Tnashua's 4.0 OHV rebuild...

[Tnashua]

I'm a little behind here, but thought it would be fun to document the build for my 98 Explorer XLT 4x4 4.0L 5-speed...
Due to my wife (previously a CPA) keeping tabs on me- I couldn't spend as much on the rebuild as I would've liked to! I did purchase quality parts : Mahle, Clevite 77, Melling, Felpro PermaTorque & PermaDry, Gibson, Dynomax, New Heads (not rebuilt- though I'm not sold on them), Etc...
Should've bought new pistons even though my block was standard. I spent WAY TOO Much time cleaning carbon out of the ring lands! Did acquire a few new tools (that I've been wanting for quite some time & was able to slip them by the accountant): HD dingleball hone, carbide burrs, set of engine brushes, etc.
I sent the block to the machine shop to be hot tanked & to have the new cam bearings & frost plugs installed- otherwise this is a garage build
The major hang-up in this project (besides limited funds) has been the new heads. They came assembled- so I thought "I'll be able to bolt them right up- no problem." WRONG! Some shoddy machine procedures left casting flashing protruding into the ports & around bolt holes in several spots. Decided to dissassemble the heads to grind those spots. Found bronze shavings all over the valve spring retainers & a valve seal barely hanging on! Should've removed all the seals right then (cause they are full of cast iron shavings now)... One thing led to another & now I'm in the middle of a full out P&P job (not sure if it was really a good idea to buy those burrs now!). I used a junk pair of valves out of one of 2.0L SOHC heads I had laying around to keep the valve seats from getting scarred up while I worked on the combustion chambers. Seams pretty pathetic that the valves from the 2.0L are just as big (intake) or bigger (exhaust) than the 4.0L's valves! This has me thinking that I really shouldn't put the stock cam back in it- I really could use some more lift (and maybe a bit of duration) to get air into & out of this engine... Too bad my budget is blown & I need to get this thing back on the road!!!
Anyone out there want to take pity on me & make me an awesome deal on a "410" or was it "411" cam that you have laying around?!
Anyways- I have the cylinders deglazed, the block cleaned, the new bearings in, the new rings installed, the pistons in their holes, rod bearings torqued to spec, all but the rear main torqued to the first torque value, engine & timing cover painted "racing" green, the valve covers POR-15'd & coated w/ semi gloss black like the oil pan... The intake & other parts have been cleaned
If it weren't for the snowball cylinder head project- I'd probably have it together by now! I'll try to post pictures & attempt to log on & keep any interested parties up to date
Thanks for looking!

 

[Tnashua]

If by chance someone does have a mild performance cam (preferably one that won't require a reflash or performance chip) available- please send me pictures & details (price, shipping to Oskaloosa, IA 52577, lifters or no, mileage if used)... THANKS

 

[jd4242]

I may have a mild used 410..your need longer pushrods also..who did you get the heads from??

 

[jd4242]

O I also highly suggest a melling m328 hv oil pump.didnt see it on your list and if you haven't gotten head gaskets yet I also highly suggest the felpro super duty set, they are blue and have a SD on the end of the part number..

 

[Tnashua]

If you find the cam shortly- keep me posted. Any idea on the best source for the longer push rods? Price/length?
I'm investigating a few valvetrain swap possibilities using parts I have laying around. One may require some minor machine work to the rockers, another to the valve pads on the heads...
Do you know what pressures the stock springs exert at installed height & at max lift?
I have some bee hive springs that are narrower & slightly taller. I have numerous shaft rocker systems & am sorting out the details that may allow me to use some 1.78 ratios which would bring lift up to about .4895 with the stock camshaft?!
I've been reading about the Delta camshaft rocker kits- they are stock ratio, but with hardened sockets?! I'm already in the doghouse for spending as much as I have...
Looking for low cost solutions, but my time is worth something too & I need to get this Explorer back on the road so I can tear in to the Wagon to fix it's overheating trouble!
oh- heads came from Odessa- they got an informative note which they thanked me for & said they'd check into my complaints... Not as good a response as I was hoping for, but better than I expected

 

[Tnashua]

and- I got the best Fel-Pro stuff I found, got a Melling pump, but I'll have to double check on the part number ( I don't recall seeing that it was a HV pump)...

 

[jd4242]

If you find the cam shortly- keep me posted. Any idea on the best source for the longer push rods? Price/length?
I'm investigating a few valvetrain swap possibilities using parts I have laying around. One may require some minor machine work to the rockers, another to the valve pads on the heads...
Do you know what pressures the stock springs exert at installed height & at max lift?
I have some bee hive springs that are narrower & slightly taller. I have numerous shaft rocker systems & am sorting out the details that may allow me to use some 1.78 ratios which would bring lift up to about .4895 with the stock camshaft?!
I've been reading about the Delta camshaft rocker kits- they are stock ratio, but with hardened sockets?! I'm already in the doghouse for spending as much as I have...
Looking for low cost solutions, but my time is worth something too & I need to get this Explorer back on the road so I can tear in to the Wagon to fix it's overheating trouble!
oh- heads came from Odessa- they got an informative note which they thanked me for & said they'd check into my complaints... Not as good a response as I was hoping for, but better than I expected

I wouldnt waste you time messing with springs or rockers..many have tried and all have failed..trust me I have spent years trying to get a higher ratio or a roller rocker...smith brothers for the pushrods..delta is crap, if you need new rockers use sealed power..

My buddy has the came his name is XEEK on here, ill wend him a copy and tell him to hit you up.

