86 2.9 turbo

ran2 · Dec 6, 2008

hi all new to the forum.i have recently aquired an 86 2wd ranger with a 2.9 and 5 speed trans.have a few trans decisions to deel with but that is on another thread.i have been wanting to experiment and learn a little about turbo systems.never had any experiance with turbos i figure best way to learn is do it.lol.i am considering the following installs.T3/t4 turbo with internal wastegate, intercooler,fuel pressure regulator,boost referanced FMU,and maybe a blow off valve :icon_welder:

.i plan on running 6 to 8 psi boost.the questions i have are;do i need bigger injectors,do i need to add MAF with the FMU,do you think the stock engine will handle this,how much gain could i expect from 6-8 psi boost?thanks Dan.

Davis · Dec 6, 2008

so some searching, there are several threads on this topic. search 4.0 turbo and 2.9 turbo.

turbo cat · Dec 6, 2008

First off alll you dont have to buy a expensive t3/t3 you can save money with purchasing a chysler fwd 2.2 turbo which is a 50 trim T3 .42/.48 AR. this is the turbo im using for my 4.0. Or if you want a little bigger go with a Turbocoupe T3 which has a larger .63 ar exhaust housing. 6-8 psi is fine as the 4.0/2.9 have great internals that hjave taken up to 20+psi. 6-8 psi will keep the headgaskets alive however. A bov woulnt be necesary with a auto but its ncie to have with a manual. I have a cheap Greddy knock off that i bough off ebay for 30$ thats working great. Skip the maf the MAP does a better job of reading pressure. A map just measures flow. if you can get really into it megasquirt ecu would be the way to go for tuning. An intercooler isnt necesary for low pressure ratios like your planning but wouln't hurt to have. The manifolds on the 4.0 can be flipped to face the outlets forward and im pretty sure the 2.9s could be flipped as well. The wastegate is what controlls the boost. Teh turbochargers I mentioned above have internal gates pre set. The chrysler T3 has a wastegate setup for 5 psi. you cna increase the pressure further with a boost controller.

if you cant find one of those junkyard turbos i can get you the chryslers dirt cheap easily

3literEarl91 · Dec 6, 2008

turbo cat said:
First off alll you dont have to buy a expensive t3/t3 you can save money with purchasing a chysler fwd 2.2 turbo which is a 50 trim T3 .42/.48 AR. this is the turbo im using for my 4.0. Or if you want a little bigger go with a Turbocoupe T3 which has a larger .63 ar exhaust housing. 6-8 psi is fine as the 4.0/2.9 have great internals that hjave taken up to 20+psi. 6-8 psi will keep the headgaskets alive however. A bov woulnt be necesary with a auto but its ncie to have with a manual. I have a cheap Greddy knock off that i bough off ebay for 30$ thats working great. Skip the maf the MAP does a better job of reading pressure. A map just measures flow. if you can get really into it megasquirt ecu would be the way to go for tuning. An intercooler isnt necesary for low pressure ratios like your planning but wouln't hurt to have. The manifolds on the 4.0 can be flipped to face the outlets forward and im pretty sure the 2.9s could be flipped as well. The wastegate is what controlls the boost. Teh turbochargers I mentioned above have internal gates pre set. The chrysler T3 has a wastegate setup for 5 psi. you cna increase the pressure further with a boost controller.

if you cant find one of those junkyard turbos i can get you the chryslers dirt cheap easily

make sure that you get the turbo from a pre-89 fwd chrysler. 89 and later have a much smaller mitsubishi turbo on them.

Ozwynn · Dec 6, 2008

any more that 8 psi and you will get experienced with the 2.9L weak heads that like to crack when you look at them wrong.

Unless your are racing or drifting you won't need a blow off valve.

turbo cat · Dec 6, 2008

A bov is a driveability thing in a 5 speed. when the throttle is shut for a spilt second without a bov the pressure spikes up instanly and has no where to go but backwards thru the copressor. Which in turn spins the compressor in rev erse. Then when you get back into the throttle the exhaust quickly snapped the turbo in the other direction. This "reversion" is tough on the turbos componts and can reduce response time. So for a manual you can get away with not running one but its best to have it.

Also yes i know the difference between a Garret(formally airesearch) Tb0335 and a Mistsu Te04h 13c. Im running a Tb0335 on my 4.0 and i will be running 4 mitsu te04h's on my 4.6L. The MHI Teo4h's have a tiny tiny .38 ar exhaust housings and turbines half the size of a small T3

Ozwynn · Dec 6, 2008

I know what a blow off valve is and unless you are building a racing application running 12 plus pounds of boost you do not need a BOV. 6 - 8 psi with junk yard turbos on a 2.9L does not need a BOV. If every manual transmission needed one then pick ups and big rigs would have them....... as my Detroit runs 31psi max boost.

turbo cat · Dec 6, 2008

the detroit is nothing compared to a 2.9L disels dont even have a throttle. You dont need a bov on a low boost manual setup but its better to have one. On an automatic low boost setup its less of a problem since the throttle stays open during shifts which keeps the turbocharger spooled.

