Adding a turbo to my Old Ford 861 Diesel ?

[Hillbilly Delux]

Hey to all here at TBN I am a long time reader and first time poster.


I am in the process of rebuilding an old Ford 861 diesel and was thinking about adding a turbo to it. Has anyone seen or heard of anyone doing this? Also any pros/cons or anything I should be concerned about or take into account?

Thanks in advance to all the great resourceful people here.

 

[john_bud]

post up all your steps, I'd love to follow along.

 

[GManBart]

First off, welcome!

Second, why in the world would you want to add a turbo to an 861? What will you be able to do afterwards, that you can't do now?

 

[Hillbilly Delux]

First off, welcome!

Second, why in the world would you want to add a turbo to an 861? What will you be able to do afterwards, that you can't do now?

That's a good question. Maybe a four bottom plow? I just figured since I am going through the motor and giving this tractor a little TLC at the moment why not add a turbo? Factory specs between a gas version and a diesel version rate the gas version higher in h.p. and tourqe even though they are 172 cu inch engine. I was thinking maybe I might get a little more of both plus maybe even getting slightly better fuel economy than I already have from a cleaner more efficient combustion with out sacrificing the longevity of the motor. Just weighing the options right now I haven't decided yet if I am gonna do it yet or not. Plus the coolness factor.

 

[Hillbilly Delux]

First off, welcome!

Second, why in the world would you want to add a turbo to an 861? What will you be able to do afterwards, that you can't do now?

That's a good question. Maybe a four bottom plow? I just figured since I am going through the motor and giving this tractor a little TLC at the moment why not add a turbo? Factory specs between a gas version and a diesel version rate the gas version higher in h.p. and tourqe even though they are 172 cu inch engine. I was thinking maybe I might get a little more of both plus maybe even getting slightly better fuel economy than I already have from a cleaner more efficient combustion with out sacrificing the longevity of the motor. Just weighing the options right now I haven't decided yet if I am gonna do it yet or not. Plus the coolness factor.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

A turbo would give more power, but your still limited in the weight of the tractor.

 

[RickB]

The 861's less than robust crankshaft make it a poor choice for the additional combustion pressures and power production that a turbocharger would add. You want to modify a diesel engine, pick one that was designed as a diesel, not a spark ignition engine that was nothing more than a factory authorized diesel conversion.

 

[Hillbilly Delux]

I was thinking if I did turbo it I would need to add a stronger conecting rod and stronger head studs. Regardless wether I turbo it or not I am going to add me an oil cooler and maybe an electric higher CFM fan as the motor really was designed to be a gas guzzler and higher compression ratio of the diesel makes it run a tad on the hot side anyway.

 

[Jerry/MT]

My advice would to re-read RickB's post and heed that warning. You can't get more power and torque without increased loads on the components. Without knowing the design margins on the critical parts, it's a crap shoot from the engine longevity stand point.

 

[RickB]

I was thinking if I did turbo it I would need to add a stronger conecting rod and stronger head studs. Regardless wether I turbo it or not I am going to add me an oil cooler and maybe an electric higher CFM fan as the motor really was designed to be a gas guzzler and higher compression ratio of the diesel makes it run a tad on the hot side anyway.

Take whatever budget you have for this project, buy a six pack of beer and burn the rest of the cash in the backyard. You will still have a running tractor at the end. You are in way over your head. These 172 diesels don't run hot by nature, in fact Ford used a 2 blade fan to help boost operating temps to optimum levels.