Anyone have a good rebuild for a 91-94 4.0 V-6 ?

[mike91]

I am going to be rebuilding my engine soon and want to do the best "cost-effective" job. I want the damn thing to last and I want the engine to be proud of itself. Has anyone rebuilt the engine using non-stock parts. Please let me know what you have done and whether you recommend it, blah, blah.
I am definitely considering the following:
Comp Cams Camshaft
Brand New Crankshaft - any aftermarkets?
Sending the heads away for a full facelift - 3 angle valve job, decking, port and polish, crack check, perf. springs, etc.
Vanir pushrods

Also, Vanir has pistons and a couple other items, but there prices are a bit high. Anyone have success with Summit finding parts for a rebuild?

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[mrboyle]

You don't need to go out and buy every aftermarket part made for the 4.0L to make a good strong (for a V6) long lasting engine. First, use quality parts (ie..federal mogule, clevitte 77, etc..). If you plan to do the assyembely yourself, you need to find a reputible machine shop to do all the machining. If I was rebuilding the motor, I would have the stock crank journals and the large end on the connecting rods checked for roundness, if within spec have the entire rotating assyembly ballanced. I would proably go with a decent aftermarket cam, one that helps build torque. As for the heads I would port match & polish the exhaust runners, and port match the intake (do not polish intake runners). You may want to upgeade to a larger throttle body ans mass air sensor. The biggest key to building a quality engine is attention to detail. Check all tolerences, follow all torque specs and use plenty of assyembly lube when putting it together.
One more thing, stay away from Forged pistons and molly rings in a street application they aren't worth the extra cost!

[This message has been edited by mrboyle (edited 05-08-2000).]

 

[DCider]

Mike,

I thinking of building a new 4.0L OHV motor over the winter with a friend of mine. Plenty of mods in mind but I don't know what the pocketbook will let me do.

I think that you should try to set a goal for power/torque output that you want (either crank or rear wheels) and save a few $$$ to have it dyno'd during the install (engine dyno before and/or chassis rear wheel dyno after).

This way you can build the motor the way that you want with that goal in mind. If you decide to use the engine dyno, you can try it out before you put it in and if it isn't where you want, you can make the changes before it gets installed.

You may also want to look at the other components of the drive train as well to try to minimize your losses before the power hits the rear wheels. If you had the resourses, it would be great to do an engine dyno run as well as a chassis dyno run to know how much you lose between the crank and rear wheels.

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David Cider
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 4Dr 4...

Current Mods:
JBA silver ceramic headers, hi flo cat, Thrush muffler, KKM Air intake, SuperChip, Magnacor wires and Motorcraft Double Platnum plugs

Pending Mods:
4" to 6" Suspension Lift, Tires & Wheels, Euro Guard bumper and Warn winch, rear tire rack w/gas can provisions, screw supercharger and high flow heads...