Supercharging 2002 S-crew 5.4L
#1
09-05-2013, 11:21 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Supercharging 2002 S-crew 5.4L
Hello,
My name is Greg and a recently retired pharmacist. I plan on touring the western US pulling a 4000lb camper with my 2002 F-150 4X4 FX4 S-crew. I would like to generate 60 to 100 more Horsepower. Would it be a good idea to install a supercharger? What I have in mind is 2000 SVT Lightning supercharger bolted onto my 5.4. Is this possible and will it work well. My purpose is to do this as cheap as possible.
Thanks
My name is Greg and a recently retired pharmacist. I plan on touring the western US pulling a 4000lb camper with my 2002 F-150 4X4 FX4 S-crew. I would like to generate 60 to 100 more Horsepower. Would it be a good idea to install a supercharger? What I have in mind is 2000 SVT Lightning supercharger bolted onto my 5.4. Is this possible and will it work well. My purpose is to do this as cheap as possible.
Thanks
#2
09-05-2013, 03:06 PM
#3
09-06-2013, 10:50 AM
Senior Member
your truck should have no problems pulling a 4000 trailer.
i would not enter into a supercharger project on a tight budget, to may things that can go wrong and cost lots of money. even on the cheap i can not see you getting out less than $3k.
i had a 21 ft jayco i used to pull with my 5.4 supercrew in 2003 and it pulled with no issues. (5.4 with 3.55 gears)
i would not enter into a supercharger project on a tight budget, to may things that can go wrong and cost lots of money. even on the cheap i can not see you getting out less than $3k.
i had a 21 ft jayco i used to pull with my 5.4 supercrew in 2003 and it pulled with no issues. (5.4 with 3.55 gears)
#4
09-06-2013, 11:16 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the feedback everyone. The camper that I settled on actually weighs in at 4800 lbs., loaded probably 5700lbs. Should still be able to pull that with a stock 5.4L. What got me interested in superchargers was an ad for a lightning takeoff which included supercharger, intercooler and intake for $850. I probably wouldn't be able to use the intake as I am pretty sure the heads are different between the 2 engines.
#6
09-16-2013, 02:00 PM
The heads are the same. And its torque you want not horsepower for that trailer, so the Eaton is a great addition. Just watch boost levels, pistons and maybe crank different. I've been blown for 100K miles and love the towing capacity, especially in hills. OD and cruise on and sit back and listent to the whine as you go up the hills, with no downshifting OBTW 
#7
09-17-2013, 08:56 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gathering parts
Hello,
Thanks again for the comments.
So far I've acquired supercharger, plenum, mid-plate, 10 row intercooler and lower intake.
Now on to the smaller and more difficult parts. I understand a 200 amp alternator and bracket are necessary as well as air cleaner assembly and 90mm MAF. Could the stock air cleaner system be used instead of the lightning assembly and is the higher output alternator really required?
Also gathering parts for the intercooler coolant system which would be Reservoir, pump, heat exchanger and brackets as well as coolant lines. I have the 2 lines coming off the back of mid plate. Why couldn't a person tie the intercooler coolant system into the engine coolant system instead of adding all the extra parts?
Is it absolutely necessary to replace the fuel pump with a high out put fuel
pump.
I'm also trying to locate all studs and bolts and a lightning engine wiring harness. What's the difference between stock and lightning harness.
This is going to be a fun project for me but it's been a long time since I've done more than change spark plugs and an occasional cop.
http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/shark.gif
Thanks again for the comments.
So far I've acquired supercharger, plenum, mid-plate, 10 row intercooler and lower intake.
Now on to the smaller and more difficult parts. I understand a 200 amp alternator and bracket are necessary as well as air cleaner assembly and 90mm MAF. Could the stock air cleaner system be used instead of the lightning assembly and is the higher output alternator really required?
Also gathering parts for the intercooler coolant system which would be Reservoir, pump, heat exchanger and brackets as well as coolant lines. I have the 2 lines coming off the back of mid plate. Why couldn't a person tie the intercooler coolant system into the engine coolant system instead of adding all the extra parts?
Is it absolutely necessary to replace the fuel pump with a high out put fuel
pump.I'm also trying to locate all studs and bolts and a lightning engine wiring harness. What's the difference between stock and lightning harness.
