What cam for 5.0

[crawlin68]

You brought up a good point. One of the things holding me back from the swap is the fact that I have 1.7:1 roller rockers now. I automatically figured I'd have to dump them in favor of 1.6:1 rollers. Dump= expensive, and it's Christmas, so no Bronco funds. BUT... I should call Comp and ask them for a recommendation. Maybe I don't need to swap rockers after all. A good (cheaper) thing, so I won't have to wait so long.

Another thing to make SURE of when you talk to Comp Cams is valve to piston clearance. When I installed my GT-40 heads with my 1.6 rockers (after the new cam install) my valves were hitting the tops of my pistons. My heads had been shaved a little which contributed to the problem. So just double, double check your measurements.

[Lars]

Another thing to make SURE of when you talk to Comp Cams is valve to piston clearance. When I installed my GT-40 heads with my 1.6 rockers (after the new cam install) my valves were hitting the tops of my pistons. My heads had been shaved a little which contributed to the problem. So just double, double check your measurements.

Good point. The cam Delta is running apparently dropped into his engine without issue- one of the reasons I was interested in that cam, since I have the exact same engine. My current cam has almost as much lift as yours on the exhaust side (.529 vs. .533). Obviously there are other factors- duration, timing of opening events, etc. that affect clearance as well, but it gives me something to go on. Believe me, I'll watch that very carefully! I imagine that the numbers on Delta's cam are running right up against the limit of what you can get away with on an Explorer engine without flycutting pistons.

[Lars]

cam update

Swapped cams last weekend. Went with the same one as Crawlin68, Comp Cams part no. 35-308-8. Got some used Ford Racing 1.6:1 roller rockers off Ebay. New timing chain since my low mile stocker apparently didn't like the lift of the previous cam or the stiffer than stock valve springs I've had all along.

Discovered a crack in my upper intake, front passenger side mounting tab. A spot I had been warned previously was delicate. I was always extra careful tightening that bolt, which may be why the crack didn't go all the way through. Thanks to my TIG-wizard co-worker I got that repaired in a jiffy.

Found a neat time saving idea here, for those with roller lifters who are contemplating a cam swap: http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2002/07/camswap/
Since I read about those things on a Friday and didn't feel like waiting to order them (or spend the money) I paid a visit to the local Ace Hardware, where I got neodynium iron boride (super strong) magnets, long carriage bolts and wingnuts for just over 20 bucks. Went home and used superglue & heatshrink to retain the magnets. After pulling the rockers and pushrods I tried inserting a bolt with magnet into the pushrod hole until I made contact with the lifter. Sure enough, I felt the lifter being pulled up in its bore. Repeated 15 more times, and I was able to slide the cam out without pulling the lower intake. Sweet!

Back together, cam is nice. I've only put about 50 miles on it, compared to 25,000 with the last cam, so my impressions are preliminary. Still, here's a go: It's still a relatively low compression 302 (ok, 5.0) in a heavy Bronco, so it's not exactly a torque monster, but there is noticeably more torque after 2000 rpm than there was before, and overall the power band is much better behaved. It used to "come on the pipe" with a satisfying rush at 3000 rpm. That's gone, but so is the utter absence of anything below that. Used to be that even in first gear (NV4500) it had a hard time idling away from a stop if I just let the clutch out, and if I let it out quickly it would kill it every time. Now I can sit in my uphill driveway, let the clutch out briskly and it simply idles forward into the garage without drama. I still have a bit of warm start-up surge, but it dies out after a few seconds, unlike before. That's the worst of it, and I'm sure I can snuff that behavior with a little Tweecing. At the other end of the power band, it actually feels like it's more willing to rev to 5000 rpm and beyond than it did before. So the power/torque band feels like it was widened at both ends. I dropped the idle by 75 rpm with the Tweecer (back to the stock Mustang value of 672) and it idles there, rock steady. It seems so slow that it's eerie. Before there was no way it would have done that. Interestingly it still has a slight lope at idle. Not that I'm complaining- it sounds cool and now it's not coming at the expense of driveability! I'd say the cam is a good choice for an Explorer 5.0, but possibly not for a stock Mustang 5.0 since it has lower compression and more constricted intake & heads. Also a good choice if you want a little more power but don't feel like coughing up for a Tweecer to get things to run right- I'm running nearly a stock Mustang tune and it works great.

[Delta 4 Wheel]

Wait till tou get this this in the rocks...it will idle over anything for the most part. Put it in low and stand of the brakes...see if you can kill it...

Glad yo hear that most of the issues are a gonner!!

[highlander]

Sounds good so far. I am curious what position you installed the cam at, any advance at all? Also, have you messed with your ignition timing at all?

[crawlin68]

Hey Lars, I'm glad to hear that you are (preliminarily) happy with it. Let us know what you think after you get to drive it for a while. Like Delta said, put it in 4-low and let it idle in first gear and see if you can stop it by stepping on the brakes.

