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Need More Power......

24K views 43 replies 13 participants last post by  xtremexj94 
#1 · (Edited)
Another Turbo Jeep

Well, after some badgering from YJ and Corey & jpfrk2001, this is some coverage on my quest for more power via a turbo on the XJ. I had been following both of their builds for quite some time and started to do some research of my own and decided to follow suit.
Since putting the portals under my rig in 2005, I have found myself seriously lacking in the power department. This normally isn't that big of an issue as I try to crawl through most things, but sometimes the deep mud and some of the bigger climbs pose a bit of a problem when more wheel speed is required.
So, after much research, I decided on the following parts:

-T3/T4E '50' trim turbo with external wastegate
-compressor A/R is .60 and turbine A/R is .48
-30lbs Accel injectors
-MSD #2312 2-bar MAP sensor with GM pigtail #15305891
-Champion plugs, #346 or RC10YC4 gapped at .029"
-Valvoline Premium 10W40

I spent many hours looking under the hood and trying to figure out the best place to mount the turbo and decided that the driver's side looked like the easiest place with the least interference.

I started by removing the header so I could have it ceramic coated in order to keep some of the heat in the exhaust instead of through out the engine bay.

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#2 ·
Next, I installed the new injectors and re-installed the intake manifold. I then made a simple bracket to mount the turbo to and started mocking up the uppipe and downpipe.

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#4 ·
I then mounted the turbo to the uppipe flange and bracket in order to build the discharge tube. You can see from the pics that I tried to keep is as low profile as possible to clear the hood.

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#5 ·
The 90* elbow on the front of the compressor was where I originally planned to have the filter mounted but sitting right on top of the turbine it only sucked hot air and that idea was scrapped. The next thing I needed to do was make the downpipe and figure out where the wastegate would fit - that took me 3 very stressful nights time by the time I got it sorted out.:mad3:

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#6 ·
Right on!!:beer:

You will see the power equivalant to a modest stockish SBC 383 Stroker. Look into replacing the driver's side motor mount with poly unit. I am on my second motor mount. The torque just destroy's the stock one. I am looking into this unit:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/76057_854.htm

I hope this will cure my problem. Your unit should turn out great. Im thrilled to see a Home Brew turbo system on a XJ finally. Looking forward to the build!
 
#14 · (Edited)
heh, a stockish 383 SBC? You sure about that? :flipoff2:

(stock 383 stroker doesn't exist... it's either built custom or bought from GMPP. GM doesn't use them in any vehicle).

My stockish 383 SBC Stroker is 447hp and 458ft lbs of torque...

I would buy maybe 280hp... giving a 90HP gain over a stock motor's 190HP... and that is a motor right from the factory with fresh compression... most experts would say a 40-50% increase in power with a motor built to optimize the turbo's benefits.

Awesome turbo. My 383 is built to run a turbo, so I can't wait to see what it does on the dyno.
 
#8 ·
I've never really been a snorkel kind of guy but this build required that I have a good source of cool incoming air seeing as the turbo itself will increase the air temp about 100*F over ambient at 6psi. After much consideration I decided to remove a small section of the exocage so I could put in a half 'sleeve' if you will, made from a piece of 3.5" .250 wall DOM so my 3" inlet piping could sit in it. I never bothered to take any pics of the snorkel in progress but here are a few finished pics.

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Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive tire Tire

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#11 ·
I installed some Daystar polyurethane engine mounts just to combat the problem of the very mushy factory mounts. I already had a custom poly trans mount so there is very little movement in the system.
All of the exhaust piping was made from Patriot Exhaust mandrel bent chunks so the transitions are as smooth as possible. The uppipe is 2.25" and the downpipe is 2.5" all the way back to a 4" round Magnaflow muffler.
I should be doing some mild offroad testing in the next couple of weeks but so far I don't anticipate any major problems. I will be keeping an eye on the power steering hose and ECM being that they are so close to the uppipe and turbine respectively. I have some heat insulation wrapped around the power steering hose and the fuel lines under the intake manifold so that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully when I'm up in GP for Thanksgiving Corey won't mind throwing the wideband O2 on and we'll se exactly how the A/F is doing with the basic 2-bar MAP system.
 
#12 ·
Another pic of the finished product that shows the wastegate a little better. It also shows the Bosch bypass valve that I used - it is vented to atmosphere but the small filter will keep it safe. For now, I am going to run the PCV system open with the breather filters until I start to see some oil dribbling. After several full boost runs with the elbows open I saw no visible signs of oil blow by.

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#15 ·
I think what he meant was a basically stock 350 TBI motor with a mild cam and the stroker crank. I have seen a few of those rated at about 285HP with no trick parts. I would conservatively guesstimate about 260HP at the crank for my engine. I feel that is realistic for our altitude and the fact that the rest of the engine is stock.
 
#16 ·
Not sure why someone would do all the work to get a 400 crank into a 350 block and not go further...

Don't get me wrong, your mod is cool and it's awesome to get more HP out of anything you already own. Every motor has it's place, however why do the 6 cyl guys always want to compare to the 8's?

