95.5 and 96 3.4 tacoma TURBO problem!!!

Ok, I have a 96 3.4L 4x4 xcab tacoma. I'm rounding up everything I need to install a turbo on it. Here's the problem... on the 95.5 and 96 tacos, the ECU doesn't know how to compensate for boost, so it retards the timing and therefore causes the truck to die. I'm trying to figure out why and how to fix it without swapping ECU's.
Before a discussion starts I just want to add a few things that are and are NOT going to happen, just so that the thread doesn't get contaminated with off-topic stuff:
YES I'm going to have the truck dyno tuned.
NO I'm not going to do Meth injection
NO I don't want to make my truck a hot rod, just gain a little bit more power.
YES I plan on upgrading fuel pump and injectors, but after I achieve a successful turbo build
YES I have called Gadget from URD and spoke with him... with no real answer.
YES I have read thread after thread after thread on site after site after site with no luck.
NO under no circumstances will I consider trading my truck for a 97... it has sentimental value.
NO I am not willing to just put some high flow exhaust system and cold air intake in it and call it good instead of actually boosting it.

Sorry if that comes off as rude or blunt, but I KNOW it can be done, and I know it can be done easily with the addition of a piggyback or some sort of wire or vacuum line hack... I'm just trying to find the guy that made that happen and could set that straight here once and for all.
Much love and thanks for your time and input.

 

AEM FIC Piggy back system. We run it on a 96 4runner with no issues.

 

You need a 97 ECU for a V6 4wd..and either auto or manual. It'll swap right in. Solves the retarding timing issue.

Either way you going to need a nice piggy back unit to handle everything anyways so might not need to be swapped.

 

The 96 4runner ECU has the same capabilities as the 97 Tacoma. Both can register boost no problem. So I need info on strictly the 95-96 3.4 tacos only. Thanks for your time though

 

Yeah I figured that. Ill probably get the mapecu3 but its like $600
I suppose ill just swap ECUs for now and have a few psi of boost until I can afford a piggyback.

 

yes you will need a a piggy back for really anything over 4 psi out of a small turbo.

and you should just need a 97 tacoma 4wd V6 manual ecu.

Not sure id go with a 4runner as there can be extra stuff on it. But not really sure. I only know going to a 97 taco ecu has worked out well.

 

Its so much more work than I would have ever thought, but its still worth it. My truck has 230k miles on it and I just want maybe 100 ponies at the very most. I keep running into the same problem when I call the local yards and even Toyota when I ask for the part number of a compatible 97 ECU. They wont tell me anything but "your truck wasn't made to have a 97 ECU its supposed to have a 96 and I need your vin # bla bla bla". Its quite frustrating actually. Guess I still have eBay. Thanks for your time.

 

turboing a NA motor is never easy. And honestly from the sounds of it..your not totally 100% sure on what your doing..

what are you doing for headers?

turbo?

fuel?

Electronics?

if you only want 100hp, a SC would be a much easier route. Just swap the ECUs and get a trd charger and URD add on and you'll be well over 100hp, but cheaper to setup and not as custom or intense to make work.

 

Not even close to 100% haha. Na I'll figure it out though. I'm going to be rocking a t3/t4 63ar remote mount turbo with no intercooler, so that will save me quite a few bucks compared to a S/C ($700-900 VS $1500-$3000). I'm going a little crazy on my oiling though with rigging up a completely independent system. I'm looking for 100% reliability. If the turbo takes a dump or starts to leak oil, then I can just turn the boost controller to "off" and not have to worry about getting home... or getting to work the next day (DD). I just want to make sure I can achieve some boost before I upgrade my fuel delivery and start buying electronics. Guys have been able to get 60hp and 4-7 psi on completely stock fuel components and electronics, so I'm comfortable with getting to that point before I start creating a monster. I'm going to eventually get the URD turbo port fueler w/ 318cc injectors and a walbro 255 fuel pump. I'm still debating between the URD MAF & timing calibrator and the map-ECU3. That's a $400 difference I'm willing to pay, but only if I need to. And then too I can just make it easy and just buy the urd 6 injector fuel upgrade kit, but I've heard it doesn't work properly with a turbo as opposed to the S/C its meant for. I guess ill deal with it when I get to that point.

 

You will need the Map ECU3 for the turbo port injector. No other way to do it.

also..you can't just turn off a turbo. Its litereally not possible.

wastegates are what regulate the boots. Boost controllers regulate the wastegates.

BUT. Wastegates can only go asl low as the minium boost allowed by the spring inside them. So if you want low boost you need a 4psi spring in your wastegate. That also means, that no matter what you do..you can only run 4 psi as your minimum. YOu don't even need a boost controller to run the minimum spring rating.

what a boost controller does help with is it keep the wastegate closed for a longer time thus more exhaust is routed to the turbo for quicker spool and then it opens up the wastegate as soon as set boost preassure is hit allowing all the excess exhaust go through it.

