01 sport - 4.0 SOHC STS turbo charged (Project complete)

4.0 SOHC turbo charger project

Guys - I'm done....well, almost (you know how that goes)

I've drove the truck around today very safely and all I can say is wow...I love this and I'm very glad I did it. I'll have to say I went thru a lot to get this far and lost a few buddies along the way.

I'm gonna try like heck to get you guys some videos soon but right now I need to chill cuss my wife is pissed. I've been working on this truck when I should be working on the house, but oh well. blah blah blah.


I've got the boost at around 5 LBS and that's where it's gonna stay until I can get the MAF, injectors, and fuel pump in. Oh yeah, I'm running the 73MM C&L housing and stock injectors and pump. Anyways, I'll be changing those out and tuning the thing out pretty soon - I can then take her to the track and see what happens.....

This is what I've been wanting for two years now so I'm a little excited that it's here now. Not trying to make a drama thread here but I'm happy to join James in the STS 4.0 SOHC circle. Now let me see if I can out run him? :

 

[CDW6212R]

The rear tires will come closest to the body in the rear wheel wells. The rear end moves a bunch in hard turns, easily two inches.

 

[techieman33]

The rear tires will come closest to the body in the rear wheel wells. The rear end moves a bunch in hard turns, easily two inches.

His probably moves even more since he doesn't have the control arms. They make a huge difference, I could feel it immediately after putting them back on. It also launches a lot straighter from a stop.

 

[CDW6212R]

True, and I used mine well to reroute the parking brake cables. Running the parking brake cable inside those arms keeps the tires from the cables.

 

[Jakee]

If it moves that much I should be close - Hope I don't rub....

 

[CDW6212R]

The tire aspect ratio makes a big difference too. I have been dealing with 60 series tires, the 45's will not roll sideways as much. The height of the tire and how well it fits the wheel is a big factor in handling. You don't get nearly as much movement of the tread versus the wheel with shorter tires. I'm hinting that you likely are fine now with those 45 series 18's. There weren't so many people driving low profile tires on trucks years ago. I am feeling more comfortable to try a shorter tire as time goes on. I'll do a 55 series next time, people seem to like the 255/55/18 size.

 

[spursfan600]

Nice project you have here! Did you ever go to the track with your Explorer? If you did, what times did you get?

 

[Jakee]

Yes, I did. The best to date is a 13.40 @ 101
The street tires I ran was preventing me from building more boost off the line so that was preventing better times...IMHO

I'm now working on the 12's which I should be able to get soon.

 

[spursfan600]

Thats freakin fast for an Explorer

Are you going to switch to the 4.6?

 

[Jakee]

I'm still undecided....I keep saying I'm going to stop the project and work on something else but for some reason I can't stop??

If you back out of this thread "to the need for speed main menu" and look down towards the bottom of the first page, you'll see two threads started by me which has the videos of the track runs.

 

[Jakee]

Crank case evacuation for a turbo set-up.


I've been researching this for a week now and I'm still a little undecided on how I want to do this. My current set-up works and I really don't have a lot of major problems; however, I'm starting to wonder if the oil in the intercooler is coming from the PCV system when I'm not under boost.

So here is what I have currently...

The valve cover hose to intake has been re-routed to a catch-can. The catch can does have a filter on top. The PCV side is normal when not under boost. When boost hits 2LBS an actuator valve trips and directs the crankcase flow thru a filter to the atmosphere.

So if this works, then why change? Because I would like to eliminate ALL oil from the intake.

Option 1 – Keep this set-up and add an oil separator on the PCV side of things.

Option 2 – Change the set-up and eliminate the actuator valve. Don’t run a PCV and run both the PCV line and valve cover line to the catch can with the filter on top.

Option 3 – Use vacuum to help evacuate the crankcase. Eliminate the PCV like option 2; run both lines to the catch-can; eliminate the filter on the catch-can and run two more lines to the intake (Pre turbo – the side with the air filter) I could use the slash cut method and this should create a vacuum – just like the racing dudes use in the exhaust.

Option 4 – use an electric vacuum pump to help.

Option 5 – Use the exhaust to help – after the muffler. Morose sells a kit that others say work on muffler cars.

Option 6 – Go all out and use a ford racing mechanical vacuum pump to help.


There are more options but I wanted to get everyone’s opinion on this. By far the easiest would be just option 1

This simple fix turned into this mess because of researching. Basically, I’ve read and heard there can be a power gain from creating a vacuum in the crankcase. There is a limit with a wet sump oil system which, as far as I can tell, is around 15". The gain is from relieving the pressure so the pistons don't have to fight there way down. The biggest gains I've found are with big blocks (40 HP I read) - The smaller the engine the less gain. I've read 20 HP for a 350 CI SBC. This sort of crankcase evac system (Vacuum assisted) is not for street cars so don't even think about it.

 

[CDW6212R]

There are quite a few threads from members on the SBFtech site, but I have only read a few of them. I understand that there is power to gain for a boosted engine beyond a very mild boost.

