Aluminum Heads and Driveshaft

89SCK@t

Registered User
I have a question and i was hoping you guys could answer it for me. I found aluminum heads on the newer Tbirds/Cougars and Escorts. Does anyone have an idea if the heads would be advisable for a Supercharged motor? I'm trying to shave as much weight as possible without comprimising the integrity of engine. would the aluminum heads blow? would they warp? i got the part #, here it is:

Essex RFF 3SE 6090-B20A

Now for the Aluminum Driveshaft...I found it on a Ford Aerostar, i know it sounds funny, but could it work? is it too short? too long? would the splines line up? i know that the Aerostar had a 3.8l.

could you guys give me some imput? any and all responses welcome.
 
If your talking about a 3.8SC, it has aluminum heads (I'm pretty sure all 89+ 3.8s did). The heads off of N/A 3.8s don't flow as well anyway.

The driveshaft would probably work, there is an article on this site about a t-5 swap where they used that driveshaft I think they had to have about 1" cut from it. If you have an auto, the T-5 length should be the same, a 5-spd is shorter.
 
heads/driveshaft

if im not mistaken...i believe that my heads are cast iron, the reason, they are the same color as my exhaust manifold. i wouldnt keep the N/A heads the way they are and just put them on, i was going to get them ported/polished...you know, all the good stuff.

now about the driveshaft...couldnt i use my steel u-joints? just put the driveshaft in. would it be long enough? please respond...
 
I've got the ones from my 90 off and they are definately aluminum. Your's should be too.

I'm not positive about the driveshaft. I reread the article I had mentioned and found that they just used the proper u-joints and had no problem. I'm not sure how much shorter the D/S is between a T-5 and an AOD you could always try to find one from a 93 Mark VIII. If I find anything else I'll let you know.
 
Material

As stated above, all SC's have aluminum heads..if yours are the same color as the block perhaps you have a leaky pan gasket bleeding oil over the head and attracting belt/road dust..
 
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driveshaft....

I'm not sure how much shorter the D/S is between a T-5 and an AOD you could always try to find one from a 93 Mark VIII

i have the big mazda tranny (M5R2)...would i have to do a tranny swap to a T-5 in order to have that aluminum driveshaft?
 
ALL 3.8L heads ARE aluminum. Ever since the 3.8 was produced it has been with aluminum heads. I haven't seen an escort with a 3.8. Then again I don't remember ever seeing one with a V6.

As for a Aerostar drive shaft I haven's a clue.

Jeff
 
89SCK@t said:
I have a question and i was hoping you guys could answer it for me. I found aluminum heads on the newer Tbirds/Cougars and Escorts. Does anyone have an idea if the heads would be advisable for a Supercharged motor? I'm trying to shave as much weight as possible without comprimising the integrity of engine. would the aluminum heads blow? would they warp? i got the part #, here it is:

Essex RFF 3SE 6090-B20A

Now for the Aluminum Driveshaft...I found it on a Ford Aerostar, i know it sounds funny, but could it work? is it too short? too long? would the splines line up? i know that the Aerostar had a 3.8l.

could you guys give me some imput? any and all responses welcome.

Ahhh.. where to start?

1.) Escort? Ummm... ya... whatever. Not even in the same solar system as the 3.8.

2.) Trying to shave weight from the motor is a complete waste of time... and basically impossible. The SC motor 'only' weighs around 400-425 lbs and already has aluminum heads. Ever 3.8 ever made had aluminum heads (back into the mid 80s). The total car weighs about 3800-4100 depending on options. Not including driver. So... saving even 10% in motor weight (or 40 lbs) would only be 1% of the car weight. You could do more by taking the spare tire and jack out.

3.) I've heard of using aluminum driveshafts from a F150 pickup and getting it shortened. Not sure 'bout the Aerostar, but I wouldn't be caught dead using one.

4.) Back to the weight thing, a Cervini's hood only weights 27 lbs compared to near 100 lbs for a stock steel hood. Seeing my direction yet?

Good luck....

Steve
 
Hey, with an aluminum flywheel and underdrive pulleys I shaved about 25 lbs. off my engine and it makes 5 times the difference in performance my fiberglass hood and aluminum driveshaft (shortened Mark 8 with M5OD yoke) did. Why, how?
Here are some reasons and or things to consider when thinking about it:

Crankshaft weight:

You gain 2.5 HP per pound removed off the crank at the wheels. Stock AOD converters even without fluid are much heavier than clutch & flywheel assemblies. I put a 15 lb. aluminum flywheel in my SC and use the factory 35 lb. unit for a grinder stand base. I gained 1/2 a second on this mod alone. This is with a wide ratio 5-speed, which is not good for the drags; the most gear I can run with this tranny is 3.27’s. 20 pounds less times 2.5 HP per pound = 50 HP that was used for spinning a big hunk of iron through every gear now getting to the rear wheels.

Rotating weight absorbs more power when accelerating than static weight on a car. I can't remember the exact figure but it seem to recall the SAE says that every pound of rotating weight on a car is equivalent to 1.7 pounds of static weight. This is why we always reduce rotating weight first: wheels, pulleys, drive shaft, etc.

