Got most of the lightning stuff today....... Ordered a bunch of misc stuff from others and still waiting on those things but its gettin there.......... I'm getting excited. Still have to figure out what to do about the throttle cable and cruise cable though since their diff on the superdutys.

Taking the motor thursday to start getting torn down and ready for the new internals... Should I replace the cam chains, tensioners and guides while its apart? What else should I replace while its there?

 

Yes on chains and tensioners. Some like cast steel tensioners from Ford GT vice stock plastic ones. Summitt has complete kits available. Since all bolts are torque to yield you will need to buy new ones. Go ARP head studs and probably main studs as well.as boost goes up head studs become more important. FRPP oil pump as well. Stock rebuild of heads is good for 500 or so hp.

 

for sure replace all the timing components. Id go with arp main and head studs too...

 

Ok thanks... Getting more expensive every day, have to do it right the first time though!!!

 

You haven't seen expensive yet until you buy the gaskets, could be $600. And go Ford they are the best, even for the exhaust manifold.

 

Lol... Yeah I have heard between just the gaskets and the bolts its gonna be a pretty penny!!

 

Ok dropped the block off today and have most of the lightning swap waiting to be put on........ Just gonna clean it all up a bit. When I brought the motor to the machine shop we were talking about the heads and the spark plug problem.... Do the spark plugs actually blow out of the head? Especially under boost I would think so...... What can be done to prevent this from happening. Do I have to buy new heads also? Between new heads and cams thats another $2000 at the minimum which sucks.

 

Early plug problem sometimes caused by heater hose leaking water on rear passenger plug and 4 thread heads. Also use a good anti seize.my 2003 had 4 thread heads and I have 150,000 miles total with last 60,000.miles with running over 12 lbs of boost with no problems. But then this is a daily driver and has never been drag raced. Have machine shop check threads when they rebuild. Make sure your exhaust valve guides are good. Boost takes it toll on them.

 

Ok thanks.... You are the S H I T!!

 

L had a 2.93 upper, HD's have a 3.1 hence 2lbs less boost.

HD is lower because of a BIGGER upper.

Plugs that are ejected or normally due to improper torque, both under and over. There are plenty of 4 thread L's running high boost w/o issue. If you have the money inserts would be nice but they present their own issues.

I've done a L swap on a 01 F250 and can help you some. It's been a few years so I'll have to pop the hood to refresh my memory but there are some hurdles you'll have to jump through.

I may be late but there are several L vendors offering Holiday deals on Short blocks, you may want to look into that. It's my 2 cents that you spend the money and atleast do valve springs if you have any intention of pushing higher boost. I would also really consider cams, you can make a good bit of power without messing with the heads themselves and you won't have to push the eaton so hard or upgrade blowers as soon.

You'll be built but there is a limit on how hard you can push the Eaton before it makes more heat than power. You can port it but I dont' advise it in your situation. Atleast nothing more than a mild port (stage II). Anything more and you are giving up torque down low, our barges could use all the torque down low we can get. Combating the heat will be another issue. There just isn't a good place to mound the HE on the F250. We ended up shimming out the a/c condensor and put it between it and the radiator. Not optimal but on his budget and time I couldn't come up with much else. You may be served better looking into a killer chiller and doing away with the HE all together. If you plan to run a 6lber or more you'll need a MAF extender or a BA MAF, the stock L 90mm MAF will be maxed.

You'll need to extend the intake or your air box will be a ways away from the fender. I ran a C&L elbow and got some longer rubber boots to space things out.

Your harness connects to the front drivers side rather than the rear passenger side like the F150. You will have to use your stock harness but you'll have to extend the IAC, modify and extend the MAF plug, your truck probably has 6 wires, the L MAF has 4. The extra two wires will be for your IAT sensor, (the f250 has it built into the MAF). Extend that to your IAT 2 location. Or maybe not, searching through my old posts I see my buddy with the 99F250 did not have the 6 wire MAF, but check yours.

You'll need to masage the firewall to fit the plenum ontop of the blower. We had to cut a flanged section out and dent the backside with a hammer. It doesn't look bad if you take your time and do a little at a time. Also, if you are running a stock hood you'll have to massage it to clear the throttle linkage. Hate to see you get stuck WOT!!!! Remember the motor rocks a little so you'll want to clear more that just enough.

I suggest a FTVB or Punisher for a valve body. There are others, check the L boards to see what everyone has to say about them.

You'll have to use your brain for mounting the fuel pump in the tank. It's not rocket science but it's not like the F150. IIRC we cut some slits in the canister and routed the worm clamps through it. It's been 3.5 years and the truck still runs good so it must have worked.. haha

We also mounted up a mad DIY fan to help clear the front of the motor up.


I'm sure I'm forgetting a thing or two. If you have any questions let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.

 

Got my upper sizes mixed. Why not anti seize on thread?

 

Sorry, brain fart, I edited. Not sure what I was thinking about, glad you questioned me and made me look!!!!

 

No problem. You got me on pulley, my fat fingers. Also I use a copper based anti sieze for plugs. Better with heat.

 

Damn thanks brahmus. Thats alot of things I needed to know...... What did you do about the throttle cable and cruise cable since theyre diff on superdutys? Also when you say 6lber what do you mean? 6lb lower? And what do you mean the maf will be maxed and I might need a maf extender? I think the fuel pump is gonna be a tough one but i'll give it my all!!! Cant wait to get this over with!!!

I ordered the whole rotating assembly today so too late for a short block... Mod motors are so damn expensive to build... This thing better last.

I tried ordering the Ford Motorsport High Volume Oil Pump today also but they said the one for the 4.6/5.4 wouldnt work on a truck because the pan is different. What do I do now? Do I need a high volume one or can I just get a regular one?

And do I honestly need ARP head studs or is there a cheaper route? I know they're the best but do I really need them? Is there another route I can go? Im getting ARP main studs but hesitant on the head studs for some reason..... Probably has something to do with costing around $250.

 

I'll have to peek under the hood again but I think I modded a L throttle cable and relocated the CC box to the drivers' side with an L cable there too.

Yes 6lb lower pulley, Adds about 6psi to the Lightning setup. A stock 90mm Maf from a lightning can only meter so much CFM. At that point you either need a SCT BA meter or a mafia which plugs into the OEM MAF and "recalibrates" it to meter more air.

then don't skimp.....get the ARP head studs.

I