Headers for V6 ohc?

[Lazzman]

Do they make headers for the V6 SOHC engine? Headers have always been the best dollar for dollar upgrade available and I am surprised we do not hear more about them on this site. They also free breathing up nicely to add in extra gas milage, I know they are tough to put in but I would have the exhaust guy do that.

Fords 1987- 1991 5.0 was a race ready factory engine that still dominates the drags today. It was engineered with factory headers, roller cam and in later years Molly piston rings. Headers a definately a good bet, they also come standard on the new 2006 Chevy Yukon Denali.

 

[BeauJ]

Headers don't make a car "race ready". You might save 1-2 mpg.

 

[Lazzman]

Never said they did Beau. I said the Ford 5.0 engine from that error was race ready. This means you could run the quarter mile all day and not hurt the engine, because that is what it was designed to do. Try doing that with any other factory engine.

I also disagree with your logic and firmly believe headers are a best bang for buck upgrade. a 5 mpg increase should be achieved on most cars, depending on your foot.

 

[BeauJ]

Headers may be the best bang for the buck, but not for an Explorer IMHO. That's just my logic. I've never heard anyone with a 5.0 Explorer say they achieved 5 more mpg because of headers. That would be almost a 50% increase to me. And all of the V6 owners I've seen post that aren't on no2 or have forced induction, weren't please at all with the price and power output from headers. Some said they barely noticed an increase.

 

[410Fortune]

the factory 5.0L explorer manifolds are very restrictive, if you want to make more than like 250 HP from the GT-40 5.0L in a Ex you need to scavenge the exhaust better.

The SOCH 4.0L V6 however, from what I understand, does not have this issue and headers dont get you as much bang for the buck.

Intake + Exhaust = you are only ever as good as your smallest bottleneck.

Adding just headers wont do jack, it is when all the parts are working together and all factory restrictions are removed when you see power gains.

 

[Lazzman]

This makes sense... thanks for the info, I was just curious and headers do look really cool.

 

[351wExplorer]

Never said they did Beau. I said the Ford 5.0 engine from that error was race ready.

the 5.0 was an error.... im confused
i think you ment era

 

[410Fortune]

thats an expensive upgrade for looks! hahaha but it is nice to show them off if ya got em...

 

[etdavenport]

I realize this is an old thread but no one ever did answer the question. [gotta just love forums, no one ever does... jsut loads of tangents....] I too have a 1998 explorer with a 4.0 SOHC, but I haven't been able to find headers. I have a MAC intake and a high flow cat back exhaust, but to actually get the full gain I need the headers, and a CAT delete too if they make one, preferably bolt on so I can hot swap it for emissions testing.

 

[XLT]

I realize this is an old thread but no one ever did answer the question. [gotta just love forums, no one ever does... jsut loads of tangents....] I too have a 1998 explorer with a 4.0 SOHC, but I haven't been able to find headers. I have a MAC intake and a high flow cat back exhaust, but to actually get the full gain I need the headers, and a CAT delete too if they make one, preferably bolt on so I can hot swap it for emissions testing.

The sohc breathes fine enough with stock headers. Better bang for you buck would be to buy a tuner, eletric fan, or under drive pullies. All of them should do more for you then headers would.

 

[etdavenport]

any suggestions on the tuner? so many crap products out there...

 

[Brandon96]

SCT X3,

search James Henson or Henson Performance and read the reviews, he's going to be the guy to go to for the tuner and the tunes.

 

[Ronin8002]

I realize this is an old thread but no one ever did answer the question. [gotta just love forums, no one ever does... jsut loads of tangents....] I too have a 1998 explorer with a 4.0 SOHC, but I haven't been able to find headers. I have a MAC intake and a high flow cat back exhaust, but to actually get the full gain I need the headers, and a CAT delete too if they make one, preferably bolt on so I can hot swap it for emissions testing.

I read on another Ford 4.0 forum that a guy dyno tested headers on the SOHC and actually lost power and torque at normal driving RPMs...essentially it moved the power and torque curve peaks higher up in the RPM band.

I believe he concluded that unless you are running a supercharger, the extra flow that headers provide is not needed. If I can find the link I'll post it.

Remember that after the headers and Y-pipe the 4.0 and 4.6 exhaust are sized the same, at least for the catback kits I've seen. That would lead me to believe that the SOHC would benefit power-wise only so much from an exhaust upgrade, and that includes a cat delete. Just suggesting that you might want to spend your money elsewhere.

I'm not sure what your price range is but for simple bolt ons the best bang for your buck at this point would probably be an underdrive crank pulley made by ASP, and a tuner from henson performance.

If you still want more and are looking to add about 60 more HP you could go with the Banshee supercharger kit...that uses an M90 and would be a great upgrade for the money. do a search for post by a user called $ilent$eal...he's doing one on his 2005 explorer 4.0.

If you go that route, I would stay away from the underdrive pulley as it will slow down the supercharger and give you less boost and power. The tuner would still be a good idea though, since you'll need to change fueling and timing to run the supercharger safely.

 

[IZwack]

But at the same time, I think it would a mistake for us to think that all headers would lead to the same conclusion - as there are different designs (primary lengths, diameters, bends, collector design 3->1, etc...). So while a certain header might perform awful at normal driving conditions, another may excel under the same situation. It's kind of like tires - some are great off road but awful on the road, others are great on road but awful off road.

 

[Ronin8002]

Good point.

I was assuming that the SOHC headers made by different manufacturers are more or less a similar design (as far as primary length and collectors), as it seemed to be the case with OHV headers.

I was just trying to communicate that in researching this my impression has been that headers on a naturally aspirated SOHC are not the most cost-effective mod one can do; unless forced induction is involved.

