Turbo charged 4.0 xj

Here is the low down on building a turbo set up for an xj. (at least here is my way)
Since I could not find any kits for putting a turbo on a cherokee, I decided to build my own.
The parts list and prices.
One used renix exaust manifold from the junk yard $60.00
The turbo Switzer t04b comp .60 turbine .96 P trim $300.00
Two turbo flanges inlet and outlet $30.00
Tial 32mm wastegate with flanges $200.00
Msd boost timing master #5462 $165.00
Aeromotive rising rate fuel regulator $115.00
Used 24lbr fuel injectors (from a mustang) $80.00
Boost gauge $40.00
Air fuel gauge $65.00
Gauge pod $20.00
Two 2.5in mandrel bent pipes $40.00
One 3in mandrel bent pipe $40.00
One 1 5/8in mandrel bent pipe $13.00
8in of 2.5 in hose $18.00
4in of 2in hose $6.00
Fuel line $20.00
4 2in to 3in hose clamps $25.00
Lots of misc fittings and clamps $35.00
K&N cone filter $30.00
Used mits eclipse blow off valve $20.00
Moroso breather $15.00
3in vband clamp $45.00
3in exaust with Dynomax muffler $300.00
Summit fuel pressure gauge $20.00
And misc supplys (ie paint, wire, pipe) $150.00
My total $1852.00 (the plan was to build this for $500. or $600. o well)

So now you know what I put into my jeep for parts, now labor. I built the manifold, by cutting all of the tubes off and fitted all of the tubes into a 2.25 in collector. The turbo is fed by a three in tube near the end of the collector. The wastegate is fed from the front of the manifold and sits next to the side of the intake manifold. The exausting side of the wastegate, runs parallel to the intake manifold and drops into the exaust down pipe.
The fuel lines have to be replaced and rerouted to the other side of the motor. I have the fuel regulator set @ 35psi @ idle and under full boost 47psi. I am running 7psi boost.
I have spent at least 150 hours on this project, ( I think it has been worth it) and now it is almost completed, I still need a bigger fuel pump, and I plan on working a intercooler in some how. I dont know how much hp I have gained but I can say it feels like a lot.
I would like to know what you guys think.
Thanks Jack:idea:

http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/my_super_cool_jeep.jpg
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0059.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0060.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0062.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0063.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0066.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0064.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/turbo_on_manifold.jpg
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/turbo_on_mani_1.jpg
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/turbo_in_process.jpg
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/turbo_in_process_1.jpg
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0073.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0078.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0079.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0077.JPG
http://jeffreyd.dorms.usu.edu/jack/HPIM0075.JPG

Bravo, looks great, congratulations. I see lots of talk on this topic but its nice to see someone actually do it.

Phantom

thats pretty awsome, props for doing that which hasn't been done that much...at least on a cherokee

get that thing on a dyno!!

i know we would all like to see the results!

At approximately what RPM does it kick in?
What gearing and size tires fo you run?

I'm debating turbocharger vs supercharger but it seems the turbos are not a lot of help in lower RPMs unless you have a little one that spools up real quick.

Nice job....Must be sweet on the highway!

Gil BullyKatz said:

At approximately what RPM does it kick in?
What gearing and size tires fo you run?

I'm debating turbocharger vs supercharger but it seems the turbos are not a lot of help in lower RPMs unless you have a little one that spools up real quick.

Nice job....Must be sweet on the highway!

Click to expand...

