Magnuson SC risk?

New to this forum but I really have enjoyed browsing so far. I've been kicking this idea around for some time now. I'm very tempted to get a new Magnuson supercharger, but I'm fairly confident that I could continue to drive the truck as-is for at least another 10 years if I chose to. Do I (significantly) risk damaging the engine by installing a SC. If I did install one I'm sure I would enjoy it, but the truck probably would never intentionally see redline conditions.

Vehicle health: I'm the second owner. All maintenance has been done on time, or sooner. It is an automatic with the tow prep package. 5VZ-FE engine. Various mods listed in my profile (I think) but I recently installed a Magnaflow muffler. The truck runs absolutely beautifully and has given me no issues. I don't really want to perform a compression test for two reasons: first, I'm pretty sure it would pass, and second, I just replaced the spark plugs and don't want to mess with them.

If installing a SC will/may change the reliability of the truck, I'll likely pass. Not to mention a new SC is just under $3k. One comfort is Magnuson used to make the SCs for TRD back when TRD still offered superchargers. They also would not void your warranty if installed by a Toyota dealer.

Thoughts?

 

@1997tacomav6

 

Scottalot, that has been the general consensus amongst my friends as well. I thought I would ask a group of Tacoma owners what they thought. Thanks for your input. I'm kinda hoping you all talk me out of it and save me $3-4k!!

 

I mean I love my Tacoma but if I wanted to drive something fast I'd drop the money on a sports car. In the end it's still a pickup truck not tuned for performance. If I can get a good deal on a used supercharger hell yeah I would throw that on my engine, but 3k is a little much. You can get some cheap 6 cylinder sports car for that kind of money that'll blow the Tacoma out of the water speed wise.

 

I hear you. For me, I'm looking for a little more pep when climbing hills or just driving around. Not trying to compete with my neighbor that drives a Porsche Carrera. I actually found a partially rebuilt Gen 1 TRD SC on this forum for $1250 I think...

I would happily pay the extra money for a new one IF I had some kind of peace of mind that it wouldn't grenade my motor. A SC is one thing, but a partially rebuilt one... I dunno.

 

I know how you feel. The struggle with my 2.7l is how gutless it is. It's a daily struggle to get up to freeway speeds since everyone in California thinks 80 is the normal speed limit. It gets there eventually though. Hills are another story. ECT is imperative on a 4 cylinder when climbing hills.

There's a guy on here who LS swapped his Tacoma.

Do it.

 

A sc is obviously going to increase general wear but it's a spectrum people it's not going to explode the instant you put it on. My truck had one for 200000 miles and was swapped out last year for a turbo setup. Still running strong. An important note is you have the option to stay 100% out of boost at all times. You can grandma a sc'd engine all day long and it will last just as long as the unmodified engine. If you can find a whole setup with the URD 7th injector kit for $2500 I'd highly consider it. Buying new is another story, the second gen sc is a pretty burly unit I wouldn't be afraid to buy used.

Power wise it's enough to make the truck fun to drive fast but it's not going to be a race car. 220 whp is about what you can expect. And because I don't like seeing the comment all the time, I'm not going to drive my "race car" in even a remotely similar manner as my tuned Tacoma on 32" muds. Apples and oranges.

 

those porsche can actually wheel see the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1Hzxkyumx0

 

I just put an 8K miles used SC on my 3.4 Tacoma about 5 months ago now at about 94K miles on the motor. It's a hefty price to pay up front, but completely 100% worth it, IMO. No way would I ever go back to non SC in this truck. I don't care if the result is that ultimately it causes more wear. And I'm really not a huge HP need-4-speed type of guy nor a money-grows-on-trees guy. I don't race it around. But after I drove the V8 4Runner and GX470 for a while, I am downright pissed that the Tacoma never got that small V8...especially in the 2nd Gen that has such a similar chassis as the 4th Gen Runner and GX470..... I hate the 2nd and 3rd Gen Tacomas, but if they had a V8 available, I would def be all over it.

Of course, I'm still not fully satisfied (this 4spd auto SUCKS.) so I plan to swap in a 1UZ or 2UZ when/if my 3.4 ever dies.... heh

 

Bottom line is if you set it up correctly with the fuel mods you will not have any issues with risking damage to the engine. The M62 is undersized for the 3.4 anyway IMO.
I have never regretted having mine on but coming from an '86 Turbo single cab to the Taco, I have that little voice telling me to turbo it for the last number of years.....

 

What sort of fuel mods are necessary or helpful? Unless I'm mistaken, back when TRD offered SC units, they were bolt-on and required no additional parts to be changed. Factory fuel delivery was left alone. I think...

I understand that while the factory fuel delivery MAY be sufficient, aftermarket parts may also be better.

 

TRD claimed that they were "bolt on" but that was far from the truth for a lot of people. The 5VZE motor is notorious for running lean in boost, I was one of those people. Even with the recommended spark plugs and I always run 91 octane fuel (like you're supposed to). The URD 7th injector kit solved the majority of my issues, which includes a 7th fuel injector and calibration unit, 2 step colder spark plugs and a high flow Walbro fuel pump.

 

TRD also offered their version of a 7th injector kit as well, so they acknowledged the issue (it was discontinued long ago). I don't believe their's came with a high flow fuel pump though.

 

There is a used SC in the for sale section for $1k.

I would have no issue putting one on the truck with high miles. The only fear would be the transmission.

 

Yeah I'd be more worried about the trans if you have an automatic. If you have a manual you should be okay, just have to upgrade the clutch eventually 'cause it'll likely wear out a lot faster.

 

Mine is an automatic, running Mobil 1 synthetic fluid. I'm pretty sure I have a trans cooler too... Shifts smoothly and seems to be fine as of now.

All that stuff sounds pretty involved. Where the hell do you add the 7th injector?! How difficult is it to change the fuel pump? Just last week I replaced the original fuel filter with one from Toyota, but I'm sure the fuel pump is a while different can of worms.

 

The 7th injector plugs into the EGR port on the back of the supercharger, with a fuel line that splices into the stock one. It's programmed to "turn on" (spray fuel into the intake) when you hit boost. This adds more fuel to the mix and helps even out lean issues, it also helps keep the intake cooler which is good for performance. You can only run the 7th injector kit if you have a NON EGR equipped truck, if your's is equipped with EGR then URD makes a separate kit for that (6 larger fuel injectors to replace the stock ones).

There's no real rhyme or reason as to which Tacomas are equipped with EGR and which ones aren't...but most of the later models (2000+) seem to be non-EGR.

 

I can confirm that my truck is NON EGR. That much I know

 

Well if you're set on doing the S/C then I'd do that first and see if you're lucky enough to not have any lean issues. Not sure if the s/c kit comes with colder spark plugs but you will need to put those in, and run min. 91 octane fuel. If you're still have pinging/lean issues then it's time to look into the 7th injector kit (or something similar).

 

Also, a boost gauge and an AFR gauge are important to have. Knowing your air/fuel ratio will help you pinpoint where the fuel issues are if they come up. I have a boost gauge and use the Torque app with an OBDII plug-in to monitor AFR and other temps/numbers.