• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

4.0 OHV refresh/upgrade questions


GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
I've been off the TRS forums for a while, but I still have the same truck. A '94 B4000, 4x4, 5spd with manual T-case and hubs. A while back the engine died on it, but I was in the middle of another truck project ('75 Dodge Power Wagon, 440, 4 spd, DRW) so the Mazda got parked for a while. At the time the Mazda was also having a trans syncro issue in the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, but I have a spare trans on hand to replace it.

I recently picked up a 4.0 OHV engine from a '99 Explorer, but have no idea of the history on it. So before putting it in, I'm going through a bunch of the common wear items on it first. I have a new water pump, oil pump, front and rear oil seals, timing set, oil pan gasket, intake gasket and valve cover gaskets. I couldn't find a listing for a gasket or O-ring for the 90* oil filter adapter that attaches to the block yet. Can anyone think of anything I may have missed?:icon_confused:

I'm also going to upgrade a few components while I'm at it, to hopefully regain some of the power lost when driving at 5K ASL here in the mountains of MT. I ordered a Comp 410 cam, and I'd like to put some 19-24 lb/hr injectors with it. Any suggestions where I could find a source for injectors in that range?:icon_confused: I also have a set of Pacesetter headers I bought a while ago, but they never got installed before the old engine died.

The TRS tech articles mentioned valve train wear issues on these engines, so I'll evaluate those parts closely when I swap the new cam in. Any worn parts, rockers, pushrods, etc, will get replaced with new ones as needed.
 


cp2295

Active Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
1,027
Reaction score
7
Points
38
Location
Washougal, wa
Vehicle Year
1999
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4.0L swap, 8.8 explorer axle, IFS front end
Transmission
Manual
My credo
If you ain't first you're last
I’d say it’s going to need rockers and pushrods for sure. Double check rod and mains for bearing wear/grooves. I’d definitely do new rings and a hone job at the least. Cam bearings if they appear to be worn significantly.

I put a 410 cam in my ranger and honestly, I’d swap a stocker back in. I dislike it, valvetrain is noisy and power increase is not much. Low end lost power. I would highly consider 90-94 pistons in conjunction with 95+ heads. That yields 10:1 compression vs 9:1 and would give you the most power especially low end. The 4.0s aren’t rev happy and no camming, porting etc will make them rev much better. They are low end torque monsters and a stock cam is going to give you the best power and least noise. Also with the 410 you need custom pushrods.

Do not change the lifters. Oem ones are better than any China aftermarket crap (trust me I’ve gone through the troubles).

I had headers on my ranger, and I swapped manifolds back in. I hated headers to be honest. They made me lose low end and didn’t do much for top end (they were installed after the cam had been in for a few thousand miles). Plus headers suck to deal with, and never seal up. Don’t mean to be a downer, just giving you my personal experience.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
I was already planning on it probably needing rockers and pushrods, so getting pushrods to match the new cam geometry isn't going to be an issue. The stock lifters are staying unless I find wear on them. I'll also be looking at valve stem seals for wear and will replace them if needed. Other than that, I'm not going to be pulling the heads, crank, rods or pistons as those weren't giving any signs of needing attention when this engine was in the Explorer. It's a chance I'm willing to take given the limited time allowed for me to get this truck running again.

I've also had my share of crap chinesium parts and try to stay far away from then whenever I can.:thefinger:

I'm going to give the 410 cam a try to see if it really does help with towing and MPG's as stated in the cam info. I'm not bothered by a noisy cam and valve train if it's all doing what it's supposed to and not wearing itself out in the process. Heck, I'm running a gear drive timing set in my 440 powered '75 Power Wagon if that tells you anything. :icon_thumby:

I'll have all the supporting mods (headers, exhaust, injectors, air box mod, etc) in place to get the most out of the 410 cam, so it should be able to give me it's best performance. The Pacesetter headers should work well with the 2.5" Gibson single exhaust I already have on the truck. If not, I can always put the stock manifolds back on if need be. That said, I'm keeping realistic expectations here and not expecting a miracle with it power wise.

I didn't want the other Comp cam (422?) since I'm not looking for higher revs or planning to race this truck. It's going back into service as my DD once I get it back on the road.

I still haven't figured out where to get a set of 19 to 24 lb/hr injectors for it yet though.:icon_confused:

EDIT: I found these Accel 24 lb/hr injectors, but would like to find a comparable OEM injector if possible. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/acc-150624/overview/make/ford
 
Last edited:

cp2295

Active Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
1,027
Reaction score
7
Points
38
Location
Washougal, wa
Vehicle Year
1999
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4.0L swap, 8.8 explorer axle, IFS front end
Transmission
Manual
My credo
If you ain't first you're last
Not too certain on those injectors, but I just want to point out you will have to pull the heads in order to do the cam. The lifters will not come out with the heads in place (thanks ford). I would recommend the mahle kit personally, I got my kit on rock auto with all of the gaskets for $70. I think it was on close out however. The valve cover gaskets in that kit are way superior to the fel pro ones since they use a metal backing with rubber.

Mpg has suffered for me personally. I’d say to get the most power out of the cam you might consider a port and polish job on the heads, just see what the machinist can do for $200 nothing too crazy. I did not notice much power increase, so it’s something to consider. Don’t get me wrong though, there is a definite increase just not what I was hoping for (I didn’t port my heads).

If you’ve got your mind made up, go for it and have fun with it. The pushrods are going to be 5.550” long, Smith bros pushrods makes them and are about $100 shipped for the set. They do great work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
For better or worse, the money has been spent and the cam is already here, so it's definitely going in.

