Advice re retro fitting a turbo to a 2.8 non turbo Fiat Swift motorhome (1 Viewer)

[Edenside]

I have friend who has a Swift Motorhome that is not swift. It has the 2.8 non turbo engine (year 2000) he is considering sourcing a turbo to retro fit and just wondered what else it entails, has anyone on Motorhome Fun ever done this. Was there any dramatic change in power and fuel consumption. Advice please from knowledge people.

 

[PeteH]

There is a lot involved in retrofitting turbo`s. It`s not just the case of bolting a few bits on. IF he is convinced it necessary?, assuming the Motor had been thoroughly checked out, and nothing is amiss?. I would suggest that a complete engine transplant would be a better course?. Assuming there was that option New?. Which is not always the case?.

P.S. There was a post on the "Dark Side" asking the same question some time back?.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Before he does that he needs to get the vehicle on a Dynotune or such like to see what it is producing now. They should be able to tell you if there are cheaper options to improve performance. The issue with sticking a turbo on apart from the mechanics is that it could cause engine heating issues and in simple terms strain an engine that is not designed for turbo.

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[pappajohn]

Not of any use here, but I saw a 1.5ltr Lada Niva 4x4 fitted with an aftermarket turbo.
I doubt they would fit it to a mainly off road vehicle if it didn't help.
An after market turbo would also need a modified manifold/exhaust header pipe and most importantly, a reliable oil feed as did the Lada.
A lot of expense to gain a few horses.

 

[Boringfrog]

I'm sure the early pre Jtd engines are the same as the non turbo engines.

 

[Littlewheels]

All those years ago l purchased a New Motorhome non Turbo l then had it delivered to a specialist Turbo company for one fitting and eventually delivered to me, good idea NOT, seriously bad error. The engines are very different to Turbo models mine blew up and cost a fortune to put right.
Have a big rethink.

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[Silver-Fox]

Don’t do it.

It would seriously damage your wallet rebuilding the engine imho.

If anything do an engine swap.

 

[TheBig1]

There was a company that specialised in retrofitting turbos to motorhomes, but with the newer vans all having turbos, they eventually closed down

 

[Stealaway]

Non turbo engine have a much higher compression. You would need to fit a different set of pistons.

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[mitzimad]

Non turbo engine have a much higher compression. You would need to fit a different set of pistons.

or a decompression plate between head and block

 

[Lorryman100]

Would also need to consider the addition of an intercooler, remap of fuelling files in ecu and a dedicated oil feed. Would be easier transplanting a new complete engine.

 

[funflair]

I did it a lot of years ago to an old Merc 240D, well it wasn't old when I did it but pre ECU or anything electronic, I bought a kit STT which was Swedish and consisted of a Garret T3 turbo, new inlet and exhaust manifold, new air cleaner off a Volvo of course, oil feed pipe from the oil filter to the turbo and a return drain to weld into the sump, full set of instructions on resetting the injectors and fuel pump etc etc.

Worked well and actually got up the hills.

Not sure it would be quite so easy now.

Martin

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[PeterCarole29]

There is a lot involved in retrofitting turbo`s. It`s not just the case of bolting a few bits on. IF he is convinced it necessary?, assuming the Motor had been thoroughly checked out, and nothing is amiss?. I would suggest that a complete engine transplant would be a better course?. Assuming there was that option New?. Which is not always the case?.

P.S. There was a post on the "Dark Side" asking the same question some time back?.

Agree with above,

 

[Gromett]

Wildbill ended up swapping engine and gearbox. Not sure if this is why?

 

[chaser]

Probably cheaper to swap the whole van.

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[ambulancekidd]

I'd buy a scrap Ducato already fitted with a 2.8 turbo but not the JTD, there are plenty of rusty Ducato's out there.
Then you have everything to hand cheaply.
Its a fairly simple transplant from there on in for a decent DIY mechanic.

Wildbill popped one of these engines into his elderly Ducato to great success, however due to the differing age of the components, even he found it challenging, he is a wily old fox though & he took excellent photo's of the job.
I don't think that'd be the case with an age for age transplant.

You might find some info here.

Swapping old engine for new?

Hi folks, We’ve got a 2001 Peugeot Boxer Autosleeper Symbol. It’s fitted with a 2 litre petrol engine. As this is our first van (bought in 2017) we didn’t want to / couldn’t afford to, throw lots of money at a newer model and due to emissions regs. we couldn’t keep an old diesel on the road in...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

 

[ambulancekidd]

Wildbill ended up swapping engine and gearbox. Not sure if this is why?

You beat me to it mate, well done.

 

[Gromett]

I'd buy a scrap Ducato already fitted with a 2.8 turbo but not the JTD, there are plenty of rusty Ducato's out there.
Then you have everything to hand cheaply.
Its a fairly simple transplant from there on in for a decent DIY mechanic.

Wildbill popped one of these engines into his elderly Ducato to great success, however due to the differing age of the components, even he found it challenging, he is a wily old fox though & he took excellent photo's of the job.
I don't think that'd be the case with an age for age transplant.

You might find some info here.

Swapping old engine for new?

Hi folks, We’ve got a 2001 Peugeot Boxer Autosleeper Symbol. It’s fitted with a 2 litre petrol engine. As this is our first van (bought in 2017) we didn’t want to / couldn’t afford to, throw lots of money at a newer model and due to emissions regs. we couldn’t keep an old diesel on the road in...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

There has been a few threads of Bill's adventures. I think this is the main thread of the engine swap.

new project engine upgrade

I have always thought that the old bus was under powered so I have just bought a front end of a 2.8 iTD for a song it had a rear end shunt that bent the chases. It the old type td engine so not any electrical ECU to mess with just one drive shaft to machine and bottom engine munt to modify...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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[Edenside]

Thank you for all your replies. OH once retro fitted a turbo to a smiley transit which was a success but it was at least 10 years ago and he had to overcome some complications at the time. He does not want to get involved with his friends idea of retro fitting the turbo to his vehicle but just hoped someone may have done it before so he could pass any valuable information over, he wondered if the pump would need to be recalibrated etc. However I will get him to read Wildbill’s thread which may answer a few questions.

 

[Spawn_e_git]

There was a company that specialised in retrofitting turbos to motorhomes, but with the newer vans all having turbos, they eventually closed down

My previous MH was a 2000 Boxer which was stock non-turbo 2.5D

The previous owner has TB Turbo's in Lancaster fit a turbo. We did over 20K miles in it without problems but as Big1 says, I think that company has closed down.

IIRC the bill for this was in the region of £2K as well.