What Heads OHV 4.0?

[Kirby N.]

I have a 4.0 OHV short block that I am putting together for my 1991 ranger. I need heads. The short block is a 2001. What heads would you buy? Also need rockers and pushrods. I want quality parts that will go another 300K miles. Thank you.

 

[rumblecloud]

Not sure if these guys will have what you are looking for, but I purchased heads for my 94 4.0L OHV. Reasonable price. Easy to deal with.
King Cylinder heads

 

[RonD]

Last year for 4.0l OHV was 2000, in Ranger or Explorer

So assuming 2000, you would want, 1990-1997 heads, 1995-1997 would be best to match pistons and exhaust manifolds in a 1991

Just a heads up the 2000 crank will have 8 bolt holes for flywheel/flexplate, the 1991 had 6 bolt holes so you will need a new flywheel/flexplate, 1991 won't fit on 2000 engine
8 bolt crank was used from 1997 thru 2000

 

[Kirby N.]

Thank you so much Ron! Now that you mention it- I think it is the 1998-2000 block.

Is there a certain brand of heads that are good quality

 

[Kirby N.]

I have been researching king @rumblecloud . Trying to figure out if they are Chinese castings. Haven’t found much on them- nothing negative.

 

[Angie]

for push rods I would contact these guys and tell them the length and application you need....

Pushrods | Smith Brothers Pushrods | Redmond

Smith Brothers Pushrods has the right pushrod for your application! We build superior quality pushrods for performance cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, restoration and custom projects

www.pushrods.net

 

[gaz]

Kirby,

If you haven't spent any money yet, there are 4 options to consider with your Ford 4.0L ohv 98 spec block:
A) 94 pistons/94 heads, no change
B) 98 pistons/97 heads, no change
C) 98 pistons/98 heads, only if you are having Flow bench port/polish performed, as the exhaust ports are reduced size
D) 01 SOHC 4.0L flat top pistons/94 heads +8 hps from compression increase (3-6%); this is what I chose to do, 3-6% power/torque/fuel economy for free, I'm signed up in advance!!

Also, if you decide to use the quality products Smith Brother's offers, consider the small increased expense of having the custom push rods set be adjustable. This will insure that you are able to maintain the highest possible performance from this engine's valve train until it needs a rebuild.

For an improved rocker arm set, contact Delta Camshaft of Tacoma Washington; they are the only company left on the planet that sells the hardened rocker sets.

A quality multi angle valve job will also be money WELL SPENT, vs using them as is.

 

[Kirby N.]

Thanks @gaz. This is the info I am looking for.

I think I am pretty dialed into option c. I already have 98 style pistons installed the block. It is a NOS Motorcraft rebuilt short block. I am not really looking for huge hp/ performance upgrades- just looking for reliability. Are you saying I will suffer from choked performance over my 91 pistons and heads due to the reduced size exhaust ports? Will I need to use 98 style exhaust manifolds if I use 98 heads?


I will look into smith brothers and Delta Camshaft for the hardened rockers. I found Tom Morana last night too. Again, not looking for performance upgrades- just looking for reliable, high quality parts that will go another 300k in my rock crawler/ daily driver ranger.

Thank you all for the help!

 

[Kirby N.]

I am rereading your post again- I think based on what you are saying the hot setup for what I need would be using the 97 heads due to no change in exhaust ports?

 

[gaz]

Kirby,

With a 98 block, 98 heads will be no change to anything.

Unless you desire extra fuel economy form the "Plan D" set up, using all 98 spec components is not only a sound move, it is simply stock replacement.

Since you are taking the time to think this through, make sure to have those valves looked at before assembly.

If you have the valve job performed, adjustable push rods and hardened rockers, you with have a bit of a showboat 4.0L.

I'm sure people will be asking you which engine you have because it doesn't sound noisy enough for a 4.0.

 

[Kirby N.]

Well- not quite a "no change to anything"/ stock replacement scenario.

My ranger is a 1991 4.0l. So I want to use a 98 short block in my 1991- because that is what I found NOS. So it will have a 1991 oil pan, valve covers, intake, exhaust, accessories, etc. It will also be running off a OBD 1 setup- sensors, computer etc. But the block, pistons, crank will be a 1998-2000 version and I have not acquired heads yet.

So I am trying to discern the best heads to use with the 1998 short block and the 1991 everything else- and also foresee any problems I may have before I assemble. From your original post, it sounded like 97 heads would work better with my exhaust setup and maybe from a stock tuning standpoint?

 

[RonD]

adsm08 would be the one to chime in here
He said you need to use 1998-2000 computer with the 1998-2000 heads as they are "fast flow"(narrower ports) to hasten warm up time for Cats, so spark timing has a different curve
Read about here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/40rebuild.shtml

I would used 1995-1997 heads

Also need the 8 bolt flywheel or flexplate, the 1991 is 6 bolt

 

[Kirby N.]

@adsm08 would you mind weighing in? I would love to hear your knowledge.

I do not want to switch from the 91 computer obd1. Not that there isn’t benefits to later tech, but I like the simplicity. I am also not running any cats and there is no emissions tests here.

Thank you for linking that article I have read it many times and also in different places. I think it may have been sourced from engine builders magazine.

I did also read somewhere about the flywheel change- thank you. That will be fine because I plan on installing a new flywheel, slave and clutch with the swap anyway. My slave has a leak and my clutch has a chirp upon engagement. I did swap to a sohc clutch a few years back as well. I also plan on doing a transmission rebuild with a set of the 2.3 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear as well. My transmission leaks like a siv and I haven’t been able to seal it and keep it sealed. I believe it is the surface between the case and the tail housing that is leaking.

 

[Shran]

Adsm08 hasn't been on here since last August unfortunately. Good guy, hope all is well.

Regardless of what you do you will need to keep your piston/compression ratio in mind especially since you want to use an OBD-1 ECM. I have read that for example you cannot use 93-94 heads on a stock 90-92 short block with the factory tune. I'm not sure how true that is but there are enough variations in heads between 90 and 2000 that it pays to quadruple check everything... Finding someone to tune out problems on an early 90s Ford will be very difficult.

 

[Kirby N.]

It sounds like the best move- from what I can gather from @gaz and @RonD that the best setup would be to use 95-97 heads with my 98-2000 block. This should not require a change in exhaust manifolds and should be ok with my factory 1991 4.0 tune. Ron and pointed out twice also that I will need a new flywheel- which will be fine because I was planning to replace it soon.

1 reccomendation on heads- Kings heads.
- does anyone know about Tom Morana heads? Worth the extra money? I ran across them the other day.

1 recommendation on pushrods- smith brothers

Any other recommendations?

Also I pm'd adsm- I hope that works.

I also ordered some valve cover reinforcement rings and some poly engine mounts to get things rolling.

Thank you all so much!