[720Racer]

Lars,

Thanks for the cam review, sounds like an improvement over the Crane, curious to get your impressions after a few more miles, or even a little wheeling.

Galen

[Lars]

Hey Lars, I'm glad to hear that you are (preliminarily) happy with it. Let us know what you think after you get to drive it for a while. Like Delta said, put it in 4-low and let it idle in first gear and see if you can stop it by stepping on the brakes.

And so I did. Right after reading his comment, I walked outside to go home. I live in the suburbs but my office is in the boonies, relatively speaking. The office road is gravel, the farm road to get to that point is rough (good for exercising extended radius arms!) Atlas in low, NV4500 in 1st. What a surprise! Brakes would not stop the engine, a first. Hard to believe, but even with a 110:1 crawl ratio I could stall the engine with the old cam. No more. Goodness, what a difference. Yep, I'm happy. Very pleased.

[Lars]

Sounds good so far. I am curious what position you installed the cam at, any advance at all? Also, have you messed with your ignition timing at all?

Cam is installed straight up. I decided to go with Comp's recommendation, since my Bronco really is my daily driver. I put a premium on all-around driveability. While I may have gotten more bottom end with 4 degrees of advance, and may well have been happy with that, I didn't want to chance how it might affect the computer or other aspects of driveability. It's enough of a PITA to change things around that it made the decision for me.

As for ignition timing, that's fixed for me due to the EDIS. It expects 10 degrees. It's set with a tool that snaps onto the cam position sensor that sits in the distributor hole. Set the crank to TDC, remove the pickup on the cam position sensor, move the sensor housing till the tool goes on, tighten the dizzy clamp, reinstall the sensor. Done. If I want to change base timing I do it with the Tweecer, though I haven't done so. The Tweecer guys say you don't need to mess with it when running EDIS.

[crawlin68]

And so I did. Right after reading his comment, I walked outside to go home. I live in the suburbs but my office is in the boonies, relatively speaking. The office road is gravel, the farm road to get to that point is rough (good for exercising extended radius arms!) Atlas in low, NV4500 in 1st. What a surprise! Brakes would not stop the engine, a first. Hard to believe, but even with a 110:1 crawl ratio I could stall the engine with the old cam. No more. Goodness, what a difference. Yep, I'm happy. Very pleased.

Very nice!! With my 203/205 in low and NP435 in first gear(135:1) with the engine idling, even with 4 wheel disc hydroboost brakes, I can't stall my engine either. And I am using the big Ford dual piston calipers up front!

[Lars]

Very nice!! With my 203/205 in low and NP435 in first gear(135:1) with the engine idling, even with 4 wheel disc hydroboost brakes, I can't stall my engine either. And I am using the big Ford dual piston calipers up front!

Likewise on the brakes. h-boost unit out of a late diesel Ch*vy truck, big calipers in front, Exploder discs in back. Plenty of stopping power, enough to lock things at 70mph. But not enough to stop the engine in low/low anymore

[highlander]

Cam is installed straight up. I decided to go with Comp's recommendation, since my Bronco really is my daily driver. I put a premium on all-around driveability. While I may have gotten more bottom end with 4 degrees of advance, and may well have been happy with that, I didn't want to chance how it might affect the computer or other aspects of driveability. It's enough of a PITA to change things around that it made the decision for me.

As for ignition timing, that's fixed for me due to the EDIS. It expects 10 degrees. It's set with a tool that snaps onto the cam position sensor that sits in the distributor hole. Set the crank to TDC, remove the pickup on the cam position sensor, move the sensor housing till the tool goes on, tighten the dizzy clamp, reinstall the sensor. Done. If I want to change base timing I do it with the Tweecer, though I haven't done so. The Tweecer guys say you don't need to mess with it when running EDIS.

Just curious, I have heard it is best to leave the base alone and if you have Tweecer you can change the whole curve is this true?

[Delta 4 Wheel]

I have mine advanced 4 degrees on top of the cam's 4 degrees and have crazy torque and can still rev the sh!t out of it. When I do the 347 build, I am going to set it back to 0 (will degree it to see for sure) in my attempt to get rid of my idle hang problem. I figure that with my new Cobra MAF, I should have a new rig.

[Lars]

I have mine advanced 4 degrees on top of the cam's 4 degrees and have crazy torque and can still rev the sh!t out of it. When I do the 347 build, I am going to set it back to 0 (will degree it to see for sure) in my attempt to get rid of my idle hang problem. I figure that with my new Cobra MAF, I should have a new rig.

I'll bet the low end is better with your engine than what I have now, but I can't tell you how happy I am just the way it is. Soooo nice to have a steady idle and the ability to idle away from a stop. Finally. If I was more brave I'd have installed the timing gear 4 degrees advanced, but it's all good now. When I get over how happy I am now with the engine it'll be time for a 408

[crawlin68]

I have mine installed 4 degrees advanced using the timing chain set and am very happy with it.

Lars, I'm happy to hear that you are happy with the new cam!!

408!!??