4.0 V6 ProCharger Project
08-04-2012, 09:04 PM
#1
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4.0 V6 ProCharger Project
I'm posting this thread to document my experience and hopefully it will help others in the future. I sure as hell hope the final outcome will be good.
My ProCharger kit was delivered 10 days after I placed the order with AM, which I think is really good. I don't have much time to do any work this week so I will start the installation next Friday (8/10/12). But I did have a couple hours to take inventory of all the parts, and I was a bit surprised at how many there actually are. I also extended the MAF harness which required some wire cutting, soldering, etc. This saves me a couple of hours next weekend.
Here's a couple of pics to start with.
My ProCharger kit was delivered 10 days after I placed the order with AM, which I think is really good. I don't have much time to do any work this week so I will start the installation next Friday (8/10/12). But I did have a couple hours to take inventory of all the parts, and I was a bit surprised at how many there actually are. I also extended the MAF harness which required some wire cutting, soldering, etc. This saves me a couple of hours next weekend.
Here's a couple of pics to start with.
08-10-2012, 03:19 PM
#3
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Well folks, the work begins this evening and deep into the night. I'm really excited and nervous, but hopefully I will complete it by Saturday afternoon. If not the car sits for the week and the wifey drives the truck. :-) Here's a pic of the goodies minus the blower itself.
Last edited by kzonts; 08-10-2012 at 03:22 PM.
08-11-2012, 07:26 PM
#4
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The ProCharger is alive. Thanks very, very much to Clint for helping me this weekend. I would have been toast if he wasn't there and probably would never have finished this weekend.
I started the install by myself at 11PM Friday night and we finished Saturday at 4:40PM. I worked all night and managed to finish installing the intercooler, all of the passenger side plumbing and some of the drivers side, and the fuel injectors. When Clint arrived Saturday morning we installed the new spark plugs and then hit the auto parts store for some needed supplies. Then we attached the blower to the main bracket, finished the rest of the plumbing (BIG pain in the ***!), rerouted the power steering hoses and filled the power steering reservoir, loaded the tunes and fired her up!
More details and lessons learned to come.
I started the install by myself at 11PM Friday night and we finished Saturday at 4:40PM. I worked all night and managed to finish installing the intercooler, all of the passenger side plumbing and some of the drivers side, and the fuel injectors. When Clint arrived Saturday morning we installed the new spark plugs and then hit the auto parts store for some needed supplies. Then we attached the blower to the main bracket, finished the rest of the plumbing (BIG pain in the ***!), rerouted the power steering hoses and filled the power steering reservoir, loaded the tunes and fired her up!
More details and lessons learned to come.
Last edited by kzonts; 08-12-2012 at 10:54 PM.
08-11-2012, 07:33 PM
#5
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Here's a quick video of the first startup. I will be taking some test drives tomorrow once the bumper is back in place.
http://flic.kr/p/cPVp33
http://flic.kr/p/cPVp33
Last edited by kzonts; 08-12-2012 at 04:17 AM.
08-11-2012, 07:49 PM
#6
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Now that the worst is over (LOL), I'd like to share some information for those who may be doing this in the future.
1. Never try this without help. Bad idea. Unless you have experience doing this it will take two days to complete. And as mentioned in the beginning of this thread, if you're pressed for time you can extend the MAF wiring harness ahead of time and just tie it up until later. If you're good at soldering it shouldn't take more than an hour, but for me a bit longer.
2. I had to put spacers in the passenger side bumper bolt. It was protruding too far and hitting one of the intercooler pipes. You will have to remove the foam bumper cover to get to the bolts. It's held on with 4 plastic snap inserts and real easy to pop on and off.
3. I had to relocate the horns to make room for the pop-off valve. Luckily there was another hole I could use to simply move them toward the rear of the car which was perfect.
4. Running all those pipes is a really tough job. Very difficult to get them situated in the right position. The ProCharger installation guide is pretty good but the pictures of the plumbing aren't very helpful here. But there is a main diagram that shows the entire system which helps when doing this. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time and be patient.
5. I stripped a bolt where the small bracket connects to the engine. It calls for 12 ft/lbs and they are not kidding. Luckily I was able to find a longer bolt at the auto parts store which solved my problem.
6. You will frequently make use of various four letter words.
7. Be sure to install the belt before tightening the supercharger. To tighten the long threaded studs into the engine block you can use the handy trick of using two nuts joined together. Clint educated me on this. :-) Yes I confess, I'm not any where near a master mechanic.
