Since I have become a member, I have been seriously bitten by the mod bug. I have the ongoing desire to go faster and faster. Right now, I'm trying to decide which mods I should do next. I am thinking about underdrive pulleys, electric fans, shift kit, 3.73 or 4.10 gears, ignition upgrade, ... whatever other mods that are bolt-on and are reasonable in price. I really want the pulleys and electric fans, cause I think this could free up about 20hp/30tq, but I am worried about the power drain, If the stock charging system will be able to handle 1 or the other, or both. I have a stereo amp that pulls 38A @ peak. Id be willing to buy a capacitor and or Optima battery if this would allow me to run both of these mods. BTW which electric fan setup do you guys recommend, I heard that the Flex-A-Lit dual 12" isn't enough to cool the 302 down. What should I get? The shift kit well thats simply so that a can geta nice chirp of the tires on the WOT 1 - 2 shift and a side effect of the kit is the extended tranny life. Gear would be great. I am not the quickest thing around once I hit 3rd gear, so it doesnt make a difference in the top end, and my interstate driving is not that much. And if I get the gears, I'd probably pull of the line like a monster and continue to do that till about 90 I guess. So this would probably make me even faster through soem of 3rd, so that would be cool. Right now with my tires, I have a 3.42, if I want to be pick up like 5 truck lengths in the 1/4 mile, could I accomplish this with 3.73s which would be 3.85s or 4.10s which would be 4.23s. I'm kinda leaning towards 3.73s, but tell me what Yall Think! I have heard that ignition does nothing on our trucks unless their is something wrong/ bad with our existing system, and mine seems to run fine, so I'm leaning away from that. I dont want to mess with a Blower or anything until I'm in college, so I can see how the money flow is. I have to save a little. And I dont want to do anything internal to the engine now either. So if yall have any other mods that would help me out, please tell me. And give me your insight on what I have mentioned before. I'm sorry that I have so many questions, but everyone on this forum is so helpful and knowledgeable, that I turn to yall before anyone else. I have been on other truck forums, but the people just arent the same. Thanks guys for everything, especially PKRWUD, Donate54, Strange Ranger, TF, <-- Yall know your schit. And everyone else. I still remember when I first joined this forum and this section of the board was dead. There would be like 4 threads a week. But now there are tons, I cant wait to get home to read the forum LOL. HELP ME MAKE MY TRUCK FASTER!!!!!

 

Hmm didn't see jet engine mounted in the bed any where on your list.

I've heard a lot of good things about the underdrive pulleys and the 302..see what Donate say's.

 

hmm I'll get one of those jet turbines when I get my next pay check. Who makes a good one GE Pratt & Whitney LOL Do you know a supplier

 

drop in a BB460 with a fat carb and a wild cam, then add a roots blower. on a serious note though, if youre going to stay strictly with bolt-ons then underdrive pulleys and a shift kit would be my next mod. BUT, none of those are going to help as much as a nice set of heads on that 302. granted, they are a lot of $$$, but from what ive seen, theyre a great bang for the buck. im toying around with the idea of selling my truck, but if i keep it my next mod will DEFINITELY be some heads, edelbrock intake and maybe a mass-air setup.

 

In your case gears might be the next logical step. My truck also has 3.31s and with the 302 it's not the best combo.

As for pulleys or fans, if you do it I would try the pulleys first. With your stero draw I would shy away from doing both. Pulleys are cheap and easy to do, and if you have a charging problem you should be able to sell them for a small loss. Remember if you have the underdrive pulleys you have already slowed the fan, so the increase from electric fans would not be as great.

As for ignitions, I love mine. It paid for itself in fuel savings and has increased performance, especially low end torque.

 

I'm seriously thinking about gears right now. Will going to a 3.73 really wake up to the truck, or do I need to goto a 4.10. Yeah and I think I'm gonna order the pulleys soon. And if I have charging probs, I'll just buy a capacitor. And I think once the engine is turning like 1200 RPMs it is at full charge with the stock alternator and pulleys, so I should be fine. Which pulleys set do yall recommend. I'm thinking about the March power & amp series. Any other suggestions, are ASP pulleys good??

 

Oh I have an XLT, so how many amps does the truck "STOCK" usually draw with the AC off I never use the AC, only unless I have to bring someone somewhere and they dont want the windows blowing air in "My Sister" LOL Just a ballpark figure would be good.

 

I called a 4x4 place and they quoted me $250 for the install of the rear end. I have to buy the parts. Who should I buy from, and do I need ot buy that $100 installation kit?

 

That's a fair price for the labor. You need to ask them what install kit to buy. If all you're doing si swapping to a different R&P on the same carrier the parts you actually need are minimal, basically shims and a pinion seal. If you're upgrading to a Trac-Lok, you need a few more, inboard bearings and a new exciter ring. If you want to do the whole thing, then you need the $100 kit that includes outboard bearings and seals. If you do that you may want to change your studs while the axles are out. It's basically up to you.

