SOHC V6 Supercharger

[2000StreetRod]

Lightning stock intercooler reservoir

I just found a thread on the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum stating that for the 1999 Ford Lightning the stock heat and exchanger and intercooler reservoir only has capacity for two or three passes on the drag strip. After that the coolant is too hot to be effective so the engine cannot produce its normal maximum power. One solution is to add a bed mounted 8 gallon fuel cell containing coolant. Apparently, similar issues occur with the Mustang. I suspect that for my driving habits and the significant less power produced by my engine that the stock intercooler reservoir will be adequate. I've found photos of one but no dimensions so I don't know if it will fit. I'm tempted to buy one ($80) just to find out.

 

[CDW6212R]

I just found a thread on the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum stating that for the 1999 Ford Lightning the stock heat and exchanger and intercooler reservoir only has capacity for two or three passes on the drag strip. After that the coolant is too hot to be effective so the engine cannot produce its normal maximum power. One solution is to add a bed mounted 8 gallon fuel cell containing coolant. Apparently, similar issues occur with the Mustang. I suspect that for my driving habits and the significant less power produced by my engine that the stock intercooler reservoir will be adequate. I've found photos of one but no dimensions so I don't know if it will fit. I'm tempted to buy one ($80) just to find out.

Good info, the varying IAT's from "conditions" are the biggest worry for tuning and running an engine hard with a blower and IC system like these. You want the IAT's to be consistent, so the A/F ratio stays optimum.

I wonder how much IC coolant volume is needed to keep the IATs stable? At the track is one thing, but with normal driving, or the rare hard driving, you want things to still work great.

 

[jd4242]

Good info, the varying IAT's from "conditions" are the biggest worry for tuning and running an engine hard with a blower and IC system like these. You want the IAT's to be consistent, so the A/F ratio stays optimum.

I wonder how much IC coolant volume is needed to keep the IATs stable? At the track is one thing, but with normal driving, or the rare hard driving, you want things to still work great.

I know I drove about 4 hours to the mountains twice for forum trips and my temps never got above 145*(ish) even when pulling boost up the mountains(which also resulted in blowing my head gasket last trip). Which would be way longer than any normal person would be in boost.under normal driving on the way there, I was seeing only about 10* or so above ambient, so I assume my water temps was at or very close to ambient. I also have confirmed this under normal DD.(I've temp my water before in town after some wot and casual driving)

I don't know how much water my system holds and I'm sure its different for every charger.as far as temps and needed water capacity.

 

[jd4242]

I just found a thread on the Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum stating that for the 1999 Ford Lightning the stock heat and exchanger and intercooler reservoir only has capacity for two or three passes on the drag strip. After that the coolant is too hot to be effective so the engine cannot produce its normal maximum power. One solution is to add a bed mounted 8 gallon fuel cell containing coolant. Apparently, similar issues occur with the Mustang. I suspect that for my driving habits and the significant less power produced by my engine that the stock intercooler reservoir will be adequate. I've found photos of one but no dimensions so I don't know if it will fit. I'm tempted to buy one ($80) just to find out.

If it was me I would just suck it up and buy the same cooler me and Don have.it will fit right where your 2nd tranny cooler is.its only $149ish.you could wait another couple weeks to buy or decide and see what kind of results Don gets from using it.then if you need you can add a small reservoir under the hood if you have too instead of trying to fit a LARGE one under there.but if you two get the results I do, you should be fine with just the front cooler.

O and it looks really cool up front LOl

 

[jd4242]

As I recall my engine bay temperature after the engine is warmed up and the vehicle is stopped is around 150 degrees even when the ambient temperature is only 70 degrees. However, as soon as the vehicle gets moving the temperature rapidly drops to just a little above ambient. I have a lot already obstructing airflow to the radiator and prefer not to significantly increase the blockage.

I checked with Fast OEM parts and the coolant reservoir for the 1999 thru2004 F-150 Lightning has been discontinued. I doubt there are many still available in salvage yards.

Wow 150* is pretty high.on a normal 80*+ day I only see around 125*ish.if you leave space between the cooler and engine rad it" should" still suck air just fine.

Don't know if you seen these pics or vid before, really got lost in my 300 page build.but the top is the inlet air temp and the bottom is after IC.this was taken stopped at a light, about 80*+ out and before I made a heat shield for my filter.video is just to show some temps from out playing aound.I had been driving for a bit with a bunch of wot pulls.its at night (70*+) and I think I hit 4lbs for a sec and 6lbs after the light when I let off from seeing the police

Didn't have my tach in yet either
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHsbh6IOnJQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[2000StreetRod]

air inlet location?

