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perf-list-digest Monday, September 6 1999 Volume 02 : Number 227



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Ford Truck Enthusiasts - Performance
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In this issue:

FTE Perf - Valve noise
Re: FTE Perf - Valve noise
FTE Perf - 400 Camshaft
Re: FTE Perf - 400 Camshaft
FTE Perf - Performance Questions about new 2000 F-150 Lariat 4x4
RE: FTE Perf - Valve noise
RE: FTE Perf - Performance Questions about new 2000 F-150 Lariat 4x4

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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 08:05:11 EDT
From: WJeff43 AOL.COM
Subject: FTE Perf - Valve noise

When I put a new long-block in my '79 F100, there was one rocker arm that
didn't oil when I pre-oiled the engine before initial start-up. I called a
friend of mine and he said that since the one that wouldn't oil was in the
middle, the oil galley was OK and that is should start to oil once the engine
was run. After 1000 miles, I pulled the valve cover (to re-torque the head
bolts) and noticed that this same rocker arm was the only one that wasn't
full of oil. All of the other rocker arms were full to the brim. I pulled
the rocker and pushrod and checked the oil paths and they were fine. I also
have a valve tap at mid to high rpms that I think may be related. I don't
know a lot about pushrod engines. Might the lifter be bad? How do you
remove them? A magnet maybe? Can they be purchased separately? Any other
suggestions? Bill Jeffreys
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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 08:18:50 -0700
From: "Danger"
Subject: Re: FTE Perf - Valve noise

> When I put a new long-block in my '79 F100, there was one rocker arm that
> didn't oil when I pre-oiled the engine before initial start-up. I called
a
> friend of mine and he said that since the one that wouldn't oil was in the
> middle, the oil galley was OK and that is should start to oil once the
engine
> was run. After 1000 miles, I pulled the valve cover (to re-torque the
head
> bolts) and noticed that this same rocker arm was the only one that wasn't
> full of oil. All of the other rocker arms were full to the brim. I
pulled
> the rocker and pushrod and checked the oil paths and they were fine. I
also
> have a valve tap at mid to high rpms that I think may be related. I don't
> know a lot about pushrod engines. Might the lifter be bad? How do you
> remove them? A magnet maybe? Can they be purchased separately? Any
other
> suggestions? Bill Jeffreys
..............

Perhaps the rocker shaft bolts were not installed in the proper
locations? On an FE big block, although they look identical at first glance,
there is one bolt on each shaft that is different from the other three. A
slightly longer bolt with a tapered shank allows oil to pass. I'm only
familiar with FE's but perhaps the other big blocks use the same oiling
method for the rocker shafts?
A lifter removal tool can be purchased at your local automotive tool
store for $5 or $10 dollars, and lifters can be purchased seperately.

Danger


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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 08:03:46 -0700
From: "Chris Samuel"
Subject: FTE Perf - 400 Camshaft

You have to have been here to see what I am talking about.
http://www.ford-trucks.com//lc/lc.php?action=do&link=http://home.pacifier.com/~bbeyer/Cam_Comp.htm

