I have a '94 Ranger XLT with the 4.0L and a 5 speed. I'd like to add some more power, but being a high school teenager, I don't have several thousand to drop on a turbocharger or supercharger.
I was thinking it would be possible to pull a turbo off of a wrecked car at the local boneyard, but wasn't sure if it would work correctly. I also have no idea how to plumb it.

So here I am, I need you guy's suggestions. What turbo to use, price estimates, how to make it work. Thanks!

Zach

 

This is an honest answer, and I'm not trying to be a smart ***. If you don't have the skills to answer your own questions above, then you most likely don't have the skills to do the work yourself. You need to start with educating yourself on turbo systems. When you feel like you nearly know on your own what to do to your Ranger to make more power, then you should post your ideas on this site. Building a turbo system is not something a person can normally do without having a pretty decent mechanical background. Of course there is always exceptions.

 

It can be made to work, but you would have to do some fabrication, find a turbo thats well sized to your engine, not too big IE: one off of a 7.3 powerstrike, the lag would be unbelievable, or too small, like one off of a 1.something litre honda engine, then the gains wouldnt be very sizable, you should start with more basic mods, make the engine breathe easier, exhaust, intake, then if you want to take better advantage of your torque you could pot lower gearing(higher numerically) into your axel(s), turbochargers are a big undertaking, they require a dedicated exhaust system you'd have to mod the intake heavily anyway, i'd advise you to just stick with the basics that I already mentioned, and if you still want more, get a V8.

 

i agree, turbos arent just a hey lets pull this off and see what happens. You would also have to change your ECU to work with the turbo, new fuel system, like the others said your exaust, manafold everything... and you could only put out about 6lbs of boost anyways cause the stock motor cant handle much more than that. And if you wanna go that route its goin to cost more to do it yourself than to buy a bolt on kit. It costs soooo much to put that damn thing on a dyno and have someone tune the ecu, and the fuel system you are lookin at some money too. Best bet is goto wallmart and get you a K&N filter and put a free flowing exaust. THis is your best bet to start out with and goto Jetchip.com and see of they have any applications for your computer and mabe throtle body. Turbos arent easy to mess with.... im running 22lbs of boost in my car and tryin to get that tuned just right is a true bitch and LOTS of cash. So ya if you want speed.... do those mods.. you want more preformance and more looks lower or raise your truck with the other mods... You could also always change the gears.. but thats money too.

 

mabey you should look into a nitrous kit. just a thought since it seems that you are looking for a little more power but not a lot of expense.

 

Ehh NOS is ok i guess.... i personaly dont like it but if you decided to go this route then i would use a fogger kit and no more than a 75 shot. Any more and your realy askin for trouble. anyone else agree?

 

personally i wouldn't push it past a 50shot because its a stock motor. and i wouldn't use nos, use Nitrous eXpress. just slap a simple wet kit on there and go easy on it. in fact, when you get out of school and decide ou want to do a turbo system the nitrous kit will help tremendously. it will cool your charge and help to spool the turbo. just my .02$

 

A 75 shot will work fine as long as the tune is good and you have the fuel system to support it.

With a power adder, you will probably expect some wheel hop, and a set of traction bars will help remedy that and keep your rear and axles from braking/snaping.

Going with a power adder (nitrous, blower or turbo) is going to require some research, especially if you're a bigginer. One little mistake can turn into a big problem when under boost and/or spray, so my suggestion is to read...read...read, and ask questions. A good thing to do is to start out small, like a low boost or small shot application.

There are some other things you can do now like headers, exhaust, CIA and underdrive pulleys.

 

I have a truck with a turbo, a truck with a 4-71 blower, and a truck with a NOS Nitrous System. Nitrous is a toy. Turbo is ok, especially for a diesel which loves heat, but the supercharger is the best for pure power. The problems for doing this on a budget are:

1. Whatever system you go with the engine should be prepped the same way. The rods, crank, and pistons will have to be able to handle the additional power. You didn't say how many miles are on the engine, but a performance rebuild will be a must.

2. Once the block can handle the power, the clutch, transmission, driveshaft, and axles have to be able to handle the power. I have broken driveshafts, transfer cases, cracked a transmission case, and torn up two axles before putting dana 60's in. I am putting out over 500 horsepower.

3. Your ignition is not good enough for these mods. More power requires more ignition. I run MSD 6ALs, MSD timing computers and boost timing controllers to fire my engines. The stock system will not fire a performance engine.

4. Any appreciable gain will require that you replace your stock computer. It is not calibrated to work with this much power.

5. Gas mileage WILL suffer. There is no such thing as free power.

If I wanted power in a Ranger, I would seriously consider replacing the 4.0 with a small block V8. There are kits available. I would look at a 5.0 or 5.8 with a mild cam, carb and intake such as Edelbrock have. They have matched kits that make a nice combination. The V8 doesn't need much to give you plenty of power in your Ranger. You can also slowly collect the required engine and parts, build the engine, etc. while still driving your truck. Then when you have everything, do the conversion. Many of the parts you will want can be found on ebay or at swap meets. I would use a carburator, and basic electronic ignition (I love mallory unilites). This way you will not need the trucks computer. This would be an extremely drivable vehicle and have the additional power you want.

Finally, research, research, research. Call the blower manufacturers. Call Summit tech support (a good place to start). Decide on what mods you want then make a plan well before starting. Once started, stick to your plan. A lot of money gets spent as people change their projects in the middle. PLEASE stay away from the useless air cleaners, special spark plugs, and loud exhausts that promise more power. Gains are minimal at best but drivability is almost always hurt. I have seen people make changes that they swear make their car faster, but once I put the performance meter on it, it is actually the same or slower, but the idle quality and gas mileage suffer. For any real power these mods are a waste of time.

 

Thank you for all the suggestions. I realize now I was a bit hopeful in the end.
I've started looking at small-block carbed V8s, seems to be a better and much easier route in the end. Not to mention I have one at hand.
Thanks for the help once again. Take care.