Need Advice on Supercharging

Anyone have any experience on supercharging the 5.0L? After all the intake and exhaust work I have done and and tuned by Henson Performance (Thanks
James) my little motor still strains to push 2 plus tons down the road. I guess I should clarify that once I'm up to speed it perfoms great. The engine is strong and the truck will go faster then I care to(again thanks to James at Henson Performance for removing the speed limiter). I'm just looking for more power off the line(Damn Civics) and supercharging seems to me to be the best option. I don't want to tear into the engine (thats for another day). So I thought I would ask you all about doing this. I have been researching and can pick up an Eaton M90(rebuilt) for a decent price but the question I have is since I have the internal EGR is this an option? I have seen the one (weiand?) on explorerexpress and it wont work with the internal EGR and there is no way I could afford the $3800.00 anyway. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zachow3]

There are maybe 3 types of front bearings out there, just guessing, Ford, the good aftermarket one (might be Ford one), and the cheapo, thats the one I bought. Id rather push my luck and do it twice if I have to for the price difference. Problem is when you buy a bearing it comes with an ABS sensor.

I dont think there would be a gain off the line with a non roots style blower, it might actually be slightly slower at part throttle up to maybe 1500-2000rpm or so. I cant think of any really easy/cheap modification that would help off the line and increase or at least keep the same top end power. Raising the compression to 10-1 and running premium (94+ octane) with a stroker kit and 4:10 gears with an Explorer Express Eaton roots blower would help, with a slightly higher stall converter with maybe another 5 degrees timing off idle, but that aint aint cheap or easy to gain about 50-75ft/lbs under 2K rpms. SO if I had to pick off the top off my head maybe get it tuned with more timing off the line with a "programmer"? You can also get 944 Motorsports or whatever overdrive pulley for the Powerdyne blower, pulley it down 2 sizes. I tried the Vortech pulley and I think I had a slight offset problem with theirs but the 944 one had the ribs ont he pulley machined too sharp and cut a rib off my belt, but if thats the case it can easily be smoothed over with sandpaper.


If the wheel doesnt shake when you wiggle it up and down and left it right theres no point, if it was loose its probably too far gone. A wheel bearing makes a rumble noise from whatever side. A CV joint usually clicks or rumbles/vibrates on hard acceleration. Bad tires make more of a wobble or audible roar, similar to a wheel bearing (can test by rotating tires, or jacking all 4 corners and running etc...not so safe especially without stands).

I have checked the front tires on jacks. I am no car expert but I cant detect any wobble. And like i said the tires are wearing evenly, and I am not the very good at getting them rotated. There is a noticeble "thunk" especially when going over speed bumps ( those high long ones in front of the school yards) and definetely a squeal? coming from the front tires (at least the drivers side) that increases with speed. So I was thinking wheel bearings.

Anyway, I have all the bushings that hopefully will take care of the thunking noise, but I think I will try retorqing the front wheel bearings first and see if that helps.

Sorry I got off topic but I realize a centrifigul supercharger wont help me off the line since like was mentioned I get the RPM,s up, so that is why I mentioned nitrous to help out. I dont want to waste money on something that wont help. Sorry but I am staying AWD. I would love a higher stall converter but I want to wait till the tranny goes before I rebuild it.

Hopefully it will go out soon so I can justify to my wife that it needs replacing

 

[CDW6212R]

...Anyway, I have all the bushings that hopefully will take care of the thunking noise, but I think I will try retorqing the front wheel bearings first and see if that helps....

Those are 170ft.lbs. each, pull the center cap and re-torque them.

The 302 is the handicap off the line. You can gain the most on the stock engine with better gas and a PCM tune for it. But that's expensive and waiting to do the converter will gain you more. Don't wait till the trans goes, install a good new cooler and external filter beforehand in any case.

 

[zachow3]

Those are 170ft.lbs. each, pull the center cap and re-torque them.

The 302 is the handicap off the line. You can gain the most on the stock engine with better gas and a PCM tune for it. But that's expensive and waiting to do the converter will gain you more. Don't wait till the trans goes, install a good new cooler and external filter beforehand in any case.

I,m currently running a 92 octane street tune from James so I wouldnt think gas qualitywould be an issue.

I do have an external tranny filter but no temp gauge yet. That is on my wish list though. I had the dreaded shudder at around 45 MPH but I poured in a tube of Dr Tranny's Instant Shudder Fixx and havent had a problem since. I need to do a filter change and new Mercon V. I,m not sure whats in there now.

