Ok I need some advice.
93 F150 Super cab, 5.8. 4x4

Body not too bad, normal Pin hole around wheel wells and lower body,
Can be fixed, body has 54K. HAd it since new.

Cracked Head, motor almost gone according to mechanic x2 looking at it

He says get rid of truck on Craigslist

All it really needs is a motor and if I do that I would do a rebuilt or Crate ( Jasper maybe ?) and most likely the trans would have to be overhauled to handle the newer motor, Trans is a E40D. it has some hard shifts as is

Need some suggestions on Motor replacement. who sells and gives good service on motors and maybe transmissions.

I would like a little more power than what it had.

If I go with jasper Stock performance engine and tranny to match is it really worth it? seen good and bad reviews on them but 3y 100k warranty as peaked my interest

I have the money currently to do it . dont want a new truck payment have not had one since 1993

any suggestions appreciated

 

What seems to be the problem with the engine?
With only 54K on the engine would say the engine should still be in good shape.
What did they say was wrong with it and did you check the codes?

 

cracked head, tried pulling out a tree stump and acted like hell ever since and now as soon as its hot it sputters, hesitates and spitting out coolant from the left head.
Right head I know has 2 stuck lifters that have been tapping for about a year.
You can smell the coolant from the exhaust, sweet smelling.
Its had no real power for a few years now

not throwing any codes at all

 

These motors are TOUGH so what you have there should be a good rebuild candidate, if you have another vehicle to drive pull it out and go through it top to bottom. For upgrades you could install a set of GT40 heads and the Crane 444232 cam and lifter set, add some exhaust with headers and you will be impressed with the results. If you need the truck functional go get a '94+ motor for the stock roller cam and rebuild it, again add GT40 heads but just add 1.7 rockers to the stock cam and again do a full exhaust system.

As for your trans it's not at all likely it needs a rebuild, hard shifts are exactly what the computer commands it to do when it has an issue with one or more sensors, so pull the codes and try to track down and fix those issues before spending a dime on the trans. Common issues that result in hard shifts are a loss of speed input which sometimes(but not always) corresponds with a dead or bouncy speedo, and idle speed or TPS issues.

 

Need it as a driver so will most likely pull it and still go over it top to bottom anyway. Better to safe than sorry later down the road.
and of Course the Snow has started now the truck is down for a temp count, always works that way.

Who can afford a new truck payment, need to make this one last longer than me

As for headers I use to run JBA Shortys on it till they rusted out, Better to go Full or short headers? dual or Single Exhaust and What Size Tubing?

Been Looking at the Crane cam for awhile now. is it still possible to go with the 1.72 if I do not go Roller?

Conanski as our resident Ford man your opinion is highly valued

Does anyone think these are too costly asking 744? they are driving distance for me so no shipping (30 miles), what should the offer be?

87 93 Ford Mustang GT40 Iron Engine Cylinder Heads Cobra GT 40 Rebuilt 302 351 | eBay

 

X2 if you can find GT40 heads at a moderate price which I have not been so lucky. Would definitely give you a noticeable power increase especially paired with a roller block.

That said if you only have 52K I would bet your lower block is fine. Like the other poster said these motors are strong. If anything pull it and put a new oil pump, timing chain, and gaskets with some new to you heads and I bet you she will be a runner.

An old man once told me he bought fords since he blew up chevy's constantly. He bought a ford and although it would bend it would never break and would always come back.

 

Had it towed to a mechanic that a lot of the guys in town are using when redoing their late model vehicles. Going to be a few days before he can get to it, a few things ahead of mine. Higher priced but will tell you what is really needed, not any of that maybe this maybe that.. I know I just pissed my regular guy off, but **** happens when you want to really know what's wrong.

 

I do agree Conanski is a bada$$ and him and RLA were some of the first responders to my very first post. In fact most of the information below I got from those two.