The vacuum pumps seem to work the best, but it isn't clear whether the OEM type air pumps are long lived enough to be worth it. The belt driven kind obviously have the installation issue to deal with. The purpose built pumps are all very expensive, and the electric would be the simplest to add.

I gather that the typical header evacuation systems only produce 1-3psi of vacuum, not that much compared to the 9-15psi+ of the pump systems. The engine has to be very much sealed from all leaks to generate any vacuum, almost all engines leak(air) normally. I suggest avoiding the header type, those rarely work on the street, and only in ideal conditions, normally aspirated and perfectly installed. They have a lot of trouble getting them to work right.

I'm leaning to the OEM pump system, the Lightning air pumps seems to be the most common, lowest priced to do. They don't last forever, but it sounds like it could be reasonable for most street vehicles.

 

[Jakee]

Cool - I thought you'd know about this.

So is the lightning pump you refer to an electric pump? I've also heard of others using a 1997 + electric Cobra air pump.

 

[CDW6212R]

Most of the guys doing it will have Mustangs, and most had air pumps(pre-1996). The Lightning pump they speak of is the early 90's air pump. I know the hard part becomes being able to mount it. I have the 302, and there is an idler pulley down low below the alternator. The only part they see as a downside of the Lightning, it doesn't like too much oil. I don't really understand that, but as I said I haven't researched it much. I would think that with the right arrangement of hoses and location on the engine, you shouldn't have too much oiling.

If you could get an air pump like the Lightning in place, I'd do that. Otherwise the electric vacuum pump is the next best route to go.

 

[Jakee]

I found a good site for this....

http://www.gzmotorsports.com/

They have a hot girl on the front page so the product has to be good, right?

 

[Limited02]

Looking good Jakee! Hope you get your front wheels figured out so that you can get them mounted. I'd like to see a better pic once all the wheels are on because it does look like your rear sets a little high. I hope to be droping mine 1.5"s pretty soon. Keep up the good work and let's hope our times drop soon You in the 12's and me in the 14's

 

[2000StreetRod]

Boost & EGR?

It's been quite a while since I read this thread. In reading thru it for the second time I have a question. How much EGR is there when the engine is configured for forced induction? I suspect that anytime there is boost present in the intake manifold the pressure exceeds that in the EGR tube and there is no flow to the engine. Unless the tune includes EGR related modifications I would think that EGR related DTCs would be set by the PCM.

There are other complications associated with boost instead of vacuum in the intake manifold (PCV, vacuum operated HVAC, vacuum operator brake booster, etc.). Could these complications be avoided by installing a chamber (mini-intake manifold) prior to the supercharger and rerouting all vacuum related hoses to the chamber and plugging the associated ports in the main intake manifold? Even if this would work I would be concerned about connecting EGR to the chamber. There is a lot of crud in the exhaust and running it thru the supercharger might degrade its performance (carbon build up on the vanes) and also shorten its life.

 

[CDW6212R]

Those are good questions Dale. I've thought of what would be affected by boost in the intake instead of vacuum. The fuel pressure is an obvious subject, and the PCV system I've wondered about most of all. I haven't been close to doing a blower or turbo yet, so I have put off those subjects.

It would be smart to delve into each different affect of boost, and work out the best method to handle them. Then they can be put in print here and marked(stickied) for fast reference.

 

[Jakee]

The biggest challenge I faced was with the PCV system. I had several set-ups that worked, but the latest seems to be the most reliable. I basically did away with the closed loop system and routed both lines from the engine into a catch can. Drilled and tapped fittings from the same can and routed to the intake, pre-turbo. The turbo is under the truck so the lines went down there.

As for the brake booster, I haven't had a problem. I don't use the brakes under boost accept for the starting line and haven't noticed a problem. I believe there is a one way check valve right off the boost, right? No problems with any other vacuum lines.

EGR -

Note that Ford EGR systems DO NOT engage when:
1) The engine is cold ;
2 ) The engine is at idle;
3 ) The engine is at WOT;
4) At low ambient temps (water vapor from the exhaust can freeze on the throttle plate).

 

[Jakee]

My set-up can see full boost at half throttle, so I am interested to know exactly what's going on when under boost but not at WOT.

One of the first problems I encountered was blowing the line off the DPFE(?) sensor and melting it. I did a band-aid fix by installing clamps on the lines. I'm curious as to if this was the best solution...

 

[CDW6212R]

My set-up can see full boost at half throttle, so I am interested to know exactly what's going on when under boost but not at WOT.

One of the first problems I encountered was blowing the line off the DPFE(?) sensor and melting it. I did a band-aid fix by installing clamps on the lines. I'm curious as to if this was the best solution...

If the DPFE sensor can take the boost pressure, then the clamps are a good solution. Those hoses are very good rubber, I don't think the boost will hurt them. If they did pop, I'd use a pressure hose like fuel line.