need some 5.8 install help

[4x4man514]

hey guys i know several of you have been following my install and giving me lots of help along the way and i really appreciate it.

new problems. i had no idea how tight everything would be. not that much difference between a 5.0 and a 5.8. but it was a heck of a time getting it in.

i am running a lightning intake. i knew height would be an issue so i got a buckaroo hood and am good there. problem is i didnt realize how close it would be to the firewall. i cant quite get the upper on there. anyone else dealing with this? a couple of things i have considered'
1 what other uppers are an option? just the explorer? is it any narrower front to back? and what are the performance differences? i really want to keep my lightning upper so this is kind of a last resort.

2 i also considered maybe the body was sitting too far forward on the frame. anyone know how much play there is there i might could shift? 1/2 inch maybe?

3 how are yall running the saginaw canned ham pump? i have the f250 set up and the pump itself is hitting the fender. does the explorer stuff support the saginaw pump? and if i go with explorer stuff then is my alternator and alternator bracket no good then? and it seems i read somewhere its a different rotation pump from what i have. not sure if thats true.

this has been pretty disappointing for me i thought i had everything planned out for years, and when i finally get a chance to do the work, nothing seems to fit. i know lots of yall are running 5.8s so theres got to be a way

thanks ahead of time for all yalls help!

 

[lars]

So many possible issues. Photos please. I run a ginormous Trick Flow upper /lower combo on my 408 (AKA a built 351W) and it clears the top of the firewall just fine, though the drivers side valve cover is slightly cozy with the firewall. If your drivetrain is angled too steeply (tail low) that could be an issue.

Like many others here, I'm also running Explorer 5.0 front dress, which solves all kinds of clearance issues. I'm using a stock Explorer 5.0 steering pump which some here disparage, but I've had zero issues with 35" tires for over 20 years. The Explorer front dress just fits, easily, which is why its so popular.

 

[bax]

There are lots of little "adjustments" you can do to get some room. All of them will cost you space somewhere else. The 5.8 install is not that hard. You do have firewall clearance problems almost. Very tight on the drivers side head. If you are running the fancy extreem motor mounts they raise the motor up almost an inch. Don't use them. Also Lars stated that the angle of the motor could be pitched too far back. If you can pitch the front down some it makes room at the fire wall. Another cheat is to slot your frame motor mounts forward. Only slot where the stud is. You will also need to get some play at the transfer case mount. You can easily get a 1/2'' doing this. Remember what you take will cost you in radiator clearance. The explorer stuff is great. I have also lowered motors. This works well as long as you don't have header issues or driveshaft clearance problems. Its a game. Good luck it will be worth it. Try putting a 400 in.

 

[4x4man514]

So many possible issues. Photos please. I run a ginormous Trick Flow upper /lower combo on my 408 (AKA a built 351W) and it clears the top of the firewall just fine, though the drivers side valve cover is slightly cozy with the firewall. If your drivetrain is angled too steeply (tail low) that could be an issue.

Like many others here, I'm also running Explorer 5.0 front dress, which solves all kinds of clearance issues. I'm using a stock Explorer 5.0 steering pump which some here disparage, but I've had zero issues with 35" tires for over 20 years. The Explorer front dress just fits, easily, which is why its so popular.

thanks. i hadnt considered the angle that may very well do it ill try to look today. which transmission are you running? i know my zf5 is right at the top of the tunnel

and what all is the explore dress? will i have to change water pumps and timing covers? or is that just from mustang to explorer? like i said mine came out of an f250

do you have hydroboost brakes? thats one reason i was going with the dual return saginaw pump.

thanks again!

 

[4x4man514]

There are lots of little "adjustments" you can do to get some room. All of them will cost you space somewhere else. The 5.8 install is not that hard. You do have firewall clearance problems almost. Very tight on the drivers side head. If you are running the fancy extreem motor mounts they raise the motor up almost an inch. Don't use them. Also Lars stated that the angle of the motor could be pitched too far back. If you can pitch the front down some it makes room at the fire wall. Another cheat is to slot your frame motor mounts forward. Only slot where the stud is. You will also need to get some play at the transfer case mount. You can easily get a 1/2'' doing this. Remember what you take will cost you in radiator clearance. The explorer stuff is great. I have also lowered motors. This works well as long as you don't have header issues or driveshaft clearance problems. Its a game. Good luck it will be worth it. Try putting a 400 in.

lol. that first and second sentence was the gospel! im not running any fancy mounts. just the stock mounts that were on the motor out of the truck, are there other mounts out there that may locate the motor a little differently?

i thought about slotting the mounts too but that seems like it would be a bear now that the motor is in.. how much room does the explorer stuff leave up front? i havent gotten anything on the front of the motor yet so i dont know how much i have to work with on that end yet.

a 400? lol i cant imagine that battle! thanks for the help!

 

[Timmy390]

my zf5 is right at the top of the tunnel

Have you cut the hole in the trans tunnel yet? The shifter mount should stick up through the floor. If you haven't cut the tunnel ye then the angles are off.

Get some pic's

Tim

 

[Timmy390]

As I recall I ended up at 3.5 degrees of tilt on my engine......