Summit, Jeg's and a dozen other places all sell the parts you need, and your 4X4 shop can get them for you as well. Buy quality, not economy on your gearset. USGear and Precision Gear are very good, I used Ford SVO, avoid Richmond's made-in-a-third-world-sweatshop specials

 

As far as fans go, I gained a little with mine (I have a 351) but also is a good mod to get out of the way and improve your cooling power. I bought a 19" fan off of a 2001 crown vic w/ police package. I figured if it keeps them cool its gotta keep my truck cool. I've seen the crown vic fans go for about $50-$90 on ebay depending on how new it is etc. I had to trim 3/4" of an inch off the shroud for clearance purposes. Mine has done well and right now I am only operating it on the low speed. I will try to take some pics and give a little more info when I get the kinks worked out in a couple days (I'm gonna install a couple relays and aux switches for more control & to operate the high speed). Throw in a thermostat, a couple relays, a switch and wiring and you should be able to do it all for $100-$150 and have pleanty of cooling power for a lot less than an aftermarket fan.

 

beastie,

I would go with pulleys and gears! The pulleys Donate54 and I have add 11 hp @ the rear wheels, and the engine revs easier. I definitely noticed a most gratifying seat of the pants improvement. I have a 4 channel amplifier and I really haven't had any negative side effects as far as voltage is concerned, or as far as anything is concerned for that matter. Great bang for the buck! Also, I would go with 4.10 gears. They don't cost anymore than 3.73's, and if you're gonna spend the money on gears and install, you might as well make it worth your while. What size tires are you running? 4.10's are good up to 33" diameter tires. If you're serious about going fast, I would definitely go with 4.10's.

Do you have headers yet? I've never driven my truck without them, but I've heard they help out. Look at my signature and check out the mods I have. I've raced a truck exactly like mine (same make, model, year, configuration, drive, engine, tranny) only with 3.55 gears and 29" tires. The only mods. it has are a K&N drop in filter and a Flowmaster muffler with dual tips. We were actually on the freeway and it wasn't even close. Within about 20 seconds, he was a distant figure in my rear view mirror. I can't imagine what it would be like if we had the same tire size! So apparently, you can make great progress with an intake manifold, camshaft and a few bolt-ons.

 

My tires are 28" so my 3.31 rear end is actually a 3.42. You convinced me on the pulleys. Where should I buy them from? And I think I'll go for 4.10s even though it will give me like a 4.23 final drive ratio... I dont know Ill have to decide.

I dont know about headers. They seem like they would be a pain to install. And unless I got my chip reprogrammed, my engine would run lean. The reprogram costs like $150 +- I dont remember. So I dont think I'm gonna do headers until I do some other stuff that would require a custom burn. BTW the custom burn is a flat fee, so I would do all those mods at once and get 1 burn. like larger MAS, TB, Injectors, Headers, BLOWER LOL

While I'm in high school I want to just do somes simple stuff. All I want to do is run a Low 16, high 15 sec 1/4. I think gears and pulleys will accomplish this. I guess I run a high 16 now. Just a guess though.

 

I'm not so sure that you would have to get your chip reprogrammed just because you get some headers. I told Mike Troyer all the mods. I had (before I got my intake manifold, but I had my headers then) and I asked him if I would need a custom chip burned for me. He said that as long as my driveability and idle are good, then the standard program would be fine. Headers, especially shorties will not change your driveablity any more than a cat. back exhaust system will. Sure, headers will probably be a pain to install, but what isn't? I've never had the elusive "pain-free install". Probably the hardest part about installing headers will be loosening your old exhaust manifold bolts and removing the gasket. But I think they're worth the trouble. Just don't let your chip be the reason to hold out off on getting headers. You'll be fine. If and when you do get headers, just be sure and get copper gaskets. They'll hold up much longer and you'll have less exhaust leaks.

 

Beastie,

My pulleys are the three piece set from FRPP. They are a Mustang part number but work fine. I have the box, so if you want a number let me know.

Either way I would get a set with the smaller alternator pulley. I almost left my original (larger) alternator pulley on but decided against it. My truck stays in the the Normal range even with the AC and lights on, but barely.

Also on my truck if I idle for an extended period with acccessories on, the idle will bump up slightly to compensate. Don't know if all years will do this, but mine does.


As for the gears, the prices you are getting seem fair. Use one of the calculators (Richmond Gear has one) to figure out the rpm difference between using the 3.73s and 4.10s. Since you stated you don't drive on the open road a lot I would go for the 4.10s myself. Either way a calculator will tell you what the rpm difference would be at any speed. Probably much less than you are expecting.