Ok, I'm having trouble paying attention.

So only 99 & 2000 have the forged cranks for sure?

My 03 is cast?

I thought the later years had heavier webing in the block and more sparkplug threads and blah blah blah.

Pray tell. What is the safe horsepower limit for the later stock engine.....?

450hp?

Thanks

 

No... all Lightnings have the forged F7 crank. Regular F-150 was forged 97-00 and then they switched to cast in 01.

Remember when I snapped my crank in half trying to run 26psi with a 300 shot on top? That was a cast crank because I built that motor from all new parts in 01 and Ford had "updated" the crank part number and nobody back then knew the difference.

 

Same part...Summit's part number just reflects Ford Motorsport (FMS) as the manufacturer with the part number following.

 

Thanks for that clarification

 

Beware. If you go to a Ford dealer parts counter and ask for a 99-04 crank for a Lightning they may sell you a cast crank. Be sure you get the forged crank. You can tell by the price if nothing else. The steel crank will be $500 - 600 + range. Anything lower than that your getting the cast. Dont accept what your told by the parts guy just because his computer says it's the Lightning crank.

 

New question, relating entirely to subject...

i assume the forged crank is manufactured with 1 keyway... now i know it will probably suffice my application, but i dont want to roll or sheer a key/keyway. is this assumption correct? i really would feel safer with 2 keyways with a 500hp ballpark.

 

HI!... When I had my 5.4 built, I had the machine shop cut another keyway in to make sure it wouldn't shear off. Make sure if you get this done that the crank trigger wheel and both lower timing chain gears must also be cut for the double keyway. Also the harmonic balancer must be done. I also had the entire crank cryo-treated.

 

When the cryo'ed it did they put it in a block of ice...what's up with all of the surface rust?

 

yeah thats the idea! how much did it run w/o the cryo for you btw? i just want an idea how far to bend over.

 

What power adder are you planning to use? You really only need to double key the crank if you are going to have something stressfull yanking on it. If you're running a big centrifugal blower or a twin screw, then a second key is a good idea if the crank is out of the truck. Anything else and it's just not needed.

The big thing is to make sure you replace that stock POS springy crank bolt with an ARP one.

 

HI!... It's called, used crank before any machining (except extra keyway) or cryo-treating were done

 

oem harley/lightning supercharger + ported heads, i think im gonna have enough to worry about it a little bit.

 

Just busting your chops Neal!

 

honest opinion... would it be advisable to add a second key to an engine with ported heads and a oem supercharger? i dont want to have to rebalance my new crank if i dont need a second key added...