1999 F150 4.6 SOHC with a 3.55 rearend, supercab flareside. Lowered with lightning front bumpercover and color matched rear bumper, Wedgewood blue (dark blue). Over 108,000 miles on original engine. Allen/Magna Eaton M90 roots supercharger kit. However, father wants the kit and now owns it. So, as soon as I can get another set-up ready for my truck, the Allen kit goes on his truck.

Bought a 2000 Lightning engine with supercharger pulleys and brackets with less than 10,000 miles on it from JDM. Justin@JDM is very good to work with. I also purchased a 2001 lightning Eaton M-112 supercharger assembly, including the intercooler/intake/fuel rails/fuel injectors, etc.

I already have a flipchip and an extra heat exchanger.

I plan to remove my 4.6 and install the L 5.4/supercharger system. It appears that with a eight bolt flywheel/flexplate, the engine should bolt up to my 4r70w trans. I am hoping that with the shift kit I installed, the trans will live long enough for me to get a high performance version. It also appears that with a larger fuel pump and using my two coil set-up instead of the lightning coil-over-each-plug set-up, I should only need proper tuning. I am concerned about finding an exhaust system that will work with my set-up.

Right, now I am trying to figure out a way to get Manley H-Beam drop forged rods, Probe pistions, APR main and head studs, rings and have additional spark plug threads installed in the the heads. I like the fact that there are currently 5 roots or twinscrew superchargers that can bolt down on the intercooler as well as, I can transition to a turbo if I wish to in the future.
Thanks for any postive or constructive guidance.

 

Hey ironhorse,
I wouldn't worry about getting an exhaust setup. Seems Steve from the 4.6 to 5.4 thread was able to get an exhuast shop to custom make him one.
As far as forged internals, would selling your current lightning shortblock and taking those funds and buying a built lower be a viable alternative?
And yes, get talking with Greg and see how you can extend the life of the tranny.
What are you planning to do with your 4.6 engine?
Jes

 

This is a very good comment that I agonized over. If I was able to keep my current Allen kit, I would have saved until I could have got a DSS Supermod 4.6 shortblock ($3,000 + shipping). It would have been much easier to just replace my current engine with a forged version. I would have had less down time and less hassle trying to make it fit.

However, when I mentioned to my father that I was going to try to upgrade my Allen kit (I was going to have a twinscrew mounted to the Allen manifold), he asked if he could buy my kit. He never does anything fun for himself (he has been a paraplegic for awhile now) , so I was glad for the misunderstanding and that he asked, so I am letting him pay the kit off and he now owns it. He said that he could wait for the install until I get my new kit. But, that left me with no supercharger kit of my own. Therefore, I would have had to wait until I had enough for the forged shortblock next summer, and then go without supercharging for for at least another year. So, I thought about trying to get a used supercharger system first.

Yet, for me, I wanted another roots or a turbo. I had strongly considered an ATI Procharger and came close to getting a used one, however, when I thought it through, for me, I wanted something proven with our F150s that had many options(intercooled roots/twinscrew) and that I knew from experience would be fun, or something with a very "cool" factor that would provide the most midrange and topend possible by any type of forced induction (turbo). .........as well as, at the time, I only had about 2,000 in covert credit/cash.

Could not find another Allen/Magna kit at all. And even if I could, Allen decided not to moddify their manifold to fit a twinscrew, another shop that had stated that they could make a intercooler for the Kenne Bell kit gave me a second quote that was 5 times higher, and another shop was suppose to be checking to see if a manifold/adapter could be made for the lightning Eaton M-112 to fit on the 4.6 could not be reached/as well as others said it would not function properly. There is a turbo kit for our F150s but it has not been released yet and it is around $5,000 anyway. Pro-Turbo out of Texas could make one, but again it would be around $5,000 for a large turbo and an intercooler. Did not know what to do at this point.

Then I found the deal on the lightning engine and the supercharger assembly for less than what I paid for the used Allen/Magna kit. Would it better to sell it all and start from scratch? If so, should I try to save for the 4.6 forged shortblock or continue to look for a used supercharger set-up? Would it better to save for the forged internal parts for the lightning engine, then install it? Or should I just install the lightning set-up as it is now? Thanks for your comments.

I would like to sell the 4.6 long block or trade something for it.

 

i find that with most projects , the snowball effect happens and before you know it you have priced yourself out of the project.

i agree with having an insert in the heads as well as a better aftermarket rod. but if this engine is running and ready to go, why not just install it as is., i mean this will not be a slug! seems like with the light mods like the lightnings do. you could easily have a mid 13 second truck which if you had it today would be faster than most in this forum.

if you pull off the install and get it running, as it should , that in itself would be a major accomplishment. if you start pulling the motor apart then you create more problems.

think about it, who here would like to walk out the door right now and hop in a smooth 13.5 second supercab. without no2 who would beat you here?

as with any project, down time and cash is what dictates your path.

i hate to say it but the best part of any project is all the planning and what ifs. go buy a beater to drive and just drop it in. roll the dice on the rods and inserts.

i think we need to plan a 1/4 drag strip day in houston or dallas to put a fire under all of our a$$es to get the thing done we need to do. i would say get a boxing ring but i have a feeling once we all got together we would feel like jerks for riding each other a$$es and it would be a fun day. anyone that wants to beat or make it personal can stay home.

 

Iron,

I agree with Brotherdave. Just install it and upgrade it later. You'll have the install exp. as well as the knowledge as what to upgrade later on. Then "Drive it till it blows." When it does let go you will have been driving a respectable truck and have the funds to do it up the way you want. I get the lost in the big picture to much sometime as well. The lightning engine you have has only 10K miles. You will need to upgrade the tranny later. I forsee you spending big bucks in the future.

