new here with an lq4
03-07-2012, 08:47 PM
#1
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new here with an lq4 Wanna say whats up and thank you in advance to any tips, hints, or help I receive from this forum. The lq4 I am working on will be a desert off-road project. Some quick specs on my project; 97 Ford Ranger, ibeams, 3 link rear, 9", matched up with the 4L80E.
Anyways I know this isn't an offroad forum, but mainly here for advice and help on just the motor part. A few points on what i want to do is; FAST 102mm manifold and throttlebody, cam, ls3 heads, harmonic dampener... this is just a short list, for now. haha. I do want to convert all the fittings to AN style fittings and steel braided hose. i feel this will be more forgiving in the long run with routing the hoses and lines to retrofit my project. the motor is currrently on an engine stand so i can rotate it around and clean it up. would you recommend just taking it down to the block and putting it back together. or try to keep it together as best as possible.
I want to leave this thread open with any advice you guys might have on what to do and not to do with the lq4. im not looking for serious power, matter of fact id be happy with 400-450. by all means it is in a ranger. haha. heres a few pics just set the motor ontop to drool a little and then get to work on this.
thanks again guys, looking forward to read what you guys think!
Anyways I know this isn't an offroad forum, but mainly here for advice and help on just the motor part. A few points on what i want to do is; FAST 102mm manifold and throttlebody, cam, ls3 heads, harmonic dampener... this is just a short list, for now. haha. I do want to convert all the fittings to AN style fittings and steel braided hose. i feel this will be more forgiving in the long run with routing the hoses and lines to retrofit my project. the motor is currrently on an engine stand so i can rotate it around and clean it up. would you recommend just taking it down to the block and putting it back together. or try to keep it together as best as possible.
I want to leave this thread open with any advice you guys might have on what to do and not to do with the lq4. im not looking for serious power, matter of fact id be happy with 400-450. by all means it is in a ranger. haha. heres a few pics just set the motor ontop to drool a little and then get to work on this.
thanks again guys, looking forward to read what you guys think!
Last edited by xmrrabbitx; 03-10-2012 at 04:19 AM.
03-08-2012, 12:32 AM
#3
Just as a suggestion, what I would look into doing since your ride is going to be seeing some nasty air (I'm assuming this will be N/A), is running the intake manifold backwards toward the firewall and plumbing your intake into the cab (with the filter) to try to cut down on the amount of sand filled air that would normally be thrown at it.
Last edited by 93Z2871805; 03-08-2012 at 12:38 AM.
03-08-2012, 12:33 AM
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i hear ya. tearing it down is more on the side im going to go the more i think about it the guy i bought it from didn't seem too straight forward. im glad you reminded me about him. ha ha. i just know once it tore down. i know me- change everything!
anyone who has lost of experience with the lq4 please chime in.
anyone who has lost of experience with the lq4 please chime in.
03-08-2012, 12:46 AM
#6
Ill throw in that Im doing an lq4 swap now aswell,I was told the motor was under 50,000km(Canada eh) but the motor was painted before I bought it.Paint hides too much so while on the stand..pop off the valve covers,pulled the timing set off and check the chain,also take off the oil pan.I can see the original cross hatch in the cylinder walls,crank and cam looked perfect,valves did aswell so I was relieved.Better safe than sorry.Build a snorkel intake mounted up high if you dont want to plumb into the cabin and use a good filter.
Should be a hell of a ranger,keep updating your progress.
Should be a hell of a ranger,keep updating your progress.
03-08-2012, 07:42 AM
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Any machine work will be sent out. Assemblies I will tackle.
The motor looks good besides some rust and other stuff. But while I was talking to the guy I caught him in a couple lies. First -motor was removed and sitting for a month. Then talking more. He slipped the motor was removed several months before sitting. So I'm not sure. He was building an s10 street
Rod. I ended up buying the whole truck. I parted the S10 and only took what I needed. And now it's been sitting for a month on my end. So total time is unknown.
Ill throw in that Im doing an lq4 swap now aswell,I was told the motor was under 50,000km(Canada eh) but the motor was painted before I bought it.Paint hides too much so while on the stand..pop off the valve covers,pulled the timing set off and check the chain,also take off the oil pan.I can see the original cross hatch in the cylinder walls,crank and cam looked perfect,valves did aswell so I was relieved.Better safe than sorry.Build a snorkel intake mounted up high if you dont want to plumb into the cabin and use a good filter.
Should be a hell of a ranger,keep updating your progress.
Should be a hell of a ranger,keep updating your progress.
The motor looks good besides some rust and other stuff. But while I was talking to the guy I caught him in a couple lies. First -motor was removed and sitting for a month. Then talking more. He slipped the motor was removed several months before sitting. So I'm not sure. He was building an s10 street
Rod. I ended up buying the whole truck. I parted the S10 and only took what I needed. And now it's been sitting for a month on my end. So total time is unknown.
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03-08-2012, 12:13 PM
#8
Was it sitting with fluids in it still or was it drained first? Id tear it down some personally,spin it over by hand and see if it turns nicely..no strange noises etc. since you plan on changing heads cam etc..might aswell see the condition of the motor now and prepare to add to the list of parts for the build.
When I bought my ls1,the guy told me from the start..she smokes on startup from a nasty miss shift and hurt something topend but runs fine.The motor lasted me a solid yr before I killed it.
For the power level you are looking for..you dont need to go crazy on the build,simple hci and good exhaust with tune will be over 400rwhp.Its all about good combo.Are you doing more high speed offroading or slow crawl? I would think you are after alot more torque than topend hp.
When I bought my ls1,the guy told me from the start..she smokes on startup from a nasty miss shift and hurt something topend but runs fine.The motor lasted me a solid yr before I killed it.
For the power level you are looking for..you dont need to go crazy on the build,simple hci and good exhaust with tune will be over 400rwhp.Its all about good combo.Are you doing more high speed offroading or slow crawl? I would think you are after alot more torque than topend hp.
03-08-2012, 01:49 PM
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Drained fluids. I've turned it a little by hand sounds fine. But as you said might as well tear down. high speed is the goal. Not so worry about torque. My rear end has 5.56 gears. Matched with that 4L80e should be decent. But i know it sounds good on paper who knows once the tires are on this beast. And I'm sure if I get close to 400-450 on the hp side the tq will be close enough
03-09-2012, 07:11 PM
#13
Do yourself a favor, if you're planning to run Clevite bearings and you don't have to turn the crank, I'd look at going straight to the MS2199HX bearings. Reason I say is that others that I know, as well as myself, have used the MS2199P and all ended around .0015-.0019 clearance and got .0025-.0029 with the HX bearings.
Last edited by 93Z2871805; 03-09-2012 at 07:18 PM.
03-09-2012, 07:22 PM
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Appreciate the tip on the bearings. As far as too much for what I'm looking for. Do you think i will exceed a 450hp goal or get myself into more of a project than what its worth. Past few days I've been entertaining the idea of upgrading the lower half. I figure if I'm going to hone and balance. Might as well do it right.
03-09-2012, 07:27 PM
#15
If you go with a stroker I could see needing a ported set of L92/LS3s. Also keep in mind those heads like a 12* split between the intake and exhaust on the cam. I'd say you'd be closer to 425 with a stock bottom end LQ4 (due to compression).
03-10-2012, 01:24 AM
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425 sound pretty good actually. I'm trying to assume power loss from 35" tires. 2 spares. 42g fuel cell and cage work. I'm playing with ideas. In a week or so I'll have time to actually start tinkering.
