I have recently purchased a new toy hauler and am in need of a bit more power to pull it up the hills...i have a '96 bronco with the 351. any recommendations for some tweaking to give me a bit more power without spending a ton of money?
more towing power
- Thread starter tyro32
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89Bronco58
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shorty headers, or gears
green streak
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gears.
mbtech2003
New member
we have tuched this many times here and many people have different things that they would reccomend. all is good but it will also choose on your applaction. are u gonna just use it to tow, or just here and their as a daily driver and just tow on the weekend??? if u are just gonna tow with it and not drive with out any weight all the time then gears will mosy lickly what u should do.
but keep in mind that is an electronic transmission and u will need to reprogram the ecu to accept the new gears. the 96 351 bronco should have 3.55 gear ratio which is good over all for what ever u do. i once towed a 40ft house trailer with mine with out any problems. though the rear springs were hurting :-& so keep in mind this is a half ton truck.
if you are gonna drive it without a load more of the time then doing simple upgrades like a k&n system, full free flowing exhaust, stock tire size with the correct tire pressure would be a cheeper solution. i belive the 96 bronco with the 351 came with the trans cooler so u should be ok for not overheating the transmission just rember to turn off the overdrive.
let us know on what you are gonna be towing so others can pipe in and tell u what they would to.
happy towing
>-
ps. swiching over to syntheic motor oil and differental and transfercase oils would also help out keeping things cool and help them last longer.
but keep in mind that is an electronic transmission and u will need to reprogram the ecu to accept the new gears. the 96 351 bronco should have 3.55 gear ratio which is good over all for what ever u do. i once towed a 40ft house trailer with mine with out any problems. though the rear springs were hurting :-& so keep in mind this is a half ton truck.
if you are gonna drive it without a load more of the time then doing simple upgrades like a k&n system, full free flowing exhaust, stock tire size with the correct tire pressure would be a cheeper solution. i belive the 96 bronco with the 351 came with the trans cooler so u should be ok for not overheating the transmission just rember to turn off the overdrive.
let us know on what you are gonna be towing so others can pipe in and tell u what they would to.
happy towing
>-ps. swiching over to syntheic motor oil and differental and transfercase oils would also help out keeping things cool and help them last longer.
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This is also my everyday to and from work vehicle. I bought the 23 ft ragen lite - enough room for two quads + water + fuel station. Just a few hills that really bog me down to under 20 mph. Does not appear to have any heating problems. I already have the k&n filter system and a 3 inch cap back exhaust...
Does that help a little more for more options?
Does that help a little more for more options?
mbtech2003
New member
timing. advancing your timing will help out for a little more power. keep in mind that when u advance your timing u will need to run a higher octain fuel. i'm running mine at 16 deg advanced. i think stock timing is 10 deg. +/- 1. just don't turn it up too high or the engine will ping. to adjust timing u will need a timing light, 13mm swivel socket with extension to turn the destruibuter. start the truck and unplugg a little gray connector on the drivers side fender behind the fuse box. then adjust in 1-2 deg incorments and reinstall gray plug and road test to feel for improvement. back off the timing if u here a pinging sound from eng. youve gone too far. with mine set at 16 deg i'm runnign 93 fuel without any problems but i also have other eng. mods done to it. >-
>-wtfdissux
New member
if that has the e4od i think that there are "chip" kits for it that will allow you to set the shift points and a few other things but if this is only a every once in awhile thing I might say leave it alone
16 degrees holly crap thaught mine was high at 13.5 what did you gap the plugs to?
16 degrees holly crap thaught mine was high at 13.5 what did you gap the plugs to?
mbtech2003
New member
i think i gaped them to 45-50 thousands. been a while. i use autolight platiums with an accel super coil, cap and rotor and ford racing 9mm wires runs sweet but i think i need new injectors. the engine shakes here and their not skiping more like a leaking injector
MBtech2003 nailed it down pretty good. You should look into getting an auxillary transmission cooler though, as towing creates excess heat which kills the expensive E4OD. The 96 351W should have enough power to pull you up a hill, as long as it's tuned right and not in overdrive. If you have tires larger than the stock 235's/365's, a gear swap to 3.73 or 4.10 will make the biggest improvement, but cost the most. Any more info on tire size, mileage, and stock gear ratio would be helpful. Good luck, and welcome to Bronco Zone!!! JSM84
wtfdissux
New member
Big Country
New member
the main thing is to keep diff and tranny cool
mbtech2003
New member
ya i think it runs better like that. if i have it set at 10 degs it drives like a dog :wacko:
wtfdissux
New member
was refering to can it be set that high if you didn't have the?......
Accel super coil and cap & rotor
K&N air filter incert, split muffler magnaflow exhaust
isky racing cam- intake.480/exhaust .500 valve lift
isky racing valve springs, ford racing roller lifters
BOSS 302 compcams pushrods, flow-tech shorty smog headers
what would happen if just gaped the plugs turned the timing up ran higher octane gas did the high flow cat (no headers yet) and high flow intake and filter kit
Accel super coil and cap & rotor
K&N air filter incert, split muffler magnaflow exhaust
isky racing cam- intake.480/exhaust .500 valve lift
isky racing valve springs, ford racing roller lifters
BOSS 302 compcams pushrods, flow-tech shorty smog headers
what would happen if just gaped the plugs turned the timing up ran higher octane gas did the high flow cat (no headers yet) and high flow intake and filter kit
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monster351
New member
Ford set it like this for emission purposes only. My sticker under the hood says the plugs should be gapped to only .042-.044. I learned this trick at FSB that you put a high quality cap, rotor, coil, and some thick plug wires, with your plugs gapped to .055. I did this and it felt like a different truck, this thing runs like an animal now. It is also suggested that you advance your timing to 13.5 +/- .5 and it will be even better. This is supposed to help milage if you can keep your foot off the skinny pedal.
mbtech2003
New member
you will need a ignition coil with higher voltage to fire at the bigger gap otherwise you will burn out the stocker coil
wtfdissux
New member
actually I posted that bit from FSB on here a while back and use the numbers given with the coil and wires outside of major get up and go when you behave on the gas whet kind of mileage are you seeing?
mbtech2003
New member
well its not acturate but with the 32's and without the speedo reconfigured for the 32's i'm getting about 10-11- so i'm guessing with stock tires about 13-15 i'm not sure but when the 32's wear out i'm going back to 31's or the stock 265-75-15's. then i'll see what it is.
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wtfdissux
New member
with 33's and no speedo change and a tired c-6 and a heavy foot getting about 9 so think next day off might play with it to see what I can get
