If the block looks okay...I will be picking up everything!!!

 

If not please pass the info along


On another note I picked up a set of Manley Pistons and Manley Rods with ARP 2000 bolts for $916 shipped - brand new.

 

if u don't get the block, i will. let me know...

 

So what are everyones thoughts on piston rings ?

5.4 SOHC with manley pistons and rods.

will see a vortech, between 14-20 PSI most likly, although I dont want to worry about the motor should I crank it a wee bit more.

I've heard Total Seal is great, but ive read to run gapless or stainless rings. ive searched alot of the big boards with no luck on this topic.

 

I picked a set of perfect circle moly file-fit rings. Total Seal is fine too. Call up MMR and see what they say. They build a helluva lot of modulars so I'd figure they know which rings are good for what. You shouldn't worry much about that... get a good brand with a nice long racing heritage and you'll be ok.

The more important part ends up your ring gap on blown motors. You'll probably want the gap opened up a little if you plan of making over 14lbs or so. I don't claim to be expert but engine builder buddies of mine always open up the gaps on n2o and big-boost motors. Again, MMR is a good source of friendly info, as would be VT engines, DSS and many others.

 

also don't forget that my spare front cover is for sale... for you I'll make you guys that actively post in this thread I'll make a deal better than my ad.

 

I will have to call up MMR then, being as they sold me the pistons and rods. I didnt even think to ask what they had in the way of rings.

 

I've heard both good and bad about gapless and the benefits are very minimal compared to normal file-fits. Also, I've never heard of stainless rings. Stainless wouldn't seem to be the right metal since it's hard and probably would never seat. Just stick w/ the old school ductile iron or chrome or the new school moly.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piston_ring just in case....

 

Under large amounts of boost(14+ PSI)..I would expect to destroy a ringland before you actually destroy the ring.
I would go with the Manley rings for the Manley pistons. Afterall, they were designed for that piston.

 

I have this routing on my 4.6 Bullitt:

The 99 5.4 cover is this routing:

How do I resolve this issue?

BTW: Thanks for the photos.

 

what are all those other pullies on the right side? is that all one large bracket for the blower?

 

Yes, that's the blower bracketry for the F150. Just ignore that part. I am referring to the basic engine pulley/serpentine routing.

 

I called up MMR and they said Speed Pro Plamsa Moly File Fits, so thats what I'll do.

BlackBullitt, once you remove all the extra pullies from the supercharger, the only difference is the position of the tensioner, which changes the routing on the crank and A/C. All other pulleys are in the same locations.

 

So basically I just need a tensioner pulley from a 99-00 and everything else "should" work?

 

I dont know if the tensioners are swapable or not, someone else may be able to provide more insite into that.

If you are concerned that the belt routing on the 5.4 is different, it will be fine the way it is, I would leave it like that personally.

 

that's my take on it... it doesn't matter how they route on your existing motor... you just route it how it SHOULD BE on your new motor and deal with it. It's not a big deal as long as everything turns in the same direction it's supposed to.

 

Yep, what r3d said, which is what I said, lol.

In addition to that, the 5.4 belt routings have advantages and disadvangages for supercharged cars

On one hand there is more belt wrap on the crank pulley - less belt slip to worry about on the crank pulley that way.

On the other hand on higher power/boost setups people were having problems with the tensioner flexing and tossing belts on those styles. I guess the Crank turns a little to fast and pulls on the belt, which pulls on the tensioner. I read there was a fix for that, not sure what it was.




Another question.

I was reading another site today and im confused.

On a stock bore, with a plate hone (not a bore, just a plate cyllinder hone), I want to run SDT sized pistons and rings correct ?

I thought this was the case, but I've been wrong before.

 

it depends on the bore wear. I would play it safe and do at least a .010 overbore. 5.4's tend to side load the bores and get them out of round as the mileage gets high. It's best to start with a fresh perfect bore if you're gunna build it anyway.

 

****, my pistons and rings are STD bore.

The mileage of my block is unknown, its a 98 so if its averaged 12k a year thats just over 100k.

