Completed Project Brandon's mild 4.0 OHV build

So, as of 5 hours ago Ronin8002, or James' built OHV block became mine; and with the stea.. I mean deal I got and all the extra goodies he threw in, he seemed a little too happy to get rid of this thing :shifty_ey... lol! But WOW this thing is in good shape! As a christmas gift from my parents, I've been given the opportunity to really dig into an engine like I've always wanted to do. I've watched and assisted a couple chevy 350 builds over the past few months but have never done anything by myself.. so here goes nothin!

The Meat (James' Block):
- 1995 block bored .030 over and torque honed
- Keith Black Hypereutectic 1995 Style Pistons (staying around 9:1)
- Total Seal piston rings
- Clevite bearings
- Stock Water pump/timing cover (awesome shape!)
- Stock Fuel Rail
- SOHC Oil pump/pan - to strengthen up the bottom end
-- Possible port/polish on the lower intake, we'll see when I get there

The Goodies:
- Comp Cams 49-422-8 Cam
- Comp Cams 988-12 dual valve springs
- 95tm heads with minor porting/polishing

(on the way, supposedly 11/28/10)
- SI sev2027 and sev2028 valves
- Delta Cam rockers
and pushrods will come later down the road when properly measured

I'm going to keep a diary as things progress on the motor, once I get all the parts in it really should start coming together quickly. I'm down for any type of constructive criticism you have, if you don't like the way I'm doing something PLEASE let me know, as this will be my true first solo go at an engine! JD4242 has really given me a lot of direction when it comes to the 4.0, by reading through his posts in the forums I'm still baffled by the amount of knowledge he has of these things. So, many thanks to you JD!

First order of business, I need help tracking down a full gasket kit, reasonably priced as the budget is dwindling down, I hear an ebay seller has them for around $130??, as well as new head stud/bolts. I'm not feeling ARP's $400 set of head bolts/studs. Does anyone have any suggestions or leads on either?

Thanks for lookin! Here's a couple of teaser pics! Pics of the motor when I get it all unpackaged and on a stand.

-Brandon

 

[Rick]

Looking forward to the progress of this project

 

[Anime]

You might want to compare prices on the gasket kits, but there's a lot of talk that the OE Ford gaskets, (at least when it comes to the head gaskets and lower manifold gaskets, if not the valve cover gaskets as well) are the known one-time-and-it-doesn't-leak solution. Fel-Pro is usually good, their Perma-Dry Plus line is good stuff, but be wary of generic gaskets and kits. There are plenty of them, and they are inexpensive, but they are NOT worth it for a kit with only a few gaskets that might work.

We have forum vendors who are Ford dealers, forum member FORDSVTPARTS is Tousley Ford, and they have prices that are just 10% over cost. Send 'em a PM and ask about some gaskets or maybe a complete kit to compare prices with.

Also, Advance Auto Parts has a lot of online coupons, good for 40% off just about everything. You'll have to look them up online for the code for the amount you buy, but it's a great deal. Shipping is free over $75 so if you order stuff that's not at a store (if it's a stock sotre item it lets you get free in-store pickup to save on shipping) you could check out the gaskets or kits online and get 'em shipped or pick them up. Same for the head bolts. Since you're keeping the compression stock, you could get some Fel-Pro bolts. They come in a kit and it's like...$40. Take 40% off that and it's quite a savings over ARP bolts. You'd want ARP bolts or similar if you were going for high compression, though.

 

[Brandon96]

...

I have heard a lot of good stuff about OE Ford gaskets quality wise, but was unsure if they sold complete sets at a discounted, or grouped price over buying each individual gasket which I'm sure would rack up $$$ fast. I'll contact FORDSVTPARTS and see what they have to offer.

You say Fel-Pro would make a cheaper alternative, without sacrificing quality? With the exception of head gaskets, which I'm assuming are a must from Ford if I want it to last for a decent amount of time..

Also, Fel-Pro makes head bolt sets?? I'll have to search into this, I'll sit down and peak through Advance Auto's website tomorrow, you might have to teach me how to get this 40% discount!! hah

Thanks for the info!!