Get it done and we'll goto the track and have a few and run'em.




Bill

 

I hope you're adding a cooler to your 4R70W. I just did the Jerry Mod to mine as well as removing 1-2 bottom spring and 2-3 spring. Shifts nice now. The cooler I added is the B&M #70266, biggest one I could find. Figured it's better to keep that Mercon V nice and cool. I also added the B&M drain plug kit to the pan... no more showers.

 

Outdare, brother Dave,

You both know far more about this stuff than I do. I agree. I should just install what I got and get on with it. Especially with my father waiting on his kit. Yet, every time I stare at the L engine just setting there, with a local member (soonerlightning) willing to help me get it rebuilt, I keep thinking that, this will be the only time to get it forged for future use (I am keeping this truck for at least 3 more years). .......going to try a few more avenues to get the forged parts, then I will go full force into getting it done.

I was going to get some credit with Summit Racing and get the forged parts but, on their website, I do not see any forged rods/pistions for the Ford Trition engines?????

That sounds great Outdare! I owe you several beers. I have to come down there to have Dom tune it anyway. When the time comes, I will coordinate the day with you, I promise.

p_felow,

My truck came with the towing package. I have a trans. cooler already. Is that enough? Or should I add a small electric fan to the stock cooler? Or should I replace the entire cooler with an aftermarket version with a fan?

Everyone, have a SAFE and Happy New Year!!!!!!!

.........and Ray, remember, you gotta cut down on doing 360 degree whitesmoke burnouts in intersections, in that Allen charged 4x4 monster, if you want your tires to last more than a month!

 

iron horse, I have the factory cooler as well (not towing package) which is in the radiator. If you look at the back of the radiator on the driver's side you can see the pipe go into the top and out the bottom. Anyway, I figured the big B&M #70266 is going to keep my fluid cooler than the radiator which is at 195 degrees most of the time, although I think the tranny cooler is located on the cooler side of the radiator. A few have argued that the tranny oil should be at operating temperature and others argue that the cooler-the-better. I wouldn't bother with a fan, you're moving 99% of the time anyway and even if rock crawling or something your factory radiator fan is sucking air through the radiator and consequently sucking air past the tranny cooler. I mounted the B&M in front of the air conditioning condensor, bolted to the cross-member running across the truck under the plastic cover that runs on top of the radiator/condensor on the driver's side. Besides tranny cooler though, you want to make the shifts quicker than factory as soft shifts (more clutch time) = heat = bad. With the Jerry Mod it shift nice and firm. More go pedal = firmer shifts. Doesn't chirp tires or anything. Jerry that designed the mods is the Ford design engineer for the 4R70W. He can rebuild one in 20mins. Figured if it's good enough for a Ford engineer it's good enough for my truck. He highly recommends a good aftermarket cooler.

One thing of note is possible delayed shifts if your tranny oil temp is too low. Haven't had this phenomenon happen to me and I'm in Vancouver Canada but we have weather similar to Seattle (slightly less rain). If you live in Alaska it's advisable to get one of the smaller B&M coolers that have a built-in bypass valve so if fluid is cold doesn't go through cooler until warmed up kind of like a radiator thermostat. The plate style coolers are way better for efficiency and flow rate than those cheap tube style ones.

 

 

What?

 

Sorry for the confusion p_ferlow. Was intended for Ironhorse's mention of my whitesmoke burnouts.

 

Oh, ok... carry on then. I didn't know you were famous for that. I hope it's cheap OE Goodyear's going up in smoke.

 

Update:

Going forward with install!!!!!!!!

Installing a 2000 lightning engine with very low miles and a 2001 oem lightning supercharger assembly.

Intend to collect all the needed parts within 60 days and remove 4.6 and perform 5.4 install myself, by mid May (COVERTLY, of course) in one weekend!!!!!!!!

Trying to keep budget at $3,000 or LESS (spent $2300 including shipping, for the engine and the
throttle body/supercharger/intercooler/manifold assembly (I sold the extra set of 42lb. injectors for $200).

Goal is 400+ rear wheel horsepower and 500 + rear wheel torque with the ability to upgrade.

I would appreciate any and all help with this project.......for I do this, not for myself, but for, the betterment of all farm trucks everywhere!


....... next time, I will post a complete inventory of what I have and what I need and problems to overcome in the install process. Please feel free to comment, donate, pose solutions, donate, pose potential problems, questions and concerns and donate.

 

.......update

I just got off the phone with Jim of JDM. He seems like a cool guy. He resolved the situation immediately. .......my tensioners and pulleys will be here in a few days.

I am still going to need the supercharger crossover bracket/tensior, water pump pulley and altenator bracket (along with all the bolts). .......as well as a different torque converter, exhaust manifolds, intercooler reservior, throttle body tube and air filter system, egr tube and exhaust modification, etc.

By the end of this week or when I get back from "Dizzy world", I will finally inventory what I have and what I need.

........I have a feeling, I am going to use up all my cell phone minuets talking to Mike at Madenterprise.com haha!

 

You know that Mike at Madenterprise has all that stuff you need in a "kit" form. Just give him a call and he'll hook you up.
Last week when I was at his shop, he had 2 kits boxed up ready to be sent out to eager "lightning conversion" folks.
The kits had different pieces in them depending on what the person wanted and needed.

I'll probably take that route when I need to go further than my M90 will take me.
I'm hoping Allan Engine folks come out with their gen 4 blower upgrade. If not, my next step is the lightning conversation.

http://www.madenterprise.com/F150.htm