Recent content by Ken302

Thats too bad, I liked Mazda for their innovation and engineering. No future Mazda's for me.

Going from a SADI (Ductile Iron) cam core with a fatigue strength of 30k to 74kpsi to a low carbon steel billet with a fatigue strength of 110kpsi is a major upgrade. Also, like wheel bearings once either the race or roller fails, then both show failure due to one of the components having a...

I remember the 1980's flat tappet lifters well. Do the break-in procedure correctly and at 800 miles have not one, but three cam lobe/lifter failures. Yuk.

WOPD, I agree that Buick engines are fussy; however, years ago with a hot rodded 71 Olds 442, the only good things about Buicks were that there weren't many. I only raced one, and I didn't lose by a little.

I don't know how big of issue the Ford 7.3 is having. I've seen a couple with over 100k having no issues, which is why I bought a 2022 RV with that engine. There's probably 100 or more high mileage Hemi's for every 7.3 Ford. I think it will be at least 5 more years before we know if this is a...

Cool engine, but I don't think your oil is the issue. First calculate the centrifugal force of engine oil at 6500 rpm (small safety factor) on a 3.25" main journal - 59 psig at the main bearing. Then calculate the oil flow with those loose tolerances. Finally measure the oil gallery diameter...

Overkill: Other than the 7.3 Gas engine, Ford has separate cam phasers for intake and exhaust. With this, they easily outperform cylinder deactivation. Hold the intake valves open (by retarding the intake cam) during the first part of the intake stroke and it's accomplished the same benefit as...

Pettrix, please reconsider those bearing clearances. When I was young, I owned a 442 with that engine, rebuilt it 4 times the first year, learning about oiling issues. The Old 455 has multiple problems mainly with poor oil return from the tiny return holes in the cylinder heads, which then flow...

Rod Knock brings a real puzzle to this discussion. The Ford 7.3 not only has good rod journal bearing to cam oiling, but it also has piston cooling via oil squirters oiling the cam. This is far better than the original small block Chevy or the hemi that has a cast oil passage blocking much of...

Your experience mirrors my own experience with F350's. They cost very little more than a half ton new, use more gas, but are trouble free and long lasting. Also, it's nice to be able to rent a skid steer and not hear your truck is too small.

Overkill is right about the low or minimal throttle plate opening. One of the larger losses in gasoline engines is due to engine vacuum at part throttle. Both cylinder deactivation and additional transmission gear ratios address this. With 6 to 10 speed automatic transmissions cylinder...

The only thing that I can add is that these cars tend to have mis-aligned axles causing them to rub against one side of the center guide strip. A little testing and alignment of the cross axles tends to increase speed.

I've been looking at new F-350's lately and haven't noticed many E-Mustangs on the lots. Generally, I see a few SUV's, gas Mustangs along with many F-150's. Could the downturn in production numbers be due to parts shortages? Also, for non-track or heavy towing use, is limiting maximum...

Sounds like a cool engine, tell us about the build.

In a conventional 4x4 the front and rear wheel rotation is mechanically connected with gears and shafts. When braking on snow with non 4x4 cars, the front tires tend to lockup with the rear tires still rolling. A 4x4 gets a little extra help by having either all of the tires sliding (longer...