1leg
Explorer
300 mile update:
Well I have 300+ miles on the new engine so far. Almost all the driving has been around town and few trips on the freeway to downtown San Diego for Leg appointments.
Starting the engine the first time:
Starting the engine the first time was easier than I thought it would be (This was my first fuel injected engine install) my friend Jon came over on a Saturday morning to help me get the engine started and to break in the new camshaft. Jon was Mr. Outside, adjusting the timing and watching the radiator water while I was in the cab starting the engine, holding the RPM at 2000+ and watching the gauges. The engine fired right up and struggled to get to 2000 at first. It ran for about 5 minutes then just quit. So we advanced the timing a little and restarted the engine. This time it started and went straight to 2000 and was sounding really good (except for the blown out muffler). This time the engine ran for about 10 minutes before it quit running. Every once in a while I would get a “check engine” light but it would not stay on it would just blink and the engine would cut out for a second. Again we advanced the timing a little and it fired right up and ran for a full 20 minutes at 2000+ before letting it idle. No overheating and great oil pressure so I decided to pester my neighborhood by taking it out for spin around the block. She ran great but was still cutting out with the check engine light. At this point I was thinking the blown out muffler was causing the check engine light but later I found that I had not tightened the nut to the alternator wires (problem fixed).
New Muffler:
The Next Monday I took off early from work to get the new muffler installed and I have been driving it every day sense. The new muffler is a Flow Master 50 series that is designed to be installed on big Block cars and trucks; it has a 3inch inlet and outlet. The muffler is louder then I wanted, but I still need to install a Catalytic converter. My hope is that a new Cat will quiet it down a little.
Horse Power:
Since the engine is new I been have taken it a little easy so far. So far this engine is making more power than the old one, but it is not a power house (didn't really expect it to be one). This new engine pulls hard to 4000RPM were before with the old engine would start falling off around 3500RPM. I have not gone over 4000RPM, but it feels like it will keep pulling when I do. This tells me that the performance valve springs and Cam were well worth it. I was really concerned about towing up hills now that this make good power over 4000RPM I know it will do fine as a tow rig.
Next on the project list:
Other than driving it and getting it dirty a lot I will be searching for a good 700R4 transmission and transfer case to rebuild. This new motor will love an overdrive transmission. I plan to do the rebuild myself so I will know how to repair it in the future. I will also install a new Meziere water pump and aluminum radiator with twin electric fans to prevent any cooling problem I might have in the future.
I will also start on the sleeping and storage platform for the rear cargo area. I plan to move the spare into the middle of the floor and build the platform over it. I will build a water tank for the old spare tire space. This should help to spread the weight out and keep it low.
Well I have 300+ miles on the new engine so far. Almost all the driving has been around town and few trips on the freeway to downtown San Diego for Leg appointments.
Starting the engine the first time:
Starting the engine the first time was easier than I thought it would be (This was my first fuel injected engine install) my friend Jon came over on a Saturday morning to help me get the engine started and to break in the new camshaft. Jon was Mr. Outside, adjusting the timing and watching the radiator water while I was in the cab starting the engine, holding the RPM at 2000+ and watching the gauges. The engine fired right up and struggled to get to 2000 at first. It ran for about 5 minutes then just quit. So we advanced the timing a little and restarted the engine. This time it started and went straight to 2000 and was sounding really good (except for the blown out muffler). This time the engine ran for about 10 minutes before it quit running. Every once in a while I would get a “check engine” light but it would not stay on it would just blink and the engine would cut out for a second. Again we advanced the timing a little and it fired right up and ran for a full 20 minutes at 2000+ before letting it idle. No overheating and great oil pressure so I decided to pester my neighborhood by taking it out for spin around the block. She ran great but was still cutting out with the check engine light. At this point I was thinking the blown out muffler was causing the check engine light but later I found that I had not tightened the nut to the alternator wires (problem fixed).
New Muffler:
The Next Monday I took off early from work to get the new muffler installed and I have been driving it every day sense. The new muffler is a Flow Master 50 series that is designed to be installed on big Block cars and trucks; it has a 3inch inlet and outlet. The muffler is louder then I wanted, but I still need to install a Catalytic converter. My hope is that a new Cat will quiet it down a little.
Horse Power:
Since the engine is new I been have taken it a little easy so far. So far this engine is making more power than the old one, but it is not a power house (didn't really expect it to be one). This new engine pulls hard to 4000RPM were before with the old engine would start falling off around 3500RPM. I have not gone over 4000RPM, but it feels like it will keep pulling when I do. This tells me that the performance valve springs and Cam were well worth it. I was really concerned about towing up hills now that this make good power over 4000RPM I know it will do fine as a tow rig.
Next on the project list:
Other than driving it and getting it dirty a lot I will be searching for a good 700R4 transmission and transfer case to rebuild. This new motor will love an overdrive transmission. I plan to do the rebuild myself so I will know how to repair it in the future. I will also install a new Meziere water pump and aluminum radiator with twin electric fans to prevent any cooling problem I might have in the future.
I will also start on the sleeping and storage platform for the rear cargo area. I plan to move the spare into the middle of the floor and build the platform over it. I will build a water tank for the old spare tire space. This should help to spread the weight out and keep it low.
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