I'm not getting any blow by, to me that is an indication that the rings are seated/seating well. Also, I'm higher altitude, around 4200 ft. I can't expect the same compression numbers as the sea level guys, furthermore, my compression tester has been around the block a few times and may not indicate accurately, but it does indicate consistently. The readings I am getting are consistent with other similar engines that I've tested. For these reasons I believe the compression is adequate.

My tires are ~31" diameter. In 3rd gear at 55 mph with the torque converter locked I'm just under 2500 RPM. If this truck can't pull a 8000 lb trailer up a light grade at 55 mph at 2500 rpm then either something is wrong or it just wasn't that great to start with. While others might be fine revving their engines, I'm not. My limit (except for passing, etc.) is 3000 RPM, maybe as much as 3200 if I'm in a hurry. That's really irrelevant though, since I believe this engine should be able to pull the trailer up a light grade faster than 55 mph.

I hate to compare with the Chevy again for the sake of the Ford pride out there, and to clarify, I don't necessarily consider Chevy to be a superior product. At one time I had an '84 Suburban with a 454, Turbo 400, 3.73 gears, completely stock. It would have pulled this trailer much better.

I should also mention, the engine is quite snappy at low speeds. I'm beginning to think that there isn't anything wrong with it, it probably just isn't adequate for my needs.

 

Right there is your problem. You NEED to go over 3000rpm if you want to get any speed out of it. Not saying you have to hit 5000, but 3500-4000 is where it is at. Remember, you are NOT driving a diesel

 

It's a 240HP engine that's down 15% on power (because of your altitude) being asked to pull 15,000 pounds of weight up a grade at 2500 RPM. It's just not going to happen. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an engine having to spin to 3000-3500 RPM for a couple of minutes to pull a hill. My LandCruiser spins near 3000 RPM just to maintain 75 MPH, doesn't bother me one bit.
All in the transmission. TH400 has a tall second gear and a non-lockup converter, as well as no O/D. The taller second gear let's you run 2nd gear at higher road speeds without the revs being too high, but still letting you get more torque to the ground. The non-lockup converter also gives you some extra torque multiplication when giving it some gas.

Well, the fuel cut on the EFI 460s is will before 5000 RPM, but yes I agree it does need to rev. 3000-3500 RPM for a few minutes to pull a hill is not going to hurt a 460.

 

My 89 is a 460 with a 5 speed. While towing over mountain passes (Wa State) mine does best if I run in 4th and hold the rpm at 3,000 rpm. If I drop much below 2800 it can really bog, but keep the rpm's up it pulls like crazy.

 

I'm not going to dispute that a few more RPM's might be what it needs, but still I'm comparing it with both a 6.5 turbo diesel and a 454, both of which were rated at lower HP and Torque, and both would out pull this 460 in 3rd gear at 55 mph, all at my altitude. Again, I'm not trying to say the Chevy is better, instead I'm hoping something is wrong with the Ford. Now maybe it is that the 460 has a different power band (obviously different from the diesel), possibly a result of the 6 degree retarded cam timing. Maybe it's the small exhaust ports, or something out of tune. Maybe it is just me having unrealistic expectations.

I appreciate all of the responses, I'm at the point where I don't think anything is wrong with it, but if that's the case, it's not going to cut it...I just might see a powerstroke in my future. It's just hard to justify the cost of the diesel for something I drive 5000 miles per year.

 

A Turbo 6.5 has 200-215 HP @ 3200 RPM, and up to 440 lb-ft of torque. Significantly more torque than a 460 at a much lower RPM. At your altitude, a 6.5 is probably making more power as well.
Most carbed 454s were rated at 240HP or more. Like I said, a loose converter can make a lot of difference while towing, as well as the weight of the vehicles. The E4OD also soaks up a lot of power, it is not an efficient transmission. It's basically a C6 with overdrive.
Probably
Then why does it matter if you have to let it downshift to second once in a while if you just drive it 5000 miles a year?

 

The lock up convertor in the E4od really makes a 460 lug hard. One thing I really hated about mine back then. As soon as it hit 2nd, it locked up and takes the wind out of it. Great for fuel economy back then. Now you can get a switch on the dash to let you choose what mode you want.

 

Take a look at these graphs: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...hs-inside.html

It's not a direct comparison since he's running an aftermarket computer and has adjusted his timing accordingly, but the rest of the motor is stock, so it's not out of the scope of imagination.

Since you had mentioned you're towing in 3rd gear, I rounded the your running speed up to 2500 RPM for easier math.

A 460 running at 2500 RPM of a 1000-5000 RPM band means you're running at 37.5% of your usable rev range ([2500-1000]/[5000-1000]=0.375). This is pretty low with you probably making 130-150 HP according to the dyno graphs I linked to. Lets move your RPM up by a factor of 1.538 (ratio difference from 3rd to 2nd) to 3845 RPM (in the meat of the power band Diesel_Brad recommended), and you're not at ([3845-1000]/[5000-1000]=0.71) 71% of the usable RPM. You're approaching peak power with about 180-200 HP available on tap. This is 30-35% increase in power at the wheels.

 

Who cares about PEAK output numbers. It's WHERE the power is that matters in this case. And you're just not in the power lol.

 

It hasn't been mentioned much but if your compression is 130 I would say something is seriously wrong. When my 460 was worn out before the rebuild it was around 155 on all cylinders. Now it is at 170 just for reference.

Edit: You should probably retest. Even if the motor was stone cold and at that altitude I don't think it could be that low.

 

Ok, this settles it, I've just been running out of the power band.

So, my understanding of advancing cams is that you move your power band down approximately 100 rpms for every one degree the cam is advanced. So if I were to change it to a straight up cam timing, I would probably lose some total horsepower in the high rpms (which I don't care about), but I would gain some power in the 2500-3000 range that I deem more acceptable. I say acceptable range because with the way things are right now, I would be spending a lot of time in 2nd gear at 3500-4000 RPM. According to the graph posted above, I would gain roughly 20-35 horsepower at 2500 RPM. I would also think the gas mileage would be better when driving around empty in overdrive. Anybody see any problems with my logic?

 

Now this is something I hadn't thought about. I wonder what kind of trans oil temperatures I would get pulling a heavy load with the torque converter unlocked?

 

The 130 psi is according to my gauge, which may be an inaccurate number as I pointed out earlier. Compression can leak several places: past the rings, past a head gasket, and past valves, and through cracks in castings. When I had the engine apart, there were no cracks in the castings. I pulled several valves and the condition of the valve faces and seats could be described as "great" or "like new". I have valve and valve seat grinding equipment and I felt it would have been a waste of time to give it a valve job, long story short, there is no leakage past the valves. The head gaskets are new, and either every cylinder is leaking or none, I vote for none. I'm not getting any significant blow by, so the rings aren't leaking. Final statement: despite the number my compression gauge is giving me, there is not a problem with compression.

 

if you want diesel low power numbers get a 4.9, it can pull the weight as i have ridden shotgun in an overloaded 250, just not very fast, but hey if you only rev a motor to 2500 rpm a 4.9 will pull better than a 460 at THAT RPM

 

It gets pretty warm pretty quick. If you have no cooler, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see 220+. A large trans cooler will help keep the temps in check and extend the life of that transmission.