Well its Time

[Joe93]

Well since the death of the 4.0 and tranny in the sploder its time to replace the well loved engine and tranny. I have 2 options.

1st: Swap the 4.0 out for a 302 out of a 93 stang. With a mild Buildup nothing to fancy. With that I would also change out the Tcase and tranny.

2nd: Would to rebuild the 4.0 with a mild build up. replace the tranny the same type of tranny, and buy an atlas2 t-case.

Now my Question are is it possible to get about 200hp out of the 4.0? If so what mods need to be done? Also how reliable would the 4.0 be with those mods. What I am looking for is a little more power and torque. But I want reliability. Looking to spend about 3-5 k on this. I would be doing most of the work myself to save money there. I really have no use for a tricked out 302 with all the goodies just the need and want a little more power to turn the 35's that will some day be on the explorer. If anyone has any Tips, advice, ideas or can answer any of my questions that would be great.

 

[asp84]

With 3-5K you could get a A4LD that has been rebuilt with heavy duty parts and a new 4.0.....and trick it all out.

A V8 conversion including BUILDING it UP will probably cost you between 5-10K depending on how serious you get. A V8 would also require a different transmission and transfer case or adapter. The V8 conversion would also require some custom modification, different radiator, new wiring package, motor mounts, completely new exhaust, etc, etc, etc,etc. You also have to take in to account emission testing if you have such.

There is lots of information regarding this on the "Explorer Project board"

Good Luck, and Choose wisely:
Al

P.S. .........Some people may disagree with me on the price, but unless you get a donor car and have a lot of time to wait on all the righ parts a normal emission legal EFI V8 conversion will truely cost between 3.5-8K

 

[liquidx9]

did you consider the 4.0 SOHC engine? i dont know much about what youd need to do to swap it, but its got the 200 hp you want and about 215 torque.. just an idea

 

[410Fortune]

the OHV 4.0L can reach 200 HP with a semi imtermediate rebuild. Machine work onthe heads is the most important part when looking for more power.

A cam is needed too. Sounds like you would be very happy with a semi built 4.0L insteado f a 5.0L. the 5.0L conversion is ALOT of work and $$$$.

 

[FMExplorer]

Joe,
I've checked pretty extensively into this same question - yes you can get 200-230hp without NOS or s SC. You would need the obvious - chip, headers and so on. You would also need a good street-grind cam, bore the block (.030 is well within the tolerance for this block), port and polish the heads, good quality forged pistons, bigger throttle body and MAS. Expect about 2k +/- for parts and machine work if you assemble it yourself. There are no real good aftermarket heads available, but the design of the stock ones is decent. Unless you add a SC, you won't need anything bigger than the stock 19# injectors. A cam will run about $280 and rings and pistons about 900 for good forged ones. Hope this helps.

Jon

 

[410Fortune]

oh and if you are gonna do this yourself, get Sven's book it will basically walk you through it, waht parts to buy, what works, what doesnt, and why.

they sell it at Amazon.com last time I checked.

"How to build and modify Ford 60 degree V-6 engine's"

It is a little outdated but everything OHV 4.0L still holds true.

You can expect 220+ HP if you do like posted above. My OHV 4.0L is reaching 100K miles and I plan to build a modified replacement this winter for at least 225 HP.....

the forged pistons willeat up a bunch of $$$, most of the labor is preperation of the stock stuff and head work....the book is a must for anybdoy who wants to build one (unless you build them all day long, then you dont need a book)

 

[FMExplorer]

Get the book - I've read it numerous times and it will walk you through everything...

J

 

[SteveVB]

recipe

Joe, I went through the same thing about a year ago and chose option 2, mild build on the 4.0, and rebuild the trans. Heres some of what I did, what I would do again, and what I should have done.

Engine:

I rebuilt the 4.0 short block - not having the time to do it all myself I had a machine shop machine and assemble the short block.

I used stock parts rods, crank, and replacement pistons- cast- since I didnt plan on uping my compression, or a super charger, and this is a street/ trail rig that rarely sees rpms above 4000. I could spend the 6-900 forged pistons would cost elsewhere.

KB has some decent pistons, but I sourced from my machinist.
Clevite bearings
I deburred the block, and
Make sure the machinist knows that the cam bearings have a correct orientation. You need to find someone who works on more than SBC 's , maybe has some 2.9 or 4.0 experience.

Heads and cam- I used the comp cams 410-8 with stock replacement valve springs and hardware. New rocker arms and push rods. I used Smith Bros push rods custom length to match the cam. You must measure for the rods during mock up. Get new timing chain, adjuster, and guide, I used a Cloyes set. I used stock replacement rockers, If I were to do it again I would only change the rockers. Delta Cams has rockers avail that have a hardened wear cup installed in the rocker wear surface. I kept the stock rocker shafts and springs, talked to sven and he didnt really think the spacers were needed on a street engine that wasnt going to see rpm, I did have the clearances opened on the rockers a bit. And chamfered the shafts and cleaned up the oil passages top the heads.

Head work, polish the chambers, and port match the intakes and exhaust clean up the bowls- this is covered in Svens book, and I believe that this is the most important to a 4.0 build. If I were to do it again, I would probably get the late model heads and have the porter open up the combustion chambers a bit so that I would end up with a compression ratio in the 9.5 range. If you use a cam larger than the 410-8 than I would run the late model heads with the increased compression (10:1) asssuming that I wasnt looking at a supercharger. I was planning on running 32" tires and 4.10 gears, with smaller tires or lower gears( a lower overall final gear ratio) a more aggressive cam and more compression can be run.

USE the Ford valve cover gasket, and the intake gasket you wont be sorry.

I matched the upper intake to the lower intake, and had my injectors flow checked and cleaned. The stock 19lb injectors should be good to 230-40hp so fine for this engine which should be around 210-15hp.

Bolt ons
I run headers, a 63mm TB, and a 70mm MAF, KKM filter.

I would get them all, but if you want to save money the engine runs well with the stock MAF in place.
I do not have a chip, but I will. Custom burned for the mods. This has the greatest potential to maximize the engine work.

I like the engine. It idles well, pulls nice from idle, even better over 2000 rpm.


A4LD- A couple of tips.

GEt a NEW Ford pump- dont let them rebuild yours. Make sure they check the pilot bushing, and the converter housing bushing- if worn a new align bored bushing is best bet. I used the red racing bands. Add the alto power pack to the clutch drum, have them use the improved grooved clutch plates where they can. Get the improved OD planet- either a welded or billet (if you can find and afford ) add one of the shift improver kits (transGO, Superior) and get an aftermarket brazed converter. Add the largest trans cooler you can fit to top it all off.

I would think about the doubler for the 1354 that has been talked about here, may be a decent alternative to the atlas adding a bit more flexibility with gear choices. Its not perfected yet, but looks promising.

Ahh, too long. I have to go eat, good luck and have fun.
Im not previewing this so I apologize in advance for poor spelling and grammar.

 

[Joe93]

Well it looks like its gonna be the 4.0 there wer 2 reasons for the decidng factor. #1 It looks like I can get all the power I want from the 4.0 and #2 I found one hell of a deal on a tranny and an engine with 41,000 miles on it. I put the deposit down today, I won't know for sure the finall inspection results on the engine till about next week. They just got it in today. So I will keep my fingers crossed til then.