Howdy, I have a 1994 F-150 4x4 Extra Cab,5 speed,3:55 rear,with the 300 I-6 bone stock. It has 125,000 on it now. For now headers, exaust, maybe underpulleys and definitely new air filter. I have looked at swapping for a 302 but I like the idea of a built 6 cylinder. Does anybody know what to do and what not to do with this engine? Also my truck has the little off road sticker below the 4x4 sticker. Does that mean I have some extra toys regular 4x4's don't have? Also would a larger throttle body make a difference? I want to rebuild it when it is a little closer to needing it. I looked at the cliffordperformance webpage and got some ideas but don't know all the nitty gritty's. I also have to deal with California smog. My truck was originally out of State so I think it only has to meet Federal Smog standards, or basically the equipment that came on the truck. Any information would help me out tremendously. Kim in Cali.

 

I guess building up a six cylinder would be alright depending on how far you want to go. You have to remember though, the 300 I-6 is mainly a Torque motor. The 5.0 swap I did gave me a couple more torque points and some more horsepower, but mods for a 5.0 are everywhere.

I know I had looked into doing the buildup on my 300 but it was kind of out of my budget. My engine swap cost me right at $1,000. But all in all I guess it just depends on what you want to do. I know I've heard a lot of dualed out six cylinder pickups in my area, and they sound like a swarm of mad bumble bees in a 55 gallon drum.

But that's just my opinion....



1988 F-150 Custom to XLT Lariat conversion, 5.0 EFI (formerly 300 I6), 5-speed M5OD, 3.08 rear gears (will be upgraded to 3.55's), Summit headers, Flowmaster muffler W/ dual 3.5" tips 24" long.

Pioneer CD, AC, Tilt, Cruise, Mobile Radio, Lightbar (Force 4 LP6000), Federal Signal PA300 Siren W/100W Siren Speaker. Caution Customizing in progress, Watch for flying tools & Parts!

 

Sounds like those dualed out I-6's you've heard are using Flowmaster muflers or the like, mine has straight pipes, and it sounds very much like a Detroit 3-53 2 stroke diesel.
Evan MacDonald
82 F100 FlareSide
HD 300-6, 240 head
NP435(6.69 low)
2.73 Geared 9"
Blue & Silver

 

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!!!! There a many things you can do to this engine to pump it up. But as the other two gentlemen before me explained, is upgrades are high for this engine but not by much. You can get camshafts, headers, K&N FIPK kits, performance ignitions, performance coils, port and polish the head, oil coolers, bigger radiators, performance chips, performance mufflers, bigger fuel injectors and that's about it I think. Also keep in mind that this engine would rather produce more torque than horsepower. You won't be able to beat many cars in a street race but then trucks like ours aren't meant to be fast. Their meant to haul anything you put in them and go where you want to go! I say go for the upgrades on the 6er. This engine just won't die and from what I have done in upgrades I have more than enough power and decent gas mileage!!!

 

thanks for the info, I would like to get like 230-250 horse out of my 6. What all would I need to accomplish that? 3/4 cam,etc.

 

>thanks for the info, I would
>like to get like 230-250
>horse out of my 6.
> What all would I
>need to accomplish that?
>3/4 cam,etc.


To get up to 230-250 horses on a fuel injected engine will be difficult but not impossible. Here is a listing of upgrades I have done to get there (the never ending quest for more horsepower).
1. K&N FIPK kit
2. MSD 6A ignition and MSD Ford TFI coil
3. Accel or MSD spiral wound plug wires.(MSD ignitions needs these types of plug wires to conduct the power they put out)
4. Clifford Performance headers part# 53-0016 (Because you have an EGR system)
5. Dual exhaust to help reduce backpressure (2" pipe).
5. High flow catalytic converter. No muffler if you want as backpressure does NO GOOD WHATSOEVER when comes to an engine producing power.
6. A camshaft with approxiametly .47" lift and about 254-262 degrees of advertised duration.
7. Hotter spark plugs.
8. A performance chip from Superchips
9. Bigger fuel injectors if you can find them (19 lbs/hr)
10. You can also try to port and polish the head for easier air flow on the intake and exhaust ports.

