Speaking of headers, seems like the speed daddy's were advertised for 5.8 s but not for 4wd models, anyone had luck with modifying or simply another (prefer SS) brand ? I can start another thread if needed ....

 

I didn't catch the non 4wd fitment, but that makes sense. I had to bend the driver side header collector over to clear the front differential. A ratchet strap to the radius arm did the trick for force, and a bottle of MAP gas helped things stay put.

I have a leak somewhere on the passenger side header. I assume it is in a weld I did to modify the header for starter clearance, but I haven't ruled out the EGR tube yet.

Interestingly, the bank 1 HEGO is stuck around 0.30V at idle, triggering a P0171 code for being lean. Driver side switches rich/lean as expected. Under load, both HEGO's switch rich/lean. When the truck hits closed loop operation, it says it's operating on 1 oxygen sensor due to a system fault. I'm impressed the PCM is that smart! I'm not looking forward to working on the exhaust more...but I can hear the dang leak. Just an FYI for anyone looking to flux core weld with stainless wire, it is nothing like the ease of mild steel (well, it wasn't for me)..My welds on that header are flat out embarrassing, worse yet they seem to leak! Ahh the never ending project drags on. The truck goes like a bat out of hell now though, so at least the efforts lead to something.

My buddy said I ought to engrave F-U into the headers and ship them right back to China. LOL

 

Your original post very similar set up to my 351W. I gasket matched my gt40p heads opened the bowls up. Port matched my 351w lower to a 5.0 truck upper BBK twin 61mm throttle body, I used JBA shorty headers, #7 clearance isn't great. I ran a 5.0H.O cam with scorpion rollers 1.72. I had the factory cam in place for awhile hated it, 5.0H.O is better but I have to burn premium with it also running PRO-M meter for 24lb injectors but running 30lb due to lean codes from 1/2 throttle on.
As far as how it runs, it puts down 16-18mpg, great tq down low, but you can tell it lacks up top. I like the set up pulls away and up to speed with ease, tows fine, only thing I'm not a fan of is having to burn premium if I were to build another Windsor I would save longer and buy a set of AFR or trick flows, and a custom camshaft.
Bang for the buck though I went through my W top to bottom bearings, pump timing set, cam, lifters, all of it top to bottom under what I thought I was going to be at and it runs very well down low to mid range.

Curtis

 

That's what I was trying to avoid, and is part of the reason I stuck with "as cast" heads, stock cam, ported intake, and only 9.2:1 compression. It's top end isn't what I secretly hoped for, but low-mid is better than anticipated, and to be honest that's where it matters for me. Top end is fun but this is a heavy 4x4 on tall tires with crappy gearing. Good strong pull through 4k RPM is what I wanted, what I built towards, and what I have. So I'm happy.

My long term fuel trims are -8% right now so I think that's a good sign it's overall more efficient. Idle vacuum is a whopping 25", whereas before it was more like 15". I'm excited to take this thing on a longer drive and see what sort of fuel economy it gets, as well as how it pulls a long mountain pass with a load.

 

Update. I replaced bank 2 HEGO and put the old bank 2 HEGO in bank 1. No more stuck at 0.30V at idle and the PCM uses both sensors in closed loop. So, the lean code wasn't the exhaust leak, and the leak may be down stream after all.

 

I bumped ignition timing from 10 to 15 BTDC with no pinging on 85 octane fuel. With proper squish I can finally take advantage of the sixlitre tune up. Noticed a good improvement with this change. The engine now has around 400 miles, seems to be working well.

 

Good things to hear! You ever find part numbers on the pistons in the old engine? They look just like the pistons in the 351 I have for a swap, and from the statement above and the pics you posted I'm guessing you had detonation issues.

 

Oh, yea there's another thread called "post-mortem analysis" or something like that outlining why the old engine failed. I wrote that after pulling the piston out of the bad hole. I never found a part number, just "30" stamped in the dish of the pistons.

Summary: pistons were 0.070" in the hole, with thicker than stock head gasket for a squish of around 0.120"! Detonation looks to have broken a top ring, and then melted the ring land on that piston. Evidence of detonation on the piston top supports that theory, as does the occasional sounds I heard. They were 0.030" over bore pistons with 10cc dish (compared to 20cc on stock 351W pistons--note they are zero decked from Ford) but clearly the wrong piston pin height. Compression ratio was down around 8.3:1 but it would rattle with anything over 10* BTDC and I sometimes would hear a little rattle letting out of the throttle after a hard pull up a pass. Initially I was afraid it was something dumb I did to hurt the old engine, until I pulled out the dial indicator & feeler gauges. Either the old engine was built on an extreme budget or the builder was an utter moron. That engine now lies in a scrap yard, but I saved the failed piston and a few other odds & ends. I had it listed for a few weeks at $75 but no takers, and I needed garage space for the next project.

