How do i turbocharge a ford ranger?

jay · Sep 6, 2007

hello, i am looking for information on turbo charging my 2000 ford ranger 2.3L I-4 5 speed, what parts do i need to get? and also what modifications do i need to do to my truck to successfully install a turbo charger on my ranger?, i hope that you can help me answer these questions!

Thanks, James!

Wicked_Sludge · Sep 7, 2007

let me start by saying there is no "kit" to install a turbo on your truck. this isnt a simple bolt it on and go job. it requires a lot of custom modifications, engine tuning, machining, welding, ect.

your first step would be to find a turbo and get an idea of what kind of pressure you want to run. high boost will require a lot of work to strengthen the bottom end of the motor. lower boost levels can be run on the stock bottom end...but will still require extensive fuel system modifications and computer tuning.

hairyboxnoogle · Sep 7, 2007

Wouldnt it be easier to swap in a turboed 2.3 and electronics from like a merkur??

jay · Sep 7, 2007

How do i turbocharge my 2.3 l ford ranger

well im wanting to obtain good fuel mileage as well as produce more horsepower so i might want to do some modifications to the motor like you said..umm well what modications would i have to do to my engine to adapt a turbo to it? and what kind of turbo should i put on it? and how much boost should i run before i would tear up the motor?

Dave R · Sep 7, 2007

Your '00 Ranger should be a 2.5 litre SOHC Lima motor.

Your stock pistons and rods will not handle much more than 5-6psi of boost for long. Good rods and forged pistons for your motor aren't cheap and can run in the $7-800 range.

As for fitting a turbo, you'll need, at a minimum, an exhaust manifold, a turbo, a way of getting lube oil and coolant to and from the turbo and a way of routing the air to and from it.

Wicked_Sludge · Sep 7, 2007

jay said:
what modications would i have to do to my engine to adapt a turbo to it?

things like fuel injectors, fuel pressure regulator, MAFS, a computer tuner, exhaust piping to feed the turbo and evacuate the exhaust, intake plumbing from the turbo the your throttle body, oil feed and return lines from the oil pan to the turbo....i may be forgetting some.

jay said:
and what kind of turbo should i put on it?

any kind you want. there is no "right" turbo. you could put one from a Mac truck on there if you wanted. selecting a turbo is 100% up to you.

Dave R · Sep 8, 2007

Wicked_Sludge said:
things like fuel injectors, fuel pressure regulator, MAFS, a computer tuner,

All of which are completely unneeded on a low pressure system.

any kind you want. there is no "right" turbo. you could put one from a Mac truck on there if you wanted. selecting a turbo is 100% up to you.

Though you COULD fit any turbo, you'd be unhappy with the performance of most of them. Best to pick the RIGHT turbo.

Wicked_Sludge · Sep 8, 2007

Dave R said:
All of which are completely unneeded on a low pressure system.

the stock 14lb injectors are good for around 150 HP, so if he keeps the boost under....say... 0.8 of a PSI, he should be OK with the stock fuel system :haha:

Bill G · Sep 8, 2007

Wicked_Sludge said:
the stock 14lb injectors are good for around 150 HP, so if he keeps the boost under....say... 0.8 of a PSI, he should be OK with the stock fuel system

Not for sure if I'm reading right but what good is .08 psi of boost?
The stock 14lb injectors will support a low pressure turbo system. If the boost levels aren't more then 5 psi the factory fuel system will do just fine and the factory ECM will support up to 20 psi. More then 5 psi and the stock cast pistons will not survive.

Wicked_Sludge · Sep 9, 2007

0.8 PSI of boost is good for roughly 7HP...whats needed to take the stock 143HP engine to 150HP, where it will fall on its face without an injector upgrade.

you can calculate injector size needed with the following formula:

Injector Flow Rate (lb/hr) =

Engine HP x BSFC
Number of Injectors x Injector duty cycle

BSFC is brake specified fuel consumption. we can use .6 (the lowest common level for turbo charged engines). for the sake of arguement, we can use a 100% duty cycle for the injectors (injectors maxed out):

Injector Flow Rate (lb/hr) =

150 x 0.6
4 x 1.0

or 22.5lb injectors for a 150HP 4 cylinder turbo. and thats only 7 HP over the stock motor. lets say you want 200HP, plug that in and you get 30lb injectors. (200HP is roughly 6PSI of boost on this motor.)

so even a low pressure turbo setup like a 6PSI boost will need much larger injectors in order to provide enough fuel for the additional air.

Dave R · Sep 9, 2007

And exactly how many turbo systems have you spec'd or built?

Bob Ayers · Sep 9, 2007

Wicked_Sludge said:
...you could put one from a Mac truck on there if you wanted...

WRONG, TOTALLY WRONG!!!!!!

There are many things to consider when selecting the proper sized turbo. The size of the exhaust turbine has to be matched to an exhaust flow vs RPM chart for one thing!!

Bob Ayers · Sep 9, 2007

Dave R said:
And exactly how many turbo systems have you spec'd or built?

I can answer that for you: ZERO

And that's based on this statement he made (post #6):

"you could put one from a Mac truck on there if you wanted"

Bob Ayers · Sep 9, 2007

Wicked_Sludge said:
BSFC is brake specified fuel consumption. we can use .6 (the lowest common level for turbo charged engines). for the sake of arguement, we can use a 100% duty cycle for the injectors (injectors maxed out):

WHAT? do you have any idea what the current will be with DC (100% duty cycle) across an injector coil?

100% duty cycle is NEVER used for injector flow rates!!!

"There is one other parameter involved in properly sizing fuel injectors: duty cycle. This is the percent of time that the injector is actually open (which is also referred to as pulse width) vs. total time between firing events. When an injector is open 100% of that time, the injector is in what is called a static condition. For road-racing engines that are at maximum power for extended periods of time, the desired maximum safe duty cycle is 0.85. This ensures that the injector is closed a sufficient time to keep it from overheating."

More references for this:

http://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/Ranger/efi.html

http://www.mopacautosupply.com/techchart.htm

http://www.importperformanceparts.net/imports/accelfuelinj-choose.html

Wicked_Sludge · Sep 9, 2007

Bob, please contain you posts to 1 at a time. theres no need to flood a topic like that. and also please do not assume things you do not know (how many turbo systems i may or may not have built or worked on in my life).

your right about injector duty cycle...you cannot use a 100% duty cycle.

he could use a turbo off a mac truck. it may not provide optimal performance in his application, but it would certainly work.

in fact, there was a post on the old forums where someone had rigged one up on a probe (or some such small car), and was doing dyno pulls on it. the hood wasnt closeable because of that giant hair drier sitting atop the motor :icon_rofl:

How do i turbocharge a ford ranger?

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