HI guys. i was wondering if there would be any cheap way to in crease the horse power on my Fuel injected 302 engine? any suggestions are all welcome.

 

The cheapest thing is to do a tune up. Change the spark plugs, wires , cap n rotor and advance the timing. A new exhaust will help too but that can get expensive. What are your plans for the truck?

 

Do all the basics and keep up on them. The mods that bring noticeable improvements are gonna cost a few $$$.

When we say exhaust work we mean headers back. Catback systems change the note more than anything else.

 

if you have a ton of miles on the truck, i'd just do exhaust and intake, along with tune up, change filters, fluids, etc... save up for a rebuild and go for more power then

if you have relatively low miles, maybe a cam swap... cams are fairly cheap for these motors. dont know the internal condition of your engine till you dig in...

gear swap will feel like you gained a lot of power but can run up to $500+ just for labor...

 

alright thanks for the tips. i just have to get rid of my mx bike so i can get money for my truck. but when you say high miles what do you consider high? my truck has 270k i think. ive also heard that the headers are a pain in the *** to put in. is it easier to raise the motor to install them or leave the engine in??? thanks for your help.

 

Use the search button. This has been covered many times.

 

At 270K, you're going to need to freshen the engine sooner rather than later. When you do the re-build is the best time to improve the performance but you can start gathering parts ahead of time.

 

Agreed. Start with a longblock or short block and go from there.

To the OP, since you couldnt seem to search in the first place, I found the thread for you. It took me all of 5 minutes.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/pr...-upgrades.html

My post in that thread:

Whats your budget? I will outline two different options that I would consider if I were doing this again:

LOW BUDGET
1. Timing bump and ignition upgrade- timing to 13.5*, new cap, coil, rotor and wires. Autolite orange box plugs gapped to 0.055". 9mm wires and the cheap Autolites are what these trucks like, no matter what anyone else says.
2. Insulate the stock airbox and throw in a good filter.
3. Seafoam. In the tank and through the vac line.
4. Make sure all fluids and filters are fresh and topped off.

NOT SO LOW BUDGET:

All of the above, plus:

1. New heads. GT40s or the like. This is the key for performance in the SBF engines.
2. Roller timing set. Cloyes is good.
3. Headers. BBK shorties are what I have and I have no complaints.
4. Bassani y-pipe w/ high flow cats.
5. Hooker Aerochamber muffler
6. Maremont 3" SINGLE exhuast pipe. Thats right, single. Not duals.

That will get you started.

Some things that are a waiste for these trucks:

1. K&N FIPK. Stock setup is best.
2. Any kind of aftermarket chip. Essentialy the same as the timing bump that you can do for free.
3. Aftermarket intake. The stock 302 intake flows plenty. The 351 is where the intake has some room to inprove.
4. Fancy spark plugs. Read above.
5. Throttle body spacers. Should be a given.
6. SMOG pump delete. Gains no horsepower of any kind and just makes the air worse for us to breath and makes you look like an idiot to those of us who know what it is there for.

That should get you started. Come back with any other questions.

 

i had my headers on in less than 2 hours... with no problems, then again my truck sits almost 3 feet off the ground lol


exactly, no matter how good that motor may run now, the more you push it the sooner it will die, take my 302 for example: 147K, started knocking last week, tore the top half of the motor down, looked like the previous owner changed the oil once every say 7K sludge clogged the oil passages and threw a rod...

 

ouch! but yea im 16 in like a week and a half and ive got a budget round 3000. but this truck is mint. i was thinking bout putting a bigger engine in it but im not so sure.

 

keep the 302, or at least a 351... once i sell my boat im having either a 306 built or 347 stroker... ill have a $4K budget. i installed a HD built tranny last week then the motor blew lol

 

alright so when you build your 347 with a 4k budget what would that include?

 

basically the long block and gear swap, i'd like to throw a supercharger on but dont have that kind of cash, my base line HP and TQ numbers should be good though with the 347...

 

Be wary of 347 strokers. They have a terrible rod/stroke ratio which results in increased wear on the cylinder bores and scuffing of the piston skirts. They are also reportedly very hard on rod beariings. If you really want the increased displacement drop in a 351, it's just a better idea.

You can also build a pretty strong 302 for not a lot of money, well within your budget. It won't run with an equally built 351 but it won't cost quite as much to build or to feed.

 

ya well this is going to be my driver for a year or so untill i get enough for a bigger engine. then ill turn it into a show truck. ill just do the little stuff right now like plug wires plugs, rotor cap. stuff like that. any suggestions on little things that would prolong the engine life and possibly increase hp??