Engine build

[04SloSnake]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm sure this thread will be incredibly helpful when others start to do the work that you are pioneering.

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[Kjewer1]

Don't mention it. I'm just as happy to post the "bad" updates along with the good ones. Lots of people only post the positive stuff for various reasons, but I don't have that problem. If not helpful, hopefully it will at least be entertaining.

So compression checked out good, or at least all 4 were the same. I can't find what cranking compression should be, but they came in at 165 psi, which seems reasonable to me for 9:1. It also passed the IDS' cranking compression test as well, for whatever that's worth.

I did a leak down test as well. This also passed as far as I'm concerned, but cylinder 4 does leak more than the others, past the rings. I tried it warmed up and it came down to edge of the "low" range on the gauge, 35-40%. The other cylinders are 10-20%.

That may explain the next thing I found, which was an intake manifold filled with oil. Tons of oil in there. I'm sure some of this is getting into the chamber, and might explain why the plugs look so bad in such a short time. Cylinder 4 could be contributing to this, but odds are that under power and boost the rings seal better than they do when static. My Talon will run a low 7.9x whether leak down passes or fails. At any rate...

I don't want oil anywhere the intake charge. The PCV system is always suspect, and I've read the exhaust smoke thread. I had previously air tested the old PCV valve and it checked out good at 40 psi, almost no leakage. I was fairly impressed with that. BUT, we did change the PCV assembly when building the new motor since parts are so affordable. I just pulled that one off and air tested it with the same 40 psi and it leaks like a sieve. So I'm sure boost was pressurizing the crank case with a turbo providing the pressure, rather than a blow gun with a tiny orifice. So it seems there is some variability in Ford's PCV valves, and may explain some of the different issues people have while others don't seem to have those problems.

I'm going to do my own modifications to the crankcase ventilation system. I've started on this, but I'll post pics later on when I've got some more parts to finish it. I'm having a Calan/JCS catch can made, which are the only ones I really like. That will take a while, but in the mean time I'm stealing the can off the race car since I can make it work.

I have to say again that this thing is really a joy to work on. I work on a lot of cars, and this one keeps surprising me. It's a 4 banger in a V8 engine bay sure, but the design is generally good and I can get to everything I've had to get to so far (I haven't had to work on the back/firewall side of the motor yet). The one exception at this point is the head studs. You can't get to them to check them with the cams installed, which is just irritating.

 

[Kjewer1]

Alright, after removing a ton of oil from the intake manifold and the FMIC (again), I'm not rerouting the PCV to the intake manifold. All that oil in there really pisses me off.

The PVC/oil separator is a nice unit with some obvious engineering put into it, and I'm sure it's great for the stock setup, but I want something that will vent the block better under higher boost. I decided to hijack the stock unit to vent the block, since it's the most convenient option. It only has a couple of tiny holes to breath through, so I added 5 quarter inch holes. 4 of them equal the area of a half inch line, plus one more for losses. The orange disc is a rubber check valve that lets oil drain out of the internal baffle. Removing that opens up a nice big hole to let air out, but I wanted to retain the functionality of this since it's a good idea. It allows the separator to accumulate a good bit of oil on a pull, and drain it away after you lift. Keeps airflow from pushing that accumulated oil up and out since the inlets are above it.




With the PCV gutted, and of a size that will accept a half inch push to connect fitting, it's a convenient way to connect the oil separator to a catch can. Similarly, a half inch push to connect cap (or a shark bite type fitting for 3/8ths copper) will cap the port on the intake manifold, leaving no possible way to pressurize the crank case. With the creative use of a couple check valves it should also be possible to run the crank case under intake manifold vacuum at idle/cruise, and VTA at WOT, also leaving no way to pressurize the crank case, but still retaining the benefits of pulling intake vacuum on the crank case. I may test this later on.




While I wait for the catch can that I speced out to be built by Craig (JCS Automation), I stole this one off the race car. It's extreme overkill but will work for now. This is being used in reverse (line is actually connected to outlet), just to make the connections work. The new can will also have two inlets so I can add another line if I find the need.




I've left the valve cover side vent line alone for now. The valve cover is baffled fairly well, and despite the hose connection being at the rear of the head (generally a bad thing), the inlet to the baffle is actually at the front, in between cylinder 1 and 2, with it's inlet on the negative windage side of the exhaust cam. The baffled area also has three drains to let accumulated oil out. The outlet is indeed restricted down to around a quarter inch as noted in the smoke thread as well. With the block vented well enough (remains to be seen), nothing appreciable should be getting out that line. But if I find any oil getting out that way I'm getting rid of it.

So far after a couple trips to the track and countless street pulls to get logs, the can has accumulated about a half cup oil wet oil, I'll bet it's at least half water. Letting it separate overnight to see what I have there. But I'd say the oil separator seems to do an adequate job when modified in this way.