I guess I'll find out the hard way this weekend when I take it to the shop.

 

If it was taken care of, you'll be fine. My dad's F-150 w/ the 5.4 has close to 215,000 miles and there is no indication the bores are so worn that the piston is loose since it doesn't exhibit piston knock during cold weather start-ups, no oil consumption, etc. So, you may luck out but it all depends what your shop says. If they say you need to overbore than you have to buy pistons/rings to match.

 

Hopefully not, I'd really love to stay stock bore reguardless. The cyllinders all LOOK good, but thats to my untrained eye. Im not really qualified to make that decision.

Although before I ordered the pistons and rings they said they would note on my invoice I may need to return for an oversize and I'll just be out a few bucks for shipping.

Luckily MMR is only a few hours away, so shipping is nothing.

 

then you're covered. proceed with a smile. Hey... pop over to MMR and check out my engine. tell me how it looks.

 

I guess "few" hours was a bit vauge.

It's about 6-8 hours away, lol.



As a note, I was just going through my list, so far everything is right on plan... which I'm 100% shocked about.

- For the block and crank I wanted to spend $300 and got it for $250 + $100 freight.
- The pistons I planned to spend $550, and got them from MMR for $517 shipped.
- The rods I planned to spend $500 and got them from MMR for $404 shipped.
- The piston rings I planned to spend $150 on, and got them from $140 from MMR, and they put them in the box with my pending order
- Machine work I have about $450 to spend there and they are quoting me $385 over the phone...

With things going THIS smooth, there has to be a snag in the road in this project somewhere. There just HAS to be.

 

Knock on wood!!! Glad things are going smoothly over there. I'm waiting for one more scholarship (for school I already paid for) to arrive in July and then I'll finish this up.

 

very nice guys, sounds like everything is moving smoothly.

 

I'm hoping the Pistons, Rods, and rings ship today or tomorrow, so they should be here midweek.

I also decided, if i didnt post this already, that instead of a 4.6 SOHC 2v to 5.4 SOHC 2v swap - im going to do a 5.4 SOHC 3v swap. The pistons will work with the 3v heads because of the deck height of the 5.4, but the headswap lower the comp ratio about .5 - oh well, just a few more PSI to make up for it.

~400 rwhp n/a on low compresson makes spending this money (its under $500+/- more) hurt my wallet MUCH less then 330ish on mid to high compression.

For about what a Vortech kit new would cost, to end up with the same power for a brand new forged block/internals/t56 - MUCH more justifable to me.

 

3V huh? Why not plan on having 400ish N/A and then putting a vortec on later? or maybe some giggle juice!


What is different in the 3v swap?

 

I do plan on having 400ish n/a and it will recieve a vortech once the motor is broken in (500ish miles). Well, I need to upgrade the rear end first - THEN the vortech goes on.

A std bore 5.4 2V with Stage II heads, custom grind cams, and a decent intake (not stock PI) is usually 320-330 RWHP, and about 375ish RWTQ.

A std bore 4.6 3v with Stage II heads, custom grind cams, and a stock intake is usually 360-380 RWHP, and matching RWTQ.

A std bore 5.4 3v with that same heads and intake, possibly a bit more agressive cam (still fully streetable), should be at or over 400 at the tires n/a and some fairly nice torque to boot.


The 3v buildup adds about $600-$1000 to the cost of the build due to the higher price of core heads, extra valve, and needing adjustable cam gears to disable the VCT. However thats offset because a stock 3v intake is $100 vs a good performing 2v intake thats $800 - $1000, so its a wash.

2v to 4v is mucho more money so it wasnt an option. The crappy "b" heads are stupid amounts of money, I cant imagine 03/04 Mach or Cobra heads - or even worse... Ford GT heads, + the intakes as well. Big Bore is much more money, so its not an option. So the 3v is the best option for what I want to do IMO.

 

so is the lower compression better for a blower? why isnt anyone else doing this? there's gotta be a catch! I'm more for the 3v if this is basicly it.