i am doing my fuel system right the first time. 1000rwhp capable on pump gas,race gas,or E85.....

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks to this thread, I am convinced a 5.4 is my answer! I want a strong, NA powerplant and maybe a little nitrous down the road.

I picked up a used 5.4 for $50 a couple weeks ago and just finished tearing it down and re-installing the main caps. Seller told me it had a rod knock; looks like it ran out of oil. It has some marks in the cam bores, so I'm just going to get new heads. I was hoping to be able to re-use the crank but the wear on #7 & 8 journal is too much for my comfort. The block does appear to be ok, I just need to get it checked out to see what it needs and if its good.

I'd like to have it making power up to 6000 - 6500 RPM, maybe even 7000. If anyone has any input to what I would need to meet my goal please chime in. I'm already planning on HPS intake, ported PI heads or the new trick flow heads, Comp 270 or 278's, forged rods (thinking manley H beams), forged pistons etc.

 

The big limiting factor will be the heads at that RPM so the trick flow's will probably be worth looking at, with the right cams of course.
I think I've read that 5.4's are hard on the rod bearings when you get on up there in RPM due to the long stroke, I'm sure some of the other guys will chime in. But I'd imagine it would be ok as long as you weren't winding it up that high on a daily basis.

 

Playing on the dyno sim to find you some answers.

EDIT: ok, desktop dyno says that if you:
retard the xe278's 2 degrees, use the hottest 2v head you can find (did the sim with stage 2 fox lake numbers), 1.75" longtubes, 10.5:1 compression, and HPS intake you should see your power peak at 6000, carry to 6500 and drop off severely after that. It'll lose a little tq at the bottom end compared to some of our setups but it's still quite stout. Tq peak in the simulation comes in around 4700rpm. At 2K rpm it's making as much tq as a full bolt-on 4.6.

Keep in mind that's a guess based on a simulation. It's been generally pretty accurate but it's not a gospel. Just a way to help plan your combo.

Check out The Mustang Depot in Riverside, CA on Palmyrta drive. They have an ebay store with the best prices you'll get on forged bottom end parts.

 

I'm actually very easy. Most of the time I'll go a week or more without going WOT. But if higher RPM hurts reliability, I'll stay away from it. The car is and will remain my DD.

If thats the case, IMO it defeats the purpose of the build. I love the midrange of the 5.4 and thats what caught my attention, just dont like the idea of it running completely out of steam at 5,000+ RPM. I played on DynoSim myself, and it seems that regardless the power usually peaks at 5000-5500.

If it pulled like a raped ape from 2,000 - 5,500 RPM with built bottom end, HPS intake, cams and ported PI's / trick flow heads I would be happy. Just need the money for the build.

 

Just occurred to me; I had been searching ebay...were you referring to the "TMD" labled stuff? The prices are fantastic, but doing some searching the quality seems to be hit or miss due to quality control.

 

Off the shelf comps have an LSA that is too wide for even a 4.6 which means it (the LSA) will be even farther from optimum for a 5.4. Also, retarding the cams will hurt low the low end. With that, some custom cams with an LSA of 106-108 and intake duration in the 240 range will work great. The tighter LSA will get the torque up quick by increasing cylinder filling in the lower rpm range and keep power from dropping off after peak.

A member of the modular mustang racing forums (MMR) posted a dyno graph of a 4.6 that shows how well tight LSA cams work. Even with a PI intake the engine made 338 rwhp and over 340ft lbs with cams in the 250 duration range.

BTW, those desktop dynos are rarely correct.

 

Anyone in PA looking for a cheap 5.4? Here ya go>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-...Q5fAccessories

 

If that stays that cheap I may have a 5.4 by Monday.

 

that's exactly what it does with a much less aggressive cam. Perhaps a hitech stage 2 or a custom cam from them would be neato. In any case, start your build. You'll be happy in the end.

 

i got hunters done, acting up alittle after the long tubes and ported intake. now gotta get some dyno time to readjust the tune and see if the lt's made a diffrence....

 

Thats good to hear. Is it OK to go with an ebay rod, or do I need to fork out almost double for a name brand rod like manley? Also will a factory 5.4 crank suffice? It may see nitrous in the future but I'm not set on it. I will go with a high quality piston just for the nitrous reason.

 

the 5.4 crank is a burly piece. even the stock steel one can take a serious beating, i wouldn't worry about the crank unless your pushing 800hp.....

 

many of us including me have the TMD rods. They're good pieces. I also got probe pistons from them. They're not 1000hp kind of rods but 600 or so to the tires should be within their potential.

 

I agree! The TMD rods are great pc for the price. Be sure to check the bearing bores in the rod first before building.

 

all i want for xmas is time to work on my car..........








- and maybe some of you guys posting pics of your projects......

 

Custom cams, custom cams, custom cams. Won't cost much more than aftermarket of the shelf cams and they're designed for your application.

An inexpensive easy exhaust system is the real limiting factor in my desire to swap. I would love to put a 5.4 in my '98 GT.

 

Here are a few pics from when I was assembling my 5.4l motor last March. Its been in going on 10months now and ruuning like a champ. Its bored .030 over and I replaced the pistons with .030 over forged stock replacements. Unfortunately I didnt have the money to replace the rods at the time, but it is due in the future when I do the DOHC swap.











And yes I assembled most of it in my apartment, on the living room floor

 

Care to share how you got it out of there in one piece?

 

I backed my buddies truck up to my apartment front door. From there, my roommate and I picked it up and loaded it into the back of the truck lol. Landlord wasnt happy with the tire marks left in the grass LOL.

 

Nice

 

What's up guys? I've been interested in the 5.4 2 Valve swap for some time now, and just found this website. I've read the first 20 pages, the posts are back from '06. Has anyone finished their projects and put down some dyno numbers or track times? I read the first 20 pages of this thread and I'm dieing to know what they make with the new intake manifold, headers, and some nice cams!

 

Yup. Quite a few people have completed their swaps. Time to do a little more reading

 

Hey guys, here is a pretty sick intake manifold for you 4v guys. It is for B heads and fits the 5.4l

it is from Sullivan

 

that looks nasty a good nasty lol

PS back from Iraq, still in the states for Xmas, wont be back to piecing my baby(yes baby since i dont have kids nor want them for another 5 years my car is my baby, the now X didnt like that idea....stingy bitch) back together..

 

awesome pics guys.....

i have some vacation on the 19th, maybe some fuel system stuff will be finished....

 

power varies with the equipment. We've seen from 220-360rwhp and 316-390rwtq NA. Blown combos get bigger gains than 4.6L cars with the same boost. Blown tq numbers are staggering.

 

Alright.. Looks like Mustang Depot has what I'm looking for, as far as rotating assembly parts go. Is $839.00 a reasonable price for a set of Mahle forged .030 over pistons with a 10.5-11:1 comp ratio, and a set of H-beam rods? I would still have to buy a crank, but stock 5.4 cranks are relatively cheap. TIA

 

It's a pic of the actual product though:
"We got our first SLA in for trial fitting. We need to make a couple adjustments to clear a few things but they are minor adjustments. This is a CAD model of the close to finished intake manifold. The plenums look large (they are) but they are actually filled with runner extensions. The intake plenums are shown in a carbon fiber finish for the heck of it.
And yes, this intake will fit 5.4L DOHC engines with B heads!"

This is what it looks like now:

 

awesome.....