 

[Kjewer1]

So an update on the problem of the car running like shit. Early on Adam had pointed out that fuel pressure was low. We immediately ordered a new HPFP just to test it as soon as possible. Pressure immediately came up 3-400 psi and the car ran much better. All of the misfires went away as well. In fact the rash of misfire counts the ECU reported when firing the car up on the empty HPFP was a clue in itself. Keep in mind it did this on the stock tune and Cobb tunes, just to a lesser degree. Just the pump change cleared it up 100% on the stock and Cobb tunes. The stock pump did this since new, so if any of you guys are experiencing something like this, you might want to look into your HPFP.

Fast forward to Friday, and I got to talking with the guys at FFTEC on the way to the track. I've been in constant contact with them since buying all of our engine internals from them. I wish I had brought this issue up with them sooner. They gave me some info that really cleared a lot of things up for me. Friday night the car ran flawlessly. It didn't go any faster though, still high 12s at 107 on 93, but it ran great with no issues. No matter what I tried in the tune it just wouldn't pick up very much, it's like it just hits a wall there. I think it's time to upgrade this downpipe and exhaust. Then over the weekend we sent a few files back and forth that really improved the trans shifting and some other things. Excellent service after the sale, thanks again guys.

Unfortunately the tracks around here closed for the year. If we can get a downpipe at least on the car and the logs start to look better we may take it south for one last attempt at a new best.

 

[EgoBoost]

That's great news! As you know some never find "The Gremlin." Great to see the community workin' together.

 

[Kjewer1]

I did find a few threads where people seemed to be describing similar symptoms to what I had and none of them ended with a solution, so hopefully this will help guys in the future. Seems some of these cars might come with weak pumps.

 

[David@FFtec]

Thanks for the update, Kevin. I'm glad to hear the tuning tips worked.

 

[Kjewer1]

"Tuning tips" is putting it lightly! I'm really glad we chose FFTEC for the majority of this build. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[David@FFtec]

"Tuning tips" is putting it lightly! I'm really glad we chose FFTEC for the majority of this build. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it.

Haha, thanks. Yes these direct injection systems bring many more variables into play.

 

[Anthony@FFtec]

"Tuning tips" is putting it lightly! I'm really glad we chose FFTEC for the majority of this build. Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it.

Tuning Tips? What tips?

You're always welcome.

I received your email and will get back to you on it shortly!

Anthony

 

[Anthony@FFtec]

Fast forward to Friday, and I got to talking with the guys at FFTEC on the way to the track. I've been in constant contact with them since buying all of our engine internals from them. I wish I had brought this issue up with them sooner.

Me too!!

You've got an email!

 

[Kjewer1]

Figured I'd give this an update after another year. The other motor build thread made me think of it. I daily drive it three seasons. Not a single misfire issue since the new HP fuel pump went in. The car ran high 11s last season and made 390 whp. I put a lot of runs on it, did a lot of testing, and did 30-40 dyno pulls. I have no complaints, everything is working great.

For this coming season, I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm busy with the race cars but I'm hoping inspiration will strike and something will come up that I want to test. If not, I might sell it, but I really don't want to. I love this thing.

 

[Juben]

My HPFP has been acting weird lately. I'm gonna end up throwing a new one on it to ensure nothing wonky happens when it gets turned up. I've noticed that mine will be building pressure following along the desired output then tank only to recover later near the end of the pull. Did you see anything like that?

 

[Kjewer1]

The HPFP definitely struggles more in the midrange than up high. Part of the reason is cam RPM. Another part is the fact that these are positive displacement pumps that, because they turn at cam speed, are tied to fuel flow required per rev, not per time. At peak torque, airflow (and therefore fuel flow), per rev, is highest. This is a bit different from normal electric pumps that can be looked in terms of fuel flow (or airflow) per time, which goes up with RPM and follows the HP curve, not the torque curve.

Even with the new pump I still see some HPFP error in the mid range, but it doesn't drop so low that it misfires. This, essentially, is the tuning limit right now. Shifting at higher RPM actually helps this, since RPM in the next gear is higher (air/fuel flow per rev is lower, cam/pump rpm is higher), even if the motor doesn't flow well up there. Whether or not it works out to a gain or a loss overall, testing shows. Fuels with a higher stoich number are a significant help as well.

 

[DontoMelbo]

Figured I'd give this an update after another year. The other motor build thread made me think of it. I daily drive it three seasons. Not a single misfire issue since the new HP fuel pump went in. The car ran high 11s last season and made 390 whp. I put a lot of runs on it, did a lot of testing, and did 30-40 dyno pulls. I have no complaints, everything is working great.

For this coming season, I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm busy with the race cars but I'm hoping inspiration will strike and something will come up that I want to test. If not, I might sell it, but I really don't want to. I love this thing.

Vargas Stage 2 TS & LPFP, E85 tuning with aux fuel, and/or one of the new upcoming HPFP and big injectors. Should be a fun tune and test project...

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