My point is that it's not really a valid comparison. A bone stock GM GoodWrench SBC (350)can be had with 250-265HP. Do what you did to your 6 cyl and you're easily over 320hp. That would be a valid comparison to me.
 
#17 ·
It's been stated many times before - anybody can go and put a V8 in something but where's the challenge? There is NO doubt that you can make more power with a V8 but we have done something different that not many have done and it keeps the powerplant nearly as the factory had it. I'm glad you have a turbo ready V8 for your ride, but this is my thread and kindly leave the "V8 greatness" out of it. For the record, if I were building another rig from scratch, I would very likely put in a turbo V8 of some sort, so let's put that part to rest as well.:p
 
#19 · (Edited)
You mean like this one?


It's something different that most people haven't done... a Cadillac 500 with twins. We call it Diesel Eater :flipoff2: This turbo system went on a different block (than pictured).

Notice, I didn't say anything was better, I was trying to figure out why you'd compare a smaller displacement six cyl to a bigger displacement eight. Doesn't make sense to me...it's not v-8 greatness, but apples to apples comparisons.
 

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#20 ·
Looks pretty cool.:smokin: Now where's the build thread so we can read all about it in your thread so it doesn't clutter up my thread?:flipoff2:
 
#21 ·
Funny, think of them as our threads, as it's on an internet forum.:flipoff2:
 
#24 · (Edited)
Grendel wrote: Notice, I didn't say anything was better, I was trying to figure out why you'd compare a smaller displacement six cyl to a bigger displacement eight. Doesn't make sense to me...it's not v-8 greatness, but apples to apples comparisons.
My six is around 300 cubic inches - which puts it into V-8 territory (same as the Ford 300 I guess). I generally wheel it set at 8lbs of boost, but the new engine was built for 12+, which is where I am taking it with the new turbo currently being installed. Engine is balanced, blueprinted by yours truly, rollered, etc. People better at math than me tell me it makes 440HP. I believe them, it's fucking powerful.

The point is that the V-8 swap thing is old news. Truth be told, turbo-charging your inline 6 is (I think) easier and more straightforward than a clean, "done right" V-8 swap. It's also cooler, as in rare. It may even be cheaper.

And we haven't even touched on the inherent efficiency of inline motors vs. V-style engines.

To finally answer your question, people judge Jeep power by the ‘standard’ Jeep power upgrade - which is a SBC V-8 swap. It makes most sense to people. Most people that have been doing this for a while know how a V-8 Jeep pulls.
 
#30 ·
Just some updates.:D Took the XJ out to the local offroad park for a few hours today and have no problems to report. I was concerned with cooling being a problem at low speeds on the trail but it ran about half most of the time. I generally flip my auxillary fan on when it gets over half and I didn't find myself using it any more frequently than I did before. The power is definitely noticeable when tackling the hills and revs get up much more quickly in the mud. I will try and post some video by the end of the weekend and give an idea of how it works.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Just a short video clip that gives you an idea of how the turbo sounds and works on the trail. I really hate mud but when that's most of what you have to wheel in you put up with it.:shaking:

Turbo 4.0l HO XJ - YouTube
 
#32 ·
Shane how are you going to adjust the A/F? FPR? I wasn't sure how you guys were using the 2 bar to tune so I bought an VAFC instead. I can sell it and get the 2 bar but besides adjusting fuel pressure I don't understand how else you can change the A/F? Are you retarding the timing at all?
 
#34 ·
Unfortunately, no. I haven't had the time to get the other engine back in with the turbo on it.:( I have spent so much time since last June building my 9" center sections for my portals that I haven't had the time or money to get it back together. I have most of the parts so I may try and get on it here in the next few months. I updated the build thread in my sig regarding the Mog9s but it's in the Cherokee section so a lot of people may not have seen that either.
 
#36 ·
Nope, no updates on the turbo motor. Only real updates were my trip to Moab in September and I posted those pics in my main build thread over in Cherokee. Check the link in my sig.:smokin:
 
#37 ·
So, after much research, I decided on the following parts:

-T3/T4E '50' trim turbo with external wastegate
-compressor A/R is .60 and turbine A/R is .48
-30lbs Accel injectors
-MSD #2312 2-bar MAP sensor with GM pigtail #15305891
-Champion plugs, #346 or RC10YC4 gapped at .029"
-Valvoline Premium 10W40
Sorry to drag a thread up from the depths a bit

I'm planning a turbo install on my 1995 XJ and I'm just wondering if you needed the GM pigtail to fit to the factory jeep map sensor connector? when I look at pics of the #2312 sensor the connector looks pretty much the same as the factory one? did you just need the pigtail as an extension for moutning reasons?

#2312 photo on summitracing (although could be the wrong photo I guess)


Stock connector on my 1995 RHD (Ex Japan) XJ


Also how much boost did you end up running 6 or 7 psi?
Sweet truck anyways, love the mog axles with geard hubs - despite you saying muds not your thing would be great in the deep ruts and bogs that we have on alot of trails here in new zealand!

Cheers
 
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