 

[etdavenport]

sounds like the pully is the best option. I have read that elswhere too. Anyone got a link for the crank pully? and what about doing all of them? whats tghe best combo?

I found some at underdog performance for the 3.0 but not the 4.0. sake pulleys? is it worth getting an entire kit? or jsut the cranks and waterpump or just the crank?

I would like to keep to under $200 and If I get a kit it comes with a belt right? I found a it for under 200 that was for the 3.0 and came with all the pulleys and a belt. Is the 4.0 similar price? otherwise I would just want to get the 1 or two that do the most performance and a belt.

Thanks!

 

[Ronin8002]

sounds like the pully is the best option. I have read that elswhere too. Anyone got a link for the crank pully? and what about doing all of them? whats tghe best combo?

I found some at underdog performance for the 3.0 but not the 4.0. sake pulleys? is it worth getting an entire kit? or jsut the cranks and waterpump or just the crank?

I would like to keep to under $200 and If I get a kit it comes with a belt right? I found a it for under 200 that was for the 3.0 and came with all the pulleys and a belt. Is the 4.0 similar price? otherwise I would just want to get the 1 or two that do the most performance and a belt.

Thanks!

Here's the link for what you are looking for. The 4.0 stuff is more expensive than the 3.0. I am running the Crank and alternator pulley and am happy. I also have the water pump pulley in my garage but am not using it. If you want it I'll sell it to you for 25 bucks plus shipping.

http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/s..._30_37&zenid=0fcd12b899a0530d3a4034c9e12d68bd

 

[etdavenport]

ill pm you my paypal info

So with the water pump, and an idler and alternator pulley, what kind of gains can I expect? What effect will this have on my aux systems [run cooler, run hotter?]

I did not see the alternator pulley either on the sight either. I am having trouble navigating their site...lol I emailed them and asked for it. I am going to buy the three minus the crank.

Is the crank pulley the most gain? its so dang expensive I think Ill pass, but I would love to do it later if I can find one at a more reasonable price.

Also, why does there kit include stock pulleys? in case you do not want to use the underdrive ones and still want the color match?

and why arent you using the water pump pulley? hard to install?

 

[Ronin8002]

If you only get one you should get the crank pulley. That's the one that slows ALL of the accessories down and gets you the mileage/power benefit. Yeah, it's the most expensive, but the greatest gains come from it. I don't think you'll find one made by anyone else for our trucks. It's a lot to lay out at once but if you buy the pulleys piecemeal you're also going to have to change belt lengths every time to get it right, and those run about 30 bucks a pop so in the long run its better to just "buy once, cry once."

The alt pulley actually is to speed up your alternator back up to normal speed after you use the crank pulley. I was reading 12.5 volts in the summertime with lights and A/C on and felt that was too low so I put it on and now I'm back to 13-14 at idle with everything on.

The water pump pulley is not hard to put on but if you already have the crank pulley you need to consider what climate you live in, how you drive, and what kind of fan you have. Remember JUST the crank pulley underdrives everything by 25%, and if you add the water pump pulley it underdrives the water pump an additional 20%. I did use it for a short while but I live in an area where heavy gridlock traffic and hot weather are known to occur from time to time, and the truck would run around 210 degrees in situations where both of those were present. Not a crazy hot coolant temp but hotter than I felt good about. Otherwise, while moving at any speed it worked and cooled fine. Mileage and power gains were great too.

That was with using the stock clutch fan, by the way. If you have a good electric fan instead of a clutch fan then your cooling will be a lot better since the speed of the electric fan is independent of the water pump speed. The temp I saw was mostly due to the clutch fan being slowed down at idle...something you would not see with an electric fan.

Oh and as far as the stock pulleys that they sell on that site, you're right, its just so you can color match.

BTW the water pump underdrive pulley I have is black.

 

[etdavenport]

If you only get one you should get the crank pulley. That's the one that slows ALL of the accessories down and gets you the mileage/power benefit. Yeah, it's the most expensive, but the greatest gains come from it. I don't think you'll find one made by anyone else for our trucks. It's a lot to lay out at once but if you buy the pulleys piecemeal you're also going to have to change belt lengths every time to get it right, and those run about 30 bucks a pop so in the long run its better to just "buy once, cry once."

The alt pulley actually is to speed up your alternator back up to normal speed after you use the crank pulley. I was reading 12.5 volts in the summertime with lights and A/C on and felt that was too low so I put it on and now I'm back to 13-14 at idle with everything on.

The water pump pulley is not hard to put on but if you already have the crank pulley you need to consider what climate you live in, how you drive, and what kind of fan you have. Remember JUST the crank pulley underdrives everything by 25%, and if you add the water pump pulley it underdrives the water pump an additional 20%. I did use it for a short while but I live in an area where heavy gridlock traffic and hot weather are known to occur from time to time, and the truck would run around 210 degrees in situations where both of those were present. Not a crazy hot coolant temp but hotter than I felt good about. Otherwise, while moving at any speed it worked and cooled fine. Mileage and power gains were great too.

That was with using the stock clutch fan, by the way. If you have a good electric fan instead of a clutch fan then your cooling will be a lot better since the speed of the electric fan is independent of the water pump speed. The temp I saw was mostly due to the clutch fan being slowed down at idle...something you would not see with an electric fan.

Oh and as far as the stock pulleys that they sell on that site, you're right, its just so you can color match.

BTW the water pump underdrive pulley I have is black.

Awesome information sir!

That is exactly what I needed to hear. It sounds like the water pump pulley is something I do not want to use then if I get the crank pulley. I live in Utah and we hit 100f every summer. Stop and go is an everyday occurrence even on the expressway... I think I will just wait and go with the crank when I can justify it. I have already spent about $300 on the truck since we bought it on tuneup and intake parts.