Wow 150* is pretty high.on a normal 80*+ day I only see around 125*ish. . .

Are you still pulling air from the engine compartment or did you install a cold air intake?

 

[jd4242]

Are you still pulling air from the engine compartment or did you install a cold air intake?

Still pulling air from the engine bay.I put a heat shield around the filter now and see about 10* cooler temps.my headers are wrapped also tho.I also have ram air ports in the hood that sit right ontop the filter but that doesn't effect temps wile stopped.

 

[2000StreetRod]

better location

Still pulling air from the engine bay.I put a heat shield around the filter now and see about 10* cooler temps.my headers are wrapped also tho.I also have ram air ports in the hood that sit right ontop the filter but that doesn't effect temps wile stopped.

I suspect that your intake location (passenger/rear) is cooler than mine (passenger/front) when the vehicle is stopped. You get some airflow from the fan while mine doesn't. What is your thermostat temperature? Mine is 195 degrees for better engine efficiency. I have a remote sensing infrared thermometer and when the engine is warmed up the radiator temperature is about 150 degrees. That's probably why the engine bay is 150 degrees when parked. As soon as the vehicle starts moving air flows into the engine compartment from other sources besides the radiator and it cools off. Eventually, all of my engine intake air will be from outside of the engine compartment.

 

[jd4242]

I suspect that your intake location (passenger/rear) is cooler than mine (passenger/front) when the vehicle is stopped. You get some airflow from the fan while mine doesn't. What is your thermostat temperature? Mine is 195 degrees for better engine efficiency. I have a remote sensing infrared thermometer and when the engine is warmed up the radiator temperature is about 150 degrees. That's probably why the engine bay is 150 degrees when parked. As soon as the vehicle starts moving air flows into the engine compartment from other sources besides the radiator and it cools off. Eventually, all of my engine intake air will be from outside of the engine compartment.

Yea plus I have those ram air vents in my hood.you also have the sohc, may produce little more under hood temp and you have wayyyy less room under the hood than me.I run a 185* tstat.shouldn't matter much wile moving like you said, but having it pull from outside all the time would really help to keep a consistent temp

 

[2000StreetRod]

Separate reservoir & core

If it was me I would just suck it up and buy the same cooler me and Don have.it will fit right where your 2nd tranny cooler is.its only $149ish.you could wait another couple weeks to buy or decide and see what kind of results Don gets from using it.then if you need you can add a small reservoir under the hood if you have too instead of trying to fit a LARGE one under there.but if you two get the results I do, you should be fine with just the front cooler. . .

I want a separate reservoir and core (heat exchanger). That way it will be easier to check the coolant level and fill when needed. Also, I can increase the size and type of core which does not normally need accessibility. I'll plumb the driver side aux ATF cooler to be the IC heat exchanger. If it's cooling capacity is insufficient I'll replace it with the largest core I fit in the space available. The driver side has more room than the passenger side because of the hood latch/release bracket.

 

[jd4242]

I want a separate reservoir and core (heat exchanger). That way it will be easier to check the coolant level and fill when needed. Also, I can increase the size and type of core which does not normally need accessibility. I'll plumb the driver side aux ATF cooler to be the IC heat exchanger. If it's cooling capacity is insufficient I'll replace it with the largest core I fit in the space available. The driver side has more room than the passenger side because of the hood latch/release bracket.
View attachment 73924

Just seems crazy to me to have two separate units when one should be able to handle it.especially when your ending up spending the same amount, if not more now you bought a rear washer container and losing space under hood.idk if you have seen this pic before but looks/ is pretty easy to fill and check to me.you should never have to fill it again tho, if so you have a leak and that's not good at ALL for a IC system.

 

[CDW6212R]

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Nice, I like those gauges, especially the right one with two temps displayed. What brand are those?

 

[jd4242]

Nice, I like those gauges, especially the right one with two temps displayed. What brand are those?

Depo.the dual gauge is nice, really can keep an eye on how the ic is doing and inlet temps.

 

[CDW6212R]

Cool, and I have been wanting to convert to blue dash and gauge lights. So much to do.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Not enough room

Just seems crazy to me to have two separate units when one should be able to handle it.especially when your ending up spending the same amount, if not more now you bought a rear washer container and losing space under hood.idk if you have seen this pic before but looks/ is pretty easy to fill and check to me.you should never have to fill it again tho, if so you have a leak and that's not good at ALL for a IC system.

That's a nice installation and I agree it should be easy to top off if ever necessary. I'll research the dimensions but I doubt it will fit. Any heat exchanger I add would have to fit entirely within the recessed area above the radiator support cross bar.

