Prepping for a turbo. 1994 Ranger xl

[Taekwonbeast]

I have a 1994 Ford Ranger xl. It’s the OHC 2.4 I4 with the 5 speed manual. I know i need to get forged pistons and want to know if there’s anywhere i can buy new ones instead of trying to find something from a junkyard.

I am not open to swapping. I don’t want to swap it. Don’t tell me to swap it. I like the engine i have. No swap.

what other upgrades do i need to do to the engine to handle some boost. I’d like to give it at least 10lbs of boost, maybeee 13 or 15 ish.

Is it plausible to get an ECU to tune it for better fuel injection and maybe do a 2 stage tune so i can drive like a sane person?

what do i need to do to the transmission to handle that kind of power?

What fuel injectors should i buy? Forgot about that. And should i get new spark plugs? Idek im pretty new to this.

Sorry for the post being all over the place, I’m pretty new here. Feel free to dumb it down so i understand what you’re saying.

 

[Blmpkn]

Theres people here with more knowledge about turboing that motor than me, that'll give you more complete info than me.. but I can generalize a bit..

For 10+ psi your likely gonna want a fully forged bottom end, not just pistons.

Considering the truck is obd1, going to a standalone ecu like megasquirt would be a good idea if not a requirement.

Stock clutch will need to be replaced at a minimum.

Spark plugs at least a couple heat ranges cooler.

Definitely bigger injectors and pump.

Upgraded cooling system unless your gonna run straight corn gas.

If its going to be a daily driver don't cheap out on a turbo, or your wastegate.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Other than forged pistons, the rest of the bottom end is fine up to 350hp apparently, so no worries on all of that, pistons are hard to come by though, last time I looked it was about $500 for a set that didn't recommend using with a turbo... circle track stuff...

For clutch, stock will work for a while, you're not talking silly numbers, I've been very happy with my Centerforce stock replacement friction disc and the pressure plate with weights, last I checked there was no kit with those two parts... I bought them over 10 years ago so I don't remember the part numbers...

For computer and stuff, you need to either go with megasquirt or something or go factory turbo engine stuff... Since I did my swap before I was really knowledgeable about stuff I did things differently than I would now but a lot I would keep the same... I wish I had kept the dual plug engine and just put the pistons in that block... For computer and stuff I am running a stock Ranger harness with the vane airflow meter added from a thunderbird and the handful of wires moved/added and used the thunderbird injectors and stuff.

I'm still running the stock fuel pump, (well, not the original, don't remember what I put in there...) I have no idea what my fuel pressure is doing, putting a better fuel pump in is on the list, but it's a long list...

Doubt there's a need for a two stage tune, the way the throttle linkage is set up on Ranger 2.3L's you use a lot of pedal travel which makes throttle response nice... it's not like my wife's '04 Camry 4 cylinder where 1/4 throttle gets you to 70mph...