which powerplant?

[CDW6212R]

It sounds good, but have you done the real budget work? We want to help of course, but I don't want to push you into spending more than you planned. That's why I have mentioned costs for additional parts, several times.

For a stroker, you can shop around looking for used parts or for reciprocating assemblies, or short blocks. The 347 and 331 share the pistons often times, with the upper ring lands spaced for good oil control. The oiling and cylinder issues are almost the same now, which is why I jumped to the 347 instead of the 331. The good thing is that almost any builder is capable of preparing a block for the long crank, given adapters which make the grinding easy. Those can be had yourself for about $45 I recall reading.

Find your builder and consult with them about the balancing, the weight of the crank versus the dampner/balancer. They have to match, or the crank be possible to balance to match.

 

[seth247]

so are there any other reasons to go with the 331 or is it pretty much the same now?

There's a kit on ebay for 600$ and that includes a free tool for notching the block which I think is what your talking about.

And what are you saying has to match? The weight of the crank and the balancer?

 

[seth247]

another question is if I end up going with the 347 and a few of the normal bolt ons and a few PSI. Then I'll be pushing 400-450 HP.

Can a 4r70w stand up to this kind of power? Even with moderate street driving.

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes they can, but being stock with high mileage isn't best for high power. That's part of the extra parts I spoke of. I'm doing all that I can for a spare 99 4R70W that I have, plus a torque converter. That needs to be part of the budget, or planned for later.

 

[seth247]

yeah hopefully I'll be able to pick one up with low miles and then throw in a beef-up package.

What kind of torque converter should I look at? High stall?

I was looking at a forged steel crank made by eagle with a 3.400
stroke for only 360$. Sounds like a good deal.

 

[Turdle]

I still would try for the 3.4" stroke if you can-

although that is a great price for a forged crank of any Ford displacement.

After actually holding 2 converters in my hands-I chose the 9" Art carr version for 2 reasons-
It should spin up faster, being 40 lbs lighter-

and, since it is a lock up converter-it will give excellent fuel economy.

The TCI converter is a 13" made from stock unit-and I promise weighs twice that of the Art Carr billet converter.

Plan on about 800 bux for it compared to about 480 for a TCI

I recommend a phone call to Art Carr. This conversation will educate you more than we can do here.

 

[seth247]

sorry ment to say 3.4 stroke. Post edited.

 

[seth247]

well after reading a little about converters I think I want a lower stall ratio.

The extra torque for a high stall sound nice but I'd rather have the efficiency.

What kind is the art carr?

 

[CDW6212R]

Art Carr is one of the first companies to build aftermarket parts, one of the best. I have a converter from Edge, a newer company than most, but hopefully better than the PI or TCI stuff. I worked my way up to a 2800rpm stall, being convinced that the normal driving character would be fine. I first mentioned to them that this would be my one vehicle that I might tow with.

We'll see if they can hit the rpm rating properly, that is the biggest issue with an aftermarket converter. It is somewhat common for a converter to end up with a stall far from what it's supposed to be. The stall is entirely dependent on the torque of the engine. If they miss the estimate at all, then the stall will be off. If you change the power of the engine through modifications, the stall will change also. I'll let you know in a few weeks if they are worth the trouble.

 

[Turdle]

I would like techieman33 to chime in and tell you how my truck drives.

Better yet-come drive it yourself to get a feel of the torque converter.

 

[techieman33]

I would like techieman33 to chime in and tell you how my truck drives.

Better yet-come drive it yourself to get a feel of the torque converter.

It drove great, everything was nice and smooth. It was almost like driving mine. I give a lot of the credit to James for that, it's a totally different truck since he worked his magic on it. I haven't put my right foot into it since then though. I did that once and it went sideways on me from all the torque steer. I don't want to do that again, it's one thing if I do it in mine, but I could never live with myself if I hurt someone else's truck.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's why I want the power spread of the front tires. My stock Lincoln with 3.73's is dangerous on slick roads, and I've flipped one of those.

 

[techieman33]

That's why I want the power spread of the front tires. My stock Lincoln with 3.73's is dangerous on slick roads, and I've flipped one of those.

It's probably not that bad, Jon doesn't seem to have any problems keeping it under control, I think most of my sideways problems was it being my first time driving it and not being ready for it.

 

[CDW6212R]

I know, but what I wonder about is if we ever reach 500lbs.ft. at 2500rpm, then we have a problem. A good problem,

 

[techieman33]

What problem is that?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Since nobody else has pointed it out I will. Those $150 swap headers Seth is talking about won't work on the GT40P heads.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I didn't catch that, did he mention old 91-94 Explorer/Ranger 302 headers?

He didn't say what brand or what vehicle. He mentioned them in post #11

 

[seth247]

James duff has the long tube version.

And advanced adapters has the shorties.

Both about 250$

 

[seth247]

torque steer

Thats a new one on me. Whats torque steer?

And what do you mean power spread of the front tires, don?

 

[CDW6212R]

James duff has the long tube version.

And advanced adapters has the shorties.

Both about 250$

Ah, just make very sure that they are for the 91-94 Explorers. Dan I believe was worried that you might be dealing with a 95+ Explorer.

The remark I made about the front tires and spread was about 4WD. In 2WD you have all power going to the back tires, and thus more tire spin, and steering issues. Jon has to choose between 2WD and 4WD, which you may also depending on what transfer case you use. I'm going to have the auto 4WD from an Expedition TC, it will help with traction.