Just got a turbo, now what do I do?

[scotts90ranger]

that piston clearance isn't horrible, I just pulled apart a ~20 hour old 4.3L GM marine engine and it looked the same. two valves stuck on one cylinder, so I had to replace those... luckily there wasn't any serious piston damage just some dents in the aluminum.

 

[Funnyman141]

I don't know if mine is horrible or not but I'll still have to do a bit of work to it to get it running and my dad now likes saying that I got a $250 dollar boat anchor.

Anyway where did you get your pistons at since I might need a new pair.
Also how much fun is boring and honing cylinders? or would it be better to take it to a shop to get it done?

The turbo shaft has a little play in it also not a lot but I'll go ahead and add the price up with my estimate.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

[Funnyman141]

Would there be any bad repercussions for using the complete turbo head on a N/A 2.3l?

If not I'm thinking about just using the turbo head and cam on the normal 2.3l so I can have some power and gas mileage for the winter since single digit gas mileage during the winter isn't fun while I find some pistons and bore/hone the turbo block.

Sound good?

 

[Insanejughead]

There shouldn't be any problem with that.

The turbo motors have the same head except for the exhaust valves. They're just made out of better material than a n/a head's exhaust valves, that's all. (Inconel)



You don't gain or lose anything by using the turbo head though... So, if your existing 2.3 already runs fine, then just keep that motor together.

 

[Funnyman141]

Well the 2.3 in the truck has a bad exhaust valve in the third cylinder it only has 60 psi while the others are reading around 190-200 psi

so yea use parts to temporarily fix mine while I fix the turbo block and get some pistons for it.

 

[Insanejughead]

Oh, then go ahead and swap heads.

You going to keep the Turbo valve cover on the head?


That would look cool for that normal 2.3 sitting there...

 

[Davis]

If you want to keep that motor, I'd recommend having a shop look at the block and head. If it's cracked (and it probably is) use the N/A head. You can open up the chambers a bit, if desired. If there is much bore taper, pitting or scoring, it should be bored by a machinist.

New pistons are a bit pricy for these motors. Since it's a turbo motor, forged pistons are the way to go. These are the cheapest you'll find at about $360, plus ringshttp://www.rpmmachine.com/diamond-ford-2300-dish.shtml

The cheapest way to go is to find another good shortblock. Unless you want over 350 rwhp, a healthy stock shortblock is the way to go. If you do want more than that, cost goes up really quick. You'll need new pistons, rings, and rods. Head studs are recommended as well.

 

[Funnyman141]

I plan on keeping the turbo motor stockish and yes InsaneJughead I plan on using the turbo valve cover on the N/A motor.

Now I just have to find a machinist around Fort Madison that doesn't want your unborn child and $500 for payment.


it's not fun trying to do this on a low budget

 

[Funnyman141]

well do you guys think that Hypereutectic pistons will take the punishment of a slightly hopped up turbo motor?

 

[Insanejughead]

I was told that they would by a machine shop dude (after talking to him in length about other stuff, I don't think he understood what my plans were though).


I'm going to be pushing my PSI to at least 16-18 after I do some more work to the flow on my intake and exhaust.

So... (IMO) It'd be better to spend the extra bucks on some quality forged pistons and NEVER have to worry about them again. (Except for another 150,000 miles or so)

I understand the low budget thing... I invested aLOT of money in my turbo ranger project back in '08. If it hadn't worked out... I'd be driving the NA 2.3 again with $2000 less in my pocket. Thankfully, my dad was equally determined because half of the wiring stuff I didn't yet understand.

 

[Funnyman141]

Alright thanks InsaneJughead, and I still haven't found a good machinist to look over the block.
looks like I'm going to get screwed on this either way.