Posts: 99
Joined: 12/10/2003 From: United States Status: offline
I have an 89 LX 2.3L and I want to convert it to turbo but I don't know what I have to do for all of that. Can anyone give me any idea on what I need as far as parts, and where I might be able to find some sort of instructions for the conversion. Also I looked through the whole archives and I have seen threads going both ways on the whole "5.0L vs. turbo" conversion as far as time and money. Which is easier, cheaper, less work?
it's actually probably cheaper to just go to 5.0, but if done right the turbo will have more power than the stock 5.0 and if you try you could still get mid 20's as for gas mileage :).
off the top of my head, here's what I know you'll need:
wiring, turbo, exhaust manifold, oil lines and maybe computer.
if you just want to convert your current engine, you won't be able to add too much power with the stock pistons(pretty much all internals but the pistons are the same for turbo and NA 2.3's). the best option is to find a thunderbird turbocoupe for a donor vehicle(sometimes they're on ebay, but in the right location you can find them recently for less) and just take everything from it
I know I've said it a lot, but it's seriously a good source of info on this type of swap, go to http://www.therangerstation.com/ and look around, there's a write up or two on the main page, then check out the forums and go down to the 4 banger board and check out the stickies on top, and if you have any questions on the stuff talk to Dave R, george or Jubean, Dave's been building these engines for many years now, and I think he's even ran his current engine up to around 25psi at one point :)
yeah, but the 5.0 is 220... but with a few simple mods on the turbo 2.3 you can easily get to the 220 range.
one advantage of going the turbo 2.3 route is that you don't have to purchase a different transmission since it's the same block the stock transmission works just fine
Posts: 99
Joined: 12/10/2003 From: United States Status: offline
If I went the way of swapping to a 5.0 could I do it part by part (ie swap the tranny drive around while waiting for the rear end parts, swap the rear end, drive, swap the engine) or would it have to be all at once. I've wanted to do the 5.0L swap but money (and lack of car downtime) was always an issue. Thats why I was looking into turbo. If I could do it part by part I could do it no prob. As far as skill, my roommate used to work on engines, so he can help me. He just isn't sure if the conversion can be done part by part. I realize it should be done all at once, but i was wondering if it was even possible to do it part by part.
Posts: 43
Joined: 10/26/2003 From: United States Status: offline
Hey Jimbo!
Have you ever driven the same size motor with and without a turbo? If you did you wouldn't make such idiodic statements! It makes an amazing difference. A turbo could even help a 3.8!!!
waste of time? you can get near the 300hp level on the 2.3 turbo fairly easily, and still get around 25mpg, which is better than what you'd get with a stock 220hp 5.0HO.
people don't give the 2.3 enough credit, half the people that complain about the power never get the engine close to it's power curve. heck, if you follow Ford's directions you'll never go over 2000rpm when you don't really hit the power curve until 3000rpm. and don't worry about reving it, it'll run all day at 6000rpm
I have a 91 2.3 and also want to make it a 2.3 turbo but I cant really find any where to look info on them, whats a good way to start workin on the motor before the turbo?
your right, nobody likes Evo's or STi's, think of all the money mitsubishi and subaru are losing from those vehicles alone...
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New block/forged internals, 16psi, tuned by Lasota Racing Too many mods to list.. 3.73's and TrueTrac finally! Actual DYNO Tune and meth inj coming this spring
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Stock 2.3 to turbo conver - 