Also yopu can go to the wrecking yards and find bosch and mitsu bypasses for maybe a buck or two

Ozwynn · Dec 6, 2008

turbo cat said:
the detroit is nothing compared to a 2.9L disels dont even have a throttle

........... so how do you throttle the engine? weather its a throttle body or the computer telling the pump to feed more to the injectors, it still needs to throttle. and a 2.9 junk yard build does not need a blow off valve ....... but then again I guess I know nothing about driving anything...........

I have a question ...... if its a drivability thing then why didn't my 86 Supra didn't have 1?

turbo cat · Dec 6, 2008

Some setups dont have them your correct. A diesel engine dosent have a throttle for the boost to spike against causing reversion. Reversion will be heard as a "fluttery sound" the sound of pressure pushing its way backwards pass the compressor trying to escape. Diesels dont have a throttle in which the boost spikes against. As for the 86 supra its didnt have a bov your right but i think it had a bypass which is why it didnt soudn like a BOV. Most cars with a draw thru maf setup need a bypass as a bov will vent metered air instad or recirculating the metered air back thru the compressor. There are some manual trans gasoline engines with out a bov or bypass however. Which is liek i said not necesary to have but for a few bucks it cant hurt to have a bypass.

ran2 · Dec 7, 2008

thanks for the info all.i am interested in your setup turbo cat.something close to that is what i had in mind.not trying to build a high rpm performer.just wanting some low end grunt and learn a little about turbos.i did some research on megasquirt that is a cool set up.but i dont think i want to get that involved with this truck.this is my daily driver.may get another vehicle to play with a mega sqirt and higher boost lol.just want to add a small turbo and little boost and upgrade the stock fuel system to compensate some.thanks again.turbo cat i would love to see more of your setup and more info on your fuel system mods.thanks Dan.

turbo cat · Dec 7, 2008

Im runnning a T3 wit ha .48 ar housing that spools before 2K in most gears (turbochargers are load sensitive...load =resistance=cylinder pressure/heat=spool) (also pressure is a measure of restriction)
it spools wicked fast and makes the truck very torquey down low. I was running the oem fuel system and was running lean and pushing the turbo to 17psi and finally the hg started to leak. So i fixed the Hg and turned the boost down to 5 psi and added 21lb injectors. The truck will now spin the 31s thru multiple gears and trys to get sideways. The idle and low revs/low throttle/high load conditions suffered as far as drivability goes.

You have a map and i would stick with the MAP. A map measures vacucum/pressure and wouint have the issues of a MAF. Move the battery and place the turbo where the battery is and the plumbing will be easy. Keep the oem injectors but add a biiger fuel pump and a fmu. Then use a wideban to log the AFRs and adjust the FMU accordingly. This will get you by just fine under low boost.

Heres some pics of my build it took me about 36 hrs in about a week. The parts were just laying around and equall about 150$. This I will note is not the first turbo kit Ive built.

Davis · Dec 8, 2008

The stock map sensor is 1 bar. That means it wont register anything above 101kPa (0 psi standard correction) It wont read your boost, nor will it compensate for it.

I suppose however if you use a FMU, you can get by with low boost. You get too high and the fuel pump will reach max fuel pump pressure and the FMU will no longer compensate.

turbo cat · Dec 8, 2008

exactly keep the boost low. which also keeps the heads and gaskets alive. Then tune the FMU the best you can using the AFR info from the wideband 02. Also the map could be changed out for a 2 bar map and fine someone who could flash the ecu. The support is low for the early EEC IV but ive seen a few tuners that can ahndle the stuff. Megasquirt also has an adapter board to mod a EEC IV to plug MS directly into the EEC IV ford harness

Yellowsplash · Dec 9, 2008

turbo cat said:
Some setups dont have them your correct. A diesel engine dosent have a throttle for the boost to spike against causing reversion. Reversion will be heard as a "fluttery sound" the sound of pressure pushing its way backwards pass the compressor trying to escape.

Thats known as compressor surge...not reversion. We're not talking about high duration cams and exhaust here.

You want a blowoff valve to prevent compressor surge. Once you snap that throttle body shut by talking your foot off the gas pedal, where do you think that 6-8 pounds of boost is going? Without a bov, its not going anywhere but right back against the compressor wheel....not a good thing. Expect your turbo to last only a few thousand miles like this, especially with a junkyard turbo.

btw, while a standalone is great for someone who knows what they're doing, for a novice its just a faster way of blowing up their engine.

86 2.9 turbo

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