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Topic: Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize (Read 5418 times) previous topic - next topic

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #45 –
Quote from: jcassity;421423
!~ the upper intake cracked again ,, posting a wanted thread.

he is out of state, its not safe for him to be city driving at 2k rpm at idle.


i have a spare here, so with two cups of coffee in me, and a total wreck to my schedule this weekend before i take off on a work trip early 4am monday, ill cruise over to charlottsville with a spare upper.

How bad did it crack? Did the corner break off or did a tube get a crack in it? When mine cracked I only found it due to a whistle at part throttle. The idle never changed.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #46 –
yeah the corner mounting ear broke off,,, not the one you had welded though, it was the rear passanger side.
modified, painted and delivered and installed the replacement yesterday.  all is well again but a long day.

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #47 –
Jay why are you having Upper issues. I thought we discussed this some time ago. Are you using those thivk isolators?? If Yes throw them in the GARBAGE they suck and break off the ears. Please advise i am curious Thanks!!
I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #48 –
i am not having any issues with intakes, no i am not using a spacer.
My son swaped passanger and driver injector banks from one side to the other to see if he could transfer a minor miss he can hear out the tail pipe..
upon completion of the task, either his work or my recent engine work caused the intake mounting ear to break.

i purchased this intake that "broke again" with a repair weld to it.

either way, all is well

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #49 –
Ok just wondering why the EAR broke off. That is something that would bug me if it happened TWICE. Thanks just curious!!
I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #50 –
yeah me too,
he understands the two mating surfaces need to match and that a quick few passes of 800 grit emory cloth fixed to a true straight object will help to seal things up.

in our case, this intake had been welded a long while ago, we were so fearful it would break again, i layed out a three gasket setup to allow us to snug down the bolts to a minimum.
we had two oem gaskets with a home made gasket material gasket in the middle.  this gave us a decent amount of cushion to insure we could still tighten down the bolts but yet not tighten down too much.  you can see how well that ended up working out  LOL.

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #51 –
Quote from: jcassity;421449
yeah the corner mounting ear broke off,,, not the one you had welded though, it was the rear passanger side.
modified, painted and delivered and installed the replacement yesterday.  all is well again but a long day.


Well that sucks. Maybe the extra gaskets caused an issue? How did your son tighten it down? I learned two things with the uppers:

1. Don't bother with the factory torque setting (around 10 ft/lbs) just snug it down tight.

2. Don't use a 3/8" ratchet to tighten the upper to lower bolts. It will allow you to apply too much torque which could crack an ear. I always use a 1/4" drive ratchet to tighten down the upper to lower bolts. It's very hard to over torque the bolts that way.

Quote from: TOM Renzo;421451
Jay why are you having Upper issues. I thought we discussed this some time ago. Are you using those thivk isolators?? If Yes throw them in the GARBAGE they suck and break off the ears. Please advise i am curious Thanks!!


On my set up I have to run a 1/2" spacer between the upper and lower intake for valve cover clearance. I have taller than stock valve covers (to clear roller rockers plus I like the way they look better than the stock ones). Without the spacer the throttle cable hits the valve cover on the passenger side. If you use a 1/4" drive ratchet to tighten the bolts and don't over torque them you *should* be fine. I wouldn't be running the spacer if the upper would clear my valve covers without it.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #52 –
I need start a thread that solves this upper to valve cover issue.
i told mason we would modify the upper and relocate the vac fittings along the upper that conflict the driver valve cover.
i have a couple ideas on this.

on the explorer upper there are two fittings but those can be plugged off and the vac elbow we need can be moved on the inside of the upper.
its my belief that you wont have any issues if this is done...not sure who has looked at doing this yet.

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #53 –
I am well aware of the higher valve covers being an issue with clearance and needing spacers. But i have found many broken ears on these UPPERS. It is simply an issue of FLATNESS and over tightening the upper. I have long been installing them without a gasket if they are FLAT. A simple swipe with some high tac and no gasket and you are golden. BUT!!! Both halves must be sent out and machined for trueness. Once this is dun the gasket is not needed  As far as roller rockers UPGRADE that is DEBATABLE. I have seen many of them come apart and ruin engines. Not all roller rockers are created EQUAL. Here is a way to hide vacuum lines and have the ability to service vacuum lines.

As far as Roller Rockers go. If you are running a cam under 550L and mild durations your STOCK HAMMERS WORK JUST FINE! Just a thought.




I spend money I don't have, To build  cars I don't need, To impress people I don't know

HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY!!

Explorer uppper and lower mod begins, son's christmas prize

Reply #54 –
Quote from: jcassity;421712
I need start a thread that solves this upper to valve cover issue.
i told mason we would modify the upper and relocate the vac fittings along the upper that conflict the driver valve cover.
i have a couple ideas on this.

on the explorer upper there are two fittings but those can be plugged off and the vac elbow we need can be moved on the inside of the upper.
its my belief that you wont have any issues if this is done...not sure who has looked at doing this yet.


On mine the issue was the throttle cable hitting the valve cover on the passenger side. The vac fittings cleared fine.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.