351W getting pulled...

FLA.WHIP

FLA.WHIP

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2012
Location
Wake Forest
Hey NC4x4 group. New to the site and need some advice. Long story made short...I have to pull the motor in my '95 Bronco. I am replacing the water pump, timing case cover (b/c it broke) oil pan gasket, rear main seal and headers (again, bad leak and small crack...will use in project later), radiator, thermastat and some hoses. Summitracing sent the wrong parts, so I will have a bout a week with it out. I planned on replacing the motor with a stroker next August, so I'm not ready to drop serious money in it right now. So, my questions is/are...

1. What small things can I do to the motor buy me time and reliability till next year?
2. If I take the heads off to have them freshened up, what should I expect to pay for it?
If so, recommedations for someone in the WF/Raleigh area would be appreciated.

351W with 109k
stock everything
P/O said transmission was rebuilt, but I highly question that b/c the pan leaked like a siv (replacing this ,too)

Thanks in advance
 

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Looks like you're already doing all the stuff that's a PITA to do with it in the chassis. Make sure you get the single piece pan gasket with the metal inserts at the bolt holes. I might pull the lower intake and clean and reseal it, too.

I wouldn't pull the heads unless you find evidence of a burned valve or something. There's really no good that can come from it without spending a bunch of money first. The stock ECM won't tolerate a lot of changes.
 
Do a search on Full Size Bronco for the six liter tuneup...and for the heads, to be reconditioned to stock you're probably looking at 3-4 bills.
 
shawn said:
Looks like you're already doing all the stuff that's a PITA to do with it in the chassis. Make sure you get the single piece pan gasket with the metal inserts at the bolt holes. I might pull the lower intake and clean and reseal it, too.

I wouldn't pull the heads unless you find evidence of a burned valve or something. There's really no good that can come from it without spending a bunch of money first. The stock ECM won't tolerate a lot of changes.
Click to expand...

Oil pan gasket? Yes, did that. Good advice on the heads.....was REALLY not wanting to tackle them, to be honest.
 
That sounds like a bunch of money wasted on aftermarket crap, IMHO.

All the "gain" is coming from the timing bump. That's free, and stock ignition should jump .055 just fine. If you need plug wires, the Ford Motorsports 9mm ones were pretty cheap the last time I had to buy any.
 
UTfball68 said:
Do a search on Full Size Bronco for the six liter tuneup...and for the heads, to be reconditioned to stock you're probably looking at 3-4 bills.
Click to expand...


Six liter tune up in FSB? Good call, totally forgot about that.....

3-4 bills....really don't want to if I can help it. I know the motor is out and this is the perfect time for it, but I have some heavy bills coming up (kids braces, etc.) and need the Bronco mobile for the next couple of months
 
shawn said:
That sounds like a bunch of money wasted on aftermarket crap, IMHO.

All the "gain" is coming from the timing bump. That's free, and stock ignition should jump .055 just fine. If you need plug wires, the Ford Motorsports 9mm ones were pretty cheap the last time I had to buy any.
Click to expand...

What's a bunch of money? I have roughly $350 in aftermarket crap and my novice time. If that can get me through 12-15 months, I call that solid insurance. I'm not trying to go for power right now, just reliabilty and LEAK free.
 
shawn said:
That sounds like a bunch of money wasted on aftermarket crap, IMHO.

All the "gain" is coming from the timing bump. That's free, and stock ignition should jump .055 just fine. If you need plug wires, the Ford Motorsports 9mm ones were pretty cheap the last time I had to buy any.
Click to expand...


Agreed...it's my understanding it's just to cover the bases for a tune up. Not a miracle fix or hp adder...just good maintenance to make the rig run a little better.
 
I'm talking about the "six liter tune up". Stock ignition will run some pretty high performance stuff, no problem. All aftermarket coils do is cost money, work for a month or three, then go belly up. If the coil/cap/rotor/wires/plugs are original or nearly so, you might see some driveability improvements from replacing them with OEM parts. The guys that see performance gains were either working with old, crappy parts to begin with (in which case, anything is an improvement), or they're crediting plugs and wires for a change that's more likely attributed to tweaking the timing. (Which, BTW... I wouldn't necessarily trust anybody else's timing numbers... each motor will have a different tolerance for base timing. It comes down to the particular motor, how old it is, how much buildup there is in the heads, etc.)

My only point is that replacing an OEM coil with a "performance" one is only going to cost you money and increase the likelihood that you have to walk home. It's definitely not going to make more power, it won't get better fuel economy, and it probably won't run any better.

Making sure that you have good quality ignition components in a reasonable state of repair, and that the timing is set appropriately for your motor... that can't hurt.
 
shawn said:
I'm talking about the "six liter tune up". Stock ignition will run some pretty high performance stuff, no problem. All aftermarket coils do is cost money, work for a month or three, then go belly up. If the coil/cap/rotor/wires/plugs are original or nearly so, you might see some driveability improvements from replacing them with OEM parts. The guys that see performance gains were either working with old, crappy parts to begin with (in which case, anything is an improvement), or they're crediting plugs and wires for a change that's more likely attributed to tweaking the timing. (Which, BTW... I wouldn't necessarily trust anybody else's timing numbers... each motor will have a different tolerance for base timing. It comes down to the particular motor, how old it is, how much buildup there is in the heads, etc.)

My only point is that replacing an OEM coil with a "performance" one is only going to cost you money and increase the likelihood that you have to walk home. It's definitely not going to make more power, it won't get better fuel economy, and it probably won't run any better.

Making sure that you have good quality ignition components in a reasonable state of repair, and that the timing is set appropriately for your motor... that can't hurt.
Click to expand...

Ok, sorry misunderstood the above. I thought you were referring to parts I am replacing.
Side note: I know replacement parts from Autozone aren't the highest quality, but they'll have to do for the interm. I read the six liter tune awhile ago and haven't looked at since, will have to visit it tonight and pick and choose.
Thanks again
 
^^^General consensus isn't that you have to use all the parts referrenced in the write-up, as Shawn stated...more often than not OEM is good enough because you're replacing old worn out parts. The 6L tune up isn't much more than a standard tune up...and that was my point, do a pretty thorough tune up and you'll be about as reliable as you can get.
 
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