"M" Fans, and any one else running over 400 CI.
The Camshafts listed in Bill's chart are roughly listed in descending order
of the power levels that they will produce.
Of the top three cams it will be little difference between them peak power
wise. But there is another factor that comes in to play, that being the lobe
center angles. Bill has raised the CR to 9.0:1. Most cams for this engine
IMHO are ground for the factory typical LOW compression configuration
(7.5/8.0:1CR); with wide centers. The wide Lobe center reduces the overlap
Period. The overlap Period is the time when the Intake AND the Exhaust
valves are open. The amount of Overlap has a direct influence on the power
output , emissions, and driveability characteristics of the engine.
Power we typically divide between Torque and Horses.
Torque is what we call bottom-end power and Horses are Generally Top-end.
In a classic text book scenario, the larger the Overlap Period the less
Bottom-end, and the more Top-end. Why? The longer the overlap period the
less efficient the engine is AT LOW SPEEDS, or in the Bottom-end.
All of the top three cams have 10° (aprx.) more duration then the bottom
three
cams. The longer the duration the longer the Overlap Period with lobe
centers at a fixed spread. The Overlap Period can be reduced by spreading
the centers.
Low compression engines tend to like short duration, wide lobe center
camshafts.
High compression engines like all kinds of Cams!
Emissions engines must have both Short Duration and Low Overlap Cams. (Yes,
there are exceptions)
So where am I going?
Well, Cutting to the quick.
With a small Carb. (600 CFM) and a mild Intake (Performer), Bill has
components that will work well in the Idle to 5000 RPM range, due to
improved Cylinder Filling. The Port work will only help this. Throttle
response will be good. This is due to intake velocity and increased MEP
(Mean Effective Pressure). We all know that this engine can be picky about
Gas quality. Raise the MEP and it becomes more so. Every thing listed above
will raise the MEP and so make the engine intolerant of JUNK gas! We can
bleed off some of the pressure in the bottom end with a lengthened Duration,
and or narrowing the Lobe Centers.
As Bill raised the CR he will be making more Bottom-end, so a Narrower Lobe
Center will loose some of it. But he is going to be making 2x or more then
the factory did at the same RPM so even loosing some results in a net gain.
The longer duration will allow the engine to run harder in the top-end, be
more tolerant of gas quality, and the narrowed lobe center will accentuate
this trend. In this case I would recommend the narrow lobe center, long
duration approach. Bill is running an Automatic so generally the Duration
should be under 220° 0.050 (Avg. Both Int. & Ext.) with a stock converter.
The Comp Cam listed is over this, but the small Carb will compensate for
most of this. The Comp Cam may not be the best choice from an Emissions
standpoint. So getting back to the 220° may be required making the Crane or
SVO cam my second choice.
I should note that you are not limited to the choices in the cam books as
most will custom grind anything you want. So I might choose the Crane cam
duration with the Comp Cam Intake Lift, SVO exhaust Lift, on a 109° Lobe
Center.

Note that without headers and good exhaust, none of these camshafts will
give their potential and a much shorter duration would be a better choice.

Just my opinion.
MUEL
79 Bronco
75 F250 4x4


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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 11:31:13 -0700
From: "Bill Beyer"
Subject: Re: FTE Perf - 400 Camshaft

Ok the Samuels Special has been added to the list:
http://www.ford-trucks.com//lc/lc.php?action=do&link=http://home.pacifier.com/~bbeyer/Cam_Comp.htm

How do you think this cam would fare on the sniffer test? This thing is
still a slave to the smog nazis at least for the next 5 years. I gotta admit
I like the idea of a custom camshaft, I don't think it costs all that much
more than a stock one since this isn't a SBC. Any preference on who does it?
I'm sorta leaning towards Crane since I'm going to be using their adj.
rocker conversion kit.

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, riddle them with bullets"

- -----Original Message-----
From: Chris Samuel
To: A Perf-List
Date: Sunday, September 05, 1999 8:07 AM
Subject: FTE Perf - 400 Camshaft



>I should note that you are not limited to the choices in the cam books as
>most will custom grind anything you want. So I might choose the Crane cam
>duration with the Comp Cam Intake Lift, SVO exhaust Lift, on a 109° Lobe
>Center.



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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 17:08:17 -0500
From: jmann living.com
Subject: FTE Perf - Performance Questions about new 2000 F-150 Lariat 4x4

Hello all,

I'm preparing to order a 2000 F-150 (5.4 Triton) Lariat 4x4. The great
thing about this is that my brother works for Ford, cha-ching! The dealer
I'm working with here in Austin, TX., Covert Ford, has their own, huge,
brand new custom shop. Its called Central Texas Customs.

The Question(s);

- - I'm looking at a 50 or 70 series Flowmater mufflers. Ultimately I want
better gas mileage and power, but I have to consider my neighbors; my garage
is directly under one. Advise??

- - Now for the K&N Air Filter, should I go with the replacement for the
factory airbox, or should I go the whole nine yards, ditch the airbox and go
with the K&N Cone setup??

- - How about Mass Airflow Sensors? Good or bad idea? Any recommendations?

- - Big bore throttle bodies??

- - Performance ECUs????

- - And last, but I'm sure not least, Splitfire plugs?


Basically, I'm looking for the best-bang-for-your-buck bolt-on parts, the
goals are gas mileage and power, in that order.

