Picked up another EF motor today, took the rocker cover off and the head is in near perfect condition.. Its got all the sesnsors, throttle body, fuel rail (no injectors), waterpump, Pretty much complete minus gearbox, coilpack, even got the wiring loom and engine mounts..

Best part is I got it for nothing

Now im thinking.. "hmm, I have a near complete motor sitting there, looks the goods, perhaps I should pull it apart and learn some stuff.."

Other part of me is thinking "hmmm, but I could rebuild it, eigher a tough cammed motor, or a tough boosted motor"

The boosted part kinda has my head turned.. As I could do this, and it wouldent really matter how long it took as the engine in the car is still running fine, then I could swap it over later on down the track. Where as if I pulled the motor out of the car to rebuild that one i'd have no car for awhile..

So, Boosted it shall be, one day in the near future..

Can you guys give me a few ideas on what to look into when building a motor for boost application?

Obviously im going to get forged pistons, but whats a good brand? I don't want to have to rebuild the engine anytime soon, so first time I am going to do it right and hopefully have trouble free motoring as I want to build it, not to be a rocket, but to be a nice quick street car, id be happy with a 14second pass.. Anything quicker i'd be laughing. I also want it to still be a daily driver. So any ideas would be great so I can suss out exactly what I want to do with this thing!

Thanks,

Rob

Last edited by XCH45R on Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

you can make a turbo'd car run quicker than 14's and still be fine to drive everyday...
dunno about brands for forged pistons maybe Wiseco or Arias but you will probably have to get customs or fit a set that were made for an XR6T expect about $1500 but you could use a set of duralites they will handle a fair wack of boost... plenty for what you are aiming for
but definately invest in a set of decent forged rods... such as Carillo then you can crank up the boost later on without worrying about breaking anything or you can have yours shot peened to strengthen them...
use some double valve springs or extra heavy duty springs so you can have a bit more revs...
do the usual like port and polish etc and get the chambers decompressed instead of using a head shim (its just a better way of doin it then just a shim but they are still good.)
get a cam with a bit more lift but you DONT want overlap... otherwise your boost will go straight out your exhaust...
high energy sump... maybe a higher volume oil pump.
dunno prolly heaps of other stuff you could do...
cheers

Thanks champ, Im going to pull the motor down hopefully next thursday, I just need to get my engine stand back of a mate, I dident realise how heavy the old 4.0litre actually was.. even with my mate and I and were both big boys we could barley lift it!

Hopefully the bottom end is as good as the top end. Good learning experience too!

If the motor is as good as it seems already ill be spending a fair amount of cash on it over a while, dont plan anything being asap as i dont have cash to just throw into it and build it in a month or so. Just slowley but steady..

I just want a good motor that wont f**k up, and I wanna get in it and drive it everyday, Id like to think I could drive it to qld or something with no worries.. but still be reasonably quick..

Sounds like a fun project mate!
I envy you, being able to do a nice slow buildup like that.
Means you can take your time, save up money and not take shortcuts!
Look forward to seeing the results of this down the track.
Good luck!

For your goals you shouldn't need to spend much money at all. 6boost has posted the recipe before on performanceforums and another person on fordforums.

Basically a full EA ACL RACE Kit with oversize pistons. I believe its .025" pistons for a .005" overbore on your block. Shotpeen and magnaflux the rods which should be heaps for less than 5500rpm. Rods only die with lots of revs or stupid boost. O-ring the deck. Slight cleanup of the ports, 3 angle valve and seat job. Leave the std cam and get a vernier gear. Finally, ARP rod and head bolts. Obviously all the appropriate machining also.

If you have the time I would be using it to good use. I would be attempting to blueprint the motor yourself. Invest in a magnetic base, dial indicator,
verniers, and plastigauge.

This combo is supposedly good for 500fwhp reliably and the EA pistons make it more boost tolerant without having to machine the crowns thinner.

There is more you could do but I would rather spend the money on a better turbo, etc.

Then all you need is the right support systems a 60-1 compressor wheel would be perfect. This is a low boost wheel design which reaches max efficiency at 15psi but has very broad islands up to 15psi. This would be less laggy than a T66 wheel up to about 12psi but from 15psi on the T66 would start to blow it away. The 60-1 shouldn't be pushed past 18psi, whereas the T66 will do 23psi. I know a person who used the 60-1 with a hi-flowed VL T3 on a VL turbo for 300rwhp at 10psi. For the Falcon six I would use a P-trim exhaust wheel with a .84 split housing for quick (1800-2000rpm) boost response or a 1.06 split for more top end power for slower response (200-500 more rpm). Obviously use a split pulse design manifold. The icing on the cake would be a ball bearing center for the turbo.

im also considering a T5 conversion, lsd, aftermarket puter, eigher ems 8860 or wolf3d, ive been told microtechs are rather lame, only really good for rotarys, but i know a guy that can tune them really well..

what injectors/fuel pump/rising fuel reg is recommended?

I know as soon as i get it running im going to want more power

btw; we will be stripping the motor within the next few days so ill be sure to post pics!

Microtech's are crude but they are wired for your application making them easier to install and have many tuners liking them. But it all comes down to, "you get what you paid for".

The EMS 8860 will control the tranny and there is a guy in perth who makes a plug in loom for the EA-ED. If you buy the EMS 8860 from him he will give you his tune from his turbo ED. This would put you on par with the cheaper Microtech.

You need a minimum of a Bosch 040 (intank) pump or use a 044 (inline).

A rough guide is:
30lb injectors = 300rwhp max
36lb injectors = 360rwhp max etc....
Get 36lb injectors, this will keep you fueled at least to 13 flat.

A rising rate reg or any aftermarket reg is definitely not needed at anything less than 400fwhp. If you are running heaps of fuel pump then you will a bigger reg to return the fuel with less restriction.

So whats your budget xchaser?
A basic rebuild and forged pistons will still be a very strong motor. There's really no point balancing/blueprinting/ changing rod/headwork ect if you just looking for 14s,13s,12s... theres a lot of us here that know all this for a fact.
Just do a good rebuild then spend good money on turbo/ manifold/ exhaust parts, ecu, injectors, pump and finally A VERY GOOD TUNE...
Its the tune that will keep your motor alive for a long time.
My motor was on 220oooks when I turboed it, now its on 255oooks and going fine, Ive driven it to Qld a few times now, its allways been running 15psi....
If an old motor like mine can do this, then a good fresh simple rebuild should outlast you

Yep I know of one 4.0 bought from rweckers and GT3540 bolted to it and runs 11.4's. Head and rotating assembly TOTALLY std!! Has 36 Lb injectors, 600 h.p + pump and EMS 8860 ecu with good tune..270 rwkw Those times are done under 5.700 rpm also...A high milage motor would be o/k as long as its in good nick...Keep in mind things like timing chans etc have there limits...

Ok guys, thanks much for the replys and help.

Budget? Well im not really on a budget, im just going to buy bits and peices here and there and eventually do it, I dont wanna spend $10k straight up as I am getting married next year... so i figure ill do it bit by bit and over time ill have a nice motor to drop it, after i get the driveline sorted also.. Anyway, heres some pics, its not a bare block and ill probably get it crack tested on thursday. Any idea how much that'll set me back?

whats the reason on using the EA rebuild kit and not the EF kit?
Is the EA kit better or something?

cos' the ea kit comes with 11cc dished pistons, versus 5cc dish for the 4l pistons, it helps get ya comp ratio down, and if you buy them in 20' o/s you only need to bore the 4l block 5' or so.

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