Hey guys, total newby to the world of Superchargers and i'm just looking for some info.

I just bought a 2008 F150 FX4 5.4L with a Roush Supercharger. 45,xxx miles, headers and exhaust. It came with the hand held controller and a packet of info from Troyer Performance. It runs great, but I am curious as to what I need to look out for and am concerned about the life of the engine and SC given this is going to be a daily driver.

I have no idea what level of tune its set up for, but I'm from MN and the truck was bought and operated here so I'm assuming level 1 which is the cold weather tune according to my Troyer info.

Also concerned about towing, I occasionaly will be towing a 20' snowmobile trailer with 4 sleds on it. Right around 5,000lbs I suppose. Is this going to be hard on the engine/SC?

Thanks and sorry for questions that are probably pretty elementary.

 

You should be just fine. Congrats on the truck and the fact you have the best tuning in it possible. Keep the fluids , filters and plugs fresh. Don't skimp or buy cheap stuff to go in it. Only the best stuff. A supercharged engine is often demanded to make 50-70% more power than the stock motor. So only the best will do. Towing is fine and won't hurt it. Infact towing is a pleasure in a sc'd truck. However use common sense. Boost adds load to the motor in addition to what you tow. Ford limits the Lightning and Harley trucks was 5000lbs. This had to do with the suspension and exhaust temps. You would do well to follow the same guide lines and if you must tow more invest in an (exhaust gas temp) egt gauge
So you can keep an eye on things and know when you are pushing it to hard.

Fully synthetic fluids or at least Motorcraft semi synthetic and a Mobil 1 filter. Change it every 3000 or sooner if you get into boost a lot. Under boost combustion chamber pressures rise significantly over stock and more air and fuel is forced passed the rings thus diluting your oil quicker. The additional heat in an sc'd motor will cause the oil to sheer quicker thus breaking down its ability to protect your motor. Spark plugs will last between 15-30,000. Brisk and Autolite HTO are the choice of many self included. Gapped .030-.032.

Always have the motor fully warmed up before driving the **** out of it. Burn 91 or 93 octane only. Bp or shell is preffered by myself, Troyer and others thanks to the additives and detergents that keep things clean in the combustion chamber. These engines are built to very tight tolerances and carbon deposits will scratch your cylinder walls and cause your top piston ring to stick. Change the fuel filter every 10-15,000. Your fuel system is everything. Running lean under boost will pop the motor
in a second. So keep the fuel filter fresh, use good gas, and never let it run below a 1/4 tank. A brisk take off will cause all the fuel to slosh to the rear of the tank thus starving the fuel pump creating a lean condition for a few seconds that can do damage. And if you ever suspect a problem and must drive stay out of boost until you can correct it. Perhaps more info than you wanted lol. I'll probably think of somemore stuff. Meantime post some pics and welcome to the world of forced induction

 

Guy that tuned my '05 XLT 2WD after I threw the Whipple on (395/420) has a Roush charged '05 4WD with just shy of 100K on it.

First blower on his truck was a Magna when the mileage was in the high teens think the Roush went on around 70K. Daily driver, pulls a trailer, drives it like he stole it. Pretty sure they were both around 410/440 with the Roush having more tq lower. Both had/have +2 pulleys and his truck has long tubes.

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/m...?g2_itemId=572

His new "shop" vehicle BTW is an '11 5.0 GT (Roush TVS) 640/540 on race fuel. Did just north of a buck-eighty in the Texas Mile last fall.

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/m...g2_itemId=1314

He pretty much finished convincing me that daily driving a 'charged truck wasn't that big of a deal.

He told me where the Whipple was going to come in at and told me he would tune it after he verified where I was at exactly AND if really needed a tune.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...er83/Mark1.jpg

Dotted lines are the Whipple tune/stock injectors, solid lines are after 39lb injectors and a BAP (and the tune). Real issue was the mixture and that the fuel pump duty cycle was at 100%. After the injectors/BAP was around 70%.

Mine went on at 63K approaching 73K, only issue since changed the belt tensioner after eating a belt around 70K.

