Hi,
Im looking into adding turbo to a ford fiesta 1.8LX diesel, hopefully doing it myself if its a reasonable project.
Just looking for some advice on it, i.e what parts do you need, could you find most parts at the breakers, is it a DIY job etc..
?
Any info, im sure, would help !
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Be careful;the reason Ford never fitted a turbo to the Fiesta was that the gearbox could not handle the torque;it is fitted with the ib5 g/box whilst the Escort turbos use mtx75 g/box which is too big to fit the Fiesta.
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johnmac,
Adding a turbo to your Fiesta could be, and probably would be, very expensive and quite difficult. My experience is more with industrial and marine type diesels rather than those in cars but I expect the problems are similar -- Typically: stronger crankshaft, larger cooling system, higher output oil pump, different compression ratio, different fueling rate, different exhaust manifolding, different air intake trunking ...
I can also understand the comment about the gearbox possibly being too weak; this is something I came across myself during the course of my work, when the available torque output of a new diesel engine design had to be severely curtailed because the available gearboxes couldn't take it.
I would advise patience with what you have until you are ready for a change of car. Incidentally, my son has a Skoda Fabia 1.9SDi (non-turbo) and he is delighted with it. He enjoys the way it delivers its power and says that the times when he could use the extra oomph of a turbo engine are very limited. Also, he points out that the insurance rating is lower and there are less bits to go wrong! Despite having owned some fast cars like the Peugeot 1.9GTI, and having driven them as though they have only two speeds ('stop' and 'flat out'), he has no desire for a turbo at all.
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There was a similar question on a Citroen board recently and the consensus was that there were actually so many differences to the engine and gearbox (crankshaft,pistons, camshaft etc) that it would be far cheaper and easier to buy a complete turbo engine. I suspect the same is true of Ford diesels. Therewere also other factors like the ability to go and accelerate faster meant that the turbos also had uprated brake discs, pads and calipers which you may have overlooked - would you need better tyres/wheels/suspension?
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I think there was a 1.8 turbo engine in the late (2000MY on) Fiesta Mk3/4/5 - whatever you want to call it. With a stonking 75 bhp it's no rocket ship but you might be able to chip it. They seem to start at £4-5k and I guess you could eventually track down all the right parts. If you are driving anything under 5 years old, it will almost certainly work out cheaper to sell it and get one of these complete.
If you do use an older Fiesta as a base, things like the wiring loom would almost certainly be different. The ECU might have to come to terms with a different exhaust and air intake. (It might not but you'd need to find out). On top of that, you'll have to find an insurance company that likes dealing with modified cars - so if you're with "Careful drivers in beige Maestros plc" you'll need to find a new insurer. Plus, you'll never get back any of the money you put in when it comes to resale.
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There was never a turbo on the diesel Fiesta(there is now on the latest Fiesta).There was a turbo conversion made in Spain-a much smaller turbo than the Escort one.Skin and rice pudding spring to mind.If you were to do it with Escort parts the ECU only appeared 96.5my onwards-earlier ones were only controlled by the pump.
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John - Please don't do it!
Save your pennies and buy a Peugeot 306 TD or similar - a far better bet than the Festa ;-)
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