Hello,
I hope this is the right place for this, sorry if it isn't. I have a 1986 F150 with the 5.0 EFI. I'd like to do a rebuild at some point, and was considering adding a turbo. Does anyone have any experience doing this with the efi truck 5.0, particularly the 86?
My biggest concern would be the ecu, its seems like you can't really tune the stock ecu. From what I have read the pimpx is a direct replacement for the truck ecu and can be configured for a turbo (https://www.stinger-performance.com/...ine-management ). Does anyone have any experience with these in a truck? I would probably be running pretty low boost anyway, so could I just run the stock ecu?
I have read that the 5.0 HO motors in the mustang have different heads intake cam etc vs the truck motors, but I know there is a ton of aftermarket turbo kits for the HO mustang motors. With a different intake, will a mustang turbo kit bolt up to a truck motor more or less?
I am aware there are more time and cost effective ways to make hp, such as a blower but I am curious what it would take.
Thanks

 

This is one of those projects that if you have to ask, you should not even try to do it.

Do you have welding skills? Welding tools? Metal working skills? Tools? Electrical diagnostic skills? Electrical diagnostic tools? Can you program? Can you figure out problems without asking for help?

More importantly, do you have so much money that you can waste it on a project that may never see the road? Do you have a team of people that you can trust that will accept your money to do what you can't?

I had a dream like that when I was in my early 20's. It was not till I was 60 that I was able to get that dream started and somewhat finished.

 

1Butcher did you stay speed density? What is your truck built for how much boost and what size turbo are you running? What heads and pistons are you using? What size injectors? Did you keep the 150 wiring harness? I know one guy who put a turbo on one of these switched to a mustang harness. As far as headers did you modify an existing kit? What about piping did you tig it up yourself or could you find a kit that worked?

 

I do not/nor would I turbo a 5.0 for a truck. I do have a 95 F250 Kenne-Bell supercharged 351w that I've owned for 28 years. Over 20 years with the supercharger. Never had the heads off and it runs like a champ. Building a 408 at the present time.

In my young 20's I was into VW Rabbits. I still am. That was the project I was referring too. Skills and research will get your project done. Asking questions might be a good idea to see if you should start, but that is about it. The way I see it, you should have at least $20-30k before you start. That is if you do it yourself.

Think that is unrealistic? The 408w build I got going is well north of $10k and will probably be closer to $20k when I am ready to slide it in. That is just with the engine. I have already built the E4OD to withstand what I plan on making. If course, if I was talking to my wife, I would have less than $2k in it.

I don't know where you are in life, but I am so glad I did not waste all my money when I was younger on foolish projects that would have just made me happy for a few days. I put all that money and invested it. It sucked, but after I finished paying off the house, retirement money, got the kids out, I was able to retire at 52. I got way more skills than I did at 20, way more tools, my own shop, and the time I want, to do what I want. I had none of that early in life.

 

The PiMPx is a plenty capable ECU, but if you don't have any experience tuning standalones like it, particularly MegaSquirt-based standalones, the learning curve is going to be quite steep and it will absolutely require a wideband O2 sensor and controller. You would do well to find and start with a base tune as close your stock tune as possible or if you're really lucky, one from a turbo mid-'80s stock 5.0 setup like you want to do. The base tune from a 5.0 Mustang might be close enough and it's readily available.

Your engine has cast pistons. If you're rebuilding it and set on boost, get some basic forged ones. The stock '87-91 5.0HO with forged pistons will take enough power to split the block. Cast pistons can go there too, but are far less forgiving of mistakes in the tune.