4.0 Pushrod Top Half Rebuild Q&A

[pteepee69]

I know this is something that has been addressed many times. The 4.0 pushrod top half. After losing a head gasket recently, the top is getting some work done. I have had this 94 XLT for about five years now and have put quite a bit of money into it. It is one of my favorite hobbies. Every year she gets a little something done to her. Last year she got a 3" body lift and 32"x11.5" BFG's. the year before, manual tranny swap. This year as fate would have it a head gasket gave out. So I promised myself the next time the heads came off the top was getting a makeover. In this process, I will have many questions as alot of others have also. I have been doing my research here on my favorite site as well as other places around the internet. So far here is my parts list:

From RockAuto

Fel-Pro Head Gasket 544SD $30.79
Fel-Pro Head Gasket 545SD $30.79
Fel-Pro Intake Manifold Gasket MS98005T $64.79
Fel-Pro Timing Cover Gasket Set TCS45291 $11.35
Sealed Power Cylinder Head Bolts 2602509 $52.99
Sealed Power Rocker Arm R1092 $14.49 each $173.88 for 12
Cardone Select Camshaft Synchronizer 84S2605 $119.79
Cloyes Timing Set 94172S $67.79

From Summit

Comp Cams Energy Camshaft 49-410-8 $277.97

Ebay

Sealed Power Roller Lifter HT2244B $18.50 each $222.00 for 12

Smith Bros Pushrods

NH54A-DD 5.550" Pushrods $8.81 each 12 for $105.72

AutoZone

Proform Cam Degree Kit 66787 $118.71

A grand total of $1274.57 not including shipping and a couple of other small gaskets that will be needed.

I went with the 5.550" pushrods as these were the ones suggested in a couple of other threads. But then I found a thread that suggested these might push things to the limits of what could be handled. I went with the 410 cam as I wanted a little more torque to go with the manual tranny. I have read that this will require degreeing, which I am not afraid of but in degreeing the cam will it affect the synchronizer? Degreeing will also require many other checks related to the valve train. My heads are fairly new, they are from King Cylinders and have been on the truck for about 3-4 years. I will have many questions as I research and wait for the rest of my parts to arrive. Tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated from the many gurus on this site.

 

[pteepee69]

Pictures of the heads:

Passenger Head

Drivers Head

 

[natenkiki2004]

Grab the rocker arms from Advance Auto Parts. They often have a $50 off $125 coupon or 35% off that will make them the cheapest around. Also look over the rocker arms when you get them. I had one that didn't have enough metal in the cast and a chunk was missing and another that had misaligned oil galleys. The rest are ok and Advance Auto sent me new ones without an issue.

 

[pteepee69]

I've already gotten the rockers from RockAuto. They all looked alright. I have already disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the rocker shafts.

 

[mr cribb]

How are the heads? They like to crack.

IF you need to buy new heads, I had really good luck with Clearwater Cylinder Head in Clearwater, Florida. $600 for the pair shipped, no core charge up front.

 

[pteepee69]

Mr. Cribb I replaced my heads about 2 or 3 years ago with a set from King Cylinder Heads. I don't think they are cracked I believe I just lost part of the gasket. My replacement gaskets will be the severe duty FelPros this time around.

 

[mr cribb]

Ok. Just checking

 

[pteepee69]

Here is some food for thought. Below are a side by side of heads. The ones on the left are the King Cylinder heads advertised as 90TM-93TM castings. The ones on the right are true Ford 93TM castings as told by the casting stamp. Look at the difference in the combustion chambers.

Closer view

At the time I changed the head I was chasing a ghost. No real good reason to change them. I guess the question is which ones would I be better off with. I have gone over both sets with a magnifying glass looking for cracks. no obvious ones can be found.

 

[mr cribb]

I would swear the aftermarket ones have a deeper cc, but it could be just my eyes playing with me.

 

[pteepee69]

So I emailed Summit to see where my cam is. They are telling me that after contacting CompCams that Comp does not have the cam or the cam stock to make one. Thanks. I ordered this part on 2-13-15 and they let me hang for this long. Any answers for a similar cam?

 

[jd4242]

Here is some food for thought. Below are a side by side of heads. The ones on the left are the King Cylinder heads advertised as 90TM-93TM castings. The ones on the right are true Ford 93TM castings as told by the casting stamp. Look at the difference in the combustion chambers.

View attachment 82973

Closer view

View attachment 82974

At the time I changed the head I was chasing a ghost. No real good reason to change them. I guess the question is which ones would I be better off with. I have gone over both sets with a magnifying glass looking for cracks. no obvious ones can be found.