My 3.73 axle gears always felt a little bit too tall for the 30" tires that are on the truck now. I'm hoping the cam will help bridge the gap between these gears and 4.10's without having to swap out two sets of ring and pinion gears. Once again, I'm not expecting miracles here. What I get is just what I get.

Since I'll have to pull the heads to get to the lifters so I can swap the cam, I'll go ahead and order the Mahle head gasket kit. I believe I already ordered the Mahle valve cover gasket set with the metal backing, but I can keep them for spares when I get the Mahle head gasket kit.

While the heads are off I'll go ahead and do a little porting on them. I've ported more than a few heads before, but those were all Mopars. Same principals should apply with these heads and I already have the carbide burrs and grinders, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

And thanks for the info about the pushrods.:icon_cheers: I'll get them ordered as well when I pick up the head gasket kit and injectors next week.
 
Last edited:

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
I never did find enough info anywhere to find a suitable OEM injector, so I went ahead and ordered the Accel 24 lb/hr injectors mentioned above. I had an email coupon for Jegs, so I ordered it from there instead of Summit. I also ordered an Accel coil at the same time so I could bump the discount up to the next higher tier ($30 off for orders over $300).

I'll order those pushrods on Monday when I can get a call into Smith Bros.

I also got a few more parts for the engine refresh from Rock Auto, which included the Mahle Head gasket set with new head bolts.

Once the remaining parts get here, I'll pull the heads off and cam out and then start putting it all back together. If any of the rocker arms need replaced, I'll order some so I can replace them before the valve covers go back on.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
The coil is in the mail on it's way to me, but the injectors are back ordered until 10/25. I just ordered the Smith Bros 5.550" pushrods and they should be made and shipped out later today or tomorrow.

I'm heading out to the barn now to work on tearing the 4.0 down a bit further.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
The engine is off the hoist and on the engine stand now, so I started removing the top end. It looks as if someone may have been in there before me as it had steel valve cover gaskets when I pulled the covers off the heads. The rockers were about as expected, with four of them having moderate pitting in addition to the expected wear from the valve tips. Two of the valve stem seals were loose from the head and riding up on the valve stems. I've already got a new set of valve stem seals, so no biggie there.

All of the valve tips looked fine as far as condition goes. However, all of the exhaust valves were sitting lower (EDIT: higher) than the intakes when I put a straight edge across the tops of the valves. The tops of the exhausts were all exactly the same distance from the intakes, so I'm thinking someone may have replaced just the intake or exhaust valves and left the others alone for some reason. For peace of mind I'm going to order a full set of all new valves and rockers. I didn't really look at these push rods since they're getting replaced with the ones from Smith Bros.

The intake and cam position sensor came off next. To get the heads off I need to pick up a torx bit for the head bolts. The biggest one I have here is a couple sizes too small to fit.
 
Last edited:

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
The injectors arrived today, quite a bit earlier than expected, and the coil, pushrods and the other small parts arrived a few days ago.

That torx bit I picked up for the head bolts is a T55 in case anyone is wondering.

This weekend I'm going to try to get everything done to the 4.0 to get it torn down the rest of the way. Porting the heads, intake and throttle body will probably take the most time. The new valves and rockers will need to be ordered and delivered before I can start reassembling the top end. Depending how these heads look when I pull them, I may order new heads if I find any cracks in the castings. If I get fully assembled heads, I won't have to order new valves, so that's why I haven't ordered those yet.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
Good news is that the heads aren't cracked at all. Bad news is that the exhaust valves have pounded the seats into the heads. That explains why all the tips of the exhaust valves were sticking up farther than the intake valves. Since the valves themselves look fine, I'll keep them and just have the exhaust valve seats replaced. The local machine shop quoted me $75 to replace them all.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
The heads are back from the shop now. They ended up doing both the intake and exhaust seats and putting a three angle valve job on them. The valve seat contact areas of all the valves also got reground due to the pitting they found when they removed the valves from the heads. Of course they had to charge more for the extra work that needed to be performed ($150 vs $75), but I'm OK with that. It's still way cheaper than buying a set of new heads.

I'm going to start porting the heads after I get home from work tomorrow. I'll try to remember to get some pics of the porting work posted when I'm done.
 

alwaysFlOoReD

Forum Staff Member
TRS Forum Moderator
TRS Banner 2012-2015
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
13,868
Reaction score
5,027
Points
113
Location
Calgary, Canada
Vehicle Year
'91, '80, '06
Make / Model
Ford, GMC,Dodge
Engine Size
4.0,4.0,5.7
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Things are looking good....well, maybe if there was some pics?
Keep the updates coming. I don't usually respond to posts much but I read almost all of them.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
FlOoReD,
I've definitely been slacking in the pics dept.:sad: For all the stuff done up to this point I've seen plenty of pics in other threads covering basic engine tear down. The porting stuff, not so much. I can take pics of all of this stuff from start (now) to finish if you want.

This thread has kinda morphed from a few questions about a couple of parts into more of a build/project thread. It seemed to still fit within the topic of this 4.0 sub forum, so I just left it here and kept on posting.
 

GoMopar440

New Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Anaconda, MT
Vehicle Year
94
Make / Model
Mazda
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
As requested, here's some pics from the porting I did today. One head is done and the other will be done soon.
 

Attachments

alwaysFlOoReD

Forum Staff Member
TRS Forum Moderator
TRS Banner 2012-2015
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
13,868
Reaction score
5,027
Points
113
Location
Calgary, Canada
Vehicle Year
'91, '80, '06
Make / Model
Ford, GMC,Dodge
Engine Size
4.0,4.0,5.7
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Thanks for the pics.
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top