-Brandon

 

[Anime]

Tousley Ford should be able to get you the best prices on OE Ford things, otherwise keep a lookout on the forums, sometimes there are unbeatable deals, maybe someone has a gasket set they didn't use and will sell it to you cheap. Be sure to ask about OE Ford head bolts, too. They aren't cheap, but might be close in price and worth it if you're ordering gaskets anyway.

Fel-Pro is a good, respected brand name in the gasket business. I'm sure they make a lot of the OE Ford gaskets as well. They might be ok, but there are stories of their gaskets not sealing perfectly. There's no telling if this was the quality of the gasket, or the fault of the installer, though. If nothing else, at least don't get the "old" style Fel-Pro gaskets, or the cork ones for the valve covers. Plenty of members here have the head bolts and they work fine.

I have both head gasket sets myself, and the Fel-Pro PermaDry Plus one actually looks more high-tech than the OE Ford, with sealant material that supposedly melts on first startup and makes a perfect seal. Same for the valve cover gaskets, the Ford is just straight gasket material with rubber, the Fel-Pro PermaDry Plus has that sealant on it. They make a PermaDry oil pan gasket as well, but I haven't seen that one.

As for the discount, you can use code LS123, which gives $16 off orders of $40 or more, $24 orders of $60 or more, all the way up to $40 off orders of $100 or more.
Put the code in the discount code box in the cart, before checking out.

The Fel-Pro gasket kit is ~$120, Fel-Pro head bolts are ~$43. If your local Advance has both in stock, you could make two orders to use the discount code on each, making for a bigger discount ($40 off $120, then $16 off $40, saving $56) than just getting $40 off $163. On the other hand, if they don't have either, you might have to order online, in which case it's best to get your order over $75 for free shipping.

The discount codes aren't expiring soon or anything, and even if they did, they have new ones every time, so there's no rush to decide to purchase from them.

 

[Ronin8002]

So, as of 5 hours ago Ronin8002, or James' built OHV block became mine; and with the stea.. I mean deal I got and all the extra goodies he threw in, he seemed a little too happy to get rid of this thing :shifty_ey... lol!

Lol! It was a steal! And I was happy to get rid of it....mainly because I've been trying to sell it forever and several people have flaked on me in the process...but this way it goes to a good home and I get to see the final product too

 

[Brandon96]

Ok, Advance Auto sells complete gasket sets for $120 for just about every other engine known to man except for the '95-'96 OHV , I see sets for the '91-'94 and '97-01 OHVs.

For '95-'96 they sell a complete head gasket set for $83.39, and a complete intake manifold for $97.99, wow.

I'm unaware of any changes that may have occurred to the OHV when the SOHC came out in '97 i think it was? But, since I'm using a '95 block and the rest of the top end will be '96 parts, am I overlooking anything if I were to purchase a complete set for the '97? The heads changed over in '98 right? So that shouldn't be an issue, if the two heads even required two different gaskets? I'm not going to make any final decisions though before I hear back from FORDSVTPARTS.

Also, James, I might have to get rid of that orange, It looks too much like chevy's grabber orange (i think is what it's called) haha

 

[Anime]

You can read the technical article on the differences in the evolutionary changes of the 4.0L V6: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/40rebuild.htm

You could probably use the '97-01 kit and just get any slightly different gaskets seperately, but my guess is they are just small stuff like the exhaust manifold gaskets and such, but the head gaskets themselves could be different as well, did you check the part numbers of just the head gaskets between years? Even though the kit says '97-01, it's probably accounting for the '98's being produced in the later half of '97, and so it's the '98's with 98TM heads and the slightly newer stuff that makes the difference over a '95-96.

In any case if you pad your order (maybe with seperate gaskets) and make it two $100+ orders, instead of $83.39/$97.99, with the $40 off that's still just $120.

If you wind up going with Ford gaskets, even just for the heads/lower intake/valve covers, you could still pick up the kit for all the other gaskets, and sell the ones you didn't use to get some money back. But it may be less expensive to buy them individually from Advance with the coupon since the head gaskets are usually what makes the kits cost that much.

 

[Brandon96]

Some people are going to hate me for this..

I decided to go with some Ebay parts comparable to Fel-Pro. After inspecting the gasket set over and over in person and getting various reviews from people on the forum who have from 7,000 - 52,000 miles on the gaskets with no problems, I decided to heck with it and bought a set specifically made for the '95-'96 OHV complete with new Fel-Pro head bolts for just over $100.

