Exactly. I will also add "the bargain motor experience" that has left me out A LOT of money with no Email response, instant message response or returned phone calls from Tommy. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! I was at JDM today when you ordered your motor, you made a wise decision and will be happy! I am back where I never should have left and am loving every minute of it. ALL BUILT LIGHTNING MOTORS ARE NOT EQUAL. -Mat-

 

Sorry to hear about it. Good luck with the rebuild.

 

Sorry man, but I am on Tim Skeltons side. Detonation is the cause of most blown up Lightning motors. Something has to give when the piston is trying to go two directions at the same time!
Hate to see that happen. Skip

 

Don't know what to say to anyone that blows their motor. I have not blown my motor yet. Guess I'm just lucky.

 

The question that is still out there from what I can tell is:

What RPM does your program command the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts???

Joel....

 

Can u tell me the differance between theirs and others reputable builders?I wond up going with a JLP motor,bought the bottom end ,heads,cams and did the install myself.I wound up being dissapointed with JLP too due to their pricing.I later found out i got taken fo a ride on the cams.I think the rides should stop for us customers and for these vendors to see that we are what pays their bills and be fair.Im a business owner and i pride myself in taking care of my customers.I never take anyone for a ride.Were talking decent money not just change for the basically same product.My only regret in my motor experiance is that i did not do the bulid myself.

 

Yea, but didn't you pay double for heads or cams or something?

 

Welcome to the Blown Motor Club. AKA the bank account thrasher. lol Sorry to hear you blew you motor, but at least you are taking the right step forward. I blew mine and took it to James at Race Related in Clearwater FL. He was giving me a great deal and I was happy. 9 months later and him telling me countless lies about how he had started breaking in the engine I dropped in on him and my truck didn't even have a motor in it. Then when I got it back it didn't have a drop of oil in it. When I put oil in it it smoked like a freight train. After getting a lawyer to draft a letter he finally agreed to do something. So I had had enough and when he sent the short block back I had it disassembled and check then reassembeled by Dave, I had him do the same with the heads. My truck was down for a little over a year and a half. I know Jim will not do that to you. Congrats on your new engine and making the right choice. Not that I think Jim is the only guy who can build engines, but he does have the most daily driven 10 second Ls on the road. Had I had this whole mess to do over again I would have begged Arthur Todd some more that night and if he still said no I would have headed for JDM.

 

Yes i did and thats why i posted i was not happy with JLP either.

 

Tim:

I previously addressed RPM. I do not for one minute believe that 6200 RPM on the Cobra motors is why Ford put H-Beam rods in them. I do believe however that they realized that their "L" motors are marginal in the longevity department. Yes, I believe detonation is the major cause of motor blowing. But I can also tell you that it does not makse sense to justify using a rod that can withstand 1500+ horsepower just because the motor spins an extra grand. Like I said in my previous post, I have been doing this (racing/building motors) as a hobby since the early 80's. I have seen way too many stock rod (I'm talking factory junk rods, not some factory HP or heavy duty offering) motors spun to 6500-7000 RPM every day and not break, making 400-500 horsepower. And I am pretty sure they were not detonating.

I do agree with the others that Ford is partly to blame for a no-margin build on their 5.4L motors. If these motors used better rods, we would see beaten rod and main bearings, chipped pistons and blown head gaskets everywhere before rods letting go. Trust me, I have seen this in the past.

 

Rob

What examples of blown non Modded stock motors do you have ?

One step further - How many motors running 4 pounds of additional boost or less with a safe tune have blown up ?

The answer to both questions is very very very few. Compared to the ones that blew with 6+ pounds of boost and wild tunes the difference is astounding

Doug

 

I don't have the answer to the Cobra question. I was just speculating. I should not have made such a strong statement.

That's a great point, but which way does it cut? Other than the head gaskets, the other failures listed are just about as bad as rods. And people who grenade their engines would then be grousing about the "weak pistons," "weak bearings," etc.

Other than the stupid early head design, I think that the 5.4 is a spectacularly good engine. And so does Ward's, the world authority on engines. The 5.4 has been named one of the ten best engines in the world every year since it was introduced.

 

Rob:

What all is involved in having someone go in and check the rod bolts? Can it be done with the engine in the frame?

 

One step even further -- how many non-chipped motors? With or without a pulley - 2lb, 4 lb, 6 lb, whatever.

I'd love to see a poll on this one. That would be the argument ender.

 

The beaten bearings, chipped pistons, blown head gaskets all would be the results of "severe" detonation. It seems like in these trucks, they tolerate very little detonation and very short periods of tolerace before the rods let go. I would rather the motor be tough enough to perhaps let the head gaskets act as a "fuse" (if you would) rather than the rods just kicking out the side at a moments notice (or less).