I have a 1935 ford pickup with a 1996 explorer 5.0 drivetrain and I want to do a rear turbo setup under bed. Any advice or pointers appreciated, I am a mechanic but not much experience with installing turbos just replacing them

 

You will need a to figure out oiling, it's the only real gotcha in the rear mount program.

No room up front?

 

I don’t know if are willing to drill holes in the bed to mount them where you can show off your work and mount them where you can see your setup bed mounted style.

Doesn’t it have a 3pc hood? Take the sides out and hang a turbo off each exhaust manifold for a twin setup

 

No room for anything up front

 

I’m all for a bed mounted turbo

 

For some reason I thought it would look interesting if you copied the look of a Bentley Blower and actually put the turbo ahead of the grill. With come chrome coverings to make it look more old school while protecting it.
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What are you going to use the truck for? Any super long trips? Fuel used?

IMO I’d set up the rear turbo as a stand alone. Run a 1 gal sump under the turbo and gravity drain to it. Then pump the oil out through a trans cooler and into the turbo with a check valve.

I’ll assume you don’t want to make over 600hp with a 5.0. Biggest mistake I see is using huge diameter piping. Run 2” off each manifold and merge it at the T4 turbo flange. You don’t need large diameter piping. I went 8.70s on 2” piping with 370 cubes. The bottle neck is the turbo housing, not the piping pre turbo.

Same goes for intake piping. 2.5” is plenty. If you use a long run of aluminum piping it also acts a bit like an intercooler. Enough so that if you run good fuel and youkeep the boost moderate you can get by without an IC.

Other than that, just go for it!

 

The problem with a stand alone oil system is regulating pressure. The typical gear pumps used for scavenging will try to generate to much pressure unless you do some fancy microcontroller work to regulate the speed of the pump or use a mechanical regulator.

 

Just use a bypass back to the tank with a valve. Similar to a fuel pressure regulator. OR use an actual fuel pressure regulator. This also allows you to run a different type of oil like turbine oil. Which is able to withstand much higher temps and flows much better.

 

I've seen rubber fuel hose used for oil and it sure doesn't like it. I wouldn't trust the diaphragm material in a fuel pressure regulator to handle oil.

A ball valve used as a bypass is going to give you very different pressure dependent on oil temp. It might be good enough though.

I think a better option would be a hydraulic bypass valve set to a reasonable pressure. Looks like they're over $200.

 

Don't' believe thats the case. Most are NBR/Nitrile which is compatible with fuel and oil. Heat may be an issue. But you could pass it through the cooler first, then regulate it down.

Pretty wide range that's acceptable for pressure as well. A simple "T" by pass with a metered orifice off the return would work and be extremely cheap.

 

I've used a fuel pressure regulator for a few years, and it was still working fine when I removed it. I've also tried the fixed orifice, and didn't like how it worked. There are a few regulators out there meant for this exact purpose. https://www.turbosmart.com/product/opr-t40-40psi-black/

That said, I personally wouldn't do a stand alone, I think engine oil is just as simple, and less to worry about.

 

Do not use turbine oil, the purpose of turbine oil in a turbine is to remove heat.
The purpose of oil in a turbo is to act as the bearing.
Turbos love thicker oil, I'll have to find it, but there's a borg warner paper out there recommending heavier weight oil.

If you use a ball bearing turbo you could get away with turbine oil, but even then it isn't necessary. It isn't subjected to the heat that a jet engine is.

I'll talk to my hydraulic guy, but there is a thing called a priority valve. Where it will direct whatever oil it can to something, and the rest can be bled off, but it always maintains the pressure/ flow to the main component.

 

I have my rear mount fed with oil from an adapter from the filter housing to the turbo, with check valves, then it drains to an electric pump and is returned into the plate where the mech. fuel pump would go on the motor. I have no issues with this setup, just make sure to use good relays so that return pump stays on otherwise you lose you engine oil out the turbo, ask how I know.

 

I've done the same on my rear mount as sam51 with no issues still going strong today on my dart.

 

What pump are you guys running for return?

 

I have the Turbo Worx pump, its a bit pricey but when you're talking about oil for the engine its worth the extra $$.

 

I'm running STS's pump it has brass gears.

 

I have a rear mount turbo that's been running wonderfully and I used the Turbowerx Spartan pump (basic pump) for a couple years and its been flawless. Its loud persay, but no return issues at all. Does what its designed to do. Outside of that, my only guidance is keep the piping to the turbo as small as you can within reason, for faster spool and relatively small from the turbo to the intercooler. AFTER the intercooler, you can go larger to the throttle body or carb, whichever you got. At least, that is the guidance from the folks that made the rear mount turbo install popular-STS turbo. I used their guide. I have a T3 ebay turbo at 12psi currently, and spool up happens for me around 4k rpm, perfect for my gearing.