ok so i found a great deal on an engine. but its out of a sohc and im 4v so my comp ratio would be extremely low. my question is can i get a set of flat top pistons and a new set of rods put in without having the block machined or would i absolutely have to have that done? also would the pistons and rods need balanced or could they just go staight in? bc if i have to go through the whole rebuild process im just gonna get a shortblock from karkraft

 

So you are looking to put an existing top end on a new shortblock? Yes, it could be possible to just get the cylinders honed, but you'd want to have the block checked before buying any standard bore pistons. Do you have power adder or high rpm plans? If not Karkraft has new Navigator shortblocks for $1195, might be a decent option if you don't need the upgraded rods....

http://karkraft.com/short_blocks1.htm

 

ok, how do you convince the wifey that there is nothing wrong with ripping a perfectly good motor out of a car and stuffing a bigger, stronger, more powerful one in. she just cant get it. "it would make sense if the original motor is bad" she says. AHHHHHH!!! and just when i get my money in! now she's gonna try and block the swap build-up.

 

lol this is easy, you dont get married... lol, wished i could help you, but im not married and now no GF... she was mad i was spending so much time and money on the car... that was one of many things lol... but hey its life and im only 21 so i dont really care...

Try telling her its about to blow up(blowing blue smoke), and you are just trying to fix it before it breaks down so you are not stranded randomly on the side of the road... maybe??? lol

 

hey guy i was looking for the TF heads and dont see any for OHC ??? am i just not looking in the right place or somthing? trickflow.com is where i went. can someone point me in the right direction

 

I dont think the TFS SOHC heads are out yet but it is supposed to be soon. I could be wrong, but if they are actually on the market now it has been only recently and all the speed shops, etc. may not be on to them yet.

 

Some of the past post's I read was talking about needing a new wireing harness for the 4v. My question is do I need the computer also, or is their an adapter for the 4.6 that the 5.4 plugs into?

 

There's an adapter. Plug it into your ECU and then plug it right into the block where the old one was connected... Just above the main seal is where the connection is at right? .......j/k
But seriously, what are you talking about? Are you putting this thing in a VW bug? If your putting it in a Mustang, it should fit just fine. The only thing i changed on the harness was the injector connectors. I swapped my mustang ones for the Navigator ones after i upgraded and didnt get the right connection type. I did need a longer throttle cable (but that was sullivan intake related) and i suspect i will need a longer cruise control throttle cable but i havent got there yet.

Heres a guide: Unplug everything. Unbolt the engine. Put the new engine in, and plug everything back up where it came from (pretend their the same). Pop you an extra hole in the back of the passanger head and connect it to the other heater core port.

 

Will the real 5.4 Heads please stand up?

 

just tell your wife your upgrading the motor while it still has some life left in it. then the old motor can sit on a stand in the garage as a backup.

 

No no no......you tell her selling the old one should pretty much pay for the new one.....and the new bigger engine will have an easier time moving the car so it should get better gas mileage....




Please take special note of the word "should" rather than "will" in the above statements...




P.S. If you think you gotta be creative....my wife is a CPA.....

 

Ibane that is sexy....
how much of a cowl are you going to need for it... it looks pretty tall..

 

This thread dates back to February 2006. HPS has brought us the intake we would all like. Now we need a header manufacturer to start building long or shortie headers for this swap.

For me the headers, or lack thereof, are the real hold back for me doing this swap. My 145,000 mile '98 would love to have a nice mild 5.4 slipped between the strut towers.

I realize that long tube will deliver the greatest power increase, but a specific X-Pipe with cats that would hook up to stock 4.6 headers would be plenty good enough for a street car.

 

Also can't the 4V stuff in this thread be moved someplace else?

This thread is about 5.4 2V SOHC swaps, not 4V DOHC.

 

Uh.. No. This thread is about 5.4 swaps in general (hence the title "Anyone Interested in 5.4 swaps.") The fact that the person who started this thread installed a 2v does not mean that the information in this thread should only concern 2v's.

 

I would like to see the 2V and 4V swap info separated also.

 

+1

 

I was way too optimistic in my hopes for longtubes returning hp numbers. I got 20hp just like everyone else. Don't worry about pipes, worry about heads.

 

So r3d, would you say the longtubes are worth the hassle to install?? What about worth the price (for somebody that would pay $800)

 

I also think this motor, with PI heads (ported or not), is gonna be more cam sensitive than a lot of others (a 4.6 among others) because of the severe oversquare build and small bore. The TF heads will likely make it a bit less so because of higher overall flow and better I/E balance for flow.....


BTW your header gains are good, gotta keep in mind you already had the high flow cats in place, thats where you allowed the expectations to get unrealistic because you had already picked up a lot in the exhaust. My old 5.4 picked up something near 20/20 at the wheels I think (*memory is slipping....) just be replacing the stock cat pipe with an offroad H. If you done it all at once would have seen MUCH higher gains. Even my truck picked up ~25/43 at the wheels with longtubes and high flows over the stock stuff....

 

since r3d got boned hard on the LT's i have 2 fab shops here in bham looking at all the pics of r3d's. i told them to look the over and see if they can make them for under 800 for steel and under 1000 for stainless. we will hear so things this week. both shops can make these fairly easy it's just if they can make them for a cost that ppl can afford.

 

and Red you already had shorties on there right so if you went straight from a completly stock exaust system to an all out LT/ off road H-pipe then it would seem much more impressive Correct

 

any guesstimation on how long untill the shops figure out if the LTs can be done at the reasonable price?

 

true enough. I'm considering popping some bigger cats and bigger pipe from the collectors back. The cats and pipe behind them are 2.5" and the collectors are 3". I don't know what to expect from popping 3" pipe all the way back and some higher flowing cats. I don't want to eliminate the cats altogether due to the extreme cost of a ticket for that offense. Thoughts?

I had shorties and a bassani x-pipe and a decent cat back. Going from a totally stock exhaust would have probably been a much more significant gain.

 

compared to a stock setup.. hell yeah. Even compared to what I had before, yeah really. The sound is incredible and it really did make a noticeable difference especially at the top end. The price I paid was just flat excessive but if you can get a set of tubes for 800-1000 and have them installed for 800-1000 then yeah... just barely. With better heads than I have it should be even more worth it.

I'm torn on if I'd have done it again or not. I'd probably just put more money into the heads and slap a blower on it.

 

I don't think you have much left to gain in the exhaust, not where I'd put my money....

 

edit: nevermind my coil pack question, found 1 thats bad. Called local Ford dealer and they said $106.47 each!!! I can get all 8 off ebay for ~$75 and have seen plenty of reviews that they work fine.... I'm used to dealer stuff being overpriced but damn.....

 

Considering that big blocks usually use 3" pipe and 2.5" is fine for larger small blocks, I wouldn't waste the cash, unless you plan on going FI. Maybe 2.75" as a compromise but again, there are better places to use the cash.

 

Yeah I tried multiple combos. I will just redo it again. See what happens.

 

I've *sorta* figured out my oil consumption that I've mentioned in past posts.... I put an oil separator on my pcv lines and after ~20 miles of driving I've got around 1/4" of oil in the bottom of the cup... Good to know my valve guides aren't bad like I thought but holy crap thats a lot of oil whipped up into the air. Anybody have a known cause for this other than just ohc engines have more motion under the valve covers??

This REALLY makes me wonder how much oil is puddled in my intake plenum......gonna have to keep looking for an aluminum PI intake. If anyone has one or sees one for sale would much appreciate the heads up....