89 Caravan ES 2.4 SRT-4 Swap

[turbo84voyager]

Did yours look like this?
https://www.modernperformance.com/pr...engine_rebuild

Yes that's the one. I believe there is another one out there that has the heater line point in a different direction. I think Jon (MoparJohnny) had to use the other one because of the same issues I had.

[turbo84voyager]

Reassembling the front of the van. The intercooler only required a little trimming of the drivers headlight assembly and the assembly to be shimmed out slightly. It is now shimmed out much less than it was with the Volvo cooler.

[turbo84voyager]

Completed engine compartment. Intercooler plumbing is complete. The plumbing is much simpler than it was with the Volvo cooler. I am running a TurboXS RFL blow off valve.

[contraption22]

Looks very nice and neat!

[turbo84voyager]

Here is a side shot of the van after I buffed it this week. I picked up a HF Dual Action buffer. It had great reviews and I always wanted a D/A one since I already have regular buffers.

[turbo84voyager]

Looks very nice and neat!

Thanks! I tried my best make it as neat as possible and I didn't want a "hack" job. That's the problem with the dizzy on the head. It adds so much by the battery but there without going aftermarket im stuck with it. I really wanted to relocate the battery but I couldn't come up with a good solution so it will have to stay there for now.

[contraption22]

The only other option would be complete SRT-4 wiring...

[turbo84voyager]

I was driving around on Sunday and it really amazed me on how much more power it has even out of boost vs the 2.5. I am only running about 5 psi until I get all the fine tuning done and I was climbing hills and not even going into boost. At first I had the wastegate adjusted a little too tight so I had about 10 psi of boost. With 10 psi it ran better than the 2.5 ever did. I am happy with the boost response of the 46 trim turbo. I does not feel laggy at all. It feels much better than the 2.5 did. I believe my 2.5 had the wrong converter. I always questioned the converter and when I put this together it was not shifting. Turned out the governor was stuck. I was talking to a friend who built my old trans asking him if he had an idea why it would not shift. I told him about the trans I built and as soon as I said I got the high stall converter he didn't like that. He got me the converter for my old trans and I bet it was a normal stall.

[A.J.]

The only other option would be complete SRT-4 wiring...

Pfffft. I'll let you know how Mega Squirt works out on the 2.4 in my van.

[turbo84voyager]

Let me know. My origin plan was to use it and I already built the jimstim. I decided to go this route because I was already familiar with tuning the SMEC.

[Vigo]

I personally am not a fan of the converter in my 2.4 van, but i think part of that is because it still has the stock SRT4 turbofold. It spools ridiculously fast, so the converter just seems pointlessly, annoyingly loose. I honestly feel like i can't tell what the engine feels like off-boost because between the converter and the tiny turbo there's no way to be in load but out of boost.

It is getting the 5spd stuff out of my other van once that van has actually made a good drag pass, so im not too worried about the converter thing for now.

What does yours stall at, roughly? Mine goes to ~3400-3500 going down the road. I havent tried a brakestand with it.

[turbo84voyager]

The stall is around 3 grand. I believe Rob told me he used a stock replacement non lockup high stall converter in yours. One thing to remember is doing a 5 speed swap in yours is not easy. This is the reason I didnt put the 2.4 in my shadow (5-spd). The later 2.4 like mine and yours has the oil return in the back of the block. This causes starter clearance issues. I clearanced my block for a starter but even with the ND gear redction starter, the bolt for the starter motor needs to be modified to clear the block. Even then the starter is tight against the block. I didnt want to deal with starter problems so I decided to put it in the van and use an auto. Your other option is a T850 but that requires you to convert it to a hydraulic clutch. A T350 with a cable clutch will work but you will need custom axles made.

[Vigo]

Thanks for the tips. I figured since others are running 568s that i would be able to figure out how to use a 523, but i hadnt looked into it yet. It doesn't sound that bad considering the huge upsides (for me) of a 5spd. It's not a priority right now since i am not ready to take the other van apart yet. I am actually considering putting a lower stall converter in the van for the time being since a regular reman is so cheap.

But, if i take the trans down i will be tempted to succumb to mission creep and convert it back to lockup..

Either way since you have a tighter converter and a larger turbo it probably feels much more progressive in your van.

[wheming]

Nice work. Love the clean install.
I think a 2.4T will be in my future at some point down the road.

[ShelGame]

The only other option would be complete SRT-4 wiring...

Until I can get a '95 Neon FCC to run '92 turbo code...

[turbo84voyager]

Thanks for the tips. I figured since others are running 568s that i would be able to figure out how to use a 523, but i hadnt looked into it yet. It doesn't sound that bad considering the huge upsides (for me) of a 5spd. It's not a priority right now since i am not ready to take the other van apart yet. I am actually considering putting a lower stall converter in the van for the time being since a regular reman is so cheap.

But, if i take the trans down i will be tempted to succumb to mission creep and convert it back to lockup..

Either way since you have a tighter converter and a larger turbo it probably feels much more progressive in your van.

Either a 568 or 523 would require the same work. But I don't believe there are many if not any out there running the later block and this trans. Pretty much all of the 2.4's running the TD manual transmissions are early 2.4 blocks. These blocks don't have the starter clearance problem.

[turbo84voyager]

Nice work. Love the clean install.
I think a 2.4T will be in my future at some point down the road.

Thanks Wayne

- - - Updated - - -

Until I can get a '95 Neon FCC to run '92 turbo code...

I guess I better not get rid of the 95 neon ecu I have in storage... But even if you don't get it to work Rob you did an awesome job with your cals. This thing fired right up the first time using your base cal. Thanks again for the help!!

[Vigo]

But I don't believe there are many if not any out there running the later block and this trans. Pretty much all of the 2.4's running the TD manual transmissions are early 2.4 blocks. These blocks don't have the starter clearance problem.

Well i dont care about plugging and relocating the oil drain and i could swear i'd seen pics of blocks that were ground down on the oil return ribs area (iirc?) so i was operating under the assumption it was still a possibility.

[A.J.]

Rich Bryant is using a later block an a 568 I believe. Look up his build page and/or PM him.

[turbo84voyager]

He is running the later block but he used a piece of strapping for the starter motor bolt and I don't believe his car is running. I did everything he did to mine but The starter bolt scared me for use on a daily driver. It can be done but its tight. There are others that did it but some accidently ground too far into the block. You also have to relocate the oil sending unit because it is in the way. I messed around with this setup on my garage floor for a few months buying different things and in the end I didn't feel comfortable with anything I came up with. This is the reason the 2.4 went onto the van and not the shadow. My conclusion was to find an older 2.4 for the shadow.