Hello, I am in need of a good daily driver that gets good mpg. I currently have a 91 caravan with a N/A 2.5 w/ 5sp (not running) and an 88 caravan with a turbo 2.5 & auto (blown head gasket). What I would like to do is combine the turbo engine and manual tranny. My question is this... would it be easier putting the manual tranny in the 88 or putting the turbo engine in the 91???
Swap Engine or Tranny???
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
The turbo engine is bone stock. I am more concerned with mpg then hp ( man Im getting old!) How much of a pain will it be to swap out the pedals and shifter?? That is the only thing tahat worries me.
Also is there any mods I can do to increase the mpg on my turbo engine?
Also is there any mods I can do to increase the mpg on my turbo engine?
Joined
·
657 Posts
Yeah, take the turbo off.
Underdrive pulley would increase mpg. Leaning out the fuel a little bit would help. Not sure if an intercooler would help. Weight reduction would be big plus. Opening up the exhaust would decrease some of the restriction and improve your mpg as long as you don't take advantage of the HP gain.
turbo vans get great gas mileage anyways, drive it easy and you'll hardly ever push the gas more than a 1/8th pedal, but yeah weight reduction and a bigger exhaust will bump up the mpg.
as far as the 5 speed swap, i've done it and its not bad, you'll need the pedal assembly with the rod that goes through it and the metal basket that supports it, you'll also need the obvious, tranny, shifter setup, cables and cable brackets (on the strut tower) it will idle a little weird when you brake hard with the auto ecu, but it will be fine if you dont swap in a 5spd turbo ecu. go to Donovan's Dodge Garage gary has pics and a write up on the steps of doing the exact same swap.
manual minis are more fun, people are like WTF?? if the interiors match swap out the column too to get rid of the shifter, that is a easy swap also.
as far as the 5 speed swap, i've done it and its not bad, you'll need the pedal assembly with the rod that goes through it and the metal basket that supports it, you'll also need the obvious, tranny, shifter setup, cables and cable brackets (on the strut tower) it will idle a little weird when you brake hard with the auto ecu, but it will be fine if you dont swap in a 5spd turbo ecu. go to Donovan's Dodge Garage gary has pics and a write up on the steps of doing the exact same swap.
manual minis are more fun, people are like WTF?? if the interiors match swap out the column too to get rid of the shifter, that is a easy swap also.
If you get a stand alone ecu, you can also tune that to give you the best gas mileage and rering the engine if it has low compression.
There's a lot of little stuff that you can also do that's not so involved...skinnier tires, bigger diameter tires, high air pressure in the tires, full synthetic in trans and engine, less restrictive intake, less restrictive exhaust, I would think that a bigger intercooler would help, new air filter...
There's a lot of little stuff that you can also do that's not so involved...skinnier tires, bigger diameter tires, high air pressure in the tires, full synthetic in trans and engine, less restrictive intake, less restrictive exhaust, I would think that a bigger intercooler would help, new air filter...
Wouldn't "drafting" give you better mileage??
1 - 13 of 13 Posts
