I would like to mod my truck, but am concerned about mods affecting the durability of it. Who has blown their engine or tranny because of mods, and who has had good luck with their mods?

 

After repairing 3 8.8's I have had to replace the differential with a 9.75. The tranny finally chiped a tooth last Friday. The OEM clutch doesn't need a modded engine to burn it. I had it replaced in June of 02 and the slave was replaced again a week ago. I would hate to see the repairs if it were a Chevy.

JMC

 

I would say it depends on what you do with the mods once you have them. If you are modding your truck so you can tear up the road from stop light to stop light, then yes you probably will suffer some in the long term. Most of the bolt on mods from reputable(sp?) companies should not give you any problems. Of course if you are under warranty then be carefull what you do or you could end up with an expensive repair bill even though your mods had nothing to do with it.

 

Now remember, this is personal opinion time. My take is that if the factory could have done any of these modifications (to get more power, more mileage, etc.) and not negatively impacted durability or really increased cost - they would have done it there.

The other thing the factory does a pretty good job at is balancing the entire package - instead of getting one component out of whack. So you double the output of your engine - will your transmission take it? I doubt it. The factory knows.

Sure you can get more (of anything), but I think you're going to pay for it down the road - especially if you whip on it. Again, just my personal opinion.

 

albow,


The torque converter in the 4.2 and 4.6 trucks multiplies at a 2.3:1 ratio and the 5.4 at a 1.9:1 ratio. So if you mod your 4.6 to put out 350 lbs/ft of torque you are over the limit of the 4R70W tranny. What the owners of the 5.4s should do is use a converter from a 4.6 and multiply the torque at 2.3:1 and get up to 759 lbs/torque (330 x 2.3).

So if you beat on yours ½ as much as I do mine, something is going to break.

JMC

 

This argument repeatedly fails. You see engines coming out of Europe all the time that are much smaller than American engines but product much more horsepower and torque. One example of this difference is BMW's 3.2L I6 powerplant for the M3, which gives better numbers in both categories than the 4.2L V6 base engine for the F150s. And European engines routinely outlast American engines.

If a German company were to take our naturally aspirated 5.4L V8, it'd be running a good 400hp and 400tq from the factory. But an American company puts on parts which aren't the best for performance for multiple reasons. The two leading reasons are economy (they want them to be cheap to buy) and ecology (EPA requirements are exaggeratedly restrictive).

This is why bolting on an aftermarket exhaust does so much for our engines by reducing restrictions in the airways, and the MicroTuner does so much by changing ignition timing and other such modifications to make the engine run at a more performance-optimized air-fuel ratio (and take advantage of higher-octane fuels).

I can, however, give credence to your argument that too much modification will put other parts at risk from subjection to overpower. This is why when you add a supercharger you have to change the piston heads. And if you go over 350hp by any means you'll have to replace a 4R70W transmission. If these engines were designed to their full potential at the factory the transmission would be made to handle 500hp in the first place. But then again, if they were produced to their full potential, such aftermarket parts wouldn't exist is such abundance, like they don't for European vehicles.

I agree with pjf77. If you're gonna' use these mods to race your engine, you're gonna' lose engine life (just like you would if you raced it without the mods). But there's nothing wrong with the mods. The problem is the original engine design which requires the mods to be offered.

 

Hi-

With my truck, I modded like crazy.

I just traded her in for an 03 Mustang GT, because I blew 2 HGs in less that a month with 19,500 miles on the odometer.

Is this a product of modding...prob. not, but I often wonder.

In my Mustang's owner's mannual, they specifically say that *Any drivetrain computer programming chip other than the factory Ford unit can/will void new car warranty.*

I am going to keep the Mustang stock. All fluids are going to be stock except for the oil, which I've decided on Mobil 1 5W30.

The choice to mod. is completely yours. It's your vehicle and you may do to it what you please, but just consider the warranty issues (My Ford dealer didn't have a problem), and be versed on the requirments of all the aftermarket products.

Buy reputable brands that are CARB legal. I've heard a rumor that in order to register your car (at least in California) you will have to hook your car up to a DYNO machine.

G. Luck, and do your research first.

 

You didn't say how much you wanted to modify your engine......Some simple mods like cat back exhaust, intake, electric fans, Superchip will by no means shorten the life of your truck. Be religous about maintenance and don't drive your truck like it was a Winston cup car and you will get life out of your truck. If every stoplight is just another race (modded or not) prepare to pay for your racing.

I hated my F-150 until I put sway bars in it. In fact if I couldn't have improved the handling, I would have sold the truck. Now running stock +100 horsepower, I am one happy camper.

Mods have definately helped by mpg. I went from 15 to almost 19 mpg (if I don't race everybody).

If you are talking nos for a mod, that power will clearly shorten your truck's life.

What are you trying to do? How much power do you want to add?? What kind of truck do you have??

