Buckshot482

Thanks!

Bare with me, I have never rebuilt or got this in depth with the engine, so I apologize for my lack of knowledge.

My head gaskets went out so while I have the engine out repairing that, I figured why not change out some parts and try to gain a few my HP. I plan on cleaning the injectors, changing the spark plugs. My question what would be the best bang for my buck? Would changing my coils do anything beneficial? Cams? I am not looking for any major HP gains, I'm just looking to gain some power while I have the engine out.

jferg92

Welcome sir! You have a high mileage non-PI 5.4 correct?
I have quit a bit of what you need for a 4v 5.4 build for cheap if you would be interested in

jferg92

Also, are you just pulling the heads? With your miles, I would spend the money to rebuild the bottom End as well

Buckshot482

Like I said bare with me lol, non-PI? My stock 97 5.4 has 210xxx+ miles on it.

jferg92

??

Buckshot482

That's why I am here to get some knowledge on what the best route and what I should replace should be.

Basically I can rebuild this engine or buy a junk yard engine. I rather rebuild this one and have a newly rebuilt engine then a junk yard one.

jferg92

My suggestion. Get a good used factory forged crank. Get some low end mod max forged rods and Pistons. Up the Compression ratio a bit with a set of shallower dished Pistons. Buy a set of new ford PI cylinder heads-$850. Long tubes, PI intake and call it a day. Should gain about 40hp over stock and feel like a world of difference over your old npi/high-mileage 5.4

Buckshot482

Where would the best place to get the parts at?

And any recommendations on books or websites or anything to help me research the install. Like I mentioned earlier, I have never worked on the internals of the engine. I plan on do majority of what I can on my own. I got another car as a dd so it should be an interesting project.

charliedyal

If he's not wanting to go boosted, I'd suggest reusing his crank, rods & pistons(if in good condition). Get the crank turned & new bearings & rings. Slap a set of PI heads & intake on it. Get a tune & call it a day. He'd have a stable, high compression engine & spend far less on it.

charliedyal

[MENTION=76842]Carcrazygts2[/MENTION] would know what the new compression should be. He'll pick up between 50-75 HP on it.