 

I sent in a used oil sample for analysis. The engine ran roughly 30 minutes on break in oil. That was dumped and changed to 5w-30 conventional, driven ~300 miles, dumped and changed for more 5w-30 conventional. I sent in a sample of that 300 mile oil. They said my 351w is off to a healthy start and everything looked good. They did say the oil was breaking down a little faster than normal, but then again this is cheap conventional oil and I've been driving like a pissed off teen trying to get the rings seated as well as I can.

I feel more than $28 worth of relief having some analytical data to relieve any doubts about my build. I used Blackstone Labs for the analysis. I'll probably send them one more sample once I get a few thousand on the engine and have switched to full synthetic.

Next week I'll be driving to Utah and back through Colorado. Should be a good test for empty fuel mileage. Something about CO, I usually get 20% better fuel economy than in WY. Must be the winding roads keeping my speed in check & the lack of relentless wind..

 

After a 900 mile round trip to Utah, I have a good idea of fuel economy. Lowest tank was 11.5mpg with shorter trips and some slow dirt roads. Best tank was 19.5mpg on glare ice and packed snow at 40mph on open roads, with hubs locked and occasional tailwind. I drove between 65-80mph when the roads were dry, disregarding concerns of fuel economy. Trip average was 14.2mpg. I'm happy with that. It should go up with less speed and in the summer with better fuel. This is with 33" BFG AT tires, a small lift, and a flatbed.

This truck is so much nicer to just drive now. No more gear hunting with gentle grades or winding it out to merge with traffic. I was down around 4k ft altitude and really noticed the extra grunt of denser air. In a month I'll run to MN to see family, at 850 ft. I think the truck will feel like a rocket to me.

I'm planning to change the oil soon. I need to read more about when it's ok to switch from dino oil to full synthetic (in terms of fully seating rings). Oh and no oil burned on the long trip, that was good to see.

The Utah trip was a success. Lots of great mountain biking, camp fire cooked thanksgiving meal, and warm weather. This is why I wanted a reliable engine. To get outside and see the country up close.
Hope everyone had a nice holiday with friends and/or family.

 

Sounds like it is a success. And mileage looks good for 65-80 mph haha. The 5.0 doesn't do that above 65 in my truck. Just have to limp it through one more winter and I should be able to do my swap. Glad to see its running well for you!

 

Any further updates, Mr. Boarding? I'm gathering similar parts but I'm speed density, and hoping for the best. Stock 94 cam in the 5.8, gt40p heads, headers, 5.0 upper and 1.7 roller rockers. Heads are $15 at the pick and pull here. Found 2 sets today but they closed before I could get more than the intake off. Hoping they're both there next weekend.

 

I have around 9k miles on the engine now, its running well. 6k of those miles have been with two snowmobiles on the flatbed and usually running it pretty hard (headwinds, passes, high speed). When I'm not pushing it hard it does decent on fuel, but if you have power you'll use it, and I do.

I had a small valve cover leak from using the cork gaskets included with the gasket kit I had. The leaked oil would burn on the header. It had me worried until I realized the issue. I've backed ignition timing off to 10 degrees base (stock) to eliminate a faint detonation noise I was very rarely hearing, running 85 octane fuel.

The biggest issue I have is a random rattle on startup, that sounds like lifter noise and does not last long, only a few seconds. I think there may be a weak lifter, that bleeds down if the valve spring is compressed on shutdown. I'm running higher rate valve springs than stock, that may be a contributing factor. I'll investigate this further come summer.

I was concerned about the stock tune being able to deliver enough fuel at WOT for extended periods. So I watched oxygen sensor voltages and ran it hard from a stop to 75mph in 2nd gear, topping out around 4500rpm. Then ran it up a long pass, maybe 8 miles, in 3rd, at 70-75mph. Both tests showed high voltages, between 0.88-0.93V (rich). The plugs look good too, burn line on the electrodes are in the bend and the insulator barrel has some brown color to it. So it seems like stock fueling isn't hurting anything.

Hope that helps. This engine made this truck so much nicer to drive. It cruises right along.

 

Figured I'd update this. Still running well. Truck rolled over to 300k last weekend hauling two sleds in a snow storm on a 450 mile drive. Makes for 55k miles on this engine, and the original E4OD still working fine.

 

55k, great to hear! And 300k on the trans wow