Engine Rebuild Wtf

Veight

New Member
Jan 24, 2014
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okay so my car runs fine but it has 180,000 kms on it. I want to start building on it but figured I should start with an engine rebuild so that I have a good base to go from.. I went to an engine shop and asked them about a rebuild for my 2000 mustang gt 4.6L v8 and he asked me what I want rebuilt. I said the motor hah.. he said I would have to be more specific and that if the car is running fine just don't worry about it. Really discouraged me. I try and do most the work on my car myself but something like that I would prefer to have a " pro" do it because they have all the tools and will be much quicker and hopefully do a flawless job. uggh not sure where to go from here.

Im sure someone will ask what my future plans are for it. I would like to have about 400 or so hp. start of with the basic mods like a cam, throttle body, cai, and eventually put a blower or turbo on it when I can afford it. Actually if anyone has a better route please give me a grocery list. like what parts to get in what order for the best value of my money.

I also plan to build the car from the ground up. I have been looking at the pro eibach suspension kits witch seem to come with everything. aluminum drive shaft. lower control arms.. 4/10 gears . off road exhaust , nice wide tires...I basically wouldn't mind replacing almost every part with quality parts in a bank account friendly way.

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Ok, that figures to about 111k miles, give or take. There are a few current threads here discussing modular engines and mileage. The general consensus is modulars are just good and broken in at 100k. If it runs good, leave it alone. Throttle bodies, cam's, tunes, etc. really don't do much for 2v 4.6's. Forced induction on the other hand does wonders. 9-10lbs of boost and your at 400Hp. Full length weld in subframe connectors first as chassis flex is a really bad thing. Gears are good. Search the 4.6 section and you'll find several good directions to go.
 
I hear that.. Thing is yeah it runs okay.. but I don't think it runs like new.. sounds a bit clapped out. well used haha I want this car for long term to I thought it would be smart to forge it or at least rebuild it before going out and spending 6+k on a blower or what have you.
 
Run a compression check on all the cylinders. Someone on here can tell you what it is supposed be. If the compression is good and its not making any awful valve train noises, you are probably in good shape.

In terms of mods, forced induction will be your best option to get to those numbers. If a turbo or supercharger is in your future, you may want to reconsider the 4.10 gears for something 3.73 or lower. My car wouldn't hook before the blower on 3.73s.

I have been gradually building mine since 2006. Be careful that everything you buy works with your long term plans or you will lose money on the parts you have to take off or replace. Otherwise, I would start with the offroad pipe, then subframe connectors and then gears. These are my three favorite starter mods. The off road pipe will make a noticeable difference in power and sound, subframes really tighten up the car, and gears motivate the car. These mods make a substantial "seat of the pants" difference in the way the car performs. Happy modding.
 
The engine shop may have been dicks or they may have been trying to understand what your longer term plans are for the car.

If you didn't say you planned a blower or turbo then it may be that he thought you were looking at a freshening but retaining the hypereutectic pistons and powdered rods; At that point I too would say "if it's just got miles on it leave it alone; if it's knocking or burning copious amounts of oil, just source a low-miles replacement from a wreckers. It's really not worth rebuilding to stock specs..."

As others have said, you can get 400HP with a twinscrew at 9-lbs (or less) and with a good tune it will be pretty safe and reliable. If you're rebuilding the engine then put some forged pistons and rods in it; even if you still only want 400 you'll have that much more margin in terms of reliability and you'll be able to turn the wick up to 500+ hp (with supporting mods to the fuel system etc) and not think twice about the engine.

If a blower is definitely in the future hold off on other bolt-on mods: It's likely you won't be able to re-use them with a blower and you'll never get your money back. Put that money into a blower account...
 
Thanks for the response.. Yeah Im thinking start from the ground up while I save for the blower. \im getting 4.10 gears. I was going to get a shift kit for the tranny its an auto but someone told me a hand held tuner will change what the tranny does anyways so its a waste of money?. I plan to upgrade the suspension and get an aluminum drive shaft, possibly upgrade the axles and freshen up the breaks. Other then that an upgraded rad and fan. Forge the engine, put decent cams in and slap a procharger on it and I should be laughing for long term.
 
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As far as the tune, if your going to do all that, I would get a custom tune. Find a good tuner in your area and let them tune it on a dyno. Tune it after you get all the performance mods you want installed... Custom Dyno tunes are about $500, but well worth it for the safety of your car. You certainly will not want any detonation with your blower and new engine. Detonation will destroy the best build engine.

You will need to get an SCT tuner or something equivalent. Your tuner will use it to tune your car. I think SCT is pretty standard. You can find a good used SCT tuner for about $150 or so.. Make sure that it is UNLOCKED, and ready for a tune.

The SCT tuner will help you reset your speedo for the gears you are running. You can do that from the menu on the SCT. 4:10s are pretty deep for boosted applications. You may want to rethink that. You will also have to do some work on your automatic transmission as well. Do it once and do it right! Saves money down the road...