 

2002 xlt scab, 5.4 with towing package, 3.55 ls. Ya can't tell it's an xlt anymore cause I just acetoned my badges and love it! Yeah, by mods, I was really referring to major performance mods and which ones blow and which ones go. YOu hear so many things, but I figure the best place to find out is from a number of people who have actually used a product. I know I can play with the exhaust cat back and the intake and not hurt anything, so really I guess I was talking about chips, superchargers, nitrous and tranny mods, both by chhip and mechanical. I would love to chip my truck after I do my exaust and a cold air intake, but the warranty thing scaares me. Ive got 21,000 miles to go (about17 months for me) and I was wondering if things like nitrous done in moderation hurt the engine or if it was somebody who maybe went 100 shot or greater that damaged thiers. Or maybe someone hopped up their engine only to hurt the tranny. Or the power programmer helped performance but hurt the tranny somehow. When i wrote above that I would like to chip it, I really meant power programmer and besides, that's the only way my model can be done anyway, right? I tow a 6000-6500# travel trailer and wouldn't mind being able to change the programming for different shifting and more power when I do. Does anybody know if it can be told that a programmer has been used if you return it to stock? What if the truck just completely quit running? Would you be able to return the programming to stock before towing it in and would you think to? Just a lot of stuff to consider.

 

Any mod, from a supercharger to installing a six cd changer, will increase the chance of failure. Any time we change the factory design it effects the way any and all related componants function.

Some of you say that a supercharger is most likely to cause a failure. I'd say that a set of two inch drop shackels are more likely to cause damage. A supercharger does increase cylinder head preassure, increases the stress on internal engine componants and increases the amount of torque being applied to the transmission and rear end gears. If done properly and conservatively the drive train should be able to handle the additional power. Dropping the rear two inches changes the angle on the pinoin gear. Some need to install pinion shims, some don't. I think there is a good chance that the tell tail signs that shims are needed may not be preasant in all cases and some poeple will have a failure on the pinion gear as a result.

I've got 13k on this 4.6 since supercharging and all is well. I'm more concerned about the pinion gear. I don't drive like a grandpa but I do respect the limits of this truck. I've accepted the risk in return for a truck that has more power than any vehicle I've ever had.

If it breaks tomarrow, I'll fix it. It has been well worth it!

If it breaks I will know what parts aren't strong enough, and will install stronger parts.

 

All right, let me start from the beginning.

Superchargers aren't too dangerous if you keep the boost within the capabilities of the stock engine (under 6psi). If you go over that you're putting too much stress on stock components. First you would want to make sure you're running a 4R100 transmission. You can find out by the letter under "Transmission" on your door panel. If it's a "U" you have the 4R70W (weaker) tranny. If it's an "E" you have the 4R100 (stronger) tranny. Second, you would probably want to replace some of the interior components such as piston heads and camshaft.

Nitrous systems aren't a good idea on any vehicle other than race-built ones. Even in small boosts this can put heavy stress on engine components, and may cause your driveshaft to twist up. NOS is really something best reserved for track-racers.

Chip/computer modification can be returned to stock configuration if you're using a good product. I know the MicroTuner will do this, and I'm pretty sure the rest of SuperChip's products will as well. They also include programming for the transmission, so you're pretty safe from damage in that area. Furthermore, I haven't yet seen a case study on this particular application (chips), but dealerships must legally prove that a failure is related to either an aftermarket part or its installation in order to fail to honor your warranty. But you have to know this, and present this fact to them, because they won't usually graciously offer that fact.

As for which chips you could use: you could use the MicroTuner, or you could use a traditional SuperChip programmed chip. If you want multiple programs for towing/street driving, you could get a flip chip. With the flip chip, you just flip the chip over when you want to change programs. For more information on these products, seek out a member by the name of "SuperChips_Distributor" or go to his website at TroyerPerformance.com.

I hope this better answers some of your questions. Good luck and happy trucking.

-Jeff

 

OK I agree and disagree with some of these posts.

When you go to higher end mods like a supercharger. I would think it will affect longevity because if you have the extra power you will tend to use it's extra horse power for a little fun. It's not a bad thing but it does create excessive stresses that will take it's toll unless you do some serious beefing mods to the engine and tranny.

The intake and exhaust mod would seem to be fairly benign from a longevity standpoint. The reason automakers won't do them is because of the added noise. Most people complain about too much noise but not about too much quiet.

The Superchip type mod will create a small amount of extra stress but I don't think it would create any noticeable longevity problems. The reason automakers don't use this type of agressive programming is that it requires the use of premium gas which is usually recommended only on their high perfomance models.

Now about the European and their high output engines. Again they require the use premium gas AND expensive synthetic oil. Something alot of consumers don't want is added operating costs.

Like any vehicle modded or not. If you drive it every day like you stole it then it will adversly affect longevity.

 

wittom, seems like you have a good attitude towards modifying. Hope things hold up for you. Yeah, I agree with others here that if your mods cause you to run it harder or do it more frequently, then it has to cut back some on the longevity. I'm just hoping to find a good safe way to make me a sleeper when some ricer or smart-a$$ kid pulls up at a stoplight I can give him more than he bargained for.