Tim

 

[4x4man514]

Have you cut the hole in the trans tunnel yet? The shifter mount should stick up through the floor. If you haven't cut the tunnel ye then the angles are off.

Get some pic's

Tim

i have cut it but its tight. ill try to get some pics up this afternoon, thanks!

 

[EPB72]

Yes. the explorer front dress will give you about 3/4 of an inch ,from the front of the engine machined surface to the water pump pully hub and then with a fairly low profile fan with a fan clutch..
you will need {best optionn is complete set up , timing cover, water pump, alt tensioner bracket wouldhave 4g alt {specific for explorer bracket}....power steering ,AC bracket..other option wild horses wild horses sells a bracket that will support and saginal pump and can be run with or eithout an AC compressor..same bracket can be gotten directly from guy who developed it broncoguy on ebay...

you will also need an rebalanced explorer harmonic balancer ...Damperdudes, is a source for the damper.

there maybe other tweaks to other options of pully and bracket setups BUT what I mentiond would be the most strait forward...

 

[lars]

thanks. i hadnt considered the angle that may very well do it ill try to look today. which transmission are you running? i know my zf5 is right at the top of the tunnel

and what all is the explore dress? will i have to change water pumps and timing covers? or is that just from mustang to explorer? like i said mine came out of an f250

do you have hydroboost brakes? thats one reason i was going with the dual return saginaw pump.

thanks again!

I'm running an NV4500 and an Atlas. With a 1" body lift clearance was a non-issue, other than a custom tunnel cover.

As for Explorer front dress, it's off the 1996-2001 Ford Explorer 5.0. Do a search here, you can be reading for hours. There is usually someone selling the complete setup in the classifieds here. It's everything from the timing cover out, water pump, alternator, power steering pump, all brackets, pulleys, fan, harmonic balancer. Popular because it's very short and fits well in a Bronco. One-stop shopping solution for all those parts.

I've been running hydroboost with the Explorer 5.0 power steering pump all along. No issues. I made my own dual return reservoir but there are off the shelf options.

EDIT- What EPB72 wrote... more detail than I provided...

 

[Broncobowsher]

Angle is huge. An inch drop at the transmission crossmember is something like ¾" lost clearance at the firewall.
I have had to play games with the motor mounts (take them off to get the engine in place then install them) to get things in place.
Stuff fits, but can be a puzzle for what order it goes in.

 

[Bickster]

My rookie a$$ dropped a 5.8 on stock mounts, v-belt front accessory, zf-5, 1.5” body lift. Clears the firewall (barely!) with hydro boost. The hood broke the air cleaner wingnut first time I closed it. BC crossmember was shimmed a little but in reality it was just a standard washer to get the heads to clear the firewall. My tunnel was all hacked up but regardless there is 1/4” clearance between the shifter tower and the tunnel. Lots of words of encouragement but these trucks have so much variability that your situation might not really make my experience valid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[4x4man514]

thanks a lot for all the info guys. its awesome to have such a wealth of knowledge when it comes time for this stuff, i built my 1st bronco b4 the internet so no help there and i dang sure didnt know any one who had one. needless to say i dont think there is any more around my town today!

anyways i still got questions but first im gonna post up some pics of what im dealing with.

 

[4x4man514]

 

[4x4man514]

so apparently yall are right about the angle it does make a difference. i raised the tranny up about 1/2 inch. and it did move the intake away enough to at least bolt it down. but its still TIGHT. i dont know how much the motor will torque around but im guessing its more than i got.

 

[4x4man514]

This is what I have now

 

[4x4man514]

i dont think i can get it up much more because of the tunnel. i guess i should mention i already have a 2 inch body lift and im running a bc broncos crossmember (37 inch tires). but mainly when the paint and body shop did the work they added a support under the floor that is causing me grief now. it does look like the motor could drop more which seems like it might be a better idea.

does anyone know if there is such a thing as a low profile motor mount? that could help alot.

and for some reason when i jack up the transmission it tends to torque to one side instead of moving straight up and down. im not sure whats going on there, any ideas?

 

[4x4man514]

These are my mounts. If that tells yall anything

 

[4x4man514]

my next questions are about the explorer dress.

my harmonic balancer was balanced with my motor. maybe im showing my ignorance here, but wont changing that affect the balance of my motor? i was told to make sure i used that balancer with my 393.

and did all the explorers use the 4 g alternator? have i just wasted my money on a brand new 3g?

 

[DirtDonk]

Is your stroker externally balanced, or internally balanced?
That’s just for starters, but yes basically since you had the existing damper custom balanced to your rotating assembly, you will lose that by changing to the explorer damper.
However the possibility exists that there might be a conversion pulley that you can simply bolt to your existing damper and overcome all the problems in one fell swoop.
What damper are you using, and is it for a 3-bolt pulley or a 4-bolt pulley?

The entire explorer front accessory drive is unique. Two main brackets encompass all the driven accessories except the water pump itself.
The alternator is unique to the explorer and perhaps a few other vehicles, but doesn’t even resemble a standard 3G.
The power steering pump is relatively unique as well. So yes, your new alternator would not work with the explorer set up.
That would probably be the least of your big problems though, as you could probably sell it to reduce your loss.