4.0L SOHC Upgrades?

Hey guys. This question is for all you guys who have done MAJOR renovations to your 4.0s. Im talkin bored, stroked, cam swaps, all the internal stuff.

My question is how hard is it to come by 4.0 performance parts? It doesnt seem like a very "potential" engine but I may be wrong. Is it possible to get 300 hp out of these engines? If so how much does it cost? And how much did your mpg drop? What are the upgrades you can do to these engines (cams, stroker, heads, headers, intake, etc)? Thanks guys!

 

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One thing people are mistaken on... MPGs don't always drop to 6 gallons/mile when you do performance mods. Because you're making more power, you don't need to step on the throttle as much to get going. That's really only when you double your power though. If you're looking to do major mods like that, expect to spend a few thousand dollars at least. My girlfriend's dad just built an engine for his Camaro and has well over 10 grand invested into it.

 

Yea but thats a V8 lol. I figure a V6 will cost a LITTLE less since it has 2 less cylinders. And again these 4.0s are a little less popular than a SBC lol

 

v6 upgrades like as in a 4.0 will be more money because they are uncommon to upgrade so theres not as much as a demand in them so youll spend alot more, and you can do supercharger, pro chargers, twin turbo, boar it out, headers, polished heads, thats all i know for them, but youll be spending a **** ton on them

 

What ****bird said lol Thank you Andrew.

 

Most who supercharge w/ mods, pop the bottom end and do a full build. Most who do that, end up needing to do it again due to failure. Then after that, they tend to drop in a Modular v8 with mods or give up on the truck or both. lol. Not many keep 'em naturally aspirated.


That's my basic opinion after seeing a dozen or so SOHC guys build their stuff to great power in the past nearly decade or so. It's an asston cheaper to drop in a SBF Windsor(ie 5.0) and build it..... heck even an LS series v8 with tons of mods and 500 natural HP is cheaper than it is to build a SOHC. I can honestly say that nobody here has really dug into their SOHC's..which is what your question really was about.

 

Gotcha. But Iv also heard putting a 5.0 or similar into a newer Rager is a bigger PITA than its worth

 

Not if you do it the right way. Which would you rather do? Rip apart the bottom end of your engine? Or throw in a 5.0?

 

That ones easy lol. 5.0! But the bottom end one would be 100x easier. No electrical at all, dont have to rewire your cluster, dont have to fab EVERYTHING to make it fit, etc etc

 

You have much to learn. 5.0 swap (NOT the Coyote 5.0) is damn near a complete bolt-in. We have to thank Explorer for that one.

Again, much to learn. The SOHC engines are quite a bear to deal with before you ever get to the bottom end. Very precision instruments and specialized engine specific tooling is needs just to get the heads off.

And there's no fabbing when doing a 5.0 swap (NOT Coyote 5.0)....so you're not fabbing EVERYTHING to make it fit. It drops right in! Only iffy spot is those '07+ Rangers with completely different electrical systems. I don't recall one 5.0 swapped 04+ Ranger. Then again, I've been way out of the loop from ranger forum world.

 

Iv got an 04+ Ranger so itd be a bear lol. If I did do it, Id prolly end up getting custom gauges anyways just so I can keep tabs on everything thats goin on.

When you say electrical, do you mean just gauges? Or gauges and ECMs and everything else?

 

In reality, you won't do it 'cause you're broke. But if you did, what I mean by electrical is entire engine management system and interior electrical system is totally different from a '03 and older truck for interior, '06 and older truck for engine management. 5.0 Explorer ended in '01. Making a pre '04/06 Ranger into a 5.0 is pretty straight forward. Anything after that, there's alot of electrical work. And even if you were successful, it won't meet DEQ/state inspection depending on your state. In Oregon with bi-yearly emissions/PCM code checking, if your PCM don't match your body/frame, they won't even test you if you lie in testing areas(like Portland).

In a newer truck like yours, I'd rather toss in a GenIII or IV SBC with stand-alone systems before I mess with trying to make a Coyote or Windsor work in sync with your truck and pass local codes.

 

Ok that makes sense. Sounds like a whole lotta work lol. Would it be any easier to do something completely off the wall like a 5.4? Or is that a whole other ball game in itself?

 

I have several 5.0's in the garage. Thinking of the swap in my '99 Ranger 4x4/5 speed. Just couldn't find info on the bell housing/clutch assembly for the swap.