Yea, the 3.5L has a longer stroke and slightly bigger bore. Don't know whether the rods and crank are forged. I still wouldn't think it'd make that much difference, but it did in this case.

We ended up putting in a new set of Skyjacker coils and that brought it back up to where it normally should sit. I like the Skyjacker coils a LOT better than the Napa F150 coils I was running. The handling hasn't changed at all but the front isn't nearly as choppy and it flexes better.

So, spring are in and the oil pan is modified. So far, so good. No leaks. Between the lift from the coils and dropping the bump stops 1" we didn't do anything too radical to the sump. This won't work on my new project Sport but it's good enough for this one.

Took it up for a test 'wheel over the weekend. The extra torque is great on the mountain highways! The 3.5L with the 5-speed manual transmission is GREAT!! Drives better than the same vehicle unmodified. The 3.5L hauls 5500 lbs. up and down the hills with no problem - 70 MPH on an 8% grade at 8000 feet. Not bad.

I can't tell any difference off road - with the 4:1 and doubler I could be running a B&S 2-cylinder and it wouldn't make a difference.

The 3.0L ECU seems pretty happy. LT fuel trim hangs at about +.75 average for highway driving. So far, lowest has been -1.5 and the highest +1.4. Nothing else in OBD looks any different than the 3.0L ever did.

Working on another problem now. With temps bouncing around 100-105 here in Denver I've got an overheating problem. It's not a problem with the engine itself, thank God. The cooling system either isn't up to snuff for the 3.5L or it never was even for the 3.0L but the ambient temperature hasn't gotten high enough to cause issues. Starts to run hot on long inclines on the highway and pushing the RPMs up between 3-4K on long steep inclines at less then 2-3 MPH in 85+ degree weather off road definitely doesn't work.

On email with half a dozen radiator companies and Spal. Started pulling stuff off the front. First to go was the ARB plate under the bumper. That helped slightly on the highway. Next will be the IPF bumper lights. That'll open up as much of the front as possible without pulling the bumper.

Next step will be a new radiator to replace the stock radiator. After that, if I still have problems, is the dual fan setup from Spal.

We'll see how it goes. Only have a month and three weeks before we leave for Moab and I still have to install the new PCS steering box. Still waiting for them to ship the new one back. Sigh.

Edward