Advice on making my engine more powerful
 

I have a 300 inline6 4.9l in a 96 ford f150 4x4 and I want more horsepower. What could I do that is reasonably priced???

Maybe sell it and find a like condition truck with a 351 or 460?

:-whud

Or for really modest gains (Don't expect miracles here) consider a cat back to open up the exhaust a tad. May not weigh out over the option of selling and finding a v-8. Just sayin'

Don't waste your money on air intake junk, snake oils or the like... they don't work and it won't help performance enough to make a dent.

When was the last tune-up?

Im not for sure I bought it used a year ago

Well try that first homie... you would be surprised what a tune up can do./:-jammin

Although the previous reply may be a bit crass I do agree. Start with the basics. A tuneup with good quality cap/rotor/plugs/wires and filters. A slight timing bump may net you a few HP but after that it becomes pricier to make more power. Let's face it, the 4.9L I6 is not blessed with any hidden HP or torque. A simple chip or magic powder will not result in blazing results.

Your next best bet are gears.........after that it's mega-bucks or purchase a V8 truck.

well it really depends on how mechanically inclined you are, a bump in timing as suggested after that I would agree gears, after that a cam and lifter set gives a decent bump in power and at that point headwork would be a good choice, even a home port and polish would help. being a 96 you may have mass air and obd 2 so you could add a turbo as the most expensive option but with the best results, I would google ford 300 performance and it will take you to a website named fordsix.com, find Frenchtown flyer, he is the 300 power expert.


even if you do all of this remember, a 300 is like a tractor engine with more rpms, it makes power at really low rpm so it isn't a high hp screamer anyway

Not my thread, but would a home port job be difficult and how much could be yielded with that plus a computer friendly cam and lifter set?

I'd I did that, I'd pick up a spare head to work on.

If you don't want to buy a different truck, get rid of the 4.9 if your going for power. I personally don't understand why people bother with trying to make the six powerful. Even the turbo six is pointless when for less money you could throw a 351 or 460 and get as much or more power. Doesn't make sense to me...

For what a turbo would cost, you could drop a 351 in and make the same power and not be maxed out.

if you have the skills and the space i would suggest that you find the most horrible looking truck that you can find with a good running 351 in it and do the swap.

On my 92, straight 6, I was able to advance the timing
irrespective of the timing light and spout and stuff and went cro magnon.
Left the distributor loose and rotated it ccw 1/16" at a time,
stood on the brakes and revved it in gear (automatic).
Got it where it pinged noticably and then backed off 1/16".
NOT saying it's the right way or if it's even safe but I had to
finish the procedure on pavement as I started on dirt/gravel
and it Spun the back tires.
I would not hesitate to pull into traffic with a full load of firewood,
if that's the kind of increase you're thinking about.
EASILY 2x faster than it has been and actually fun to drive now.
I just knew it had to possess more oomph than it had, and that's
what I resorted to after following the book to the letter, air / fuel filter, good wires and plugs, non ethanol fuel,
splash of mystery oil, etc.
Might just get you what you're looking for and costs nothing to boot.

what kind of power are looking for? The 4.9 or the 300 for us old timers is one of the best truck motors ever designed. Bulletproof is the normal description. Peak torque @1600 and peak horsepower @3000, add 200 rpm to those numbers for the fuel injected version. It will never be a screaming machine but it will haul anything you put on the truck all day long.

V8s will rev almost twice as fast so they will always win the race. Google it and you find lots of information but there is not much hidden power in the engine. With a 4 inch stoke only the brave will spin them much over 4,000. The best gasoline hauler made, but not a hauling a** engine.

I still haven't advanced my timing because I can't get the thing loose.

I'll have to advance a little at a time the same way but drive around the block or something.

A lot of times you have to loosen the dist. by lifting it slightly (1/8" or so) to get it to rotate. Spray some Kroil or PB around the stem, try to lift, you my have to pry gently under the flange, but don't apply any pressure, and use a 1'wide stiff putty knife ideally. Try to ease it in to place, by which time the dist. should come loose. At this point, it will likely be years before it freezes again.:-X03

I can't get the bolt loose.