 

[Tnashua]

Had a garage sale last week... swiped some of the proceeds to get a 90 degree die grinder. That made the rest of the porting/polishing go so much smoother! I have all but one chamber done (touched up the original work too). I want to cc the stock & modified chambers to determine if I removed enough material to mess with milling the heads. I'd like to regardless, but I'm already in trouble for overspending on this project & I'd kinda like to "get out of the dog house". I don't live next to a gearhead anymore so I'm going to have to use a crude cc tool (3/16" pane of glass I bored a 3/16" hole in, some vaseline, a mL syringe & a calculator) to sort things out. I read someone's suggestion a while back... "mill heads .030” (mill manifold sides .023” bottom .044”)" If I have to mill the heads to restore compression- are those numbers familiar/reasonable to you guys?

 

[jd4242]

I doubt you removed enough to make any difference, just make sure they are all cc the same..I know of top of my head, if you make the combustion chamber 3cc smaller its is about a 0.5:1 increase in compression,same if you add 3cc would decrease 0.5:1 cant remember tho how much I milled to get 3cc tho.its in my paperwork/threads somewhere. .I know stock 98tm heads should be 48cc

 

[Tnashua]

Headed down to cc the heads shortly... Just wasted 30 minutes searching (so I didn't bother people with questions) and came up with no definite answer as to the proper push rod length for the 410 cam. I found recommendation for 5.505, 5.525, 5.50 & I may have seen one reference to 5.515. I don't have a cam yet- still trying to decide if I can afford to... I hate to have done this much & not get the cam (and proper pushrods), but I am seriously worried about my wife springing the Big D at me & want to repair things around here rather than make them worse! I know- not your problems- TMI. Just trying to explain why I am dragging my feet here. I need to get the X back on the road, but still have enough to do that I am waiting on the cam to see if I can find a way to swing it.
Please let me know what size I'll need (and approx. price if you don't mind). I have given up on alternative rockers- so I'll be using my stock units. They appear to be good to me... perhaps someone already replaced them once?
Thanks!

 

[jd4242]

You need to measure for pushrods.typically it falls between 5.525-5.550 and they are available from smith brothers pushrods.

 

[Tnashua]

Alright... So I should have the cam before the pushrods. Why the heck didn't Ford give us adjustable tips like Mazda used?! Ah well... I got the cc'ing done. The as cast chamber was 47mL. First round through the rest of them showed 2 of them polished at 47mL (I double checked even) After analyzing the rest of the chambers I removed more material from both of those... Next I polished the as cast chamber & rechecked the ones I messed with. All the chambers are within 1/2 a mL of each other (all of them coming in between 47.5 & 48mL). I think I'll skip milling & try to get a cam & push rods... I sold $65 of Ford Probe parts tonight- that should get me closer I keep forgetting to check the stock push rods. I assume they are quite a bit different than the smith brothers that have been referred to... Hope to re-lap the valves sometime this weekend, clean the heads up & maybe get them painted (we'll see how long work runs tomorrow)! Have a great weekend folks...

 

[jd4242]

Stock should be around 5.475 if I remember. Going to a aftermarket cam the base circle is .050 smaller than stock so they can get the extra lift and still fit through the cam bearings. .by math you need .050 longer rods(5.525) but it doesnt always work like that.to many thing effect it why I say measure, if you cant or dont know how to I normally suggest just going on the high side and getting 5.550 unless heads are milled..

 

[jd4242]

Smith brothers are top notch parts so yea there is a huge difference. Bad picture but you can see

 

[Dono]

Ok, I just found my delta cams regrind cam and pushrods from my first rebuild of my 4.0. I'll get them boxed and in the mail.
I sure need to get that garage cleaned out. I don't know if I'm coming or going.

 

[Dono]

I typed too soon.

bad news. I opened up the cam to take a pic for you.
The winters have not been kind to this cam in the garage.
I had it wrapped in a oil'd paper towel, and more paper towels around it. Obviously not enough oil.
I think this cam's only good for one thing....garbage.
Suggestions anyone?
I'll have to find the length of my push rods...I think they are factory length + .050.

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

here is another of the Smith Bros rod comparison. Think they were $120 shipped.

Copy that on JD and Don. Sealed Power rockers. Smith Bros rods that I cant find my spec sheet on. Tom Morana has a set of adjustable roller rockers but like me they are not likely in your price range. If you go with the Comp 422 cam you will need Comp Cam dual 988 valve springs. If you do go with the 422 cam I have head milling specs. Seat(pocket) and valve guides need to be cut down.

If you ported the heads and aren't using headers, port match the exhaust manifolds or all your head porting will be for nothing. Check over in the Need for Speed section for more ideas.

And Don about the cam, if its not pitted it may polish right?

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

this might help some. A few numbers here. Length will be different depending on cam of course.

 

[Dono]

the cam feels pitted, but I need to find something that works to remove rust and get a closer look.

I need something like CLR to see what it looks like. We don't seem to have anything like that around the house. I don't want to ship it unless its ok.

 

[Tnashua]

I was afraid of that- I've seen many a cam come out of storage all rusted... Anyone know if it can be salvaged? I would think that the surface hardening would be disturbed by polishing, but this cam is likely the only one I can afford I don't think that I want to go with a 422- a 410 would do nicely. Adjustable rockers would be sweet, but definitely not in my current budget. If I could just get a bunch of parts I've got laying around sold I'd have plenty to spend...
The heads are done, the intake is marked for port matching, the exhaust still need cleaned up so that I can get them marked too... I had better get down there & get something done today! Please let me know if that the cam can be saved...