Actually, I have not yet spent any money on the intercooler project. I'm still researching options. The rear washer/pump photo I posted was one I plagiarized from an eBay listing. I'm not yet in a hurry to determine the intercooler configuration since R P Caster has not finished the modification to the intake manifold for the intercooler. I have to finish my exhaust upgrade (hopefully next Wednesday) and update my Power Flash firmware so I can datalog on the dyno when I establish my pre-supercharger baseline. Then I'll purchase the Aeromotive 340 Stealth fuel pump and Siemans Deka IV 60 lbs/hr injectors from James Henson. I also need to install my boost/vacuum gauge and purchase the Bosch intercooler pump. Snoranger has a 91 M90 I plan to purchase and I need to purchase a 2.8 inch pulley and pulley puller/installer kit. I have some yard projects I need the Explorer for in June and part of July so in mid July I'll probably start the supercharger install. The intercooler will not be functional initially so I can establish a forced induction baseline. Then I'll complete the intercooler to see how effective it is. I suspect it will take me several months to work out all of the supercharger associated mechanical/electrical changes. Then James can begin the remote tune process. It should be an interesting summer and fall.

 

[jd4242]

That's a nice installation and I agree it should be easy to top off if ever necessary. I'll research the dimensions but I doubt it will fit. Any heat exchanger I add would have to fit entirely within the recessed area above the radiator support cross bar.
View attachment 73935

Actually, I have not yet spent any money on the intercooler project. I'm still researching options. The rear washer/pump photo I posted was one I plagiarized from an eBay listing. I'm not yet in a hurry to determine the intercooler configuration since R P Caster has not finished the modification to the intake manifold for the intercooler. I have to finish my exhaust upgrade (hopefully next Wednesday) and update my Power Flash firmware so I can datalog on the dyno when I establish my pre-supercharger baseline. Then I'll purchase the Aeromotive 340 Stealth fuel pump and Siemans Deka IV 60 lbs/hr injectors from James Henson. I also need to install my boost/vacuum gauge and purchase the Bosch intercooler pump. Snoranger has a 91 M90 I plan to purchase and I need to purchase a 2.8 inch pulley and pulley puller/installer kit. I have some yard projects I need the Explorer for in June and part of July so in mid July I'll probably start the supercharger install. The intercooler will not be functional initially so I can establish a forced induction baseline. Then I'll complete the intercooler to see how effective it is. I suspect it will take me several months to work out all of the supercharger associated mechanical/electrical changes. Then James can begin the remote tune process. It should be an interesting summer and fall.

Gotca.nice to have options and discuss them first

 

[Dono]

Streetrod. you don't need the pulley puller/installer on the supercoupe m90's. Just a 3 jaw puller to remove pulleys. This will save you some cash.

Its true, there is a ton of supporting work/parts changing to support Forced induction.

 

[2000StreetRod]

3 jaw puller

Streetrod. you don't need the pulley puller/installer on the supercoupe m90's. Just a 3 jaw puller to remove pulleys. This will save you some cash. . .

I thought there was a good chance of damaging the pulley when using a 3 jaw puller. Maybe that was for a GM M90 and not a Supercoupe. Also, I thought the pulley had to be pressed on with a 5 ton hydraulic press which I don't have. How do you get your pulleys off and on?

 

[Dono]

The GM M90's do need specialized equipment.
The Ford Supercoupe M90's are really easy, with only a 3 jaw puller. There is a woodruff (sp?) key that can be a bit of a pain in the butt to line up when installing a pulley, but its not a big deal.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Lightning intercooler tank won't fit

I just learned the dimensions of the Lightning intercooler tank. For the black top section the length is 10 1/2" and the width is 7 3/4". The height including the raised arear that the cap screws onto but not including the bottom outlet port is about 6 3/4". It wouldn't even fit between the radiator shroud and the alternator housing let alone the alternator pulley. I guess I'll continue researching the rear washer/pump alternative. I don't see any other available space for an adequate size reservoir.

Another possibility is to use engine coolant and not have a separate intercooler reservoir. I could add a port at the radiator lower outlet and route a hose from there to the intercooler pump. The main disadvantage is that the radiator temperature climbs to 150 degrees during warm weather. However, the intercooler heat exchanger (auxiliary ATF cooler) should lower the temperature nearer to ambient. Another disadvantage is the inlet to the intercooler pump would be higher than the radiator port and the pump is not self priming. Advantages are a larger capacity system, less cost, fits in available space, easier to install. The 5R55E has an internal thermostat that opens the external cooling loop when the ATF in the torque converter reaches 150 degrees. I'll use my remote reading thermometer to see how much the ATF cooler lowers ATF temperature from inlet to outlet.