Snowball effect

[VR4]

A few months ago I decided to go in and fix the timing cover leak I had. Figured since I was in there might as well throw a cam at it. Pleasant surprise with how clean things were when I pulled it apart.
http://imgur.com/QjpuAGw

I'm not going to imbed pics because they're huge and don't feel like resizing them.

Determining factor was I blew the gasket for cyl 5 primary at the flange in the pipe. If I'm going that far in might as well fix everything else. Found nice gasket with built in copper ring. Just needed to enlarge bolt holes to fit.
http://i.imgur.com/Rm9tFfA.jpg

Get the cam in. Springs on backorder. Supposed to be a couple weeks. No big deal. Didn't like the comp chain so I ordered up a ford racing double roller. Enter snowball...

Get the chain in, button up the front of the engine and lower intake. Fast forward 3 months and the crane beehive springs finally show up without warning. Install springs after modifying compressor to clear HVAC box. Remove handle and weld on nut to use a wrench. Cleared perfectly.
http://imgur.com/LBCOumI

Get into doing some research. Stock rockers probably won't work too well. Enter scorpion rollers.
http://imgur.com/0ZwhQ1N

Don't clear stock valve covers. Not even close. Did a bunch of persuasion with torch and hammer. Still don't fit.They had a fair amount of rust since the first 18 months of this trucks life was east coast. Upgrade time. Most people are saying they clear fox mustang aluminum covers with a little grinding. Found a pair on eBay for 35 shipped. Score. Longer hardened pushrods and covers should be here Friday.

A little nervous to get aftermarket covers. Hard to tell if they will fit with the tmh headers. That's the next step it these don't fit though. Along with an intake spacer.


Cam is comp xe258hr-12. 208/216 at .050 .533/.544 lift with 1.6 rockers. Ford racing double roller chain. Scorpion full roller rockers.

Haven't added it up yet but I think this $12 timing cover gasket that should have taken a day has cost about a grand and taking over 3 months and counting. Hope it's worth it.

 

[skpyle]

Nice.
It'll be worth it in the long run.

Seth K. Pyle

 

[1997XLTRollover]

This is the exact reason when I rebuilt my engine I went with a bone stock rebuild. Punched 30 over to clean the cylinders up and got a 25% stiffer set of stock replacement valve springs and threw it all back together. It will be worth it but sometimes the headache while you're building isn't. Then you have the tuning aspect of it once it's all back together.

 

[VR4]

This is the exact reason when I rebuilt my engine I went with a bone stock rebuild. Punched 30 over to clean the cylinders up and got a 25% stiffer set of stock replacement valve springs and threw it all back together. It will be worth it but sometimes the headache while you're building isn't. Then you have the tuning aspect of it once it's all back together.

That last part is gonna be interesting since I hear the guys who tuned these things are gone.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

That last part is gonna be interesting since I hear the guys who tuned these things are gone.

It's a 5.0. I find it hard to believe you will have a hard time finding someone to tune it. As long as the ECU is supported, anyone should be able to tune it. If not run it how it is until I complete my tuning classes and I'll pick up the slack in 5.0 tuning for these things.

I'm running my seriously far from stock Taurus SHO on a stock tune and it runs "ok". I do plan on having it tuned this year but it's still driveable without the tune. Just run the stock size injectors and stock MAF and the ECU will compensate. Mine did and it's OBD 1. OBD 2 should be even better. BTW my car is cammed to all hell too so I think you'll be ok without a tune if you absolutely had no choice.

 

[VR4]

Pushrods came in. Got rockers set. .050 preload. Wanted .080 so if they're noisy forced upgrade to some one piece pushrods

Contact pattern isn't terrible...

 

[Dono]

Trick Flow® Cast Aluminum Valve Covers TFS-51411801S
These will fit. You will need a oil filler tube and cap to go with them though.
When I moved to TW aluminum's, I had no choice but to go with these. They cleared.

I was able to make my stock valve covers work on GT40p heads and scorpion roller rockers. They did take quite a bit of massaging on the corners/top corners, but I did make them work. My cam was about the same lift as yours. Some paint, and the factory valve covers still looked factory.

Welcome to the painful side. I sincerely hope you have a better experience than I have had.

edit: do you have a part number on that torquemonster gasket?

 

[VR4]

Trick Flow® Cast Aluminum Valve Covers TFS-51411801S
These will fit. You will need a oil filler tube and cap to go with them though.
When I moved to TW aluminum's, I had no choice but to go with these. They cleared.

I was able to make my stock valve covers work on GT40p heads and scorpion roller rockers. They did take quite a bit of massaging on the corners/top corners, but I did make them work. My cam was about the same lift as yours. Some paint, and the factory valve covers still looked factory.