Oh, and finally, at this point I've built the truck with a 3.55 limited slip
diff(LSD), how would the 3.73 LSD affect gas milage.

And YES, I know gas is cheap!

Thanks in advance guys!

Joe



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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 21:34:21 -0500
From: "William S. Hart"
Subject: RE: FTE Perf - Valve noise

> > was run. After 1000 miles, I pulled the valve cover (to re-torque the
> head
> > bolts) and noticed that this same rocker arm was the only one
> that wasn't

> Perhaps the rocker shaft bolts were not installed in the proper
> locations? On an FE big block, although they look identical at
> first glance,

This was a thought I had briefly, but the FE's are a solid push rod, no
holes, so they have to get their oil through there, I don't think he's got a
rocker shaft setup ...

But I'm stumped too, the lifter would be my guess, especially if you're
getting a valve tap and no oil ...

Just my $.02
wish

96 Mustang GT 4.6L
73ish F100 4x4 6.4L
http://www.ford-trucks.com//lc/lc.php?action=do&link=http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wish

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Date: Sun, 5 Sep 1999 21:43:08 -0500
From: "William S. Hart"
Subject: RE: FTE Perf - Performance Questions about new 2000 F-150 Lariat 4x4

> - Now for the K&N Air Filter, should I go with the replacement for the
> factory airbox, or should I go the whole nine yards, ditch the
> airbox and go
> with the K&N Cone setup??
>

This depends on what you're going to be doing with the truck ...lots of time
at low revs and speed, probably don't want a filter that's open to engine
compartment heat ... moving all the time, it might not be so bad ... K&N may
have a box that blocks off the warm air of the engine compartment, but still
gets you a cone style intake ... I'd say go for that if you can swing it
(kinda pricey, or was)


> - How about Mass Airflow Sensors? Good or bad idea? Any recommendations?
>

The stock one will likely have a big post in it, so anythign without a post
that flows better is a good idea, the only thing is that most of the power
will be on the high side for the mods you've listed ...not much helping out
low end grunt, though this will help throttle response in all levels ...


> - Big bore throttle bodies??
>

These really aren't necessary until you open up the rest of the system ...
its like putting a bigger end on a vacuum, yeah you open it up, but the
bottleneck is still that tiny hose that you have ... start on the other end,
if you change cams and stuff, then worry about gettin more air in there ...

> - Performance ECUs????
>

You could, but again, I'd wait til there was more done to the truck ... if
you are thinking of going with no cats and a low restriction exhaust,
combined with a nice port and polish of the upper intake and maybe the
bigger throttle body, then possibly a custom tune would help. The only mod
you've listed so far that might want a custom chip would be the MAF...

> - And last, but I'm sure not least, Splitfire plugs?
>

A plug is a plug ... okay that's not true, but I don't think you'll notice
any huge gains in splitfires ... if you want max performance, ditch the
factory platinums and get some regular plugs, then get some MSD wires, or
similar, that should help out. MSD and ACCEL both make high powered DIS
ignition system now, but they're pretty pricey yet ...

> Basically, I'm looking for the best-bang-for-your-buck bolt-on parts, the
> goals are gas mileage and power, in that order.
>

One other thing that might help quite a bit is the Steeda (0r Roush I
suppose :), timing adjuster! This allows you to set your timing and advance
or retard it as necessary ... something you haven't been able to do since
the 5.8/5.0 were around ... good for quite a bit of low end torque from what
I hear ...

> Oh, and finally, at this point I've built the truck with a 3.55
> limited slip
> diff(LSD), how would the 3.73 LSD affect gas milage.
>

3.73's would probably lower mileage, but with careful driving you might not
notice. I saw that you were looking for power AND mileage, remember you
likely won't be able to display one and get the other ... one thought might
be to get the 3.73's and then put your oversized tires on it to make the
equivalent ratio 3.55, then you'd be where you were before ...

Have you checked with Steeda and places like that yet? They do have parts
for the trucks out there to help you boost power ... heck I think even the
4.6L shorty headers will bolt right on to your truck ... or someone's
probably makin them I"m sure ...

Hope this helps.

Just my $.02
wish
....

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