Can I make the 4.0 fast enough?

[Josh]

Alec,
What about port matching? I was told that is a good way to get a few ponies as well. Also, when you talk headwork, do you think maybe one of Dougs stage 2 performance heads would do the trick? Or is there more?

 

[Alec]

Doug makes great heads. But do all the headwork you want, it still won't near the s/c gains.

 

[Josh]

That part I got. I just want to figure the best way to make it to about 230 at the crank and good torque. I know all the bolt ons, I just want to come up with a plan for the internals.

 

[SteedaExplorer]

Originally posted by Josh
That part I got. I just want to figure the best way to make it to about 230 at the crank and good torque. I know all the bolt ons, I just want to come up with a plan for the internals.

Josh are you gonna go through with any of this ???

 

[Ronin8002]

Josh, you might try upgrading camshafts. I'm told the 410 compcams grind really makes a WORLD of difference for the 4.0 in a non-supercharged application. The 422 is good too but I can tell you it idles rough as hell without a supercharger or a chip. After all....porting your heads and intake doesn't do but so much if your engine is still being bottlenecked at the intake and exhaust valves. In other words, the valves are open wider and for a longer time with a new cam and will enable you to get the most out of those larger ports. Here's a guy with a 422 cam, ported intake and heads, headers, and computer tuning who's getting almost 200 rwhp naturally aspirated:

http://members.shaw.ca/racinranger/

So port away, put in the cam and the new pushrods that go with it, as well as hardened rocker arms from www.deltacam.com and that would really be about all you'd need for internals for the horsepower level you want to run. There's a guy on rangerpowersports called 8secsplash who runs 125 shots of nitrous on his 4.0 with the stock bottom end, and he's still going strong.

A cam swap could be done over the course of a weekend and you will definitely feel it. Then you could do heads or whatever later since you will have done the most difficult mod, at least as far as taking apart the motor is concerned.

On a side note...hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Doug's going to close his 4.0 performance business. I remember him saying on rangerpowersports that he was having trouble with his cylinder head source as well. Still, though, he is one of the most knowledgeable people out there when it comes to what works well on the 4.0 and what doesn't.

 

[BauerExplorer]

High output alternator

Originally posted by Geminidj2000
and H.O. alternators lose u horepower

is this true, does it make you loose HP

 

[Alec]

Re: High output alternator

Originally posted by BauerExplorer
is this true, does it make you loose HP

I don't think in any noticable way if it has a stock sized pulley.

 

[Josh]

Thanks Max for all the info. I thought the 422 cam makes nost of the power around 1200 RPMs and up? Will that be good for the trails as well as the street? Doug also says that you would have to have dual springs for the valves. There is a guy on E-bay that gets crate motors every so often and they are cheaper than Jasper and others.

 

[Ronin8002]

You could go with the 422 but it moves the torque up higher in the RPM band as you said. That being the case, it is actually better for a mostly street truck....the 410 will give you a good performance increase but you will still keep good low RPM torque

 

[Skeets'91EB]

about how much do the cam upgrades cost?

 

[Ronin8002]

I think the cam is about 220-250, pushrods maybe 50, and valve springs/retainers together about 100. So total, about 400, not including the gaskets you need to replace once you take things apart. I bought my cam along with pushrods from someone on the forum a while ago. Try asking around on rangerpowersports.com Someone there in the 4.0 forum might have that kind of package for sale.

 

[Skeets'91EB]

I think I'm going to finish the bolt-ons I have left to do (MAS, cat-back) and then chip it before I do the cam...would that process be worth it? Or just go straight for the cam? Also, will the A4LD be able to handle the extra power or would I really need to consider getting a new tranny? It probably depends on how I drive it (yeah I would probably drive it hard for awhile to enjoy the new horses, but I could settle down after awhile lol)...I'm not sure if I'd have the money for a new tranny.

 

[Skeets'91EB]

*The tranny was rebuilt not long ago.

 

[Ronin8002]

Doing the bolt ons first never hurts, but if your intent is to upgrade the cam then you may want to do the chip after the cam....that way you don't have to have the chip reburned for it. Also if you go with the 410 cam you should be fine without a chip...the 422 really needs a chip to work well unless you supercharge your motor.

