Forged Crank

[gtstangau]

My buddy has an 04 Mach 1 that he is putting a stroker kit in. Is the crank thats in the Mach 1 a forged cobra crank? How much would it be worth? I don't know if I should just buy that an save up for the pistons an rods later or just buy a whole forged kit.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

it's not forged, no dice

 

[Mustang92]

Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill

 

[gtstangau]

Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill

His is a 5-speed, so does that mean it's forged?

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill

Truth!

Also, no matter what crank he's got, it's going to need to be rebalanced to match the weight of the new rods and pistons. So if he's pulling it anyway and it's in good shape, you could resuse it and have it rebalanced to the aftermarket rods and piston weights to work with your set up.

...that being said, unless you plan on making mega horsepower levels, or spinning it past 6,500RPM on a regular basis, running a forged crank is an unnecessary expense. The stock one will hold up just fine to about 600hp.

 

[gtstangau]

How much would you say it's worth? One of these days I want to run a blower or nitrous so I want to go with forged everything!

 

[Gearbanger 101]

How much would you say it's worth? One of these days I want to run a blower or nitrous so I want to go with forged everything!

It all depends on what you're willing to pay, but for a used forged crank I wouldn’t pay more than about $150. Again though, unless you're making mega horsepower (which you won't with an off the shelf blower or nitrous kit) the upgrade is unnecessary. I'm running a blower with forged rods and pistons with my stock crank and it performs flawlessly and I never worry about whether or not it’s going to hold up.

The crankshafts on these engines aren't the problem. It's the rods and pistons you really need to address. And you'll break one or both of those before you ever need to worry about your crankshaft going south! If you want to spend some money on your engine to ensure longevity, spring for a set of billet oil pump gears. They're more of a worth while investment than a forged crankshaft is at this point!

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill

aww yes. I heard the manuals cranks were better, but i didn't hear they were forged. Good to know

 

[rayvinton]

"Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill"

Are the other internal componets also forged on the manuals or is it just the crank?

 

[40th GT]

"Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill"

Are the other internal componets also forged on the manuals or is it just the crank?

I think only the crank is forged, on the manual Machs.

 

[Mustang92]

"Actually the manual transmissions cars have a forged crank the automatics are cast.

Bill"

Are the other internal componets also forged on the manuals or is it just the crank?

No. The rods and pistons are the same as the 99, 01 Cobra's. Only the 03/04 Cobras have forged crank and rods from the factory.

Bill

 

[rayvinton]

what do you mean the same as a 99 01 cobra are the piston and rods not the same as the gt's?

 

[2002BLGT]

the manual transmissions have the forged 8 bolt crank , but thats all , rods and pistons are not forged

 

[BLOWN00GT]

if the mach 1 has a DOHC than i would believe the crank is forged. because that is the cobra motor and they use forged internal. but standard and auto has nothing to do with it being forged. there may be some confusion because some car have 8 bolt and some have 6 bolt cranks. and it just so happens that the 8 bolt cranks come in the cobra's(DOHC engines) as well. but if it is a SOHC engine than the crank is not forged at all, neither would the rods or pistons. I tore my 00 gt down and rebuilt it with all forged internals. the stock crank was 8 bolt and the company i bought the kit off of thought that i had a cobra bottom end. they had never heard of an 8 bolt crank in a SOHC engine, cuase they were retarded(probe industries, never again). that is when i started doing tons of research. What happened is two companies built thousands of these motors. one used 8-bolt(windsor) and one used 6 bolt (Romeo).

also originally i bought a stroker kit that had a cast crank, it had misdrilled holes and was on back order for six months. so i had to dig deep in my pockets and pay an extra 700 bucks just for a forged crank. i dont think a company that is trying to cut costs(FORD) would invest in forged cranks for every manual GT out there. a cast crank can easily handle the horsepower of a stock GT. and if a standard transmission could ruin a cast crank than why would you use a cast crank at all!

 

[BLOWN00GT]

if everyone here is confident that the 8 bolt standard tranny cranks are forged than i have one perfect crank i will sell for $100 bucks. but i know its cast!

 

[BLOWN00GT]

I think only the crank is forged, on the manual Machs.

now if this was all about only the mach 1 standards and automatics having forged cranks than i have no idea. i would not see why they would do one way and the other another way. i would think that either way the mach 1 has a forged crank. but that i have no idea.

i was talking about mustangs in general in my previous post...

i hope i shed some light on the subject of cranks on SOHC engines though!

lol

 

[hotmustang331]

5SPd machs got the forged crank. the automatic machs got the cast crank. 5spds have a 6800RPM redline, and autos have a 5800RPM redline. BIG difference and the only difference in the two motors is the crank.

Also mach 1 engines are NOT 99-01 cobra engines. Different pistons, different heads (same heads as 03/04 cobras, but with different cams), different intake. Im not sure, but i also think the machs do not have an oil cooler.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

if the mach 1 has a DOHC than i would believe the crank is forged. because that is the cobra motor and they use forged internal.

The only thing the Mach 1 has in common with the Cobra engine is that they both run the same front timing assembly and use the same heads. The Mach 1 still uses a different block (aluminum vs. iron), rods and pistons (similar to the ones used in '99, '01 Cobra).

but standard and auto has nothing to do with it being forged. there may be some confusion because some car have 8 bolt and some have 6 bolt cranks. and it just so happens that the 8 bolt cranks come in the cobra's(DOHC engines) as well. but if it is a SOHC engine than the crank is not forged at all, neither would the rods or pistons. I tore my 00 gt down and rebuilt it with all forged internals. the stock crank was 8 bolt and the company i bought the kit off of thought that i had a cobra bottom end. they had never heard of an 8 bolt crank in a SOHC engine, cuase they were retarded(probe industries, never again). that is when i started doing tons of research. What happened is two companies built thousands of these motors. one used 8-bolt(windsor) and one used 6 bolt (Romeo). also originally i bought a stroker kit that had a cast crank, it had misdrilled holes and was on back order for six months. so i had to dig deep in my pockets and pay an extra 700 bucks just for a forged crank. i dont think a company that is trying to cut costs(FORD) would invest in forged cranks for every manual GT out there. a cast crank can easily handle the horsepower of a stock GT. and if a standard transmission could ruin a cast crank than why would you use a cast crank at all!

Your response is kind of all over the place, but I'll break it down as best I can! Your engine has an 8-bolt crank, because it’s a Windsor engine.....as were all ’99-’00 GT’s. All Windsor engines and DOHC engines came with an 8-bolt crank (Romeo’s use a 6-bolt crank), but that’s not to say that all 8-bolt cranks are forged. All 2V engines used Cast Nodular Iron crank shafts, where DOHC engines used both Cast Nodular Iron and Forged Steel units. The DOHC Lincoln Mark VIII and Continentals also ran Cast Nodular Iron crank shafts, where the Cobra’s of the same era ran Forged Steel units. Both were still 8-bolt in design though!

The standard transmission Mach 1's DO have a Forged Steel Crank shaft to add a measure of safety to the standard’s higher RPM capabilities. The Auto's do not see the higher RPM limits by comparison, since shifts points are controlled and there is no chance of over revving the engine (in the event of a missed shift) like there is with a standard transmission model. As such, Ford chose to run them with the Cast Nodular Iron crank in order to cut costs.

 

[larrendeuce]

The mach 1 uses a different timing cover from 03-04 cobras. The cobra uses a unique setup for the blower. However they share the same heads, exhaust manifolds, crank, and camshafts.

Mach 1

Cobra - note the location of the pulley

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

why would ford use the same camshafts for a NA 4v and a super charged 4V?