This is going to be a fun project for me but it's been a long time since I've done more than change spark plugs and an occasional cop.
http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...lies/shark.gif
Trending Topics
#8
09-17-2013, 09:05 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Boost levels
The heads are the same. And its torque you want not horsepower for that trailer, so the Eaton is a great addition. Just watch boost levels, pistons and maybe crank different. I've been blown for 100K miles and love the towing capacity, especially in hills. OD and cruise on and sit back and listent to the whine as you go up the hills, with no downshifting OBTW
#9
09-17-2013, 09:39 AM
Alternator is needed not for capacity, but size, its thinner to allow for blower belt room.
You do not want to run IC with main coolant because engine runs hotter, need all the cold air you can get into motor, in fact some (high boost) use the AC to cool the IC water down.
Having the L/HD engine harness would be nice, but not necessary. Both plug into NA ECM wiring. L/HD frame harness not needed when using NA ECM/4R70W trans and fuel pump hat. Just add 255lph Walbro pump GS340 (i think). Yes you need the higher output pump to be safe, lean condition = engine damage. Pump cost about $100 and bolts right in NA fuel hat. Make sure you have new tank gasket.
8 lbs would be fine (HD=6lbs, L=8lbs). Compression not that much higher, its more the pistons that can't take the boost. Tell your tuner you have an NA and he will adjust tune accordingly.
Easier than you think. If you send email, I can send some info. Go to Lightningrodder.com forum for parts.
You do not want to run IC with main coolant because engine runs hotter, need all the cold air you can get into motor, in fact some (high boost) use the AC to cool the IC water down.
Having the L/HD engine harness would be nice, but not necessary. Both plug into NA ECM wiring. L/HD frame harness not needed when using NA ECM/4R70W trans and fuel pump hat. Just add 255lph Walbro pump GS340 (i think). Yes you need the higher output pump to be safe, lean condition = engine damage. Pump cost about $100 and bolts right in NA fuel hat. Make sure you have new tank gasket.
8 lbs would be fine (HD=6lbs, L=8lbs). Compression not that much higher, its more the pistons that can't take the boost. Tell your tuner you have an NA and he will adjust tune accordingly.
Easier than you think. If you send email, I can send some info. Go to Lightningrodder.com forum for parts.
#10
09-19-2013, 06:42 AM
Mechanical Idiot
Hi, Gregadberry,
I don't know much in the way of mechanics, and my attempts to work on my own truck are normally fiascos, but I have learned a whole lot about how to buy the parts to do a Lightning swap and how to waste money and make mistakes. I started out to do a cheap, easy L swap to get the aforesaid 60 to 100 extra horsepower on my 5.4 truck strictly for fun, and made all kinds of mistakes buying parts that cost me a lot of money. So, I'd be happy to talk to you and give you the benefit of my painful experience.
Mad Mike Dunn/MadEnterprises (look up the website for the parts list) will be hard to get hold of right now-- some personal stuff going on has him "offline," evidently. But I can tell you a lot of what he told me. I also have a '99/'00 Eaton plenum/supercharger/midplate/intercooler/lower intake unit that I am going to sell very, very inexpensively (with fuel rails and wiring harness and the whole deal) because it has the less desirable 9-row intercooler (the first thing I learned the hard way). I will tell you all about 9- vs 10-row intercoolers, etc......
The "bible" of the L swap is Str8tSix's thread esp if you have a 4X4. If you have 2-wheel drive truck, there are more options.....
k9dr
I don't know much in the way of mechanics, and my attempts to work on my own truck are normally fiascos, but I have learned a whole lot about how to buy the parts to do a Lightning swap and how to waste money and make mistakes. I started out to do a cheap, easy L swap to get the aforesaid 60 to 100 extra horsepower on my 5.4 truck strictly for fun, and made all kinds of mistakes buying parts that cost me a lot of money. So, I'd be happy to talk to you and give you the benefit of my painful experience.
Mad Mike Dunn/MadEnterprises (look up the website for the parts list) will be hard to get hold of right now-- some personal stuff going on has him "offline," evidently. But I can tell you a lot of what he told me. I also have a '99/'00 Eaton plenum/supercharger/midplate/intercooler/lower intake unit that I am going to sell very, very inexpensively (with fuel rails and wiring harness and the whole deal) because it has the less desirable 9-row intercooler (the first thing I learned the hard way). I will tell you all about 9- vs 10-row intercoolers, etc......