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/m...?g2_itemId=905

Like skrewd said, just don't go cheap on periodic maintenance and enjoy the heck out of it..

 

thanks for the input!

How long will something like this last? is this a 150,000 mile motor anymore? I'm just concerned that the life of the engine will not be as long.

Any and all input is welcome! I'll try to get some pics put up!

 

Engine will last as long as any other provided you take care of it and keep boost at 10psi or less. Once you add more boost it is at the sacrifice of some engine life. It's a lot of stress. My cylinder pressures are in the 1750psi range. I will drive my truck anywhere and I love driving it. Heck sometimes I just drive it to be driving it. I hope to get about 100,000 out of it before I will need to put a built motor in and crank the boost up again. But I'm running 13-14psi and drive the hell out of it!

 

That's all great info, thanks guys

I don't think there's a ton of boost, more than likely a Stage 1 type of set up would be my guess. Is there any way for me to find out what stage its set up for? I'm a bit intimidated by the hand held that came with the truck. I don't want to just plug it in and F it all up by being stupid.

here are a few pics...sorry they're kind of crappy quality, its dark and my camera sucks.





I brought it to my local mechanic shop and had them inspect it before I purchased and they said it looks nearly perfect, no signs of the previous owner beating the **** out of it. Just a light wet area around the pulley on the SC you can kind of see in the last pic. Should that be something I should worry about?

What kind of maintenance does the SC itself require? Looks like there is a place to fill it with oil on the front. I have no owners manual or any info besides the Troyer packet that came with.

Thanks again!

 

If you can give us the numbers on the upper pulley and the diameter of the lower crank pulley someone can likely help you figure out your boost level. The leak around the end seal is typical of the long snout. The oil in the blower should be changed every 100,000 and be sure to keep an eye on the level and top it off as needed due to the leak. You should be able to get a seal kit for it. Give Troyer a call and tell him about the truck. He will still have the tunes and can at least give you some history on it as well as pointing you in the right direction for fixing the seal.

The handheld is simple. The first tune in it should be a cold weather tune. The second is usually a little more aggressive, and the third may be for towing or drag racing or any number of things. Plug it in and go to custom tunes. They should be named.

 

What kind of oil does the SC require?

I'll have to check the #'s on the pulleys.

Thanks for the info again!

 

You can pick up sc oil at your local Ford, Gm, or Cadilac dealer. Fair warning Ford wants $20 for the same bottle Gm and caddy dealers have for $10. At least in my area anyway. Be sure not to overfill the sc.

 

Truck looks good. From one cold weather supercharged operator to another, let your engine get good and warmed up before taking on any good sized hills with your sleds in tow. My Whipple is just fine in the cold weather, it can howl pretty good when the temps are in the -10 and colder but its all good. Enjoy, and as twinskrewd said, call Troyer since he tuned it he will let you know all you can do with it.

Tim

 

Thanks Tim!

yeah, it was -5 today when i fired it up to go to work and it growled pretty good, nothing too severe though. I've been letting it warm up really good everytime I start it. I read that in the Troyer Performance sheets (should be done to any engine IMO)

I appreciate all the info and help here fellas, like I said, I'm a total newby to the SC world and have 0 knowledge of how they work, what to look out for, etc. so thanks again for all the help!

 

Thats good, stick around here and read and ask questions and you will learn. There are alot of good guys around here that have alot of knowledge with these supercharged trucks.

Supposed to get to -17 here tonight, but my truck will be a nice and warm 60 in my heated shop, yeah I am spoiled and so is my truck.

Tim

 

My Roushcharger went on when I took delivery of my 2008 Screw back in late 2007. I have put almost 70,000 trouble-free miles since then.

Twinskrewed covered everything pretty well, above.

CW

 

Awesome! Thanks CW

I called Troyer today and got a little more info on it. I'm going to hook up the hand held and just see what setting its at and only set it to Program 1 and leave it. the lady I spoke with there was really helpfull and answered all my questions easily. Seems to be a good place to check with if issues ever surface.

 

Anita knows her stuff.