Another 4.0L OHV Build Thread (with 95TM heads)

[bikeboarder]

come on, lets see some tire melting burnouts. jk. looks like it turned out pritty well. i am thinking that i will have to build my motor like that if it goes TU. it has close to 190,000 miles but it still runs strong, the only thing ever replaced were the spark plugs and i replaced them at about 180,000 miles and it had the origional motorcraft plugs on the passenger side and chapion cheep plugs on the drivers side. it still has good even compression all over 145 LBS so i think it will be a while before i need to rebuild it. The only thing that bothers me about it is how much oil it leaks. i have to buy 6 quorts when i change the oil because it leaks a quort about every 2K miles.

How is the fuel mileage with that performance reuild.
What is the 1/4 mile time?

 

[TennTechMan]

I'll probably post some slightly more exciting video sometime soon. That video was still me babying the fresh motor. I didn't even get the rpms over 4000. I just did the 500 mile oil change the other day, and it pulls good all the way to 5000 rpms. I think I could use a bigger MAF body, a bigger throttle body, and a custom induction to help out the upper rpm power fade that I'm getting. I'm also going to try out some header wrap to help with the under hood temperatures. I also would like to try out an aftermarket chip sometime since I've got all these mods on a stock ECU.

As far as 1/4 mile times. That would be a joke. As of now, I'm running 31's with a 3.23 Open (or 3.27, can't remember) rear end. Until I get some better gearing, it won't be accelerating with any blinding speeds.

 

[bikeboarder]

yeah i dont think the high-flow heads/hedders are even close to there max flow if you are using the stock MAF housing and stock TB and airfilter. The KKM will help, the 66mm BBK throttle body, and a V8 MAF housing will also help the high RPMs. after you do that and swap in some 4.10s you should be good to go. i am jelous, i want more power.

 

[91exploreron37]

I had problems with JBA headers warping at the flange after heat cycling. Only way to fix it was to mill the flange flat.

BTW, the shrouding around the valves being different between the heads is one reason to move to these heads with factory pistons. You increase the compression ratio without changing pistons out.
More prone to detonation, but that can be tuned for.

Nothing like a new engine on the stand to get you going.

Where do i go to have my header flange milled?

 

[TennTechMan]

Any machine shop should have a mill capable of machining the surface. It seems like it would be a little tricky to hold the header in the mill though.

 

[93TwotoneXLT]

That X sounds awesome!! Seriously, that is the best sounding V6 I have heard, and I have been in the car business for about 10 years now, and have owned everything from a 70 Olds Cutlass with a high compression 350 to a 02 Mustang V6 with a X pipe, magnaflow mufflers, and 2.5" mandrel bent exhuast. I thought that my stang was the best sounding V6 I had heard until I heard yours. I wish that I would have gone all out like you did on my X when I resealed the top end of the engine. Kudos on the build

 

[billz260]

Love the way your truck sits, and sounds. I just finished the 2" lift on my 94 and I'm looking at 31's, I have to say your truck has me sold on them

Also I have been wondering what kind of $$ you have in the engine rebuild? Just ballpark.

 

[TennTechMan]

I didn't keep very good track of it all, but I'll try to list everything I've got in it just from my memory.

$700 - Machine shop work (all re-used engine components cleaned and checked for wear and cracks). I got the rebuild gasket kit from them also for this price.
$400-$450 for 95TM heads from Alabama Cylinder head.
$150 for new '94 pistons. Planned to re-use the old ones but I dropped one and cracked it, so I replaced them all. I still wonder if I should have tried some SOHC pistons. Just to see what would have happened.
$150 for oil pump, screen, and new head bolts.
$330 for Comp 422 cam and dual valve springs.
$275 for Heddman Headers (probably going to be replaced this winter with JBA's or Borla's).
$80 for "remanufactured" rocker arms and pushrods
$175 for custom 2 1/2" exhaust with a Flowmaster 40 series

I know I'm forgetting some stuff because that came out to about $2300, and I'm nearly certain the total was about $2500. And there were a few things I didn't buy that I would recommend to most people. It was a good opportunity to swap in a stronger clutch, but mine was only a few months old when I built the motor. I also recommend changing the lifters. I re-used the old ones for financial reasons, but I think I'm going to swap them out whenever I buy a better set of headers. I've got about 6000 miles on the setup now. No problems so far other than the light tapping noise.

 

[Makahveli]

TennTech I can't get any images, but anyways I just completed or mostly completed my rebuild. My engine was rebuilt just 15k miles ago so I didn't touch the lower end. But I did change over to 95tm heads ported and polished with dual valve springs, ported and polished lower intake, installed a 422 cam with new longer pushrods, installed a new set of borla headers, and painted the whole upper area of the engine anodized blue, anodized red, and black. Also installed 30# fuel injectors and of couse I already have all the other bolt ons that are in my sig. I was doing all of this for a supercharger build and was bolting it down and what could go wrong went wrong. Because I have a 3-inch bodylift the brake master cylinder sits perfectly in the way of my supercharger air outlet. So you all know what that means---yes the bodylift has to come off very soon. The winter is here and I must get this explorer to pass emissions so I can drive it cause right now the air to fuel mixture is to rich due to the lack of air. And my rear wheel drive mercedes is horrible in the snow. I will be posting pics when I learn how to post pics on this site again. My chip reflashing will have to wait till the tax return comes in.

 

[Makahveli]

a pic of my ex from earlier this year when I installed superlift radius arms and new balljoints, and then a pic of the engine not completed just in the test and fitment stages, and the probleb I have with the bodylift interfering with the bodylift.

What category does this ex fit in? the rims are 22's and tires are almost 33's, and still in search of a black saleen wing

 

[billz260]

TechMan, Thanks for the figures, doesn't seem too bad. I have an auto, and would probably need a new one of those too though....

Makahveli,
Can you rotate the blower at all?

 

[Makahveli]

I might try that just to pass emissions.

 

[billz260]

I meant to relocate the output away from the Brake Master.

 

[Makahveli]

Yeah I know what you meant, just wondering how its gonna affect my tubing. Its like a hard one piece ABS design, I'm still wondering were I could possibly rount an intercooler and piping setup.

 

[Jeffbethandkidz]

Hey Tenntechman, did you have to have the heads machined to accept the dual valve springs? I am also building my 4.0 up very similar to yours and am purchasing probably the exact same set of heads (ebay) and wonder if I will need to have them machined for the springs. Does anyone know if there is any other solution for the valvesprings besides running a dual spring?

 

[Makahveli]

Yes, you must machine the heads to get dual valvesprings to fit. I also got my head on ebay and sent my springs to the guy so he could machine them and set them himself, he claimed he was a pro.

Also on rotating my supercharger one way the power steering pump gets in the way and the other way all the fluid just leaks out.

 

[Makahveli]

By the way, where is Edwards, Colorado?

 

[Jeffbethandkidz]

Just follow I-70 west out of Denver over both the continental divide and over Vail Pass and I'm about 10-15 miles west of Vail. Can't miss it.l

 

[Makahveli]

Wow, thats a little to far for me to stop by and just give you some pointers on how I did my rebuild.

 

[TennTechMan]

Hey Tenntechman, did you have to have the heads machined to accept the dual valve springs? I am also building my 4.0 up very similar to yours and am purchasing probably the exact same set of heads (ebay) and wonder if I will need to have them machined for the springs. Does anyone know if there is any other solution for the valvesprings besides running a dual spring?

I didn't do any extra machining to mine. Just swapped the springs out. I used stock-sized retainers and keepers too. I've about 15,000 miles on the setup now. Nothing's blown up yet.