Welcome to the painful side. I sincerely hope you have a better experience than I have had.

edit: do you have a part number on that torquemonster gasket?

Thanks. I wasn't sure about those. Good to know they work if I need them

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3472998&postcount=356

I think it's the same one you used. In my case the header primary is flush with the flange so I didn't have to pull the copper ring out. The other part number I posted might work better for you.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

God that's beautiful. I wish I had the time/money to do that when I was building my engine. I was so tempted to go with a 347 but just didn't have the cash or time to play around setting it all up right.

 

[Dono]

I'm to the point where I wish I'd left well enough alone. We all seem to be creating enough of our own issues with our modifications.

I think I'm thru the darkest of the dark though. I refuse to add up the time and/or money spent. Funny, its been over a year and endless resources and I still have an oil leak (that's what started the upgrade). My prayers are with you that you get it right and have no issues.

 

[VR4]

I'm to the point where I wish I'd left well enough alone. We all seem to be creating enough of our own issues with our modifications.

I think I'm thru the darkest of the dark though. I refuse to add up the time and/or money spent. Funny, its been over a year and endless resources and I still have an oil leak (that's what started the upgrade). My prayers are with you that you get it right and have no issues.

Ouch. That's rough. I read your thread a few months ago but haven't looked at it lately. Still considering 347 here.

 

[Accarguy]

I am at that same spot basically. I just found out today when I was looking underneath that my front cover is leaking a little coolant. And you know I am already halfway there to putting in a cam, haha , which I have been debating about since I got the truck. So I have a few questions if you don't mind.

1. I see you went it the comp xe258hr-12, why did you go with this one?

2. Do I need to upgrade the springs/rockers?

3. I see from the last pic its still apart am I right or is it running?

 

[VR4]

I am at that same spot basically. I just found out today when I was looking underneath that my front cover is leaking a little coolant. And you know I am already halfway there to putting in a cam, haha , which I have been debating about since I got the truck. So I have a few questions if you don't mind.

1. I see you went it the comp xe258hr-12, why did you go with this one?

2. Do I need to upgrade the springs/rockers?

3. I see from the last pic its still apart am I right or is it running?

1. I liked the additional lift on the exhaust side even though it's a little past the efficiency of the gt40p heads I'm also considering heads in the future. IIRC the p heads lose 2 cfm from .540 lift to .550 I didn't go bigger or longer duration because I wanted to keep as much torque as possible.

2. Yes. Stock springs are garbage. I went crane because I wanted beehive springs and didn't want to machine for comp dual springs. TFS springs are limited to .540 Alex's parts has springs but by the time I found those the cranes had shipped. Rockers.... Maybe. I didn't bother checking to see if stock would work.

3. Still apart. Waiting on covers and 1 pushrod.

 

[VR4]

Foxbody aluminum valve covers fit under the intake. Stock oil filler tube doesn't clear intake tube. Gonna have to make something

 

[Turdle]

Went through this stuff back in 2003. I used the forum quite a bit back then but couldn't find much help.

Good luck. Your parts look very purty

 

[Dono]

Yes, there isn't much help anywhere on what fits. Its a bad deal to be ordering valve covers hoping they clear rockers and upper intake. Then dealing with oil fill tube.
Those trick flows I posted work though. Both vroomzoomboom and I use them. As a mater of fact, the ones I have are from vroomzoomboom.

 

[Turdle]

Thicker valve cover gaskets help too.

3/16"

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/2102...9&cadevice=c&gclid=CLeZ_5rd5soCFQ-raQod-1cMRQ

If you prefer rubber they make them also.

 

[VR4]

Yes, there isn't much help anywhere on what fits. Its a bad deal to be ordering valve covers hoping they clear rockers and upper intake. Then dealing with oil fill tube.
Those trick flows I posted work though. Both vroomzoomboom and I use them. As a mater of fact, the ones I have are from vroomzoomboom.

I had already ordered these so no problems there. It shouldn't be hard for me to work around the oil filler issue. I have welders, benders, and tubing at my disposal. Hope to have her wrapped up on Wednesday.

In other news I did fire it last night. Sounds good but radiator isn't in yet so can't let it settle down into an idle

 

[VR4]

4 months almost to the day it's done and running good. Would I do it again? Yes but not if I knew it would take this long.

Idle is almost stock. Maybe just slightly rougher. No lope.

Midrange and upper rpm power is much improved. Pulled hard to shift point with no fall off. Doesn't seem to have lost any low end. Very slight valve train noise but quieter than I expected based on videos.

 

[Dono]

Congratulations!!
What valve covers did you end up with?