It is sweet on the hwy but thats why I wanted a turbo. The turbo starts to wind up around 2000 rpm and is fully spooled by 2500 rpm. I still have my stock gears 3.10, and 33x12.50x15 tires. If you are looking to gain hp at low rpms, you probably dont want a turbo. Because the smaller the exaust side of the turbo, the more heat you will create in the engine compartment. I tried installing insulation on my turbo and manifiold, to reduce the heat in the engine compartment, when I first put it togather. doing this caused the turbo to come on line sooner but it also caused the manifold to glow red after five miles. I removed the insulation, and that took care of that problem. The nice thing with not being able to start to wind up till 2000 rpm is that the turbo wont be coming on line wail rock climbing. When the turbo starts to wind up the change in acceleration is huge.
thanks for the compliments Jack

I thought I would put an update so far I have had no trouble to speak of, the jeep is still working great.
I bought a intercooler, so with any luck I will able to get it installed soon. When I get it in I will post a picture. Also I am thinking of moving my throttle plate and the map sensor refrence vac line in front of the turbo inlet. :roll:

What are your predictions when you hit that cold mountain stream with that red hot turbo?

sjx40250 said:

What are your predictions when you hit that cold mountain stream with that red hot turbo?

Click to expand...

it could be interesting if the turbo was completely imersied in water as far as splashing water
I have not had anything happed for driving in the rain and through deep puddles
some may call me a wimp but if the water of mud is deep enuff to get in my doors I dont drive in it. Jack:farmer:

Well done.

I have a question about the Aeromotive rising rate fuel regulator, what is the ratio you are using, 7.0:1, 8.0:1 or 10:1.

I have a 1999 XJ stroked to 4.6L. My fuel pressure is 43 psig with 24 Ib/hr FMS injectors.

I will be turbocharging my Jeep, in house project. Here is my set up:

T03/T04 turbonetics turbo
Delta Race Waste gate
greddy Style Blowoff valve.
FMU (not sure of ratio required?)

Since I have the Mike Leach Long Tube headers, would like to keep it, I will install the turbo on the passenger side of the engine, like bearturbo set up. Will reduce the head on the intake manifold. Will use heat wrap, on the pipes and turbo to account for lost heat by not running off the headers.

I will run the inlet to the turbo from just after the headers flange, run it under the oil pan and get it back to the exhaust pipe before the muffler. I will use an Air/Water intercooler from a Subaru.

I will put A/F ratio gauge, boost gauge, fuel pressure gauge and a manual boost controller.

I have some questions.

Did your A/F gauge indicate any lean condition under hard acceleration.

Do you think the 24 Ib/Hr injectors with FMU (fuel pressure regulator) will support 10 psig of boost on my 43 psig fuel system pressure.

I am aiming at 200 additional HP to put me above 450HP with the 4.6L stroker and turbo. according to my calculations, 450HP will need around 30 Ib/Hr injectors, but, I don't want to buy new injectors.

Forgot to mention that I have the rev limiter set at 6000RPM with my ASE chip. I guess with the turbo, I don't need to rev that high anymore. My crane cam 272/284 starts at 2000 RPM, but I don't have any problem between 1000-2000RPM although I run 30" tires with stock gear ratio (3.07). It's a manual transmission XJ.

Let me hear your opinion.

Faiz, you'd better start looking for a beefier transmission, rear driveshaft, and rear axle if you're really going after that much torque. The stock items won't take it and you'll quickly turn them into shrapnel. That would be a very very bad thing.

The aeromotive regulator is a 1:1 ratio I just recently found that I was over fueling and dropped the fuel press down to running a max press of 42psi and it noticeably improved the jeeps preformance
My air fuel gauge did show lean on hard accelaration and some times rich this was also improved with lowering the fuel press I belive the reason is that I was running to much fuel (aprox43psi) when I had 0psi manifold press and this was causing the computer to try to lean the fuel ratio wich would be imeditly followed by a drastic swing the other way to running rich now with the base line fuel press being the stock press the computer doesnt seem to be freaking out I am seeing a much smoother transition to boost and more consistant feel
It really feels like the turbo is a stock system and not a aftermarket build
I think that the 24lbr injectors should be enuff I think that I could go back to 19lbr injectors
if a raised my fuel press when I first installed the turbo I didnt have the rising rate regulator
and I could run up to 3psi and maintain a proper fuel ratio
I think that you fuel press will probably need to hit some were around 45 to 50 psi
What size compressor and turbine do you have in the t3/t4 ?

XJ4.6NOS said:

Well done.

