Blown head gasket. Repair, or 5.0 conversion?

[dirkr]

So, looks like the overheat blew a head gasket. No water in the oil or vise verse, but there's water on my plugs.

I could repair it, do a PnP and roller rockers while the heads are off . . . maybe exhaust and an intake spacer.

Or should I find a Crown Vic or 5.0 Mustang of the same year and do the swap?

What do you think is better bang for my buck?

It's a '92 extended cab 2wd.

-Dirk R

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

"bang for your buck" powerwise is a 5.0. without going forced induction, no amount of bolt-on crap is going to make any 4 or 6 cylinder perform like a v-8.

but you could also just fix the 3.0 for about $100 and drive it.

 

[aaron_ariens]

I miss my 350 v8 cutlass. =[[

 

[WhiteBroncoII2WD]

So, looks like the overheat blew a head gasket. No water in the oil or vise verse, but there's water on my plugs.

I could repair it, do a PnP and roller rockers while the heads are off . . . maybe exhaust and an intake spacer.

Or should I find a Crown Vic or 5.0 Mustang of the same year and do the swap?

What do you think is better bang for my buck?

It's a '92 extended cab 2wd.

-Dirk R

personal taste would be to repair the 3.0 and try to make it better while you're at it, but only if you really think you need the extra power or what the satisfaction of knowing you've improved over Ford's stock design.

 

[dirkr]

Bang for the buck equasion in my head looks like this:
Buck:
T=time
S=money
W=work
Bang:
R=results

So:
(T3)(S2)W / R

Let's call Horsepower my R. I need the truck to work again, and not spending TONS of money is key. Can a swap be done in a weekend reliably? I'd love to have a 5.0 Ranger, but I need to make sure it's doable for less than, say $1500 after getting my donor car.

I figure $1500 should put this 3.0 in a good place. Get rid of the anemia, at least. But it's got 170k on it. How much longer will it last after this? This are all the things I'm thinking about.

-Dirk R

 

[bikerboy]

5.0 all the way. I'm waiting for my truck to blow the trans or engine so that i can fully justify a 5.0.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

But it's got 170k on it.

so your less than halfway home. the 3.0 is a roach. there are many members on here over 300,000 miles. we used to have a guy on here who had a 300K+ 3.0 that was NOS fed.

$1500 isnt going to do much to a 3.0 unless you are good at fabricating and boost it yourself. a turbo can be done for under $500 if your crafty enough. if not, a blower kit is closer to 5 grand.

 

[dirkr]

By 'in a good place', I just mean make it feel like less of a dog. If I keep the 3.0, here's what I'd do:
Get a performance chip
Cold Air intake
Headers (if I can find them)
Hi-Flow cat
Mill the heads for higher compression
P&P the heads
Roller rockers
Larger throttle body and spacer

I know it won't be a monster like if I do a 5.0, but time is the real thing. I'd have to do it in my brother's driveway, meaning no more than two weekends. Is that feasable with a 5.0?

-Dirk R

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

your factory intake is already cold air. your factory cats are the exact same design as so called "high flow" units. and throttle body spacers dont do anything on a multiport fuel injected vehicle other than make noise.

the mods that are left wont get you more than 30HP.

a good set of headers will run $700 or more.
tuner: $300.
machine work: $200 or more with gaskets.
roller rockers: $2-300

theres your $1500 bucks.

a 5.0 swap could be done in two weekends if you knew what you were doing. i doubt i could do one that fast.

 

[turbo cat]

have you ever pulled a motor before?

 

[dirkr]

I have pulled engines before. And the opposite. The biggest concern I have with this is any fabrication time. Motor mounts? Air intake? Modifications to the center support for the radiator? What type of time is required for these bits? Since time itself is the primary concern, I'm trying to get everything planned out before I dive into it.

-Dirk R

 

[turbo cat]

Well do all of the research and make sure you have all the materials and parts. It can be done quickly but make sure everything is in line before you dig in. Also round up a buddy or two that wouldnt mind helping for some beer.

Of course if it were me i would build a custom turbo kit for the 3.0 then you would have the power near of a 302 with the economy of a 3.0 under DD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5rV7-DlfeM
its a twin turbo setup pushingh nearly 6 psi of boost of stock pistons running e85 also with stock valvetrain

the key is too keep the boost low to keep the hgs alive. Keep the turbos small so they spool fast and you cna actually use the turbo power onj the street. 6 psi isnt alot of boost and woulnt build gobs of power but if the turbos are setup too spool super fast it can make for a fun to drive truck with alot of grunt down low. Not to mention the sound/feel of the boost coming on gets your heart pumping

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

Also, if you don't already realize it, a 5.0 requires a different transmission, which usually requires a different cross member, shifting mechanism, and driveshaft(s).

Putting parts in that aren't meant to be there always requires custom modification that is very time consuming. It took me 2 weekends just to hang a turbo on the side of the 2.3 that I had installed 3 months earlier and run a new exhaust, intercooler piping, and wire it up. And I'm pretty quick with this stuff.

Doing a 5.0 (which requires a lot more work than a 2.3 turbo because none of it bolts in) is going to take a heck of a lot longer than 2 weekends to have it running reliably.