Cam Swap, Exhaust headers, and S.C?

[bkantor]

All -

As I finish purchasing BeauJ's supercharger (yeah!) I am contemplating if there are any other simple things i can do...

First, the ground rules...
1) I don't have any friends that are available to come over who rebuild engines (but I do have ones I can call for clarification).
2) I am an engineer and mechanically proficient. I will get it back together and working.
3) The X cannot be out of commision for more than 2 to 3 days. Figure I have 6-8 hours/day available (family, kids, other commitments...). It's my daily driver.
4) This would have to be a one time event, not 3-4 weekends worth. If it trickled into a second weekend to complete a few tasks (driveable in-between) that would be ok.
5) I'm a first timer. I've read many threads but am still learning all the terminology.

Since there is some disassembly required to do the SC, I hate to put that work to waste if it simplifies other less expensive mods. The engine has 90k on it. So, the questions...

1) Can the cam be swapped without removing the engine (remove radiator)? ... and can I swap just the cam? I'd probably find an E-303.
2) Exhaust Headers sound good... I looked at the various design and my stock ones make me feel sick... and are they worth it?
3) A chip is a no-brainer once I get there.
4) What else is simple?

I don't want to break the bank, so let's assume I have $400-$600 available. I don't mind going to the junkyard, so if this is beneficial let me know. What mistakes should I avoid so if I run 9lb of boost I'm not in trouble?

Thanks! Sorry for the long post.
Brad

 

[BeauJ]

1) You can do the cam swap with the engine in, but you'll need to remove the radiator and maybe use a die grinder to pull the cam all the way out. Don't worry, if you do grind, no one can see it

2) Torquemonster headers are about the best upgrade you can get. They are pricey, but I bought a set of FMS headers for $350 and they didn't look any better than stock. Everyone I've heard with the TM headers was pleased.

3) I've got a SCT chip that need to be reburned but I will sell it to you for a good price. Doug at BAMA chips can make you an awesome program for it. If you hurry up and buy it I'll just throw it in the S/C crate.

4) Simple upgrades/insurance. Change all your fluids and go to sythetic. New exhaust maybe.

 

[BeauJ]

If you do a cam swap, don't do the ecam. You'll be better off with a dual pattern cam with the powerdyne. You'll need to upgrade the rockers, valve springs, keepers/retainers, lifters and maybe pushrods. Sounds like a lot, but if you get some good deals on ebay and save a lot on it. PM Section525 about the part numbers. He also has a write up he did on his cam swap on his 96. You might need new valve covers too.

 

[bkantor]

Hahaha. I've read about swapping the cam... seems pretty straight forward and a good weekend job. But, when it gets to springs, lifters, rockers, etc that's a lot of downtime and work... i fear too much for the weekend warrior.

So, cam is out :fire:

I just had all the fluids changed using synthetics, so I'm set there. Transmission and diffs are in great shape. The engine is still a pretty young 90k. It's hard to abuse it too much driving backroads to work.

Looks like maybe headers, eventually exhaust, a chip and call it a day.

 

[BeauJ]

All I had was the s/c, chip, headers and exhaust. I had a little porting done to the heads, but don't tell anyone

 

[94Blue302GT]

lol, hey, i know you just said you don't wanna do it, but i got an ecam sitting in the garage, 60 bucks, plus shipping. never used. I was going to, but Decided to wait till i had the money for a custom grind cam.

 

[spindlecone]

start to finish on this project, two weeks from today

 

[section525]

http://www.section525.com/xpage/camshaft/index.html

I did mine in about a day. It was my first time with opening the motor up.

Cam, springs, rockers.

 

[bkantor]

94 -

Thanks for the offer, but this is more of a time thing than "doing it" thing. If I were single and had a backup car I would've done it already. I'm realizing I need to be careful as well because other parts of the system may break down (MAF, injectors, etc).

So, I'm approaching this from a slightly different angle... trying to do this in stages so I don't miss a critical component.

Stage 1:
The SC is on it's way. I should probably get a new fuel pump. Are the TREPerformance 255lph one's on e-bay any good? My understanding is this is enough for 6lb boost. Will the 19lph injectors handle 9lb of boost? ... or do I need new injectors? If I get a MAF calibrated for 24's and use 24's, does this mean a computer reprogram (curious so I do it right out of the shoot)?

I want this stage to be stable and support the smaller bolt-on's from stage 2.

Stage 2:
Headers... and perhaps a 1" manifold spacer. These shouldn't mess things up too much and I assume any program I have would be fine.