The "bible" of the L swap is Str8tSix's thread esp if you have a 4X4. If you have 2-wheel drive truck, there are more options.....
k9dr
#11
09-19-2013, 10:23 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mistakes
Hi, Gregadberry,
I don't know much in the way of mechanics, and my attempts to work on my own truck are normally fiascos, but I have learned a whole lot about how to buy the parts to do a Lightning swap and how to waste money and make mistakes. I started out to do a cheap, easy L swap to get the aforesaid 60 to 100 extra horsepower on my 5.4 truck strictly for fun, and made all kinds of mistakes buying parts that cost me a lot of money. So, I'd be happy to talk to you and give you the benefit of my painful experience.
Mad Mike Dunn/MadEnterprises (look up the website for the parts list) will be hard to get hold of right now-- some personal stuff going on has him "offline," evidently. But I can tell you a lot of what he told me. I also have a '99/'00 Eaton plenum/supercharger/midplate/intercooler/lower intake unit that I am going to sell very, very inexpensively (with fuel rails and wiring harness and the whole deal) because it has the less desirable 9-row intercooler (the first thing I learned the hard way). I will tell you all about 9- vs 10-row intercoolers, etc......
The "bible" of the L swap is Str8tSix's thread esp if you have a 4X4. If you have 2-wheel drive truck, there are more options.....
k9dr
I don't know much in the way of mechanics, and my attempts to work on my own truck are normally fiascos, but I have learned a whole lot about how to buy the parts to do a Lightning swap and how to waste money and make mistakes. I started out to do a cheap, easy L swap to get the aforesaid 60 to 100 extra horsepower on my 5.4 truck strictly for fun, and made all kinds of mistakes buying parts that cost me a lot of money. So, I'd be happy to talk to you and give you the benefit of my painful experience.
Mad Mike Dunn/MadEnterprises (look up the website for the parts list) will be hard to get hold of right now-- some personal stuff going on has him "offline," evidently. But I can tell you a lot of what he told me. I also have a '99/'00 Eaton plenum/supercharger/midplate/intercooler/lower intake unit that I am going to sell very, very inexpensively (with fuel rails and wiring harness and the whole deal) because it has the less desirable 9-row intercooler (the first thing I learned the hard way). I will tell you all about 9- vs 10-row intercoolers, etc......
The "bible" of the L swap is Str8tSix's thread esp if you have a 4X4. If you have 2-wheel drive truck, there are more options.....
k9dr
#13
09-19-2013, 07:46 PM
Greg, if I am not mistaken, here is the midplate you need to make your unit bolt up:
http://www.lightningrodder.com/forum...d.php?t=154162
Price not bad. Hard to find a lone '01+ midplate for less, I think.
k9dr
http://www.lightningrodder.com/forum...d.php?t=154162
Price not bad. Hard to find a lone '01+ midplate for less, I think.
k9dr
#14
09-23-2013, 02:53 PM
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Somerset, Ky.
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I understand the benefits of doing this on a budget, and Mike Dunn has the expertise to guide you through this conversion. He is very sharp! He is a wealth of information on this swap.
My concern with using an F-150 PCM and harness is that there are more outputs on the Lightning. If you leave these additional, harness side connectors open (Like the boost dump or dual fuel pumps for example), your PCM will detect the open circuit, set a code, and trip the light (Failure mode).
Tuners can turn many systems OFF, like EGR (For example), but there is a reason these systems are installed in the first place.
Let me give you two examples... First - On the 5.0 Mustang, they were turning the EGR off and disconnecting the coolant tube, for better performance. They were thinking the coolant running through the TB housing heats up the air. This is false, because EGR does two things. One- It COOLS the TB because that is where the EGR introduces exhaust into the intake charge, and exhaust temp in that tube is higher than coolant temp. In addition, the coolant flowing through the TB prevents ice from building up on the throttle blade during the winter. The last thing you need is for the throttle to stick open at WOT on any car, much less a blown V-8.
Disabling systems? To elaborate, a good example is EGR. It is only commanded at cruise. It re-introduces exhaust gases (Dead air) at a steady state cruise, which takes up volume and drops EGTs to prevent detonation. It is NOT commanded or in operation at idle OR WOT. And when you race you are at WOT, so why disable it? The gains would be negligible anyway.
Second- Another benefit is the fuel pump harness. You are going to need dual 255s at least, and the Lightning harness has the TWO harness connectors to do it right, as the Lightning PCM will control each pump separately.
My point is, the Lightning harness would be plug and play. If you use an F-150 harness and PCM, you would be required to deactivate the outputs not used on the F-150. This also avoids the need to cut the harness to extend and make connections to the existing sensors on the F-150 because the components are in different locations.