I have a question about the Aeromotive rising rate fuel regulator, what is the ratio you are using, 7.0:1, 8.0:1 or 10:1.

I have a 1999 XJ stroked to 4.6L. My fuel pressure is 43 psig with 24 Ib/hr FMS injectors.

I will be turbocharging my Jeep, in house project. Here is my set up:

T03/T04 turbonetics turbo
Delta Race Waste gate
greddy Style Blowoff valve.
FMU (not sure of ratio required?)

Since I have the Mike Leach Long Tube headers, would like to keep it, I will install the turbo on the passenger side of the engine, like bearturbo set up. Will reduce the head on the intake manifold. Will use heat wrap, on the pipes and turbo to account for lost heat by not running off the headers.

I will run the inlet to the turbo from just after the headers flange, run it under the oil pan and get it back to the exhaust pipe before the muffler. I will use an Air/Water intercooler from a Subaru.

I will put A/F ratio gauge, boost gauge, fuel pressure gauge and a manual boost controller.

I have some questions.

Did your A/F gauge indicate any lean condition under hard acceleration.

Do you think the 24 Ib/Hr injectors with FMU (fuel pressure regulator) will support 10 psig of boost on my 43 psig fuel system pressure.

I am aiming at 200 additional HP to put me above 450HP with the 4.6L stroker and turbo. according to my calculations, 450HP will need around 30 Ib/Hr injectors, but, I don't want to buy new injectors.

Forgot to mention that I have the rev limiter set at 6000RPM with my ASE chip. I guess with the turbo, I don't need to rev that high anymore. My crane cam 272/284 starts at 2000 RPM, but I don't have any problem between 1000-2000RPM although I run 30" tires with stock gear ratio (3.07). It's a manual transmission XJ.

Let me hear your opinion.

Click to expand...

Dr. Dyno said:

Faiz, you'd better start looking for a beefier transmission, rear driveshaft, and rear axle if you're really going after that much torque. The stock items won't take it and you'll quickly turn them into shrapnel. That would be a very very bad thing.

Click to expand...

Dino, thanks for the advise. I won't be giving it full throttle on pavement. It will be for sand drag. I don't expect to be hummering it while shifting. Also, I've got a spare transmission/transfer case that I bought used from a friend for $270. I will always be able to turn down boost to 5 psig when on asphalt and that would be plenty in my opinion.

All I have to sort out now is the ratio on the FMU and if my 24 Ib/hr injectors and stock fuel pump will be enough. I've got Kenn-bell Boost-A-Pump that is boost activated to increase the fuel pressure, if I need to, in addition to the FMU.

I will use Ford Saleen MAP sensor to be able to read boost instead of the stock MAP sensor that reads vaccum only.

Is it P/N 13109?

I will have to check what size is the T03/T04 trim because I have not bought it yet.

Well, to have the 24Ib/hr injectors run equal to 30Ib/hr ones, I will need close to 70 psi fuel pressure when under full boost, according to my calculation. Correct me if I am wrong.

mtbkr said:

The aeromotive regulator is a 1:1 ratio I just recently found that I was over fueling and dropped the fuel press down to running a max press of 42psi and it noticeably improved the jeeps preformance
My air fuel gauge did show lean on hard accelaration and some times rich this was also improved with lowering the fuel press I belive the reason is that I was running to much fuel (aprox43psi) when I had 0psi manifold press and this was causing the computer to try to lean the fuel ratio wich would be imeditly followed by a drastic swing the other way to running rich now with the base line fuel press being the stock press the computer doesnt seem to be freaking out I am seeing a much smoother transition to boost and more consistant feel
It really feels like the turbo is a stock system and not a aftermarket build
I think that the 24lbr injectors should be enuff I think that I could go back to 19lbr injectors
if a raised my fuel press when I first installed the turbo I didnt have the rising rate regulator
and I could run up to 3psi and maintain a proper fuel ratio
I think that you fuel press will probably need to hit some were around 45 to 50 psi
What size compressor and turbine do you have in the t3/t4 ?

Click to expand...

