KaMiKaZiPosTMaN

So i was driving home from work the other day (a bad day at work that is) and my bad day gets better with a bang. The bang happened to be a spark plug leaving my Passenger side Head with his aluminum thread buddies (Enter a very pissed off mustang owner). So anyway i am now faced with the delima(sp?) of droping 600 bills to get the thing helicoiled (which i don't trust to last) or to buy some new patriot performance stage 2 heads. So, first I have a few questions for anyone currently using PP heads.
1. I hear they use truck heads, what will i need to make them fit on my engine (valve cover, etc. etc.)
2. If i'm replacing the heads i mine as well replace the cams, So what all is needed for this (cam gears, etc.etc.)
3. When this job is being done, I have heard the water pump must come off. Would this be a good time to replace the factory job with an electric water pump? and if so, what all is required for this install.
4. Obviously if the cams come off, the timing cover/chains must come off. Would this be a good time to replace these?(or anything else related to the timing assembly)

So what i'm really trying to say is, while i have this bitch apart, what would be good things to replace?
Oh and Just some info for you guys
CAR IS:
2002 GT Automatic (aprox. 65k miles)
Romeo Block/Heads (as far as i can tell...although it has X's in the VIN number, and i thought that meant it was a Winsor block/heads)

Any opinions/help would be greatly apprechiated...thanks again guys

kenv

Here`s a bump for ya Jim

mustang_marine8762

I wish I could help you with your decisions, but I just wanted to say that I know how you feel. I had the same thing happen to me when I was driving home from Cali. Right in the middle of Nebraska. Luckly I was able to screw it back in and make it home to Chicago, but about a week later it came out again and that was it. I thought about getting the PP heads as well, but I was still under warranty and straped for cash so I just had Ford put the new head on. I wouldn't go with a helicoil though. I've heard some bad things about them. So I would say go for the PP heads. Might as well do the cams too. Don't know about any of that other stuff though. Hopefully someone else can give you some advise on that. Good luck.

02WhiteGTVert

go jack some used PI cylinder heads off an F150/Crown Vic/Econoline/Town Car/Grand Marquis and just get em milled ported and polished. Slap 'em on and be done with it for cheap,maybe also get some stage 2 comp cams.

2002GTAUTOVERT

research online, alot of people are trying to get a class action lawsuit together against ford for this. This is common on their 4.6 modular and 5.4 triton motos

Sniper6677

ooooyyyy *cracks his knuckles* As i just had the Patriot Stage II heads put in

Theres a few more owners on here that have them and they love them.....however you NEED to get it tuned once you go that way.

Im going to the dyno next week to have my SCT tuner set up (mailed pre-setup tuners dont work!)

From what i understand with the Romeo block you need to be sure you have truck style valve covers , and certain style timing cover bolts. I have the part numbers written down at my house but theyre also available if you go on Patriots web site and go under the magazine article Project Icebox they give you the part numbers in one of the captions. I have the windsor block so i dont exactly know how much of a pain any of that is but the part numbers are on their site....you could get truck covers out of the junkyard for a few bucks or someting...

The chain has to come off and so does the water pump i believe....at that low of mileage i wouldnt worry about a chain or a water pump.....switching to an electric pump wouild be a waste of time and $$ IMO at this stage....

you could cam it right away but i didnt...you definatly need a tune afterwords....

i also used felpro perma torque head gaskets (multi-layered steel gaskets) instead of the ****ty oem gaskets that leak oil
you need new head bolts, as well as exhaust gaskets, (intake is reusable but i got new ones anyway)

after i had mine put on what im having is EGR problems (flowing too much, cannot be fixed by replacing any components) i have a slight bucking at a low driving speed (verified this by ussing my datalog mode on my SCT) also it runs very rough when its first started and often backfires through the intake sometimes.....needless to say....i need that tune!!! going to evolution performance next week tho

from what i hear from people who have them and have the tune say they love them...but their car runs like **** before the tune....i wouldnt drive it too far....ive gone 1000 miles or so playing with the mailed tuner and disconecting egr vaccum lines and whatnot haha.....im just rambling on to say you need it tuned after the head swap....

to sum it up....my advice is, if your going ot get it done...dont waste your money on an electric water pump and you shouldnt need a new timing chain (dont know how much they cost) save your money for the heads and for the tune...$600 bucks to have it helicoiled is insane....im [retty sure you can get a whole head assembly from jegs (stock PI head) for cheaper than that? i even have my old PI heads im trying to sell as well....

the only other problem ive had so far is my oil...ive switched from synthetic to conventional due to some oil loss problems... but that could be completely irrelevant to the situation....

i will post resuslts after it is dynoed (going next week) if your definatly interested, as i have no idea how its going to run but from what i hear i should like it....
hope this insanly long reply helps !!

2002GTAUTOVERT

if youre losing oil, could be worn rings, dunno how many miles your ride has though.

Sniper6677

it has 75k miles....the rings are fine, no smoke or anything....i have some minor loss at the rear main seal and the front cover...the synthetic oil was just flying out like no tomorrow from the rear main and front cover bottom where it meets the pan

i put conventional valvoline...might even switch to 10w-30 for the summer if i have to

i also had strange dipstick problems where the oil gets wiped off of my dipstick so i cant even get a good reading unlesss i fight with it for a while....the conventional oil seems to be doing alot better than the synthetic...i could be losing due to valvetrain related components (as i bought the asembled heads) so far its doing okay with the conventional oil

2002GTAUTOVERT

the 10w30 will be harder to burn off, but i wouldnt use a thicker oil during the summer. sounds like you just need a new gasket for the pan. if the thicker oil does fine and it doesnt leak, go with what works.

Sniper6677

So far it isnt leaking at all as of yet....im going to check it later on when i get home from work....i was using Royal Purple and losing 2 qts in under 1k miles which is a hell of alot of oil loss.

It was coming out of the front pulley, showing some slight oil loss from the point where the cover meets the pan....and the tranny is covered in oil spewing from the rear main.....had it on the lift running for 20 minutes and there were no leaks at idle...so it has to be coming out at a higher RPM (was def. coming from the rear main)

The only time ive noticed some smoking is after i drive and shut it off...when i start it back up it smokes slightly for a short time 1 minute or less (im hoping its not valve related) but i still definatly need the tune before i can go any further with any kind of diagnosis....im almost positive the oil leak part has been fixed as i havent seen anything on the trany yet and i checked the cover and thats dry as a desert. If after this doenst fix the loss i may have to try the 10w-30, if its not leaking and still losing then it has to burn it but for now the regular is holding up....

Like i said i will post some more results when i get them....cant wait to get some dyno numbers...im trying not to pound on it while it needs a tune haha