thegoat4
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2007
- Messages
- 613
- Reaction score
- 6
- Points
- 0
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Transmission
- Manual
My trusty 3.0 nearly died in the desert to a stuck thermostat. I got it running again, and made it out of the desert, but a head gasket (or both) failed; as I was driving and topping off the water I was steadily filling my crankcase with the "lost" water. It pushed out pretty much all of the oil over that 120 mile run toward San Diego.
I patched it, (gotta love Barsleaks) changed the oil, and drove another 5k+ to finish my trip and get back home. Try THAT with aluminum heads!
Anyway, the engine is now down on power and slightly rattly at idle. Oil pressure is probably lower than it used to be. I can make the dummy needle flutter if I bog the engine while taking off from a stop. I'm going to tear it down in the next couple of days and check everything out. If the engine is rebuildable, I want to add some upgrades while I'm there.
Short-term, get it back together solid and running well on regular gas. Long term, turbo charge--I only intend 3-5psi boost for a little performance increase and to avoid such severe power loss in high elevations. Well, that and it's cool. Along with the turbo I'll get a tuner and switch octane grades.
Here are my questions:
1) valve job. What are my options with a valve job? Three-angle worth doing? Any down side? I've read that running forced induction can cause problems with the intake valves requiring stronger springs. Is that a realistic concern with low boost? If it turns out I need stiffer springs, is it a problem to put them in now well before putting on the turbo? If I have to mill the heads any, my compression ratio will go up; how high compression can I have before I develop knock issues on 87 octane gas? I understand that the heads don't have a lot of material to mill out to begin with so this might not be a real concern.
2) port and polish. Worth the effort? Never done it before, any pointers? I've read that I should definitely NOT portmatch the exhaust ports to the manifolds on an NA engine. Does that thinking change when turbo-charged?
3) rockers. best place to get them? What are the trade-offs for the various ratios?
4) fuel injectors and pump. I think this has to wait wait until the turbo, but I wanted to ask. Any benefit to be had from putting the larger injectors in now? As I understand it, I have 14lb/hr injectors stock and the next step up is 19lbs/hr. It looks to me that those injectors will be fine for the amount of boost I plan to use, so I doubt I need to go any higher. But I'm still sorting out the math and could be wrong.
If I do put in the injectors, can a Ford dealer recalibrate my PCM to make use of them or do I need to go another route?
5) bottom end all stock, just replacing bearings and rings and repairing any damage. Maybe stick a bulkhead fitting in the side of the pan for the future turbo oil drain.
6) anything I missed? I'm all ears right now.
(update, I ripped it out this afternoon and started to tear down. Should have a comprehensive carnage report with pics by tomorrow)
I patched it, (gotta love Barsleaks) changed the oil, and drove another 5k+ to finish my trip and get back home. Try THAT with aluminum heads!
Anyway, the engine is now down on power and slightly rattly at idle. Oil pressure is probably lower than it used to be. I can make the dummy needle flutter if I bog the engine while taking off from a stop. I'm going to tear it down in the next couple of days and check everything out. If the engine is rebuildable, I want to add some upgrades while I'm there.
Short-term, get it back together solid and running well on regular gas. Long term, turbo charge--I only intend 3-5psi boost for a little performance increase and to avoid such severe power loss in high elevations. Well, that and it's cool. Along with the turbo I'll get a tuner and switch octane grades.
Here are my questions:
1) valve job. What are my options with a valve job? Three-angle worth doing? Any down side? I've read that running forced induction can cause problems with the intake valves requiring stronger springs. Is that a realistic concern with low boost? If it turns out I need stiffer springs, is it a problem to put them in now well before putting on the turbo? If I have to mill the heads any, my compression ratio will go up; how high compression can I have before I develop knock issues on 87 octane gas? I understand that the heads don't have a lot of material to mill out to begin with so this might not be a real concern.
2) port and polish. Worth the effort? Never done it before, any pointers? I've read that I should definitely NOT portmatch the exhaust ports to the manifolds on an NA engine. Does that thinking change when turbo-charged?
3) rockers. best place to get them? What are the trade-offs for the various ratios?
4) fuel injectors and pump. I think this has to wait wait until the turbo, but I wanted to ask. Any benefit to be had from putting the larger injectors in now? As I understand it, I have 14lb/hr injectors stock and the next step up is 19lbs/hr. It looks to me that those injectors will be fine for the amount of boost I plan to use, so I doubt I need to go any higher. But I'm still sorting out the math and could be wrong.
If I do put in the injectors, can a Ford dealer recalibrate my PCM to make use of them or do I need to go another route?
5) bottom end all stock, just replacing bearings and rings and repairing any damage. Maybe stick a bulkhead fitting in the side of the pan for the future turbo oil drain.
6) anything I missed? I'm all ears right now.
(update, I ripped it out this afternoon and started to tear down. Should have a comprehensive carnage report with pics by tomorrow)
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