planning on a little build..

[WiscoRanger]

alright guys, im new to the forums but not new to boost. i daily my 91 2.3 and its got 175k on it currently. i love the truck so im planning on doing a little refresher build on it. this would include an engine over haul. currently i have a list circulating around in my head as what to do. for the motor there are many over haul kits out there so i was just planning on getting one for a 2.3t. to my knowledge the only difference is that the 2.3t has forged pistons, which opens the doors for boost. i have a stock Volkswagen ko3 at home. which is capable of a sustained 18lbs of boost on a 1.8l engine and will make right around 250 bhp. i can make my own manifold and im also putting a stronger clutch in. so heres the list:
• 2.3t overhaul kit (includes forged pistons)
• Custom mani with Ko3 turbo
• Brown top injectors
• Clutch
• Intercooler
• BOV
• Manual Boost controller

i dont want anything crazy just a few pounds of boost for some added economy and fun. so my questions are: where does my list fall short? is the 8 plug head ok for just a few psi with the stock cam and followers? would a piggy back programer be recommended or is it possible for me to go in with a computer and adjust the stock ecu since its OBDI? any tips, experience and links to other threads that are attempting this same thing would be greatly appreciated. iove read over DaveR's thread about 2.3t's, but my questions were still unanswered. thank you all.

 

[scotts90ranger]

The only real differences between a Ranger 2.3L and the turbo versions are the forged pistons and the two ports on the passenger side of the block (the oil and coolant return from the turbo), nothing major. Your '91 engine is a good starting point and your plans are good except the stock computer will not work with the brown top injectors, they're a different type of injector that need a different type of signal, but if you upsiize fuel injectors a bit (there's other options than the brown tops that will work) it just might work reasonably...

The Ranger roller cam is actually a similar grind to the turbo cam, a lot of people run that instead of the sliding turbo cam, I'm running a Ranger roller cam and it ran decent (we'll see how it runs tomorrow after I freshened it up)

 

[WiscoRanger]

alright cool thanks. i will most likely just by an over haul kit for the 2.3 t then and ream in the ports for the lines. ill look into other injectors though. thanks for the heads up on that. what about tuning? can you remap the stock ecu or no? and how many of you would recommend head studs?

 

[scotts90ranger]

you'd have to find a shop that could do it, but if you're just looking for ~5psi with some larger injectors the stock ECM should be able to take care of it, worst case rewire a few things and switch to a turbo ECM and other related parts (the only big change would be putting in the VAM in place of the MAF, the rest will be the same). If you can't find parts to switch to a PC or LA ECM, let me know and we could possibly work something out, I have spares...

 

[WiscoRanger]

alright cool. id like to use the stock ecm. my buddy owns a dyno shop so the tuning isnt my biggest concern i just didnt know if you could remap the stock ecm. this build wont start til summer time because its my daily so i have to wait until i can take my car out of storage. would you recommend head studs? 5lbs isnt much boost but i dont know much about these motors

 

[scotts90ranger]

The pistons are important, forged can take some abuse, cast can't... my engine had seen some abuse and pinging and when I pulled them out the faces were in perfect shape... If you can get enough fuel to it and keep detonation away you can put more boost to it. If your friend has the capability to work on that type of ECM he can probably work on it, I have no idea how it works, all I know is the LA3 is the most sought after ECM for these things, the PC that I'm running is apparently one of the runners up...

Most people recommend to run the torque to yield bolts like you have now (but that style you have to change every time they are removed), I just used the stock bolts (I'm running a '85 block, so it's before the TTY bolts were introduced).

There's guys that know more than I, but most of them have moved on from here for whatever reason... turborangerforums.com is a good place for information

 

[WiscoRanger]

thanks man i appreciate the help