8. Install new spark plugs.
9. You will spend a lot of time on your back if you don't have a lift. Make sure you SAFELY secure the car with jack stands or ramps rated for your vehicle.
10. Have some power steering fluid handy.
11. You will need a good pair of tin snips to trim a few of the rubber elbows. The special elbow for the blower inlet had to be trimmed quite a bit to get it to fit between the blower and the radiator. And it was extremely difficult to get the damn thing on the blower.
12. You will need some bandaids for the blisters you get trimming the rubbers elbows. :-)
13. The kit said you would need a breaker bar so I purchased one. We never needed it.
14. I checked for fuel leaks as directed in the ProCharger guide, but I decided to buy a small fire extinguisher just in case. Messing around with the fuel injectors made me nervous. And besides, it's aways good to have one in the car anyway.
15. After struggling with fitting the blower elbow in between the radiator and blower, I drilled new holes for the radiator bracket and moved the radiator forward about 1/2 inch. Much better!
16. Had to cut the radiator cover around the blower elbow.
17. When reinstalling the front fascia, don't forget to put the foam bumper cover back on and attach the outside temperature sensor to the facia. I forgot to do both and had to remove the fascia again. :-)
I'm sure there's more, but for now that about covers it. Can't wait until tomorrow to see what she's got.
1. Never try this without help. Bad idea. Unless you have experience doing this it will take two days to complete. And as mentioned in the beginning of this thread, if you're pressed for time you can extend the MAF wiring harness ahead of time and just tie it up until later. If you're good at soldering it shouldn't take more than an hour, but for me a bit longer.
2. I had to put spacers in the passenger side bumper bolt. It was protruding too far and hitting one of the intercooler pipes. You will have to remove the foam bumper cover to get to the bolts. It's held on with 4 plastic snap inserts and real easy to pop on and off.
3. I had to relocate the horns to make room for the pop-off valve. Luckily there was another hole I could use to simply move them toward the rear of the car which was perfect.
4. Running all those pipes is a really tough job. Very difficult to get them situated in the right position. The ProCharger installation guide is pretty good but the pictures of the plumbing aren't very helpful here. But there is a main diagram that shows the entire system which helps when doing this. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time and be patient.
5. I stripped a bolt where the small bracket connects to the engine. It calls for 12 ft/lbs and they are not kidding. Luckily I was able to find a longer bolt at the auto parts store which solved my problem.
6. You will frequently make use of various four letter words.
7. Be sure to install the belt before tightening the supercharger. To tighten the long threaded studs into the engine block you can use the handy trick of using two nuts joined together. Clint educated me on this. :-) Yes I confess, I'm not any where near a master mechanic.
8. Install new spark plugs.
9. You will spend a lot of time on your back if you don't have a lift. Make sure you SAFELY secure the car with jack stands or ramps rated for your vehicle.
10. Have some power steering fluid handy.
11. You will need a good pair of tin snips to trim a few of the rubber elbows. The special elbow for the blower inlet had to be trimmed quite a bit to get it to fit between the blower and the radiator. And it was extremely difficult to get the damn thing on the blower.
12. You will need some bandaids for the blisters you get trimming the rubbers elbows. :-)
13. The kit said you would need a breaker bar so I purchased one. We never needed it.
14. I checked for fuel leaks as directed in the ProCharger guide, but I decided to buy a small fire extinguisher just in case. Messing around with the fuel injectors made me nervous. And besides, it's aways good to have one in the car anyway.
15. After struggling with fitting the blower elbow in between the radiator and blower, I drilled new holes for the radiator bracket and moved the radiator forward about 1/2 inch. Much better!
16. Had to cut the radiator cover around the blower elbow.
17. When reinstalling the front fascia, don't forget to put the foam bumper cover back on and attach the outside temperature sensor to the facia. I forgot to do both and had to remove the fascia again. :-)
I'm sure there's more, but for now that about covers it. Can't wait until tomorrow to see what she's got.
Last edited by kzonts; 08-17-2012 at 02:42 AM.
08-12-2012, 10:28 AM
#8
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Join Date: Dec 2010
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I took her for a drive this morning. This thing sounds like a jet airplane.
The power isn't at all noticeable until the RPM's are higher. The best way to drive it now is to manually shift. This allows me to control the RPM's and really feel the added power. Maybe it's time for a rachet shifter.
So far not too bad.
The power isn't at all noticeable until the RPM's are higher. The best way to drive it now is to manually shift. This allows me to control the RPM's and really feel the added power. Maybe it's time for a rachet shifter.
So far not too bad.
Last edited by kzonts; 08-12-2012 at 10:59 PM.
