Especial86

iTrader: (1)

Well I finally did it! I supercharged my 04 5.4L 3v screw with a whipple 2.3 liter supercharger kit.


I've been sitting on my kit for a while now, I picked it up nearly a year ago down in Louisiana while I was on one hell of a road trip across country with my lady. I was scanning the classifieds while in Seattle looking for something to burn money on while I was staying at a relatives house in Seattle. This was about a 1/4 way through our road trip..
To make a long story short, I found the deal here on the forum, made a couple calls, wiggled down the price, and 10 days later picked up the blower kit for a $teal of a deal right after I left A Houston visit at my Bro in laws place.. We stuffed that big heavy kit in the back of our amazing TDI golf, and continued on the road trip all the way home...

I immediately contacted Blownford and asked him what to look for before the deal went down, and since then he's been crucial in my entire supercharging endeavor...

So once we got back to realty, and Back to work, and I began slowly amassing parts and knowledge on the the subject of supercharging.


I started by picking up all the essentials to doing a supercharger job right on the 5.4 3v..

I upgraded the whipple MAF to the 95mm housing.. Whipple MAF's Whipple MAF's I added an air charge temperature sensor to runner 5 on my whipple intake manifold.. ACT sensor.. I ordered this MAF breakout harness from VMP.. This is what connects to my new ACT sensor, and to my MAF.. IAT reading are now only coming from my ACT, so my ECM can more effectively keep the tune running optimal.. Add or remove timing basically.. My new 47# injectors.. Vs the old injectors My new hi flows installed

New bypass valve, the old one had a leak.. This is where the bypass bolts onto, you can actually see the inner cooler inside the intake manifold in this pic too.. The bypass valve stays open when not in boost, basically allowing the air to go around the screws.. Once it closes I'm building boost rapidly. This is what makes the supercharger a great "streetable" bolt on.. Once it closes I'm instantly boosting! Bypass valve installed, also pictured is my AEM boost guage sensor installed. Changing my supercharger oil, and cleaning my site glass.. Brand new! Machining the stops off my belt tensioner.. My add a fuse power wires. Powers both my wideband and boost guage only at an ignition hot.. My new ARP blower to manifold bolts are also pictured..

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

Here's more.. Boost and wideband 02 gauges installed in my lotek dash pod.. My homemade datalogging fire wire for use with my new X3 tuner.. Tune and tuner are from JDM engineering.. Just some whipple shots.. Throttle body inlet.. PCV valve is relocated here as well.. The twin screws on the supercharger.. In very good shape for being used! 2 vac ports and the PCV. Some pics from install day. The surprise vacuum line that feeds the 4wd system and fuel pressure sensor.. I was not warned but I will warn you.. If you have an 04 you will see this extra vac line.. I had to rig my vacuum system up to support it, which forced me to add an extra barb to the whipple intake snout.. Not a huge deal, but be prepared with extra vac fittings and line.. Up and running.. The install wasn't tough, just time consuming.. I had a great second set of hands helping me, so it went very smooth.. I then adapted my Volant CAI to work with the whipple. It honestly not only worked perfect, but it looks better, and makes the filter extremely easy to service.. So after doing some driving, boosting, and reading, I realized I was already ready to mod! This boost bug is real, and it bit me good.. I was already thinking that heat exchanger could be better.. So my bro in law had this extra 3.5" thick Heat exchanger lying around, so he pitched it to me.. Nice! I even reused the pre bent whipple hoses.. Needless to say, bolted it right in.. Boy what an improvement it made overall... So I still have some vac lines to tidy up, but everything is working great! JDM's tune is amazing and the truck is running like a clock.. I've got 22 - 24 vac at idle which is a great sign if a very strong motor, and I'm boosting around 8 psi with my 9# pulley.. The truck still drives like a regular truck, cruising around you will never know I got a blower stuffed under the hood. But when I want to really move, the truck just livens right up once vac drops to zero and boost is starting to build.. I'm completely impressed with how a supercharger really is an excellent mod for a daily driver.. The power is predictable, and control is perfect. There is no wait time when I want to boost, all I got to do is just put the pedal down to drop a gear, or creep into boost while holding a gear.. My transmission is also doing really well with all this power, it's very linear and not too punchy if that's what you want to feel.. With a supercharger you are basically in total control of how you want it feel and drive.. It's better then a turbo IMHO because with a snail, you basically need to hold it, and wait.. With a blower its more like flicking a switch to build boost... More to come... Questions and Comments are welcomed!

Sparkie04FX4

iTrader: (1)

Question.... how many miles does your 04 have? I want to get my 04 blown once I'm satisfied with my lift/suspension upgrades. Which probably won't be for a few years. But just curious to see what you got on yours. See if it worth my wild down the road. Thanks

Prof

That is beautiful Es, truly.

Storm Chasing Ford

Dang, grats!!!

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

My engine is 168,000 miles young.. Still running better then new.. In case you didn't know, 300,000 has been the new 200,000 mile engine for a while now. I bought this truck with 98,000 miles on it over 3 years ago, and it hasn't ever left me on the side of the road, not even once... The 3v IMHO is a very solid motor.. It does have it's well documented issues with plugs, phasers, and the VCT system, but thankfully those are all fairly simple bolt on replacement items... But honestly, I don't know of any engine that doesn't need a refresh of the timing system at least once.... Go figure..


With the blower maintenance will be a bit more frequent. That will likely only pertain to spark plugs, cops, maybe the oil, all other fluids, belts, and filters, but I guess we shall see. .. My next UOA will likely tell me how much fuel dilution in the oil I get, and give me a sense of how she's aging with the blower. I can tell you for certain she was hardly aging without the blower.... I'm expecting to bring her up passed 250,000 miles before I start contemplating swapping out the motor. Hopefully by that time I will have a built block ready to drop right in!... I have no intentions of ever getting rid of this truck.. It doesn't mean I won't possibly buy a 2015-16 f150, but it does mean I see no benefit to ever selling this truck...

If your seriously considering going blown then I highly suggest it.. The truck is a dream to drive with the blower, but oddly enough you can drive it like a regular old truck and just stay out if boost if you'd like.. Unless you trigger that boost, it's just like driving a peppy stock F150 .. It does make the truck a true sleeper..

tritonbullet

Would you pay to have timing redone or is it easy enough to do in a garage?

Especial86

iTrader: (1)

It's easy enough to do in the driveway if you really need to do it... "Mechanics" is very simple stuff IMO, the cost really lies in the tools, but all it really ever amounts to is simple parts swapping.... Sometimes all the work really ends up being in the diagnosis, and not the solution..

I would never pay to have anything other than body work or paint done to my truck... I've been wrenching on my own for far to long to even consider it. Plus I do also enjoy it....

tritonbullet

Well with new phasers and chain and all that how do you get the timing set right?

powerranger262

Awesomesauce. Great install man.