Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and MikeG
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2020
- Messages
- 1,353
- City
- central Texas
- Vehicle Year
- 1997
- Engine
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- Total Lift
- 2"
- Tire Size
- 235/75r15
Just looking for opinions. My 97 B4000 is getting to where it needs the entire top end taken off, and every gasket/hose replaced. Usual vacuum leaks in cold weather that seem to plague the two-piece intakes.... and I have a place to work on it out of the weather. Close to 300K miles, but runs good, doesn't smoke or eat oil, etc. Had the trans rebuilt a year or so ago, and I think it shifts better than it did coming off the lot (first year 5r55e and it wandered terribly, like a puppy on a leash).
So.... while I'm at it, thought of pulling the heads and touching up the valve seats (eh why not) and then, it's a slippery slope.... not sure I want to put a better cam in, but the added lift on the 1.7 ratio rocker arms seems like an easy way to get a tad bit more power. I've got inside/outside mics, calipers, feeler gages, etc. (and a lathe / small mill for that matter) and can work on it out of the weather, so tedious adjustments don't scare me. I just want to know if anyone has replaced the rocker arms and gotten a noticeable change in performance?
Don't know how long the timing chain / tensioners should last, and if I'm living on borrowed time with those, probably would bite the bullet and put in a mildly improved cam anyway.
Shaving the heads down a tad to boost compression is tempting, but I'd still like it to run on the cheapest pump gas (as it consumes plenty!), plus it would seem the lower intake would need to be (potentially) altered as well, to make everything still fit. So not sure about going that route.
Thoughts? Don't really want to pull the block, so that rules out things like a stroker crank, v8 swap, etc. And not really wanting to dive into a turbo or supercharger. I've got to deal with emissions testing where I live, and that's already an adventure, every year (I think the truck was born with the CEL on).
While I've got it apart, planning on replacing the o2 sensors (no idea how long any of them have been in the truck), the FPR (seems to have quit holding pressure), the PVC valve (cheap), and then test every other sensor if I can before putting it all back together. It could certainly stand to have the coolant system flushed, and eventually, clutches replaced in the 8.8 trak-lock. Don't know if it's worth replacing the water pump while I'm in there (original) or wait for issues.
Let me know what you think.
So.... while I'm at it, thought of pulling the heads and touching up the valve seats (eh why not) and then, it's a slippery slope.... not sure I want to put a better cam in, but the added lift on the 1.7 ratio rocker arms seems like an easy way to get a tad bit more power. I've got inside/outside mics, calipers, feeler gages, etc. (and a lathe / small mill for that matter) and can work on it out of the weather, so tedious adjustments don't scare me. I just want to know if anyone has replaced the rocker arms and gotten a noticeable change in performance?
Don't know how long the timing chain / tensioners should last, and if I'm living on borrowed time with those, probably would bite the bullet and put in a mildly improved cam anyway.
Shaving the heads down a tad to boost compression is tempting, but I'd still like it to run on the cheapest pump gas (as it consumes plenty!), plus it would seem the lower intake would need to be (potentially) altered as well, to make everything still fit. So not sure about going that route.
Thoughts? Don't really want to pull the block, so that rules out things like a stroker crank, v8 swap, etc. And not really wanting to dive into a turbo or supercharger. I've got to deal with emissions testing where I live, and that's already an adventure, every year (I think the truck was born with the CEL on).
While I've got it apart, planning on replacing the o2 sensors (no idea how long any of them have been in the truck), the FPR (seems to have quit holding pressure), the PVC valve (cheap), and then test every other sensor if I can before putting it all back together. It could certainly stand to have the coolant system flushed, and eventually, clutches replaced in the 8.8 trak-lock. Don't know if it's worth replacing the water pump while I'm in there (original) or wait for issues.
Let me know what you think.