Sometimes splicing just can't be avoided. But on the inputs especially (5v circuits), every wire strand in every harness needs to remain intact to avoid changing the resistance in the wire (Especially on the O2 sensors), which affects the input signal. The 12 volt circuits are more forgiving, and are 12v circuits. If you do cut and splice, make clean cuts, and solder the connections. Then shrink wrap them to keep water out.
My concern with using an F-150 PCM and harness is that there are more outputs on the Lightning. If you leave these additional, harness side connectors open (Like the boost dump or dual fuel pumps for example), your PCM will detect the open circuit, set a code, and trip the light (Failure mode).
Tuners can turn many systems OFF, like EGR (For example), but there is a reason these systems are installed in the first place.
Let me give you two examples... First - On the 5.0 Mustang, they were turning the EGR off and disconnecting the coolant tube, for better performance. They were thinking the coolant running through the TB housing heats up the air. This is false, because EGR does two things. One- It COOLS the TB because that is where the EGR introduces exhaust into the intake charge, and exhaust temp in that tube is higher than coolant temp. In addition, the coolant flowing through the TB prevents ice from building up on the throttle blade during the winter. The last thing you need is for the throttle to stick open at WOT on any car, much less a blown V-8.
Disabling systems? To elaborate, a good example is EGR. It is only commanded at cruise. It re-introduces exhaust gases (Dead air) at a steady state cruise, which takes up volume and drops EGTs to prevent detonation. It is NOT commanded or in operation at idle OR WOT. And when you race you are at WOT, so why disable it? The gains would be negligible anyway.
Second- Another benefit is the fuel pump harness. You are going to need dual 255s at least, and the Lightning harness has the TWO harness connectors to do it right, as the Lightning PCM will control each pump separately.
My point is, the Lightning harness would be plug and play. If you use an F-150 harness and PCM, you would be required to deactivate the outputs not used on the F-150. This also avoids the need to cut the harness to extend and make connections to the existing sensors on the F-150 because the components are in different locations.
Sometimes splicing just can't be avoided. But on the inputs especially (5v circuits), every wire strand in every harness needs to remain intact to avoid changing the resistance in the wire (Especially on the O2 sensors), which affects the input signal. The 12 volt circuits are more forgiving, and are 12v circuits. If you do cut and splice, make clean cuts, and solder the connections. Then shrink wrap them to keep water out.
I had originally planned to use the L harness but something I read about there being a connector for the L transmission on the harness. I plan to at least initially keep my stock transmission. Will this be a problem? I also hadn't really planned on eliminating any sensors or egr. I read where a splice (or both sensors fed into one connector).can be fabricated for the L O2 sensors.
Thanks
Greg
Last edited by greggadberry; 09-23-2013 at 02:57 PM.
#15
09-24-2013, 09:00 PM
Greg,
Shoot me an email and I'm happy to help out with any questions. (itsdaveonline@gmail.com)
I've already performed this swap and have spare parts on hand to help you out.
Check out my build thread. http://www.f150forum.com/f6/4x4daves...nto-kr-208836/
Before you get too caught up. Don't use the lightning harness, its incredibly expensive and only adds more complexity. This would also require the lightning PCM and gauge cluster. This means you would also have to use the lightning barometric sensor and boost bypass. Also, dual pumps are NOT required. A single walbro 255 will suffice.
its really easy to use the N/A harness. All you have to do is extend 3 wires. Do not splice any wires for the transmission. Stay away haha... The swap is relatively easy and almost 100% bolt on. If you use the N/A harness you will just need to flash a custom tune. Also - Last i heard mike has leukemia, so it may be hard to get a hold of him.
Shoot me an email and I'm happy to help out with any questions. (itsdaveonline@gmail.com)
I've already performed this swap and have spare parts on hand to help you out.
Check out my build thread. http://www.f150forum.com/f6/4x4daves...nto-kr-208836/
Before you get too caught up. Don't use the lightning harness, its incredibly expensive and only adds more complexity. This would also require the lightning PCM and gauge cluster. This means you would also have to use the lightning barometric sensor and boost bypass. Also, dual pumps are NOT required. A single walbro 255 will suffice.
its really easy to use the N/A harness. All you have to do is extend 3 wires. Do not splice any wires for the transmission. Stay away haha... The swap is relatively easy and almost 100% bolt on. If you use the N/A harness you will just need to flash a custom tune. Also - Last i heard mike has leukemia, so it may be hard to get a hold of him.
Last edited by 4x4dave; 09-24-2013 at 09:09 PM.