Rebuilding a 5.0?

[Last Ride]

Okay, I am sure this has probably been covered tons of times, but I am somewhat unfamiliar with Ford performance circles. Anywho, could you all offer suggestions as to what I should pay attention to when rebuilding my 5.0 in my 2000 Explorer? The motor only has about 91,000 on it, but I anticipate it could be as high as 150,000 by the end of the summer. Further, the vehicle is used as a surveillance/pursuit vehicle, so a little more get-up-and-go would difinitely not hurt! I was thinking about the 347 stroker kit that Summit sells along with some headers and a stainless exhaust. I have always heard good things about Borla, but I don't want the car to be too loud except for when I stand on it. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed! Also, would I need to beef up my transmission, or will the stock tranny hold for now? I am not looking for neck-breaking performance, and I would like to still be able to use 87/90 Octane and maintain decent fuel economy. Am I dreaming here? Thanks for your time, and if you could email me directly at fixxxer024@yahoo.com I would appreciate it a lot. As you can tell, I don't get to this site often. Thanks!

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Another option is the Ford Racing long block 5.0s. They are a brand new block, crankshaft, pistons, preformance camshaft, heads, etc that you can buy for around 2800 to 3100. It will be a fresh engine with 0 mi and better preformance, and be 100% bolt in. It will run on 87 octane if the compression ratio is right.

You can also build it up with a supercharger or get a short block and better heads.

The 4r70w transmission is pretty strong, but a shift kit would help out big time. With the high miles, its a gamble especially with the new high power engine. but since no custom work would be needed, i'd use the stock tranny with the valve body kit untill it fails.

Do a custom exhaust - true duals if you build up an engine. and get headers. do it right, it won't cost much more than a kit.

 

[james t]

150k miles and it may still be going strong. 5 liters are well known for extreme wear duration. my father had one with 250k on it and only used 1 qt. of oil every 3000 miles... thats better than alot of NEW V8's...

you would proly be better off going with one of the FMS crate engines. in the long run, you would come out as cheap or cheaper than a rebuild. it will be a "bolt in" swap. you would need to upgrade the MAS, fuel pump, FPR, and exhuast. however, you would need to do this with a power-rebuild anyway. stock intake manifold and throttle body are good up to 350 or so hp, so you can keep them. here are some of your choices:

1- 270hp 5 liter GT-40 iron heads $2995

2- 320hp GT-40Y aluminum heads $3195

3- 345hp GT-40X aluminum heads $3195

either way, if you run stock timing you could possibly get away with 89 octane, but proly not 87.