Long tubes would be more HP and short tubes more torque. Either for a good set with a good coating will not be cheap. If looking for one with an EGR tube your selection is very few. If long tubes consider you need to do a custom exhaust as well. Not sure if you have emissions where you are at. I ended up just doing some of the cheaper pacesetter shortys was $180 shipped to my door with a coupon and had the EGR tube hook up. Then later did a walker off road y-pipe and cat system to get rid of my ugly and wore out torpedo cat into a flowmaster muffler. Been happy with the results and definitely felt the difference in power after they were bolted on. When they rust out I will just buy another set but I will strip the paint off of them and paint them first this time. Heck once summit sends me another coupon I will probably buy a back up set in fear the production might cease one day as it has with many other headers out there for our trucks.

On those heads they sure look real nice. When I asked similar questions of what to pay many said around $300 - $400 for bolt on GT40 heads and slightly less for the much more plentiful and available GT40P heads (which has weaker stock springs but supposedly the spark plug angle and position in the chamber is more efficient that GT40s or E7s) which if you decide on long tube headers I would consider going that route as I seem to find upgraded GT40P heads already with 1.7 rockers around here for that 3-4 hundred dollar price point. One downside is you will have to remove the headers each time you need to change out your plugs.

Keep in mind you still need to get the mounting holes drilled out to 1/2 inch to fit on a 351w.

 

Longtubes are best but even shorties are better than manifolds. Go 2.5" with duals or 3" if single. And yes 1.7 rockers are fine with that cam. Somebody else posted a link to some GT40 heads on ebay the other day they may still be available.

 

Haha that was me. Still searching for a set. That set is gone already. They were still over-priced for my liking. It was $550 for the set and then another $90 to ship to Texas.

I have resorted to looking on craigslist for broken down 1996 and 1997 v8 explorers and mountaineers in my efforts. I checked car-part.com and called all the yards around here that specialize in fords and others in more rural areas and no body I can find has them at a reasonable price. I may end up with GT40Ps and long tubes down the road yet. I check CL regularly and even put a WTB GT40 heads ad up. I can find GT40Ps all day on the cheap but not the GT40s.

I started all this when the heads were off my truck since an exhaust manifold bolt broke in one of them trying to get them off to fix my exhaust leak that went from minor to major. I could have drilled and helicoiled it but I found a guy who works on my friends truck willing to do a the head job for $800 + machine shop fees and I was making more income and had less overhead at the time so I had him pull them and replace and the machine shop go through them for peace of mind. Lower block is still going strong and could not justify a rebuild at that time since it was unneeded!

 

Is that true? I've always heard that long tubes were good for making power at lower rpm (typically more torque) and shorties were for making power at high rpm.

 

I have no personal data and don't own a dyno so could not tell you if its true for sure but its what I have always been told over the years. Long tubes add more HP comparatively to torque and vice versa. Haven't sat around and pondered the actual dynamics of it though.

That said. You can't get more HP without adding some torque in the process I would think.

 

long tubes will always provide more hp throughout the power band when sized appropriately for the application.


the myth that shortys provide better low end hp comes from people bolting long tubes with giant primaries onto their low revving engines (or small displacement). long tubes rely on primary velocity to take advantage of their beautiful ability to scavenge. 1 1/2" or 1 5/8 primaries are what is needed for stock or mildly modified small blocks.


any and all of the common small primary long tube headers for these trucks are fine for super low end grunt. put a set of 1-7/8"+ long tubes onto a 302 and youll be disappointed...


to the OP: I'd be very skeptical of a mechanic that deems an engine junk from a cracked head. I didn't read the entire page, so I may be missing something, but I'd be very interested to hear what the reasoning is for the engine to be deemed junk.

 

Will know in a few days. Have it at a place that dies head and block work to get a more experienced opinion. Will post findings once found. Trick has sentimental value, 1st truck and kids grew up with this truck. 1st vehicle I paid cash for and might be the only one I will ever afford to do that to.

 

I'd be shocked if the engine is junk. Post up the verdict AND the reasons when you hear them. Don't accept "it's junk" with a reason of "because I said so"