Help me out with a cam swap in a 5.0L V8.

[97ex5.0]

im looking to run a cam in my 5.0 explorer. ive been wanting to do a cam swap for awhile now and i've been wondering what is the best cam to run in these trucks? any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Do you have the stock exhaust manifolds? If so a cam swap is worthless. Spend your money on a set of Torque Monster headers first. Most likely you you will need a tune to go with the cam.

So you know you either have to cut the center brace out of the core support and weld it back in or pull the engine to do a cam swap on an Explorer. There is not enough room to get the cam out & in otherwise.

 

[97ex5.0]

no, i have a set of torque monster headers installed. I know im gonna have to do a lot of work, but im willing to do it.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

no, i have a set of torque monster headers installed. I know im gonna have to do a lot of work, but im willing to do it.

for having the TM's before doing a cam swap.

 

[97ex5.0]

so any ideas? im lookin for a good lopey cam, and without losing any low end either...

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Comp Cams makes an off the shelf cam that should work well. You are going to need new springs as well. A custom ground cam would be the best route but will be more $$$

Someone will probably chime in and say to use a Ford letter cam. These are meant for Mustangs. The Explorer is a beast so you need a cam that makes torque.

 

[97ex5.0]

thank you much buddy.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've renamed your thread, and moved it into the modified 95-01 section.

 

[99SportX]

I called up comp cams, described my application, and the dude there told me to get the 35-349-8 cam for my V8. I have the TM headers as well. I had originally purchase an E-303 cam but some fellow forum members steered me away and convinced me to call up comp cams and get something better. I sold the E-303 on ebay for maybe a $10-20 loss so it was no big deal.

Cam discussions tend to get a little wild on forums because there are many opinions, theories, etc. Hands down a custom cam is the best way to go because there is much better flexibility and you can get something made EXACTLY for your application. It is more costly though.

As far as I can tell the cam is working fine. I don't have any dyno numbers, only my butt dyno. lol It has great low end but I think it is lacking a little up top. I am not sure if that is the cam or the brick like aerodynamics fighting my acceleration once I break 60mph. lol I have been tossing around the idea of adding a turbo or something to add some more power in the higher rpms. Who knows.

 

[turboexplorer]

I'd be very interested in know how the explorer responds to a cam swap. With the TM headers on first of course.

 

[CDW6212R]

Ditto to what has been said already.

I have read on a very wise Ford site that the 302 HO cam is very very good for almost all near to stock 302's. It's an excellent cam that holds it's own against all OTS cams until you get into more serious engine modifications.

So if no other big changes are planned, I'd recommend an HO cam and new valve springs. The HO cam is also very common to find used. The valve springs are a weak link with mileage, change those if you can, skip aftermarket rockers. Regards,

 

[turboexplorer]

True, that HO cam has proved to be a worthy, strong, near factory engine, cam. Bet would run great in the trucks that have the TMH. That would be a good choice for someone with 100,000 miles plus to throw in to wake it back up some!

 

[410Fortune]

I went with the E cam before I knew better... this engine really responds to a camshaft upgrade, even the E cam with stock program is a night and day difference compared to a stock V8 explorer, my 96 screams! It can only get better as $$$ permits

I have E-303 cam, CAI, TMH, Custom exhaust, intake spacer, 1.6RR, and thats it... it runs like a scolded dog
I have a new set of lifters and pushrods to go in, with 80K on the engine I should have done them at the same time as the cam/timing set, etc but I reused my stock lifters and rods... I have a bad lifter I think, this engine was in a roll over (done by me) and it was driven after the wreck a few yards (moved to the shop under its own power) I think a lifter went south... it runs good but has a tick LOL

I should have taken the $$$ I spent on the 1.6 FMS Rollers and got the lifters and rods instead... I have them now just need to tear into it again this spring, then finally I can call up Henson and get a tune....

Comp cam is the way to go IMO, HO cam ... maybe, but custom for our GT-40 truck/Explorer's would be best

 

[turboexplorer]

Nice! Yeah have seen a few that have done that E-303 Cam. Even that is a stout upgrade from stock. Anyone ever find the true cam specs for our 5.0L's? I have looked but never found anything more than opinions on "about" what it is.

 

[CDW6212R]

The specs are just over 200* @0.050, and very similar to the HO cam. The differences in the cams is a lot, but you can't compare the plain specs to really know the difference. Our "truck" cam is supposedly a low rpm cam, but it seems to rev more freely to 5000rpm than a 302 HO engine. We have better intakes and heads, so that comparison doesn't work well either.

The guys here who have swapped cams are the best to say which cams are helpful.