I was putting out around 190 hp (at the engine) when I had done a filter, MAS, throttle body, catback exhaust, and a chip and I never had problems with my a4ld. Upgrading the cam with these other bolt ons should put you over 200 at the engine. But yeah, you are right....your driving habits will make or break the tranny. You may want to install a tranny temp guage so if your torque converter starts going out or something you'll at least know something is wrong before the whole thing goes to hell .

 

[Josh]

SteedaExplorer

Sorry I never answered your question about following through with all of this, but yes I realy want to do this. I was in the Persian Gulf for a month doing some work for the Navy and had planned to use the money I saved from the trip to start. Right now I have a motor(2000 OHV) that I got out of a recked truck. I will need my tax returns to purchase the other bolt ons and I am trying to get this guy in Chesapeake VA to sell me his BBK headers. I just needed the funds to get the party started. If everything goes right, I will start in a couple of weeks. Without you guys I would be lost-- Thanks

 

[tweakedlogic]

Why hasn't anybody mentioned Extrude Hone. A buddy had it done to his RX-7 (my other love) I couldn't believe the improvement. I know it's expensive, but I think there are other companies out there that can co the same thing for less. Anyone konw of these?

 

[bates]

Extrude hone. Either This has another name I've heard of, or maybe this is a Wankle engine only mod. Are you just talking about boring out the cylinders?

EDIT: MY searches of the net make this sound like porting and polishing.

 

[410Fortune]

head work, cam, computer tune are the key once the intake and exhaust are opened up.
Some cheap trivks that the OHV reposnds well to:
Get the coldest air possible to the intake
5.0L MAs recalibrated for the 19# injectors
good plugs and wires
Elecric fan if you can keep it cool enough

I have also heard the SOHC oil pan will bolt on and provide you with a better windage tray design. head work and internal mods get EXPENSIVE, so you need to think about realistic goals based on your budget. Building a N/A OHV is expensive for higher numbers.
The 4.0L OHV has low end torque, a solid bottom end a is a engine built for long term reliability and reliable service, so take advantage of those, dont sacrifice them with high dollar parts that have little gain.
Gearing the truck properly is a great way to spend money and take advantage of the low end power band of the OHV. Stock they make most of their power around 2200-2500 RPM, when you being to open the intake and exhaust you also begin to move the power band slightly, you can play with it until you get it where you want it. You want high end, street style, open the intake aand exhaust more, you want towing and 4x4ing low end pulling power, keep it smaller.
I have all the bolt ons and keep it in a very high state of tune and the stock 4.0L OHV block has served me very well, kept $$ in my pocket and makes plenty of power to motivate a BII, a 4 door explorer is alot differnt however.
I would spend my $$ next on a fresh rebuild for the short block with stock style parts, the SOHC oil pan for bearing cap support and the windage tray, have the heads done and install a 4.10 cam. After this its off to the mustang dyno shop for a PCM tune and I will probably have spent my $$$ wisely, making pretty good power, torque, without sacrificing alot of longevity and reliability.

I cant wait!!
my current block has approx 190K miles on it and runs like a scolded dog, It has had impecible maintenece since it was new from the factory and shows little sign of wear.

 

[Josh]

Yesterday, I started my motor swap. My motor has about 220K miles on it, but runs pretty good. Its realy a turd though. My new motor is out of a 2000 and I am swapping all the parts over. Its got a 410 cam, BBK ceramic headers(Only payed 275), BBK TB, 70mm Pro-M MAS, and I tried to port match the upper and lower intakes with the fuel rail. I also bought a brand new Eaton M-62, and Paxton FMU to put on later money permitting and the price of gas goes down.

On another note, has anbody ever thought about modifying the intake(UPPER?) to make it either taller or larger to maybe create more torque? Does this even sound possible? I tried to increase the hieght of the upper manifold by using another fuel rail as a spacer. The stock bolts that hold the fuel rail and upper intake down are to short, except from a newer motor with the plastic upper intake. I ground off all of the partrutions and used some old intake gaskets. It seems to have made a difference, but it is either me grabbing for something or very slight. I was also thinking about increasing the size of the plenum chamber by cutting the side off and cut part of another manifold and weld it back together. Is this stupid or is possible?

Well back to work, the exaust manifold bolts are being a real PITA!

 

[bates]

Aren't the intakes cast? Welding cast aluminum would be a difficult task I would think.

410Fortune: Can you tell me more about the 5.0L MAS being recalibrated?