YOu'll also need a BOV or you'll get bleeding back through the turbo and that'll make it run like shit.

honestly..there is no 100% reliabitly when your turboing an NA motor.

It sounds to me that just a SC kit would be better for your needs. sure it seems more expensive now..but by the time your down doing a turbo setup correctly..it'll be way more then a SC setup.

just cause the turbo cost 700 bucks..doesn't mean its going to cost that. You have to do WAY more then that.

don't just slap a turbo on it and call it good for now..it won't run right. I had a friend do that to his t100..had no idea what he was doing. Blew the motor apart twice before just getting rid of everything.

 

The BOV is the first thing I bought for the setup. And I meant turn the boost down to stock (disabling or "turning off" any wastegate actuator manipulation) if and when I am able to deliver more than 7 or 8 psi to the engine. I'm going to keep a good eye on everything and I'm definitely going to have it tuned if I'm not in a position to do it myself (like if I don't YET have the MAP-ECU3 and turbo port fueler.) I didn't want to do a S/C for a few different reasons. 1.) I wanted the gratifying experience of gathering all the different supplies from different sources to boost a vehicle myself instead of buying a kit and slapping it on. 2.) You get better performance and less heat for every psi than you do a S/C. 3.)Everything about a turbocharger is cheaper and easier to find than a S/C including replacement parts (not so "year make and model" limited). With the addition of the extra independent oil supply system, I'm almost exactly set back a little under $900. And that is everything needed to successfully get boost to the intake manifold. A brand new S/C is more than twice that. Yeah its a lot more time and labor extensive, but its the route I wanted to go.
I ordered the one and only 97 3.4 4WD mani tranny ECU I've been able to find for under $900 yesterday BTW

 

What exhaust manifold are you going to use?

And your not understanding me.

You can NOT turn off a turbo...ever..period. The waste gate won't allow it. It doesn't matter if you have a boost controller or not. The waste gate will ALWAYS run at the minimum spring pressure.

Yes it's gratifying...but..I think your stepping into something you have very little knowledge on and no how. It will cost you much more then 900. If it was that cheap and easy...everyone would do it.

It's not.

But best of luck to you.

 

Yes I know about the waste gate and MBC, all I'm saying is if something goes wrong with the turbo, then ill be basically stepping things down to minimum so that more damage isn't caused. If you restrict a 5psi wastegate spring 5 more psi with a MBC, then it will realistically take 10 psi to function right? At least that's what I've been told. Think of what I'm doing as a 4x cheaper STS kit. That's all it is.
And I'm talking about stock 8psi (or whatever the WG spring min is rated) NOT turn it down to factory NA truck stock. I'm well aware that you can't just "turn off" a turbo. I shoulda been more clear, my bad.

 

Your doing a rear mount then? Hope you know a guy that's good with custom piping.

If you have a waste gate with a 5psi spring that is the minimum amount of boost you can run. You can go as high as you want from there. But that's as low as you can go. You can not turn the turbo off.

A boost controller isn't going to restrict the waste gate. It works off vacuum. It can hold the 5psi spring open for it. Exhaust pressure is needed to push. Hence why you'll always have boost no matter what with a minimum amount of 5psi.

Rear mount work good, bit laugh so you probably won't hit full boost till even 3.5k. Only gives you 2k rpms with full boost.

If you offroad a lot. Definitely not the most reliable way to do.

If you got a full ecu you could program maps with a turbo and without big the turbo blows..which in the back going through lots of offroading conditions..seals will go bad in a hurry especially with a cheap turbo you could remove the turbo in the trail. You have to come ups with a way to plug everything off though as well.

 

I off-road with my 4runner more so bouncing around wont be a problem. I have an arc welder so the mounts and piping wont be an issue. Rear mount turbos see temperatures that are somewhere around 500°f less than under the hood set ups, so it burning out due to my negligence (that isn't going to happen anyway) is extremely unlikely.

 

Update guys. The 97 4runner ECU/CPU computer I orderd came in the mail today. IT WORKS! Everything works perfectly. So for future reference, a 4runner ECU will work in a 95 and 96 3.4 Tacoma. Its a part # 89661-3D310. Don't bother calling Toyota.
I just ordered the rest of my turbo stuff so we'll be boosting in a week or two.

 

check this out, should help a bit.

http://www.powerblocktv.com/episodes/TK2011-11/extended-coma-part-2-adding-a-turbo

 

Gio I have a URD port fueler, MAF + FTC AND some 318s if you're interested

-Bubs

 

Ok change of plans. This gentleman on top of this post "Bubs" has a URD turbo port fueler/injectors+318 primary injectors and the URD AIC+FTC... so I'm going to take those off of his hands and use those instead of the mapecu3. Don't worry, an in depth YouTube video is in the near future.

 

Heck yeah man, thanks!