The ones on the right are 95+ heads.they have a smaller cc and will raise your compression to 10:1 and 90+ gas will be needed..if they advertised them as 90-93 tm they sent you the wrong heads...cam and high compression make a good combo if you can afford the gas..

Ps you wont be able to see the cracks, only very large one..

Comp cams should have that cam and has not stopped selling as far as I know..just talked to them not long ago...personally id spend the money and buy the 422,988 springs and have the heads machined for the dual springs. .the power your gain is well worth it..

 

[Anime]

I went with the 410 cam as I wanted a little more torque to go with the manual tranny.

So I emailed Summit to see where my cam is. They are telling me that after contacting CompCams that Comp does not have the cam or the cam stock to make one. Thanks. I ordered this part on 2-13-15 and they let me hang for this long. Any answers for a similar cam?

If you want more torque, the factory cam for the 91-94's with a manual transmission is actually different from the cam for the 91-94's with an auto transmission, and is designed with a different torque curve to get more torque from the manual trans. You use stock everything and get more torque.

The 410 and 422 cams are more about higher RPM horsepower. They are ok for what they are and it's certainly nice to have the option of a performance cam, but the longer pushrods, double valve springs, custom head work, etc. is a lot of work without much gain if you're really just looking for torque.


That said, the 95TM heads with the 422, dual springs, pushrods, and the custom head work is pretty much the top end of what you can do to the 4.0L OHV with off the shelf parts short of stroking it to a 4.3L.

Not a bad way of doing it if you're looking to put money into it.

You may also want to go with a custom ECU tune to best take advantage of the modifications as well.

 

[vq5speed]

So I emailed Summit to see where my cam is. They are telling me that after contacting CompCams that Comp does not have the cam or the cam stock to make one. Thanks. I ordered this part on 2-13-15 and they let me hang for this long. Any answers for a similar cam?

Has Summit been able to get this cam. Cause Summit list this cam currently on there website and on ebay. Just wondering cause I was interested in this cam and remembered reading your post that is was no longer available from Comp

Update:
I messaged CompCams last night. They responded this morning that they do still make this cam grind and have it in stock right now.So whoever you spoke to at Summit didn't know what they were talking about...

 

[pteepee69]

Has Summit been able to get this cam. Cause Summit list this cam currently on there website and on ebay. Just wondering cause I was interested in this cam and remembered reading your post that is was no longer available from Comp

Update:
I messaged CompCams last night. They responded this morning that they do still make this cam grind and have it in stock right now.So whoever you spoke to at Summit didn't know what they were talking about...

Sorry for not getting back quicker. I didn't mean that Comp wasn't making the cam anymore. What I meant was Comp said that at the time they were out of the stock that they turn the cam from. They were waiting for it to come in before they could make one. I did receive the cam on 4-4-15. I have it in and have used the degree wheel to check it out. The cam card that comes with the cam has a 108 degree intake centerline. When I degreed it I came out with a 110 degree centerline. Now these cams are advanced 4 degrees, so I am not really sure how much of an effect this will have, but from the videos I have watched online this type of cam is more or less pop it in and go. Again, I'm not building a racer, just looking for a little more torque.

 

[pteepee69]

Here is my chore for the day. Putting the camshaft synchronizer in. The issue that has fallen on me is, when you remove the synchronizer the manuals tell you not to move it from TDC until reinstalled. However, it has been moved while degreeing the cam. Now the oil pump drive shaft is not lining up in order for it to slide in at 90 degrees to the block. This is gonna be fun to figure out. Any suggestions?

 

[pteepee69]

Alrighty, here is what I did, hopefully, solve this. After trying several times to get it to slide all the way down and fully seated, I put it in with the teeth of the synchro and cam meshing and held the synchro down with left hand while rotating crank with right until it dropped in. I couldn't get the voltage readings to come out right without the plug part of the synchro over top of the block where the head mounts. After much aggravation and foul language, I stepped away and looked and thought about it. I went ahead and set the voltage reading where it needed to be, looked down through the window and the vane and mark on the glass were matching. I pulled the synchro out and rotated it around until it was 90 degrees with the block and put it back in, this time it dropped in with a little help. I was able to get my voltage readings where they were supposed to be and it lined back up to my original markings I had made before removing.

 

[pteepee69]

Issue to think about for today is, while trying to set the cam synchro it was put in and taken out many times. Each time the oil pump drive shaft would try to come out with it. On the last try. it finally did. After looking at my manuals last night to get my game plan for today, I noticed that this shaft has a retaining ring on it attached from the bottom side. So now I am wondering if I have a retainer sitting somewhere in the bottom of the oil pump or floating freely. What is my next move for this?