4.9 For Wheelin'

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Oct 10, 2005 | 01:21 PM

Trailcat

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4.9 For Wheelin'

Hello everybody, I have an 89 Bronco that has the 4.9L motor. I bought it dirt cheap and am planning on making a mudder out of it. Has anyone else used this this motor for mudding and if so how has it performed for you? I have 4.88 gears for it and 33" TSL's that I am planning on using. I have a 93 F-150 as well with the 300 6 and I am more than pleased with how it has held up but I have never used it to off road with. Thanks for your responses.

Oct 10, 2005 | 03:07 PM

fordborn

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From: Northwest, Arkansas

When you say mudding are you talking about going out through the mud trails and playing around or talking about like mud bog races? The 4.9 is a great motor to go out and hit the trails with for it really pulls in the low RPM range. This is great for trail crawling and rock climbing as well. For mud bog racing it could still be a good motor but would need to up the performance somewhat. This type of racing works better with high RPM engines so you can fly across the pit without dropping down to much and getting stuck. Faster the better here.

Oct 10, 2005 | 06:59 PM

rhetor

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Joined: Jun 2002

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From: redding U.S.A.

i agree with the above statement. The stock 300 power curve is very low in the rpm range, making it great for trails and climbing obstacles, but when you're trying to keep all 4 tires spinning in the mud, you'll probably find yourself stuck in 1st gear all the time.

Oct 11, 2005 | 05:39 AM

Birdhunter1

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Joined: Aug 2004

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From: Murphysboro, IL

I had three trucks with a 300 in it, all 4wd. One was an '83 F-250 (4 speed), one was an '84 F-150 (C6 auto) stepside and the other was a '92 F-150 Supercab (5 speed). All of them were fine off road, guys with V8's (especially Chevy guys with 350's) would give me crap about a puny 6 banger but often I'd end up pulling them out of a mud hole before the night was over.

No problem at all with a 300 off road!

Oct 11, 2005 | 05:53 AM

desperado_18_2000

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From: S. Mississippi

The 300 is an excellent engine for offroading. Gobs of low end torque, right where you need it. You don't really need high horsepower for taking her down trails, just that beloved low end torque.

Oct 11, 2005 | 09:37 PM

optikal illushun

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Joined: Mar 2002

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From: Coal Region

4:88s and 33s is a little to high.

what kind of mud to u plan to run it in? like a mud bog or deep ruts or just on the trail mud?

i have a friend with an 83 F-150 with 38s on it. he has a 300/4 speed and it does fine with stock gears. but rememebr ur working power band is idle to 3500 rpm...so if u need to spin it higher u may want to swap to a bent-8...