One of the burdens of chasing big horsepower with ’94½-to-’97 F-series trucks comes down to clearance issues when adding bigger engine components. From the firewall forward, there is a serious lack of real estate under the hood. Up until now, we were able to get around much of the tight fitment issues associated with our old-body-style Ford by choosing performance parts that were strictly bolt on. For example, our ATS intercooler allowed us to cool the engine’s intake charge without cutting into our radiator core support to make the system work. When the time came for more air, we went with a 66mm TP38—essentially a modified factory turbo that bolted up just like the stock unit did. And most recently, we swapped our original pushrods and valvesprings for stronger, bolt-on replacements (“Part 1: 7.3L Valvespring and Pushrod Upgrade,” May ’12). Moving Metal With plans to run a massive, Spearco intercooler and an S300 or S400-frame turbocharger with a taller mounting system, we first had to take a look at the stance of our ’97 F-350. Knowing our 16-year-old body mounts were pretty much shot, we decided to replace them. Since it would be a time-consuming job to perform by ourselves, we enlisted the help of the Blue Oval experts at Flynn’s Shop in Alexander, Illinois. And because we never want to replace them again, we contacted Summit Racing for a set of Energy Suspension’s rigid, polyurethane mounts (vs. the factory rubber ones). In just one day’s time, the truck’s cab-to-body misalignment issue was resolved, the cab sat at its factory ride height, and we moved on to prepping our fuel system for 500hp duty. Stay tuned for Part 3, in which we’ll be installing the new intercooler and turbo system. Available through Summit Racing for $75.99, Energy Suspension’s body mounts fit all F-250 and F-350 Ford trucks built from ’80 to ’97 (PN ENS-4-4107G). Aside from the main purpose of restoring the truck’s ride height, their polyurethane construction makes them resistant to weather and the elements yet soft enough to retain a smooth ride. The mounting location for each unit is as follows: lower half radiator core mounts (A), upper half radiator core mounts (B), lower half front cab mounts (C), upper half front cab mounts (D), lower half rear cab mounts (E), and upper half rear cab mounts (F).Available through Summit Racing for $75.99, Energy Suspension’s body mounts fit all F-250 In the photo on the left, you can see that the driver-side cab-to-bed lines look to be in alignment, but on the right you can see that the cab seems to be sticking out past the bed on the passenger side. This was because not only were the factory rubber body mounts crushed, cracked, corroded, and falling apart, but they were also distorting so much that the bolt running through the mount was no longer sitting upright (but at an angle).In the photo on the left, you can see that the driver-side cab-to-bed lines look to be in In the photo on the left, you can see that the driver-side cab-to-bed lines look to be in alignment, but on the right you can see that the cab seems to be sticking out past the bed on the passenger side. This was because not only were the factory rubber body mounts crushed, cracked, corroded, and falling apart, but they were also distorting so much that the bolt running through the mount was no longer sitting upright (but at an angle).In the photo on the left, you can see that the driver-side cab-to-bed lines look to be in You can see how far off the body-to-cab lines were on our F-350. Even though the difference is only roughly 1/4 inch, it was quite noticeable and would’ve only gotten worse with time.You can see how far off the body-to-cab lines were on our F-350. Even though the differenc Chad Flynn of Flynn’s Shop got started with the radiator core support mounts. With the front bumper, grille, and lower intercooler tubes out of the way, a Sawzall was used to cut the bolts in half. Because of their location, the core mounts are constantly exposed to the elements (road salt and moisture), and therefore were more corroded than the other mounts. Instead of fighting rusted hardware, we decided to just replace these fasteners with Grade 8 components.Chad Flynn of Flynn’s Shop got started with the radiator core support mounts. With the fro Once the core mount bolt was cut in half, the bottom portion of the bushing was removed. Using a punch and a hammer, Flynn knocked the remainder