The tranny does tend to "hunt" around highway speeds. Not sure if this is normal but it only does it with OD on. I cant justify a tranny rebuild right now. It has held up remarkably well considering the high mileage.

My original question was about nitrous on a supercharged engine and whether this would help me off the line until boost starts kicking in. A blown, nitrous injected explorer would sure be fun. Think of all the SUV's that would be shocked by my old stock looking '96.

 

[CDW6212R]

I forgot that you had premium and a tune already. I guess the torque converter would be my next choice. Nitrous or a positive displacement blower would be great after the start. The stock converter is very good compared to most older Fords, but it's still not ideal for a good launch. Find one of Jon's video showing what he has with a 3000rpm TC. You would have a hard time jumping him at the start with the stock TC.

 

[zachow3]

I forgot that you had premium and a tune already. I guess the torque converter would be my next choice. Nitrous or a positive displacement blower would be great after the start. The stock converter is very good compared to most older Fords, but it's still not ideal for a good launch. Find one of Jon's video showing what he has with a 3000rpm TC. You would have a hard time jumping him at the start with the stock TC.

From what I have read on this forum a higher stall torque converter would hamper my ability to tow. And even though I dont tow very often, I do have a trailer that comes in about 1500lbs. I want a compromise between performance and towing since this is my daily driver and only tow vehicle. So I guess I need to get this thing built and see how happy I am with it.

I guess I want the best of both worlds. Probably not going to happen, but with 5 grand (or so) invested so far I think I will be happy with the results.

Kind of pathetic since I only paid 3 grand for the truck. But I plan on keeping it for many years. I just wonder if another 550.00 for nitrous is worth it.

 

[zachow3]

I know this is a long thread but just wanted to let everyone know that I have a Powerdyne BD-11A centrifugal supercharger. Not a high end unit but thats what I have to work with. Also a 90mm L-maf and 42 lb injectors along with a Walbro 255LPH fuel pump TM headers and 1" phenolic intake spacer. Along with a LC-1 wideband and on and on.

I am having a problem Datalogging though. My laptop has Vista and I dont know if thats an issue, but it fails to recognize my device? I dont know enough about it to figure it out. Oh well. I will let the professionals handle it when I get to that point.

 

[CDW6212R]

I know about compromise, and I'm hoping to be able to tow with my truck if need be. I've only towed with it three times really, so I'm not a regular trucker at all. Keep yours stock for while if you can, but be ready with plans if something changes. I'll let you know how 2800rpm works out, that may be too much.

 

[zachow3]

I know about compromise, and I'm hoping to be able to tow with my truck if need be. I've only towed with it three times really, so I'm not a regular trucker at all. Keep yours stock for while if you can, but be ready with plans if something changes. I'll let you know how 2800rpm works out, that may be too much.

Thank you for the response. I hope you have your truck up and running soon. I have been following your build.

 

[zachow3]

I cant figure this out. Installed the harmonic balancer and fan spacer that came with my Powerdyne kit. Since then I've had a terrible vibration above 3000 rpm. So far it has cost me 2 waterpumps, a fan and a radiator. I thought it was the balancer so I put the stock one back on. I was wrong. I just replaced the waterpump again and am going to remove the fan spacer. If this fixes the problem then I have no idea what I'm going to do. I cant run the supercharger belt without a spacer for clearance. I dont even know if an electric fan would give me enough clearance for the belt. I have had nothing but problems with this powerdyne kit but I really want to get it installed.
Does a fan need to be balanced for the engine?(with the spacer) It sure is taking it's toll on my engine and my patience.

 

[CDW6212R]

The fan shouldn't be the problem unless it was bent or damaged. How does the spacer look, is there any chance that it isn't balanced? What is different with the supplied balancer? Is it a stock Explorer balancer? I'd be wondering about the balancer parts or the spacer.

 

[zachow3]

The fan shouldn't be the problem unless it was bent or damaged. How does the spacer look, is there any chance that it isn't balanced? What is different with the supplied balancer? Is it a stock Explorer balancer? I'd be wondering about the balancer parts or the spacer.

The fan is new. When I first broke my waterpump shaft, the fan flew into the radiator. So the waterpump, fan and radiator were all replaced. This was done at a shop so they fixed it under warrenty. Originally I took it in to have the timing chain and waterpump replaced. I gave them the harmonic balancer and fan spacer to install since they had to pull them anyway.