 

Ok, back to CowKiller's original posting.........she's in CA, so the running w/o a muffler is out of the question (and btw, you do need some backpressure to make power). I also don't recommend wasting the money on a header, as the later factory unit actually flows really well and you won't see much of an improvement in performance. Since you aren't looking to do a rebuild until it really needs it, I'd wait to do any internal mods (cam or head porting) until that time.
My suggestion is to start with bolt-on items such as a performance exhaust system, K&N FilterPak, and a good ignition system upgrade. There's also a new product out that recalibrates your air/fuel mixture to get rid of that nasty hesitation when u tromp the throttle.......I'll try to find it again and get u a P/N (saw it in a Summit Catalog). Hope this helps.

Jim
1993 F150-2wd
4" ProComp lift/33's
I6-auto

 

thanks for the info. I will keep researching for the time being. Any direction is very helpful. Thanks
cowkiller

 

Go for the exhaust mods first - will make a performance improvement, you will need to do them any way and they will not cause problems with the pollution patrol. If you opt for headers spend the money and get a set that is coated inside and out. Reduces under hood heat and they last a LOT longer.
There is a great deal of discussion pro and con with headers - I have the split cast irons into a single 2.5 in exhaust on my 77 and they flow just fine to 4500 rpm. Which is pushing it with a stock cam. They were cheaper than headers and easier to install. And no exhaust leaks!!!! They just don't look as great. Oh well.
Next step is ignition - same benefits as obove - performance improvements and no pollution patrol.
Cam and intake mods have a high chance of causing pollution problems so will take more research.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out!!

 

If you decide to go with any ignition upgrades. I used MSD's blaster TFI coil. It plugs into the stock Ford wiring harness, and if you decide to buy an msd box, get the msd ford wiring harness too! That way everything plugs in together, no splicing needed. As for exhaust, my father put a 2 chamber flowmaster and a high flow convertor on his 91 dodge 1/2 ton, and it sounds really nice. I guess it's just the tips that make them sound that way, or possibly running a glass pack. Also, if you do decide to do the ignition upgrades, use the Motorsport 9mm plug wires. They are really good wires, and they have a set you can make up yourself. Or, you could order a set from Summit racing for about $40 you could have a good set of wires, that would surpass any stock wires.


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The three bolt-ons that have given me the most bang-for-the-buck are a good cat-back system, larger injectors, and a lower gear ratio.

The first: My truck's exhaust is a Gibson, but I imagine that any of the systems out there are about equal, as are the different point-of-exit styles. There were no tradeoffs with this mod, only benefits.

The second: 19#/hr. injectors; those would be the orange-topped ones that were used in the 302/351/460 V-8s. A fuel pressure guage and an adjustable fuel pressure regulator is mandatory with them, as you have to lower the six-cylinder from 58psi (60 spec'ed)to around 45 psi, then play with higher pressures, as I'm doing right now. I don't know if it will affect my MPG or by how much yet.

The third: 4.10 gears. Will definitely whack your gas mileage but boy will it get away from a light!

Eddie

 

I think you just gave me an idea. That could be part of my problem with my truck not wanting to run right. I used the stock fuel pumup for the 300, which puts out the high pressures, and used the stock 302 fuel pressure regulator. Could it be, that I am putting to much fuel through the stock injectors?

Maybe I need to look into this a little bit further.


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On the 96 at least, and probably other years, both the 300 and the 302 use the same pump. The pump produces flow, it's the regulator that resists the flow and produces pressure. The rated flow is about 15 LPH less for the 300 because of the higher pressure drop, not because of any difference in the pump.

A 302 regulator will REDUCE the thruput of the injectors by approximately the square root of the pressure ratio or:
(39/58)**0.5 or about 82% of the stock injectors' rated output at the stock 58 PSI.
If your truck is running badly, that's probably why, it's running out of fuel. Either upsize the injectors, or get an adjustable regulator, or at least the correct 300 regulator and it should solve the problem.

 

Well, see that's where my question lies. I used the stock 302 regulator, with the 302, but I used the 300 fuel pump that was already on the truck. I can get some 19lb injectors, but I don't know if that is the same as the output already on the truck or not. I will take a look under the hood tonight and see what is there. The 19lb color is orange right?




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[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 21-Dec-00 AT 08:55 PM (EST)[/font][p]16# White
19# Orange
24# Light Blue

I'm confused, do you currently have a 302 or a 300 in the truck? If it's a 302 with 19# injectors and a 302 regulator, the fuel pump should be the same and won't affect a thing. If it's a 300 with a 302 regulator, you've got a problem.