of the bolt up and out of the engine bay. While they had some surface rust, the flange and washers were reusable (we cleaned them up with a wire brush). It’s very important to pay attention to the number and positioning of shims (arrow) you remove throughout the entire process, as they’ll need to be reused in conjunction with the new body mounts in order to ensure the body is correctly aligned when you’re finished.Once the core mount bolt was cut in half, the bottom portion of the bushing was removed. U Moving on to the front cab mounts, Flynn peeled back the interior carpet and pulled the access plug in the floorboard. To our surprise, the passenger-side bolt broke loose effortlessly with a 5⁄8-inch socket. The driver-side front cab mount was much more corroded around the bolt head, but the threads on both bolts were still in great shape (so we reused them).Moving on to the front cab mounts, Flynn peeled back the interior carpet and pulled the ac In order to reuse the steel bottom flange piece on each of the front and rear polyurethane cab mounts, the flared end had to be worn down slightly in a grinder. When we made it to the rearmost cab mounts, Flynn had to use a different 3-inch (inside diameter), 5-inch-long piece of exhaust pipe to pull the mounts apart.In order to reuse the steel bottom flange piece on each of the front and rear polyurethane With the front fuel tank obstructing access to it, the rear driver-side mount was the toughest one to remove. But after Flynn pulled the fuel tank skidplate, unbolted the front tank strap and loosened the rear one, and tipped the tank forward (while moving it slightly to the right), it was easy to get to. Both rear cab mount bolts (which were easily accessible in the cab by pulling the interior carpet out of the way) were in perfect shape, and we reused them.With the front fuel tank obstructing access to it, the rear driver-side mount was the toug When it came time to install the new, Energy Suspension mounts, we installed all passenger-side units first, with the driver-side mounts still in place (including loose bolts). We used a 10-ton jack and a stack of 2x6 boards to lift up the body. A bottle jack and a 4x4 block of wood was used to lift the body away from the radiator core supports.When it came time to install the new, Energy Suspension mounts, we installed all passenger On both sides of the truck, Flynn installed the rear cab mounts first, followed by the front cab mounts and the core support units. Here you can see the passenger-side, front cab mount installed. All cab mounts were torqued to the 90 ft-lb specification recommended by Ford.On both sides of the truck, Flynn installed the rear cab mounts first, followed by the fro The two washers supplied by Energy Suspension get installed on the bottom side of the core mount bushings. We ran our bolt down (through the engine bay) rather than up, but used Thread Lock and made sure to double-nut our new Grade 8 bolts. The core support bolts were torqued to 80 ft-lb.The two washers supplied by Energy Suspension get installed on the bottom side of the core To help cut cost, we’re trying our luck with the stock Super Duty electric lift pump supplied in DieselSite’s CPR fuel system, which is rated for use with up to 220cc injectors. If it can hack an all-out effort with our 238/80 hybrids, we will have saved ourselves the expense of upgrading lift pumps. In preparation of pursuing 500 hp, all we did was clean out the 100-micron, stainless-steel filter element in our Aeromotive filter housing (arrow) and replace the 2-micron, Dahl pre-pump filter with a new one.To help cut cost, we’re trying our luck with the stock Super Duty electric lift pump suppl This is what we’ll need to see at wide-open throttle while on the dyno: 65 psi of fuel supply pressure sustained. If we don’t hit our mark, we’ll be upgrading to a Walbro 392GSL, or even adding a second Super Duty lift pump to keep up with demand.This is what we’ll need to see at wide-open throttle while on the dyno: 65 psi of fuel sup SOURCES Energy Suspension 1131 Via Callejon San Clemente CA 92673 949-361-3935 www.energysuspension.com DieselSite P.O. Box 2079 Crystal River FL 34429 888-414-3454 www.dieselsite.com Summit Racing PO Box 909 Akron OH 44398 800-320-3030 www.summitracing.com Flynn's Shop Alexander IL 217-478-3811 By Mike McGlothlin Enjoyed this Post? 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