Anyway I just replaced the waterpump again and took the fan spacer off. I still have the Powerdyne balancer on but I pulled the supercharger pulley off and there was a big spacer in there. It's a pretty hefty piece of metal.

Stupid me. I did'nt weigh the Powerdyne balancer before I had it installed. My stock balancer weighed in at 11.9 lbs. I dont know what it should weigh but the aftermarket Dorman weighs 11.82 lbs so minus all the crud mine has accumulated that sounds about right.

Because my waterpump shaft keeps breaking, I think its the fan spacer. I dont see how it could be unbalanced, but perhaps the added moment is setting up a vibration. I'm about to go for a test drive to confirm my theory, but it wont be to long since my alternator appears to have failed.

Without the spacer, I cant run the supercharger belt. Thats why I was wondering if there is an electric fan that will suit my needs. My searches on the subject have left me confused.

 

[CDW6212R]

I would agree with that if those parts are all good. The fan, WP, or its spacer would have to be the cause, and that points at the spacer.

How thick is the spacer, is that only for the fan? If you leave the fan off can you do without the spacer? If so then I'd suggest going to an electric fan like Cobraguy just made. He mounted a Flexlite 188 model I believe, the thread is very new, it should be there posted in yesterday.

 

[zachow3]

I would agree with that if those parts are all good. The fan, WP, or its spacer would have to be the cause, and that points at the spacer.

How thick is the spacer, is that only for the fan? If you leave the fan off can you do without the spacer? If so then I'd suggest going to an electric fan like Cobraguy just made. He mounted a Flexlite 188 model I believe, the thread is very new, it should be there posted in yesterday.

Well it was definately the fan spacer. Without it, it pulled to 4500 rpm when I started to have a vibration, but that is likely due to to the Powerdyne balancer. Tommorow the stock balancer goes back on and then I will see what i can do to run the second pulley.

I think an electric fan would be ideal. Just didnt want to dump more money in my way over budget project. Oh well.....

 

[CDW6212R]

So how much clearance will you have without the fan there? Does the new belt bypass the WP, and does it extend forward more than the WP shaft at all?

 

[zachow3]

So how much clearance will you have without the fan there? Does the new belt bypass the WP, and does it extend forward more than the WP shaft at all?

I'm not real sure on clearance, but approx 3.5" from waterpump shaft to radiator. If the fan blades were 1/2" thinner it would'nt be a problem.
The supercharger pulley is stacked up against the accessory pulley. The belt does bypass the waterpump pulley. The alternator gets lowered and the supercharger is basically located where the alternator would be.
A couple pics to better illustrate what I'm trying to say.

The picture of the spacer isnt very good. I just wanted to give some perspective. This thing puts the fan clutch very close to the radiator. A PITA to install and remove.

 

[CDW6212R]

If you still have the 3.5" of clearance around the WP with the supercharger, then you should be able to use an electric fan like Cobraguy has done.

 

[zachow3]

Another question.

I have a Walbro GSS342 fuel pump that wont fit in my tank. I have one of those fuel pump/sending units encased plastic. The Walbro is to big in diameter. My thought was to go with a Walbro GSL392 inline pump in addition to the stock pump for my 42 lb injectors. Will this work? The stock pump flows about 50gph. Less then the Walbro but my thinking was that an inline pump would prevent pressure drops at high loads/rpm's.
I dont think the stock pump alone is enough but I dont know.

Any thoughts?

 

[CDW6212R]

Don't complicate the system with an extra pump. Figure out how to mount the 255lt.hr unit in there. Others have done it so I don't know how yours differs. I have mine mounted in a new 91-94 pickup I bought for a 93 tank. It was the same diameter as the old pump, and wasn't any trouble. I think I have the same GSS342 pump as you, it's been a long time since I bought it.

 

[tmsoko]

Gotta say, I am stunned it is the spacer. It cannot have enough imbalance 0n its own - just too near the center of rotation. Wonder if it is milled slightly off square, causing the fan to wobble??? Nothing beats an engine driven fan for cooling horsepower! I would do everything I could to keep it!

 

[CDW6212R]

Hello Todd, good to hear from you. I ran across another intercooler option, some have used in high end street classes. What do you think of this thin intercooler on a TFS R intake?