jmof98

1997 F150 4.6 liter engine need to be rebuilt.
I'm exploring all options to get more power.
The engine rebuild companies (Jasper etc.) say that if I buy one of their engines and then turbo charge or super charge the engine it will "blow up" and/or have unpredictable results.

Anybody know any way to turbo/super charge this engine and expect a long life (200,000 miles)
I realize that Jasper is covering their $ss and won't be any help in recommending a turbo kit.
thanks!

P.S. this is a continuation of my previous post about swapping a 4.6 engine to a 5.4.

My03fx4

As long as you keep the boost low like 5-6 psi you should be okay. But i doubt that it will be reliable enough to hit 200k miles.

044x4lariat

Keep us posted and send some pics when its all done

Scraptor

The kid i work with built a mustank with a turbo 4.6, withth sohc motor, it flew.
His first motor had 160k+ miles, and lasted a few months,
Then he bought a dohc lincoln, and installed it with a homegrown intake manifold, so he could use the mustang tb. Even more insane power, but old head gaskets got him,and a loss of boost control that reached somthing past 18psi, this motor being from a two for $300 lincoln , wasn t the freshest.So a rebuilt engine , in the hands of someone sane, might last a while.

MFK

IMO if you want forced induction give up on the dream of 200,000 miles, because no matter how responsible you are, you will romp on it (at least I would) but hey, your mileage may vary.

jmof98

Thanks guys. Good advice on the turbo.
By the way, someone told me they could put a 4 valve head on it.. but it would go from the comfy 16 mpg I'm getting to about 9mpg in straight and narrow flight.
I think I'll stick with my two valve and put a super charger instead of a turbo.
Everybody's telling me a turbo will overheat the engine.

Speeddeamon710

Have you found a supercharger kit for the 4.6L 3v engine? Having a problem finding one that will work.

jmof98

I haven't even got my truck out of the shop yet. But I did take a look and it doesn't look like there are any for less than $4,000 bucks.
This means that if a shop installs it I'm probably looking at around $7,000 out the door to put it in.

Scraptor

I dont see a turbo causing any heat issues a supercharger won t you burn more fuel under boost, so more heat, either way.

jmof98

This is a good questions.. which to choose? Turbo charger or super charger.
I've read up a lot on this and the following seem to be the shortlist
1.) Heat - turbochargers retain exhaust gasses.. this will increase the overall heat inside the engine compartment. Superchargers are "always on" and therefore adding heat, but not as much as during a boost.. so which wins?
Supercharger creates less heat
2.) Dependability - Turbo chargers break... but so do Superchargers. The difference is that when Superchargers break, it can destroy the engine if they are chain driven. THe superchargers on the market today are belt driven, so.. which wins, superchargers.
3.) Power and fuel, Turbo chargers will respond with more power as the engine increases in speed resulting in a logrithmic increase in power (until the waste gate opens and prevents overcharging). Superchargers continue their power curve linearly. Turbo chargers are also more fuel efficient for the power gains. which wins.. turbo chargers
4.) Cost - about the same for both.


In the end, I think a supercharger is the way to go. There doesn't seem to be any way to really control a turbo charger and from what I'm reading, an improperly tuned turbocharged system can really hurt you. I haven't had a turbo charged engine that didn't have problems (but then again, I've never had a supercharger).

What say you?