay (very high score but not perfect), and Google around the web to see what people think of their heads. Give the company a call and see how their customer service is on the phone.

Personally I have slowed down a lot on buying things locally. I order most of my parts off the internet because of price savings. If it was my friend at a family owned parts store that would be different, but I'm not going to pay the "convenience markup" at a chain store just so I can get questionable warranty service. Have been burned at stores just as often as online.

 

[FR-425]

Yeah, where's the service gone eh?

 

[kckershovel]

arco777 you hit it on the head exactly just a little pun intended. I understand about the different castings and compatibility. I was just adding those for a pair price new casting comparison from a different seller.

I'm very surprised there is not a thread on these aftermarket ebay heads on this forum. I can't be the first on here to look for heads on ebay. I did a search for the two sellers and heads. Everything I could think of and could not find a thread on this forum.

If I have to I can be the test mule. Any pictures casting marks things you guys want to see If I do order a set?

 

[FR-425]

arco777 you hit it on the head exactly just a little pun intended. I understand about the different castings and compatibility. I was just adding those for a pair price new casting comparison from a different seller.

I'm very surprised there is not a thread on these aftermarket ebay heads on this forum. I can't be the first on here to look for heads on ebay. I did a search for the two sellers and heads. Everything I could think of and could not find a thread on this forum.

If I have to I can be the test mule. Any pictures casting marks things you guys want to see If I do order a set?

Well, you are looking for 93MT "D" shaped heads. the "D" shape refers to the combustion chamber shape.

The early heads are "oval" shaped 90MT

The latter one's 95-2001 are way different. 95MT/97MT/98MT

The seller should know what to look for.

this should help you

1990-’94 All and ‘95-’96 Aerostar
The original 90TM casting had an oval-shaped chamber that was slightly bigger in diameter on the intake side. It was replaced in ’93 by the 93TM-AA casting. These heads can be identified by the letter "T" located on the top of the right rear/left front exhaust port.

1995-’97 Ranger, Explorer and ’97 Aerostar
The 95TM-AD casting that came out in ’95 had the heart-shaped, fast-burn chambers that shrouded the intake valves. It was replaced by the 97TM casting in ’97, but it was the same, so they can be used interchangeably. These castings were used on the Ranger and Explorer from ’95 through ’97 and on the Aerostar in ’97. They can be identified by the letter "U" that’s located on the top of the right rear/left front exhaust port.

1998-2000
Ford introduced another new head in ’98. The exhaust ports on the 98TM-AD were much narrower than they were on the earlier castings; they measured 1.40˝ across the port compared to 1.70˝ on the 95TM/97TM castings. According to the engineers I have talked to, the smaller ports increased the velocity of the exhaust gasses so they carried more heat down to the catalytic converter. This helped the converter “light off" sooner, so it did a better job of reducing emissions during the critical start-up and driveaway phase of the EPA emissions test. With that in mind, it’s probably not a good idea to swap these heads back and forth with any of the earlier castings.

 

[arco777]

Well the heads come from a specific seller (Odessa) so that's a good sign I guess. Nowadays it is hard to tell where exactly specific parts come from and some trusted manufacturers actually sell inferior foreign parts for their low end lines. So, any indications of who originally made/cast these particular heads would be helpful. Casting marks, "made in XXXXland", fine print manufacturer details will help cross-referencing for future buyers. Hopefully they don't have a Ford emblem on them, as that might indicate a reman set!

There is a specific section on the forum for reviewing products. I'm not sure how often it gets used but that's a thought for if you wanted to post your experience with stuff. Or you could just put it in the stock first gen forum, as these are the main Explorers that have this issue the most. Either way a description of your experience with the quality of the received product will be helpful.

EDIT: Guess I misunderstood, I thought you were asking what casting marks and info we wanted you to report back once you received the new product

 

[FR-425]

"TM" is correct not my dyslexic "MT" (REPEAT TYPO, SORRY)

 

[kckershovel]

I did read however the 95tm/97tm heads are good for a 90-94 long block as long as I'm willing to use premium fuel.

 

[FR-425]

With so many different castings they would just have to keep the identifiers on the new castings or they would constantly be selling people the wrong heads don't you think?

 

[kckershovel]

And yes I was asking what casting marks you wanted pics or information on what I received.

 

[arco777]

I did read however the 95tm/97tm heads are good for a 90-94 long block as long as I'm willing to use premium fuel.

I have heard that as well, that it bumps up compression. Not sure if I would try it. The later Ford-cast heads were better about not cracking but still not perfect.

 

[FR-425]

Yes that is a doable swap but it also requires different pistons. Guys do it to get 10:1 compression.

These are interference engines-meaning the valves can strike the piston.

The early engines had dished pistons.

93'-94' are flat tops.

The 95' + have valve reliefs in the pistons.

So yes there are combinations that will yield varying compression, valve sizes, etc.

But didn't want to go there cause we were talking "dependable" and "reliable" and inexpensive. Not hot-rod wakadoodle.

 

[FR-425]

And yes I was asking what casting marks you wanted pics or information on what I received.

Yeah, sure if you PM me after you get them I can visually tell if they are the correct heads.

 

[kckershovel]

Ok so as far as the 90tm and 93tm heads go, as long as they are the improved aftermarket castings wouldn't either be ok?

If I got a set of 90tm heads it would just lower my compression a tad?

But you list the early as having dished pistons and the 93-94 as true flat tops so wouldn't my compression still be higher than the stock 90-92 since they had the larger combustion chamber 90tm heads and dished pistons?

 

[FR-425]

All this finagling with intake config's on the same block was just Ford's attempts at better fuel economy, performance, emissions. yata, yata.

No different than the old days with fuely heads, you know "are the spark plugs angled or straight"

Different castings had "little secrets" like Pontiac "three lobe" or the famous ford 351w 351c each having three different head configurations which we used to play with different combinations and see if we could blow something up.

 

[FR-425]

No, the 90tm's had smaller valves with higher lift cams so 90tm's valves will strike the flat tops.

If you are going to put it back together stock you must get the 93TM heads.

All other heads will require different pistons and/or cams.

There is a guy who used the 90TM but he used a grinder the make valve reliefs in the pistons!!!

He never finished the post. I don't think it ever ran.

If you have decided to go wild build you are going into realms beyond my experience but there is info available if you want to do a modified build.

Maybe do search for "Cosworth" heads. Now that gets Wild!!

The Cosworth heads are all aluminum dual overhead cam heads that were built for the 4.0l OHV to convert to overhead cam-to the extreme--

That's a $10,000 dollar build.

So, Stock? or full blown monster it's all possible.

 

[kckershovel]

Well that didn't really answer my question.

Also as far as interference vs non interference engines go it has nothing to do with valve reliefs or dished pistons. Your piston to valve clearance needs to be checked with performance cams or head swaps. Interference and non interference is used to describe a timing chain failure and weather or not a piston will hit a valve if that were to occur.