Plan B...

earleys94gt · Jan 19, 2006

I was over on Summit Racing the other day and saw this "bottom end" rebuild kit for my 94 GT. The kit was only $280. It is for stock bore/stroke, and includes Hyperuenetic pistons, bearings, mains, rings and so on. Since I need to do a head gasket (I have coolant leanking by my #2 and #3 cylinders) I was thinking about doing this kit and maybe some Edelbrock Performer Heads and Intake. I am not looking to go hog-wild with this car. The kits part number, if you wanna check it out, is FEM-MHP174-0000.
Comments/Opinions???

nmcgrawj · Jan 19, 2006

earleys94gt said:
I was over on Summit Racing the other day and saw this "bottom end" rebuild kit for my 94 GT. The kit was only $280. It is for stock bore/stroke, and includes Hyperuenetic pistons, bearings, mains, rings and so on. Since I need to do a head gasket (I have coolant leanking by my #2 and #3 cylinders) I was thinking about doing this kit and maybe some Edelbrock Performer Heads and Intake. I am not looking to go hog-wild with this car. The kits part number, if you wanna check it out, is FEM-MHP174-0000.
Comments/Opinions???

How many miles? May not even be needed. If you do need it, then i doubt you would just buy that and drop it in. The block would probably need to be bored/honed and re-assembled. The re-assembly IMO is crucial. Ya gotta know what you are doing when setting it all back up. So unless you have a ton of miles, or you have done some compression tests and leak down tests that show your shortblock needs a rebuild, i would just buy the h/c/i and throw it on top and enjoy it!

BlownFiveLiter · Jan 20, 2006

If you simply replace the pistons, you may also end up with an imbalance different than what your balancer is, too. When a rotating assembly is balanced, everything is taken into consideration, down to the gram weight of the pistons. Not saying that you'll have any issues, as they could be identical to the factory pistons, however simply replacing one part with another could leave you with an engine that's just trying to shake itself apart if it's incorrectly balanced.

nmcgrawj · Jan 20, 2006

I second the balancing thing. When it comes time to rebuild...do it right. I bet the stock assembly could be balanced better. When you bought replacement parts, even if its claimed to be the same, they vary. Thus needing it to be re-balanced.

Dan95-5.0 · Jan 20, 2006

nmcgrawj said:
I second the balancing thing. When it comes time to rebuild...do it right. I bet the stock assembly could be balanced better. When you bought replacement parts, even if its claimed to be the same, they vary. Thus needing it to be re-balanced.

ya, ford doenst really care too much when they balance there rotating assembly. off 30 grams, they dont care

if you got a lot miles on your motor, your better off boring it .030 over. start off with a fresh clean bore. i see they offer oversized pistons in that kit for the same price. the thing is, say when you take the motor apart, the crank needs to be ground, your going to need oversized main/rod bearings.

make sure you take everything into account here. bore, hone, resurface deck, Alignhone ???? (up to you), dissasemble pistons from rods, balance rotating assemble. put in some ARP rod bolts while its apart. for peace of mind.

if you dont plan on going to crazy that kit will be ok.

earleys94gt · Jan 20, 2006

Firstly, my car has 136,000 miles on it.

Second, I am thinking of doing this because I have a "blown" head gasket(coolant leaking around cylinders 2 and 3). I also recently "lost" my water pump, for the second time in less than a year! I am under the impression that something is wrong inside the motor...?

I am basically at the end of my rope, my GT has never ran like a GT. More like a poorly tuned 4 cylinder. It never has had that "get up and go" performance. I need to do a head gasket, and figured while I am in there do the bottom end as well.

I will not do this myself, I has no knowledge or ability to do so. So, a shop is going to kill me on labor anyways, so why not get a bunch done in the process. I am not looking for a 10 second wheel-stander here, I just want a reliable, relatively quick street car I can have some fun in.

Dan95-5.0 · Jan 20, 2006

earleys94gt said:
Firstly, my car has 136,000 miles on it.

Second, I am thinking of doing this because I have a "blown" head gasket(coolant leaking around cylinders 2 and 3). I also recently "lost" my water pump, for the second time in less than a year! I am under the impression that something is wrong inside the motor...?

I am basically at the end of my rope, my GT has never ran like a GT. More like a poorly tuned 4 cylinder. It never has had that "get up and go" performance. I need to do a head gasket, and figured while I am in there do the bottom end as well.

I will not do this myself, I has no knowledge or ability to do so. So, a shop is going to kill me on labor anyways, so why not get a bunch done in the process. I am not looking for a 10 second wheel-stander here, I just want a reliable, relatively quick street car I can have some fun in.

just noticed your a fellow AODE.

do some tranny work. check out my sig. unfortunetly my car still doesnt have any get up and go. its just goes side ways from a dead stop LOL

no seriously, my car really moves now with the tranny work. look into it.

but you have to do the motor first. thats what needs to be fixed

S&B · Jan 20, 2006

have you concidered buying an engine from a junk yard and just doing a swap?

Dan95-5.0 · Jan 20, 2006

oh oh, explorer motor. do it man, DO IT!!!!

mytight95 · Jan 20, 2006

i seen that kit.... I think the for the type pistons and the machine work your gonna need done, its not that bad.... i would check and see if there are limitations to bearing sizes etc.

jason

RFMustangGT · Jan 20, 2006

a few months ago Hot Rod mag did a build up of a junkyard 5.0. I think they only spent around 3000 or so. a major part of the cost was heads. the junkyard way can be done right if you just scout around for a good deal and a good low mile motor.

Pops Fun · Jan 21, 2006

Hi,
Since you are not doing the work and will have a shop do it.... Ask them about a stroker shortblock. They will have it torn down anyway.

If money is a concern it always is!! Have the motor checked out and if good get a nice set of heads Trickflow or AFR I don't want to start a fight!! and an intake and a cam if you can afford it. Since you will have the heads off anyway put better ones on and save your money for a stroker or S/C. rebuild. Lots of way to go. Plan ahead if you can, decide what you want and go for it. A short block for 2 grand or so plus install might also be an answer

Steve

mo_dingo · Jan 21, 2006

Just food for thought. What are your plans for the motor? If you are thinking about going further than a good h/c/ combo, you might want to consider forged rods/pistons and a cast crank instead.

And you can balance the rods/pistons yourself with a scale.
Scott

earleys94gt · Jan 21, 2006

Thanks for all the input fellas.

I have thought, and been recommended, to do the forged pistons instead of cast. For an extra 200, why not.

I thought about possibly doing a "junk yard" motor, but I know you have to be careful regarding mileage, condition etc.

My main thing, other than performance, is reliability. I want a good STREET car, not a race car. I want this car once it's done, if it ever gets there, to last for a while. Other than normal "maintnance", I don't want to deal with issues, like pinging lol.

Any more input/comments are more than welcome!!!

Also, what would be a possible convertor for my automatic for good street perfomance?

Plan B...

earleys94gt

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nmcgrawj

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BlownFiveLiter

have car, will race....wait, it doesn't run

nmcgrawj

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Dan95-5.0

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earleys94gt

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Dan95-5.0

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S&B

I hate my CT. :(

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RFMustangGT

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Pops Fun

mo_dingo

earleys94gt

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