That's it. As you can see, I'm worried about doing something stupid in stage 1. I don't want to change something unnecessary in stage 1. At the same time, I don't want something running right at its limit.

Thanks again.
Brad

 

[410Fortune]

Brad,

Dont be scared of the cam, the gains are well worth the effort.
Dropping the tank for the new fuel pump and plumbing the new supercharger are bigger jobs then doing the camshaft IMO.

You will already be working with the intake, you are talking about adding a spacer, you are going to supercharge your 5.0L but you dont have the time to do the cam? This does not compute I say get all the parts and do have a back up plan because bolting on a supercharger over the weekend might leave you without a ride on Monday, this is not a small project.

Can it go like clock work and work out perfectly? of course.

Does it always? No way jose.

I am drooling on these mods because currently I have two 5.0L drivetrains out of the trucks, now is the time for a cam...




Section, very nice post.
Do you like the E-303 cam?

 

[BeauJ]

Time it took to drop my tank and put in 255 lph pump: 1 1/2 hours by myself (I ran it empty)

Time I could install s/c in now: 4-5 hours

Time on the cam swap I did on a buddys Bronco: WAY too long

I don't get how you say it's easy. It's not a bolt on, so that's what I like. It takes some time and studying to know what you gotta do.

Brad, you can use the stock MAF and injectors, but I needed to upgrade to the 24s and 80 mm maf from a Mustang GT. Again, Doug at Bama chips can tell you all about it because that's who I found out from.

And if you get to stage to and take the upper off, you might as well pull the lower, drain the radiator and pull it. Then do the cam swap. It will be VERY easy to do the headers with all the stuff out of the way. BTW, I sent the s/c off Tuesday, so it should be there shortly.

 

[bkantor]

BeauJ -

Great! do you have a tracking # by chance? I sent Doug an e-mail to get more info...

My problem with doing the Cam, etc is "what if I get it wrong". Then it's a real b! to fix it (back apart again).

As far as the supercharger, that looks trivial. It looks like powerdyne made better instructions to follow. On a side note, people talk about wrecking the bottom side of their engines w/ too much power if upgrades are not made... can someone please elaborate (beginner issues again...)?

Granted, the more I look at section525's pictures, the easier the cam swap looks

Cheers!
Brad

 

[BeauJ]

I'll have to get the number from my dad, because he shipped it with Associatied Express. I'm guessing they gave a tracking number, but none the less, I sent it so don't worry.

 

[bkantor]

No worries, except for the delivery company. Everyone seems to get it wrong ... UPS, FedEx, DHL, you name it.

So, paranoid me watches them like a hawk so nothing gets lost :fire: especially my SC!!!!

 

[BeauJ]

No worries, its insured and they I MADE sure that my dad included the PLACE because it was important. I think the final weight was like 85 lbs

 

[bkantor]

Wow, I was just playing with desktop dyno... took me awhile to get the stock 5.0 right. I kept showing too much horsepower...

Anyway once I got it close I swapped the E303 in and had a similar torque curve but at a higher RPM and, of course, more HP at these higher RPM's. What struck me is the loss of low rpm torque... is this really what happens, and if so, it appears the stock cam is better in some ways for the truck...

Thoughts?

 

[Turdle]

do the cam man!
if you have it down that far, you'll wish you did

 

[99SportX]

Once again, congrats on getting a supercharger. I myself am working on a V8 to swap into my Sport. I have an E303 that I am going to install becuase I plan to supercharge down the road. It is easiest to install the cam with the engine out, (obviously), but it also can be done with the engine in place as section525 did. It is much more of a pain to remove the motor than it is to work around the core support, but my engine is sitting on a stand, so it will be installed that way.

I will also be running a 1" intake spacer to clear my taller valve covers, but also to keep the upper manifold cooler.

As others said, TM headers are the only way to go if you want good power gains.

Just out of curiosity, what is this "Desktop Dyno" you speak of? Thanks

 

[bkantor]

Desktop Dyno (Dyno 2000) is a little program that lets you put in some parameters about your engine... heads (flow at various lifts), cam profile, intake (even s.c's), block, etc. Not sure how accurate it is but it was fun to play. Try a search on google.

I'm not terribly engine savy but was able to get a reasonable approximation of output from the 302. HP and torque seemed about 10-20 points high each but generally the curves were the right shape.

Like I said, the E303 didn't seem too impressive. I guess it depends on where you want to build power. I've ruled the cam out... just too much time and $$$, and with the centrifugal building boost at higher RPM's, why throw away any low end torque. The TM Headers and SC will tap me out and I still have to find some $$ for the tune, fuel pump, AFPR and maybe injectors.