But consider for a moment that the crank assembly is not only a rotating weight but also the only one that is accelerated multiple times in the timed quarter mile. This weight must be accelerated through each gear while the wheels and drive shaft only achieve max speed once, at the finish line. All static weight is the same start to finish. So the most significant place to remove weight to increase performance is the crankshaft assembly. Easily 3 to 4 times more than the drive shaft yet more people think of the drive shaft first. Easily 10 times more than equivalent static weight removed from the car yet most remove static weight second.

Ask any under drive pulley manufacturer where the power comes from, rotating weight reduction or slower accessory speeds. The vast majority of the gain is from the weight reduction.

Lower crank weights make it easier to modulate wheel spin, especially with performance gearing and or street tires. Comes in handy in the rain also.

With light crank weights drive train life is improved due to lower peak torque loads at shifts. This also improves drivability when cruising.

With a lighter converter higher stall speeds can be used without putting the tires up in smoke.

By the way aluminum driveshafts don't usually save more than 5 lbs. due to their larger diameter. What would really flip you out is the new Dodge Ram and I think GM suv shafts, they are some kind of poly matrix. these big long shafts weigh next to nothing.
 
apology

sorry about the misunderstanding earlier.... I ment to type Taurus, but for some reason I put down Escort. Dont ask why, it just happens.

Vernon - thanks for your input. there was a lot of info that i can use.
 
One of the parts Vernon leaves out is aside from the flywheel and pulleys, it's not real easy, or cheap, to lose weight.

A set of lightweight wrist pins (saving 450 grams total, about a pound) cost me about $100. I saved another 200 grams on pistons that cost $300. Some shops will cut down the crank counterweights, but then you need silly expensive mallory metal to balance the crank.

If you're looking at overall lightening of the car, look elsewhere. If you're looking to make the motor faster/better, get an aluminum flywheel and spend money on a good set of heads. A set of high flowing heads and a good cam will make more of a difference than any lightweight internal components.
 
also

also you can put a toggle on alternator leads to cut out alt when racing this will reduce the hp needed to run alt. old days we ran alt delete switch and it saves about 7 hp. but like was said hood is a heavy object money well spendt, aluminum flywheel is great for stick cars, autos well oil weighs and trq conv is heavy also parasitic losses in trans, alluminum drive shaft!! my wifes ex ploder has one and it can get bent and wobble from a small rock flying up at it of course ours are mostly covered by gas tank ect, I like the pully thing and switched alt, heck I weigh 280 lbs if I go on a diet I can take 100 lbs off car and save the fast food money for parts . makes sense improve car and health at same time.
 
Didn't mean to butt heads with you Steve, your points are valid. It just seems most people overlook the fact that the flywheel and pulleys are part of the engine and not the drivetrain or body and best of all they are rotating wieght so it pays off double. And when removing weight you might as well spend money where it has the greatest result first. I have a fiberglass hood for those very reasons yours and mine. After the most cost effective engine weight reduction I could manage, removing wieght from the front of the car was next. And as you state the hood is the best place to start here for cost and effect. After that it's my opinion that the next best weight issue to address is moving the battey to the trunk. It actually added a few pounds with the box and extra cable but greatly effects weight distribution and improves performance especially for the money. Unless you get a really good deal on an aluminum driveshaft or steal a carbon fiber one it's not worth the cost compaired to other options for that money. Now if your driveshaft is ailing then might as well upgrade but until then it's not worth the worry. Power always works but the lighter the mass the better it works.

Vernon
 
Not sure why people want to chop up old OEM aluminum driveshafts, I can't imagine you save too much money. And a chopped up OEM driveshaft is just not in the same league as an aftermarket custom one. Thinner wall tubing, lower quality, etc.

BTW if you are using an aluminum driveshaft mated to a steel tranny yoke (as would be the case most of the time), use coated U-joints. This will help to avoid electrolytic corrosion where the steel and aluminum meet.

Spicer makes some solid, coated U-joints that work nicely. Don't use anything but the best U-joints on an SC, because they take a beating - our driveshaft runs almost straight (very small driveline angle), as a result the rotation tends to bang the u-joints back and forth in one place instead of rotating the bearings. I had some cheap Neapco ones for just a couple thousand miles, and when I replaced them they were practically shot already.
 
only get an aluminum drive-shaft if high speed driving(continous above 100 or so) gives you vibrations(or just rebalance the stock one for anything under that).
 
not sure it's been awhile since i've been under my car but i think sc's come with a stock aluminum drive shaft.
joe
 
Nope they are steel.

If you are looking for an aluminum drive shaft for your SC, Kelly Simons sells them for under $400.

David
 
cant believe no one said

check the front rorner of the head right by the intake bolt it will be staped SC if it isnt then its not the right engine to begin with same with the block, it is stamped on the front in two places. And yes they did make a steel head 3.8 , just not in the supercoupe. If it has steel heads then id say some cheap a$$ somewhere down the line couldnt afford the right motor when he blew it up so he stuck in what ever he could find and shipped it.
heres a pic
 
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Iceman, it's been stated several times in this post and I assure you it's correct, NO FORD 3.8s WERE MADE WITH IRON HEADS much less steel. If you want to check use a magnet. If you can get a magnet to stick to a set of 3.8 Ford heads I salaute you.

Don't take this as a personal attack I'm just trying to clear up this misconception obviously shared by many. In fact your other point about the SC markings is good for many to know.

Vernon
 
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