[shoe757]

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I'm from south of Pittsburgh PA and looking to force feed my 00' 5.4 Expedition 4wd. It has a 6" lift on 38" mud rovers. Blew head gaskets about a year ago and haven't had the time to even look at it. Goal was to pull it and freshen the top end. I started researching what it would take to swap a charger and immediately set my goals. Right now I'm still trying to find a list of everything I will need to do the swap and make it work right. I would like to shoot for 500 to the wheels. I plan on doing Manley H beam rods, Manley forged pistons and Molly coated rings, HV oil pump, and still looking for a cam. I have a lot of questions on aftermarket parts for the 5.4 2v as me and my father have never really built one. I will continue using the search feature to try and find what I need. Any sticky threads I need to read or lifesaver websites for info or parts would be awesome.

Thanks,
Will

 

[SVTdriver]

If it were me....I would get a lightning lower intake manifold, but I wouldnt spend the extra cash on the Lightning midplate/intercooler.
I'd spend that money on a JPS midplate/adapter and then post a want ad in the classifieds for an intercooler by itself.

This will allow either a gt500 m122 or 2.3 TVS blower which will make a mountain more torque than a lightning blower could ever dream of....making your goal of 500whp through 38s much easier.


On another note,
Here is a good thread on engine assembly
http://www.lightningrodder.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31319

There are quite a few lightning swapped expys on the forum, which are always quick to lend info.

 

[SVTdriver]

And of course the obligatory

:stoffer:

 

[shoe757]

See that's the kind of information, I NEED. I don't want to spend the money on all the OE parts just to swap them out for aftermarket. Nor do I have the money to do so haha. Thanks for that link! I'll get pics up as soon as I figure it out haha. But be forewarned, she is no show queen!

Edit: If I found a complete swap, could I make some of my money back on selling the charger, injectors, and misc. Items I replace with aftermarket? Just how hard is it to find everything? Is there any hoses or hard lines that are going to be factory only and run me a pretty penny?

 

[SVTdriver]

As far as the special factory lines/hoses, I dont think theres anything but if there is it wont be hard to find/make

Generally with L swaps the biggest thing is either a pcm swap or lots of extra time custom tuning to make it all work on a factory pcm. Youll have to read up and see which way better suits your needs.
May need to source a L engine harness if you swap pcms to have iat2 plugs, etc

Most modded Ls dont run things like stock intercooler lines or stock intercooler pump. Theyre a restriction and dont hold up to the kind of performance youll need in driver...lots will say i run 9s on a stock IC setup...yeah for 9 seconds at a time anything can work.
3/4" lines, jabsco pump, larger intercooler tank, dual pass heat exchanger with 7" e-fans from siliconeintakes.com

You wont want to run stock L fuel pumps or injectors for your hp goal
Dual 255 walboros, 60lb injectors, possible 1997 fuel rails and an aftermarket regulator so you dont have to fight the fuel pump resistor

Depending on how fancy you want to go, you may want a Magnum Powers 3-idler bracket instead of stock 2 idler

The blower pulley can mount to a standard 5.4 harmonic balancer so no need to get that from a L
My aftermarket lower pulley bolts backed out and caused the pulley to wobble egging out the holes....so ive ran a standard f150 balancer with loctite and lock washers on the 3 pulley bolts for 50k miles no issues



Yes, if you find an entire swap for a good price you can sell off stuff to offset the cost.
People are always looking for stock L parts, either for their swap projects, their stash or whatever

 

[shoe757]

Can the factory pcm be flashed for the L? Either way I imagine there will be A LOT of tuning. Especially if I go with a whipple charger, custom grind cams, and all the other fun parts. I have heard the 5.4 is VERY picky with clearances relating to piston-valve and just a few degrees off on timing makes a bad day. My biggest thing will be finding someone to tune it that has a clue. Lots of shops around that were set up by kids who only know one type of car/motor, mostly boosted 4cyl.

 

[SVTdriver]

Truck looks badass.

Well decide what blower youre going woth up front and plan the build around it.

2.3 whipple - lightning midplate

M122, 2.3 tvs, 2.9 whipple - JPS midplate

If you consider the 3.4 whipple as an option, do not get the lightning one....buy the gt500 with crusher inlet
Use a JPS midplate and Joker/LFP 170mm tbody.
The L 3.4 is garbage due to poor design

 

[bet on black]

Can the factory pcm be flashed for the L? Either way I imagine there will be A LOT of tuning. Especially if I go with a whipple charger, custom grind cams, and all the other fun parts. I have heard the 5.4 is VERY picky with clearances relating to piston-valve and just a few degrees off on timing makes a bad day. My biggest thing will be finding someone to tune it that has a clue. Lots of shops around that were set up by kids who only know one type of car/motor, mostly boosted 4cyl.

yes, people do it all the time. you just need to move your iat sensor to the intake manifold and set up the tune to use it like the L pcm uses iat2 (ACT)

unless you have pistons that lower the pin, the piston is .120" in the hole at TDC. while it should always be checked, i don't think there is a piston to valve clearance issue on a 5.4L mod motor. i think the 4.6 is an interference motor, but the 5.4 is not.

 

[04BlackL]

welcome!