4 cylinder turbo swap

[chayse brooks]

Okay so I have heard if I want more power and decent mpg I should swap to a 4 cylinder turbo. Yes I know power and mpg don't go to hand and hand but I'm looking for more power in my 84 which has a 2.8 l v6. I use this truck as my commuter and it needs more get up and go. I don't know which is a better rout yet a 4.0 or the 4 cylinder but if I wanted to swap to the 4 cylinder turbo where would I even start to look for one and where would I even start for the swap oh and I should also mention that this is a 4wd truck will there be any problems with that ? I could use some advice. Thank you

 

[RonD]

Start here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index-engine-fuel.shtml

Look under the turbo and supercharger section, there are 3 articles there, they list vehicles that had 2.3l turbos from factory and many pointers on the swap.

For commuter driving you get the benefit of 4cyl MPG, 20-22 range
When extra power is needed you get the benefit of Turbo boost in horse power, MPG goes down

For off-roading it would not be the best choice since low RPM torque would be more beneficial, so V6 or V8 would be the better option, but MPG commuting would be low, 12-16 range

 

[chayse brooks]

Does the 4 cylinder turbo do good going up a hill. Where I drive this truck on a highway there is a 8 mile long hill I often find myself getting passed as all I can do is 45 in a 60. Would the 4 cylinder do any better than my 2.8l going up this hill I belive it's a 12% grade hill

 

[RonD]

Yes, it will do well on hills and when passing, basically you get extra horse power when your foot presses down hard on the gas pedal, when just cruising on flat ground you have less horse power so better MPG.

2.8l reads like it has low compression, worn rings, which is normal in high mile engines do for a rebuild.

 

[chayse brooks]

It is probably due. I feel like time wise a 2.3 l would be a good swap as a buddy of mine has a built one from his old race car that he only ran twice and I would like to have a fresh moter put into it

 

[redhurricane]

lots of questions to be addressed here, what State do you live in? Have emissions to contend with? California as an example is fairly strict when it comes to engine swaps, you must still meet all of the emissions standards for the model year you are modifying.

DO you have a budget? I will tell you first hand, having done V8 swaps and 2.3T swaps in RBV's that you may think it's all a real easy and cheap thing to do. I will guarantee you will find unaccounted for costs when doing engine swaps.

Now, with that being said, I have a 2.3T in an 87 ranger, standard cab 4x4. Manual transmission options for the 2.3 Lima block are very limited, the M5od-R1 rarely came with the 2.3 bell pattern AND 4WD tail section. You can certainly take a 2wd M5OD and swap guts with a 4WD M5od that had the 4.0 bell pattern from explorer sports. those area still fairly plentiful, but if you're not versed in transmission rebuilding this adds measurable cost if someone else is doing the work.

torque curve with my current setup comes on very strong at about 2200rpm, and pulls through 3600rpm before falling off. Peak torque is at 3600rpm. I made 267ft/lbs of torque on the dyno last weekend. I spend too much time with the pedal on the floor to know what my real world highway mpg is, but I would guess easily 20+mpg highway.

 

[redhurricane]

as far as "will the turbo 4 pull hills better than the 2.8L v6":

What you currently have, (or had when it was new)
115hp at the crank, 150ft/lbs of torque
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8L_Performance.html

stock 86 svo mustangs were rated at 200hp, 240ft/lbs of torque
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang_SVO

that was with a small top mount intercooler, electronic boost control set to not exceed 17psi. these engines have the means to make big power, with mild to moderate modifications. the question is, how much $$ do you want to invest to make power? standalone ECU's such as megasquirt, larger injectors, wideband O2, eliminating the VAM all are modifications that can increase the power in these engines well into the 300+HP range.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Does the 4 cylinder turbo do good going up a hill. Where I drive this truck on a highway there is a 8 mile long hill I often find myself getting passed as all I can do is 45 in a 60. Would the 4 cylinder do any better than my 2.8l going up this hill I belive it's a 12% grade hill

With my old Eclipse/Laser it was neat. With the cruise on and in 5th (5 speed manual) you could watch the boost gauge dance on the hills. The steeper the hill, the more boost it ran to keep the speed up.

Never had to downshift for a hill and the thing would maintain its speed, it was cool.

It was a peakier engine than my 5.0, for lugging around the 5.0 would kick its tail. Hands down, no doubt about it even as it is currently set up with a HO Mustang cam and heads. It didn't have much on its own without the turbo and the turbo was set up to boost when a sports car needed boost. I remember it coming on hard around 2500rpm. That is a completely different engine (Mitsubish 4G63T) but similar displacement (2.0L), similar hp (190hp) and similar intended purpose as a turbo 2.3 out of an SVO or Turbocoupe.

My bone stock 302 was rated around 280lb-ft @ 2500 in late '80's Crown Victoria trim.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Honestly for some of the stuff I do a 4.0L would be better... I get 15mpg in combined driving, back when I was on 31" tires and 4.10 gears I got 17ish mpg, while the '91 Explorer I had got 19mpg with the 4.0L...

My mileage might be better if I got a new VAM, as there's a dead spot in the highway cruising area... but I don't want to spend money on a new small VAM when I have everything to do the big VAM swap except the VAM and the time

 

[chayse brooks]

Where could I find a 2.3 l to swap in I've looked on Google for a company or website that sells then rebuilt but I can't seem to find one. Would my best bet to go to a wreaking yard and look for a rebuildable one? Or to go on cregslist and look for a ranger with one? I would rather not buy another truck though.

 

[chayse brooks]

The route I want to take is to find a non turbo and convert it over.