hey everyone, I was just wondering what sorta power increases I was looking at(On a 351 Windsor EFI) if I were to get GT40 heads, throttle body spacer, cold air intake...Oh also has anyone heard anything about those glasspack header mufflers and has anyone tried that Seafoam stuff, it sounds like it could be pretty good stuff on high mileage trucks like my own

 

Hey Schook00;

If you have a high mileage engine, I sure wouldn't put all that high compression stuff on without rebuilding the engine. You will not get near the increase you would like with old piston rings and out of round cylinders.

If you are going to the expense of putting on hi-po heads, do yourself a favor, and build the rest of the engine too. You will be glad you did.

Drive safe,

Dan Harriman
Orange, Texas

 

Don't bother with the throttle body spacer these engines have long enough air passage to straighten out the airflow. With a carbed engine the spacers help with the mixing of the fuel and air.

 

Yeah I was planning on rebuilding the motor, I found a rebuild kit for a 351w for $400. Is that a good deal?

 

Pour 1/3 can of SeaFoam into gas tank. With the engine at operating temp and idling, pull the vac hose off the brake power booster and pour 2/3 can into hose twards air intake. The engine will stumble. Pour as fast as possible w/o actuwally stalling and shut off engine as quickly as you can(easier w/ helper).Think of something to do for 15 mins., then restart & rev engine. Expect the truck to disappear into a cloud of smoke for about a minute. Stuff works great.

 

Hey thanks alot, I was kind of curious about Seafoam, no one around here has used it or knows anything about it.

Hey figure I might as well throw a little Vid of my truck on here...

[youtube]http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs-pu33eb4g[/youtube]

 

Just a word of caution here. LIQUIDS CANNOT BE COMPRESSED. Let me state that another way. Liquids cannot be compressed. Just in case someone doesn't understand what I just said; Liquids cannot be compressed.

If the engine injests too much liquid too fast, something is going to break. Believe me, it will not be the liquid...Example: Have you ever seen a broken piece of water? I rest my case. I haven't either. I have seen several bent, broken, or otherwise ruined rods or pistons due to too much liquid in the cylinders.

Be very careful how you put ANY liquid into the engine.

Just in case you didn't get what I said earlier, Liquids don't compress.

Happy motoring,

Dan Harriman
Orange, Texas

 

Wow this makes me just a little scared to use Seafoam in my truck I was also reading something that says you probably shouldn't use Seafoam in vehicles that have over 150,000km and that the carbon build ups could be sealing the motor and what not? So is it really a good idea I use it in my truck since it has 304,587km's on it...

 

Hello Schock00 et al;

The idea of using Seafoam, or any other fuel injector cleaner is not a bad idea. It really does work. However, it should be used as directed. What it is meant to do is to keep plaque from building up on the injectors, so the engine burns fuel more efficiently.

As far as allowing a vacuum line to pull in raw liquid, no matter what the liquid, uncontrolled, is asking for disaster. Yes, it can be done, but what if you do put too much in? If I were to do something like that, I would use a smaller vacuum hose, not the brake booster hose, have the engine running at about 1500 RPM, and let just a small amount in at a time. The engine will start to slow down, and a lot of noise will come from it as the liquid drops hit moving parts in the engine like valves and pistons.

I have heard the urban legend about not using any cleaner or even high detergent oil on high mileage engines because the carbon or gunk in the oil is keeping the compression up, since I was in my teens. Believe me, that has been a long, long time! As I said, it is an urban legend.

If your engine is in that bad of shape, it needs to be redone. Period. Carbon and non detergent oil are engine killers, not engine healers. The best way to keep an engine running properly is to use good grade fuel, keep up with a regular maintainence schedule, and using the oil recommended for the engine.

Maybe you should get a good compression tester and check your compression. That will tell you a lot about your engine's condition.
If it has good compression, I will bet dollars to donuts it isn't because of carbon build up or plaque build up due to poor quality oil. Then if the engine has good compression, maybe you could use Seafoam. But, if you are just wanting to use Seafoam to remove carbon, then there is a much cheaper liquid to use with a vacuum hose...water! That's correct, water.

All you are doing by letting vacuum draw liquid into the intake is letting the liquid act like a bead blaster. So since that is the case, and if you just need to poor some liquid in the intake, because it is neat or what ever, just use water.

However, do so at your own risk. I am not advocating this. I have done this, but then I have been an ASE certified Master Tech for over 25 yrs.

I hope this has helped some. Be careful when ever putting liquid into the engine. The pocket book you may save could be your own!

Drive safely,

Dan Harriman
Orange, Texas

 

For cleaning the carbon you should go to a shop that uses BG products. They will have a canister that they can pressurize and spray the cleaner directly in the throttle body in a fine mist. I personally like BG more than Seafoam. It works better. That aside, I agree with the others on rebuilding the engine rather than throwing heads and a cam at it. A 400.00 kit will get you what stock rings and a gasket set? Go for a good build, That motor can handle 500 hp easy. Put in a good set of pistons and rods. Have the motor bored over .0020 or .0030. Do it right the first time and you will not be sorry. Yes it costs more, but its worth it. Also something to think about. The transmission. I am sure its seen better days too. While the engine is out have it built too to handle your new found power. Then once its all back together take it to a dyno and have it professionally tuned. Good luck......