I would say to try the 24lbr inj and see how it goes before buying new ones
The to4b is rated to support 500hp so I was just curious the first turbo I installed was a t3
.60comp .48 turbine and it seemed to small to me it wound up really fast, but it sounded like a jet engine turbine at 3000 rpm it seemed to me that it was having to work way to had to keep up this to4b that I am running hardly has to work at all to do the job I think that after having run it for a wail now I would say that is may be a little over sized for a stock 4.0 although I would not trade it out for a smaller one
I was wondering if you had looked into the to4b as an option also what model of subaru are you getting your intercooler from and how far out from completion are you

You have not answered my question about the FPR that you use. What is the part#.

I am still in the stage of planning. I have found the turbo, waste gate and blowoff valve. I have agreed with the guy who is gonna work with me on the project on basic things. He is gonna bring the intercooler from the junckyard and he will do the fabrication for the exhaust pipes and intake tubes. We will use an FMU for the additional fuel management.

mtbkr said:

I would say to try the 24lbr inj and see how it goes before buying new ones
The to4b is rated to support 500hp so I was just curious the first turbo I installed was a t3
.60comp .48 turbine and it seemed to small to me it wound up really fast, but it sounded like a jet engine turbine at 3000 rpm it seemed to me that it was having to work way to had to keep up this to4b that I am running hardly has to work at all to do the job I think that after having run it for a wail now I would say that is may be a little over sized for a stock 4.0 although I would not trade it out for a smaller one
I was wondering if you had looked into the to4b as an option also what model of subaru are you getting your intercooler from and how far out from completion are you

Click to expand...

sorry I missed that you wanted the part # it is a aeromotive AEI-13301you can look at it on summitracing.com it is a carb bypass style regulator it comes with two springs the high press spring is good to 65psi the nice thing about it over the other models available is that it uses pipe thread instead of an fittings

Has anybody tried RSR AIC400 Additional Injector Controller:

http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/rsraic400.htm

Looks good with 2 additional injectors 41.90 Lb/Hour supporting 150HP produced by the turbo.

I know that Accurate power uses the same setup with their supercharger kit.

just an update of sorts I went on the moab run with the intermountin chapter this last weekend this is the first long trip I have taken my jeep on since the turbo 330 miles each way the turbo worked great for me and proved to be pretty fun on the trails (lots of fun in the sand) I had no issues with the turbo spooling when it was unwanted like on steep climbs and when I wanted more power it was ready to come on line the only problem I had on the trip was on the way home I blew a hole in my clutch line
due to too much heat on the uninsulated line I had been running the engine pretty had a lot of sustained boost for about 50 miles If I had installed insulation on the line it would have been ok I think
jack

Great thread!

I have a couple of questions for you, and bear in mind I'm a bit ignorant about XJ's. I'm piecing together parts needed to turbocharge a 258 with a 1993 4.0 HO head and EFI, to go into my 1982 Wagoneer.

Firstly, what year is your Jeep? I see that you used what looked to be an exhaust manifold from a '87-'90 Renix EFI setup. Can I use this same manifold with my head? I've considered taking an HO exhaust manifold and cutting along the header tubes and then welding on a larger tube to create a "log" manifold, but if an older Renix Cherokee exhaust manifold will work on the 1993 HO head, well, that might be a real time saver.

Secondly, how did you arrive at your present turbocharger? I did quite a bit of homework after I bought and sold an old Randall American turbo kit:

http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/classicamx/turbo-hornet/turbo-hornet.htm

My kit actually had a Rajay 380F instead of the original T04B-57, and I recently had an opportunity to ride in the 1976 Gremlin in which this kit was ultimately installed -- Wow!

Anyway, I also bought both of Corky Bell's books and Hugh MacInnes' book, and did a good bit of math to create a table of various ranges for RPM, temperature, and altitude (I live at 7700'), and I arrived at either a T04B-50 or 57 as being just about right for my application.

So I'm curious how you selected your turbo and how it has worked for you.

Thanks in advance, and keep up the great work!