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3.7L V6 turbocharging question

18K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  Robbywells03 
#1 ·
So I know this is a topic of debate among members and owners of the baby engine in the rams, my question is this

Not whether it can be turbo'd out not, but if one were to turbo this engine, due to the claimed weaknesses of it, what would need replacing/strengthening on order to handle a low amount of boost?

I always hear the ring landing from people on hear, but I've never actually seen anyone that speaks from experience, just hear-say...

I know the common answer to this is why not but the hemi or swap it...
My answer to that already is 1: truck is paid off and got a good deal on it 2: I don't want to sink several thousand into it if (IF) a turbo setup could potentially be cheaper to do overall 3: I have no intension of trading my truck for another and taking on payments again until this truck up and dies, which hopefully will be awhile
 
#4 ·
I don't think I've ever heard of anyone switching to forced induction and not upgrading the transmission, especially with a turbo.

So add a transmission to the list.

I don't know much about the V6 but I can tell you going turbo is gong to cost $7,000+. That's probably pretty conservative too since I think the engine is going to need some major work done to it.

A supercharger would be cheaper but the transmission would still need some work as well.
 
#6 ·
Replace pistons, you're right the stock ring land is what got the blower kits that were available cancelled. Stock 3.7 is 210-215 hp, if you put turbos to it you will need custom cams to really take advantage of boost, not to mention all the piping, turbo(s), tuning (not sure if a 3.7 PCM in 06 can be custom tuned?), fuel pressure booster, etc. If you stay with a fairly low level of boost (no more than 6-7psi) the rest of the engine will probably live (as will an RFE if that's the trans you have) since you'll probably be making about as much power as a stock 08+ 4.7 (maybe).

In summary, this engine is not really going through all that trouble unless you have the personal know how and/or cubic dollars to go with it. Plus once done, you wouldn't get shit on a trade plus difficulty selling it.
 
#7 ·
After speaking with people from summit racing and a few custom builders I know, I've heard that yes you can turbo or supercharge the 3.7. However you do have to replace at least the pistons for low boost and replace the entire bottom end. Crank, cam, pistons and valves and springs for higher boost. Along with that you will also have to either upgrade your current trans and rear end with better internal or just replace them with new more stout parts. The good news is if you are like me and can't afford thousands of dollars for this kind of upgrade you can get a lot of the items you need from local junk yards. They have turbos, piping, and just about anything you're going to need to do it on the cheap. The most expensive part if you go that route is going to be finding a tuner to do a custom tune before you can start the truck and then dial everything in. Most charge about 500.00 an hour for tuning and dyno time. From what I've heard, and this is just hearsay mind you. If you do rebuild all the internals and upgrade the drive line and run about 15lbs of boost, you will get more power and torque than the hemi as well as better gas mileage. If you don't drive it like I would if I could do mine LOL. Hope this helps.
 
#12 ·
So I'm here a bit late but I just got a hold of the fabled 3.7. I was really expecting more of a after-market support for them because its in the jeep's and stratus's and all that right? I was thinking about adding turbos at least (mostly for sound like a Ebay set of twins and really low boost). But if anyone is still around what would you think about a 12 valve swap in a 2003 2WD 1500 I know that the motor and trans should bolt right in I've done a few LS swaps in old Chevy's and a few other stuff so if I have to do some fab is not a problem for me. I know I'd have too swap my stock electronic's / rear end / driveshaft / fuel system / and tons of other stuff but I have a 1998 12 valve that was totaled out. I was wanting to know if that's something anyone else has done or thought about doing this kinda swap?
 
#13 ·
As much as I hate contributing to a resurrected zombie thread...
3.7 is the same engine family as the 4.7, as such was only available in Jeeps and Rams. No actual cars. The took off 2 cylinders out of a 4.7 and increased the stroke to create the 3.7 as a replacement for both the old 3.9 V6 (which itself was a 318 minus two cylinders) and the old 4L Jeep inline 6. Just like the 4.7 from whence it came, pretty much little to no aftermarket support for this engine because it was never designed to be any kind of performance engine. Closest this family ever got was the early 00's 4.7 HO in the Grand Cherokees (260hp with better intake manifold, more compression, better cams and a forged crank) and then the crazy 08-13 310hp 4.7 with better heads, intake manifold and cams.
You'd have to stick with REALLY LOW boost, because no one makes forged components for that engine. You might be able to source 4.7 pistons and rods for it but not a crank. There are no upgrades so far as top end except for the usual port and polish, maybe larger valves and custom cams.
That's a helluva jump from twin turbo on a 3.7 to a 12V in a 1500 lol. It has been done, guy blew up his 360 in his 2002 and swapped one in. Took three months to get it to fire (electronics) and about six months to get the cluster and whatnot to operate correctly. When asked he said he wouldn't do that swap again.
 
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