Still trying to get this D*^& rich fuel mixture problem figured out first.. ugh. I'll need my truck Thanksgiving weekend to hunt as well as the next so I hope to start the bottom end then. Once all that's together the heads will be pulled off my motor, worked, and thrown on the new motor fairly quickly maybe.. mid-late december??

It's a bit of a reach but hopefully this thing might get done by the 1st of the year!

 

[Ronin8002]

Should do all right. It's not like you're supercharging it or spraying it...for now

I found that the lower intake manifold gasket was more prone to problems. I had some oil consumption issues and ended up putting RTV silicone around the intake ports in addition to the lower sealing surfaces.

Yeah I know the orange is Chevy-like...the guy that built the motor did it to match his truck....here's his site if you want to see pics of it (under "gallery" towards the bottom) when it had a blower on it: http://www.bosharracing.com/

By the way, I MIGHT have some extra fel-pro gaskets laying around...I'll be able to check at some point in the next few weeks. If you PM me your address I'll mail them to you if I still have them.

 

[Scott B.]

Perfect timing, Brandon!

I'm about to start the rebuild of mine OHV...

 

[Brandon96]

By the way, I MIGHT have some extra fel-pro gaskets laying around...I'll be able to check at some point in the next few weeks. If you PM me your address I'll mail them to you if I still have them.

Dude, the deal just keeps getting better.. Consider yourself PMed.

Perfect timing, Brandon!

I'm about to start the rebuild of my OHV...

Wanna have a HP race!? :
If by chance you find you need some stuff off my old block let me know, I'm not guaranteeing quality yet but I'm sure I'll be mortified when I get there.. haha

 

[Scott B.]

Wanna have a HP race!? :

I'm pretty sure I'm going with the 422 cam - only thing I'm not sure of is whether to stroke the motor to a 4.3...

I know, it's only money!

 

[Ronin8002]

I would stay away from stroking the 4.0 OHV...I think you may find some issues with long term durability.

 

[Brandon96]

I'm pretty sure I'm going with the 422 cam - only thing I'm not sure of is whether to stroke the motor to a 4.3...

I know, it's only money!

The Tom Morana kit?
+1 vote for yes!!

 

[Scott B.]

I would stay away from stroking the 4.0 OHV...I think you may find some issues with long term durability.

Such as?

I spoke with Tom Morana, and he didn't think I lose any long-term durability. Have you (or someone you know) used his stroker kit? Something I should be aware of?

 

[Ronin8002]

Nevermind!

In the process of looking up where I thought I saw something about this, I discovered I was wrong...it was something about 347 strokers, not the 4.3.

You'd be one of the very few that has done this...I am sure a lot of people would love to see what a 4.3 puts down....I am one of those. Expensive? Yep. Worth it? Only 1 way to find out!

 

[jd4242]

stroker kit is not worth it!!!for the price you could do forged internals and copper head gaskets with head studs and boost or spray the hell out of it,or do some serious head work.way to expensive for .2 CI.then again if you have money to blow...do it all!!
james glad you got ride off all those goodies finally
brandon its really coming along.def do the lower and upper intake porting big difference.also look into the bbk tb or the half shaft mod for the tb.you going to do any headers??

 

[jd4242]

Nevermind!

In the process of looking up where I thought I saw something about this, I discovered I was wrong...it was something about 347 strokers, not the 4.3.

You'd be one of the very few that has done this...I am sure a lot of people would love to see what a 4.3 puts down....I am one of those. Expensive? Yep. Worth it? Only 1 way to find out!

well no one or not enough people has ran the 4.3 long enough to really say if its reliable.track worthy, but as a dd?? and the 347 issue has been solved my vote still stand for NOS,build a motor to handle power then you get the reliability of a strong motor and dont have to run a damaging power adder all the time, just when you need it.

 

[Ronin8002]

james glad you got ride off all those goodies finally

Well the motor is gone at least, that was taking up the most space lol.

Still got a bunch of energy suspension poly bushings for sale for the 1st gen though....and a Snow Performance water injection kit, a ZEX nitrous kit, and an MSD DIS-4 Box

Anyway, Brandon, I got wrapped up with family and what not during the holiday...I'll get you a tracking number tomorrow when I mail out the gaskets.