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Taylor Weicht

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i have a 02 ST. i just bought a new engine for it because some of the problems ford said might happen around 100,000 miles to the factory installed engine. So now i got a new engine in it and i am wanting to add a little hp/torque gain to it. Any suggestions for what i should do? I was thinking about doing intake, exhaust, and a programmer chip. There an order i should do this in? or something else i should do instead? suggestions would be appreciated. thanks
 
Taylor- Must say if I've taken advice from any ST member, BB would be the guy.

Have spoken to MANY local specialty fuel, exhaust, and suspension shops regarding return on investment and cost vs. benefit gains.

The consensus has been to leave it OEM in terms of "performance" upgrades.

My only "performance" change was replacing the stock air filter with a K&N High Flow Air Filter.

Suspension is another issue. Replacing the factory shocks is a priority.

Don't believe any ST member will dispute this upgrade. Essential.

Following advice here, the Rear Sway Bar should follow. Your discretion after that.

Not trying to discourage you from any "breathing" add ons. Aftermarket intakes and exhausts do "sound" cool. Benefit? Do some research.

Good Luck and Enjoy.
 
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I agree with Bill Barber as far as directly modifying the engine itself. All you need is what swshawaii said about swapping out the intake and exhaust to ones of your liking. You also check with one of our sponsor's ZabTeck for a better flowing throttle body. Several of us here will emphatically say to stay away from putting in an electronically controlled cooling fan.



I definately agree with the above on replacing / upgrading the shocks to those of your choice. Most people here have gone with either the Monroe Sensa-Trac for a comfortable yet more controlled ride; or the Monroe Reflex for a more firmer ride, but I personally recommed the Rancho RSX (same construction as the Reflex except they have poly bushings) because the '01 & '02 ST's have softer frames. I also highly recommed upgrading the front sway bar "End links" to the ones from AutoZone (MOOG Problem Solver front end links in a AutoZone box).

 
I'm curious: You said that you put in a new engine because of "the problems Ford said might occur in the factory-installed engines at 100K miles". To what problems are you referring, and from what Ford source did you get this information?

Many here have exceeded 100K miles with no problems, and are still going strong.

Or were you experiencing engine problems that you didn't mention in your original post that warranted an engine replacment?

Just seems a little extreme, to have replaced an engine soley on the basis of what "might" happen at 100K miles. :blink:
 
If cost is not an issue and you don't need to go with a supercharger do what many have done. Y pipe, high flow cat, high flow exhaust, custome tune from our spnsor Torrie, intake and throttle body. It becomes a fun truck to drive.



Or do what I did and get the v8 in the Adrenalin . . . .LOL

 
okay. there were several things that were wrong with the engine when i went to go get it looked at. about 6 months ago, i had an antifreeze leak and had to replace the water pump. that fixed it for a few months. Since then, another leak occured of which i didnt notice till it was too late. I had a cracked head in the engine and thus letting antifreeze get into the engine. It warped the head. Truck starting to idle really loud and was not right so i took it in. They found the problem with the head gasket from the antifreeze leak blah blah blah. BUT anyways, they found a problem with the timing chains. Several places told me there was bulletins issued by Ford saying that this COULD be a problem around 100,000 miles or so. There were several other things i cant remember that were on the list by Ford that could possibly go wrong around 100,000 miles but dont remember them all. I know it was problems with timing chains and a couple more areas
 
I think the only thing worth doing is the Zabteck True Cold Air Intake...but yet again, I dont know what you really want. I really dont think exhausts or performance chips are even worth it.

Or you can just leave it stock, like others have said.
 
Get some custom tunes for it that's easiest and best bang for the buck



Take care,

Mr. Torrie R. McPhail - (Owner)

http://www.FastPartsNetwork.com

http://www.UnleashedTuning.com

Ford/GM/Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep SCT Custom Calibrator

OEM Ford Parts Specialist
 

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