I posted this in the V6 and the Power adder formums but I thought I might have some luck here too. I just bought a Ranger a few months ago with the 3.0L V6. It’s a great running truck but it is ungodly slow. I’m thinking a V8 swap but that’s at least two projects and a few years away. In the mean time I think a little boost could go a long way for my daily driver/parts runner. I could put something together myself but I don’t want to invest the time and money and was looking for a readymade kit. I saw that Whipple offered one but it has been discontinued. Does anybody know if there’s a supplier out there somewhere with one of these still on the shelf. If not, does anybody know of something other than what I have already found with a Google search (which was pretty much just reviews on the Whipple unit). I’m keeping an eye on Ebay and Craigslist for used systems. Is there anyplace else that I should look?

 

a good supercharger for the rangers is a Eaton Magnason X-Charger supercharger

 

The X-charger is only for the 4.0 sohc engine.

No one that I know of has a supply of new Whipples for the 3.0, but they do come up on ebay from time to time, so you should find one within a few months.

 

I looked into this exact thing for my truck a few months ago and all I came up with was the discontinued whipple, I haven't been able to find one anywhere not even ebay. Those of us wanting more out of the 3.0 are pretty much SOL

 

I think you will be needing that V-8 real soon hee hee.

 

With the kind of expenses of buying or building a proper supercharger system you are better off in most cases with a bigger motor. Superchargers do get you a considerable gain, but in so many cases the cost is a long way towards the cost of an engine, and most stock motors don't like being pushed beyond their rated output. To beef them up properly, you just about have to rebuild them anyway, so by the time you are all said and done, you could have had a V8. Now if you can get a really good deal on a supercharger then thats different.

Superchargers and turbos do have the added benefit that they don't consume more fuel than the original motor when they are not running under boost. So a 3.0L supercharged will get about the same highway mileage as it would normally get without the supercharger, and if you are light on the throttle, about the same in stop and go too, but when you need the power it is there. Often they defeat this benefit with the need for high octane fuel.

I say since you are planning to drop a V8 in there, just save your money and focus all your efforts in that direction.

 

that makes sence...I have the 4.0 and i was lookin at the X-Charger and im thinking that i might as well save my money and go for a V8 swap if i can find one...if i cant find a V8 in my area i'll just slap on the Eaton Magnason

 

I’m BIG believer of “there’s no replacement for displacement” but I have help to set up a couple of blowers on 5.0 and 4.6 Mustangs and I know how much this truck would benefit form some boost. As much as I would like to replace the drivetrain today, if it can't be done in a long weekend it will have to wait. I have to finished the tow truck F150 before next summer (I’m military and I’m going to have to move) and I’ve already taken too much time on my grandpa’s Galaxie. After that though I can dump some time into the commuter. I’ll keep an eye on Ebay. If anybody hears anything, please drop me a line. And I guess I’ll just have to live with it until the time comes to do it right.

Or, I might just throw a bunch of laughing gas at it until I hear a big boom and I don’t have a choice but to find a new engine.

 

Yea, a pro-charger on my 4.6 in my stang can net you 450-500 rwhp, that is a displacement equallizer. Also that is our limit on the stock enternials. Thats alot of power out of a 281 cid engine. However in your case, 4.0 sohc only gets 275 rwhp with the X-charger, thats not bad, but for half the cost you can install a 5.0 and = that with a few bolt on's. The X-charger runs around 5 grand. The 5.0's are a dime a dozen as they have been used for over 30 years.

 

Hey I found something! This guy in Miami name Thomas Knight is making a kit using an Eaton unit. Looks like what I've been looking for but it's about $1000-$1500 more than I wanted to pay. Oh well, I guess inflation is a B---.

Here, check it out:
http://www.boosthead.com/product.php

So has anybody heard of Thomas Knight before? On his website it said he made turbo systems for Mustangs a while back and I think I do faintly remember his name from a magazine. It doesn’t give a lot of info on what he’s offering and I will do a lot more research before committing to anything. What do y’all think?

 

It would depend on the application as to fuel savings. The turbo is only under boost when power is needed. Positive displacement blowers are always pumping air, so need additional fuel. Mechanically driven centrifugal blowers can be geared for high rpm application to get the fuel savings, but are useless at lower rpm. For applications of power in the 2.5k rpm and up range, it will need to produce boost which requires more fuel. Then you get into "overboost," which gear ratios to use, and other crap. The turbo is much simpler for normal street operation. You don't have the mechanical wear and tear, and maintenance. That is why most diesels now use turbo's.

You can always turbo the 3.0 and run it at light boost, or put some forged pistons in and kick up the boost. You would need to re-tune the computer which isn't a big deal. Depending on how you approach the install, you might also have to change the injectors and fuel pump. You would have to do this with any other blower install anyway.

You could install a 2.3 from a T-bird, Mustang, Merkur. The Merks and T-birds aren't that hard to find. The installation would be a bolt in . Dial in the boost you want, and have fun.

A better option for ease of installation would probably be the 4.0. jd

 

Unfortunately not too much can be done the the old iron head V6.

I'm a Mustang 5.0 veteran. An EFI 302 H.O. in my LX gets me over 25mpg on the highway. With the ranger's 3.0L and automatic, it's always laboring. Many times I'm been convinced that dropping a sedate V8 into the truck would increase my gas mileage and power.

I wonder how labor intensive this would be on a 4wd truck? Seen a lot of 2wd trucks converted to V8's.

 

Actually there is stuff available. Check out this site:
<O</O

http://www.moranav6racing.com/category.html?CategoryID=36<O</O

They have stroker kits, cams, ported heads and intakes, throttle bodies and other cool stuff. Now the Vulcan V6 will never have the aftermarket support like the 5.0 or the small block Chevy but old hot rodding tricks never die. If I can make a 250 six fast I think I could do something for this little engine.

But I think I’ll do the V8 swap. I can throw all the cool parts (read: MONEY) at the 3.0 but I'd still have a little V6. Plus the stock trans probably won’t like life with a little extra power in front of it. And it’s unique to the 3.0, so there are no solutions for that problem. With the V8 a get a BIG torque boost and all the potential in the world for more.

<O</OThe V8 will drop in. All I have to do is find an Explorer and swap it over. This has been well documented on this and other sites. The fun starts with the drivetrain. If I use the Explorer parts I’m stuck with an auto and AWD. Since I want to keep my 5 speed I’m have to find either a 4.0 Jeep trans and use adapters or a 351 ¾ ton truck trans. Both have their issues, smoothness vs strength, gearing vs weight, and so on. Plus I have a half dozen transfer cases to choose from.

The biggest problem for me is time. This was the whole reason why I started this tread and was thinking about a bolt on supercharger. Yes, I could strap on a centrifugal or tack on a turbo but then I’ll spend days if not weeks dialing in the fuel system and calibrating the ECU. I have the same problem with the V8 swap and trying to get the drivetrain together. I can’t have my daily driver (the only reliable vehicle I have) down that long. I’m just hate making big trucks pass me everytime I come up on a long hill. If there isn't something I can do in a long weekend then I guess I’ll just have to stay in the slow lane for now.<O</O

 

Be very careful! All I have heard about that guy are "knight-mares" and they aren't pretty.