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Kenne Bell 5.9 Installation Help

39K views 87 replies 21 participants last post by  pepo289 
#1 ·
Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster. I have to admit I do not own a Dakota nor Durango, but I will be buying a dodge ram soon. Anyhow. I am installing Kenne Bell 5.9 supercharger from dodge ram in to my Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9L. Got tired of seeing vortech kits in all other jeeps so decided to tackle this. Fun project to say the least, and definitely unique. I am not using the optimizer. I removed the axillary injectors and welded the holes shut with a piece of aluminum. I will be using 255 Walbro, 42# FMS and SCT tunner to give her enough fuel.
Here's few pics of the progress:













Question that I have is, what to do with the valve cover breathers? On the driver side the breather from the valve cover is supposed to go to the fitting underneath the TB inlet. But on the passenger side the SC comes too close to the valve cover, so I am not sure what to do there. I was wondering if any of you here running that SC could help me out please. Also my kit came with 2 pulleys 3 3/8" and 2 7/8" seems like a big difference... What are they supposed to be rated for? My crankshaft pulley is 7 1/8" from what I can tell. I am not sure if it is the same size as in a Dodge. Now I know it is almost impossible to provide exact numbers as there are no "identical" cars, but ballpark will do just fine. Thank you all in advance!

P.S. If anyone is interested in the detail build you are welcome to read about it on my project page: http://thespeedfreaks.net/showthread.php?t=1119
 
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#2 ·
damn,,,nope nope all wrong- you should take it off and let me test the charger to make sure its functioning properly for you,,yup thats what i'm willing to do for ya!!!! how often do you get an offer like that eh???
:bump:
ok it looks awesome,,,i'm jealous:drool:
 
#4 ·
LOL, well my dumass paid 2700 for this thing, while there was a vortech kit for sale at the same time that went for 1850...
Tell you what I will trade it for that hot ass durango you got :)

There are 2 other members that I know of going the SCT/KB route, perhaps they'll chime in. Definitely stick around and post your progress/results when the time comes. Good luck!
Thanks man, yeah I am waiting on hemifever to send me a tune so I can fire this thing up. Once that is done she is going straight on the dyno 6mi away to get a proper tune.
I will post progress. I am hopping some of the guys here can answer my questions, so I can finish up the install.
 
#3 ·
There are 2 other members that I know of going the SCT/KB route, perhaps they'll chime in. Definitely stick around and post your progress/results when the time comes. Good luck!
 
#5 ·
I run the breather open and the pcv through a catch can to the blower inlet. You're going to need a catch can, PD blowers make a LOT of crankcase pressure. Good luck with it. You way ahead of the curve by never bothering with the optimizer. Somebody's been listening!

That truck is going to be an animal out of the hole, as if the 5.9 ZJs aren't already.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks man, just the info I needed! I was a little worried about it, something didn't seem right so I am glad I asked. I am thinking about maybe using the air compressor filter as a simple catch can... Cheap and I don't have to wait for it to show up, can pick it up in the hardware store. One of the guys on my forum is running that setup.

As far as optimizer goes, that thing would've been a pain to wire up, I got tired of reading about how to wire it, much less actually doing it. SO bigger injectors and SCT made more sense, especially since I already had the sct tuner.
Goal of my build is to lower my 0-60 times as much as possible. I am not much of a track guy, I will take a freeway onramp over that anyday.
So after SC is done and properly tuned, she is getting 4.10 gears and 27" tires. My shop is also building forged 408 for me, so hopefully that will be done sometimes soon.

You think my KB will be a lil too small for it??? It is only 1.5 I do believe.

great setup man looking great does it run at all yet fuel pump and all installed yet etc?
I haven't had a chance to throw in fuel pump yet, the walbro I bought was shipped with a wrong install kit, so I had to wait. Right install kit just came in today, so Thursday she is getting a new pump and injectors. Hopefully by the time that is done my 2 bar map and my drive belt will show up.
Had to use a shorter belt, the one that came with it from Dodge Ram was too long. I need one 106" long, so ordered Gates 7rib K071056. Also had to order carbon fiber hood with 3" cowl to clear the SC outlet and the air hat. Should be sometimes next week. I will post some pics once it shows up.

haha well done look great!!!!! X10 i have the optimizer and yeah P.O.S
Thanks man, yeah I agree about the optimizer, I just didn't trust that thing enough, SCT is definitely the way to go.


BTW my kit came with 2 cammed idler pulleys... One goes on the snout bracket, all good there, where does the second one go???? I have the diagram from KB, but I am not clear about where to mount the damn thing....
Also the SC pulleys that came with it? One is big one is small, are they supposed to be like 6# and 10# or am I way off? I thought I saw the formula somewhere here to calculate the boost based on the crank pulley size, but I can't find it for the life of me...
 
#10 ·
What numbers are stamped on the natural alu color plate between the cast gear cover and the billet compressor housing, on the passenger side? Should be like OA 4XX MX. If it says 422 you have the 2.2L compressor.

You'll need to know your compressor size to estimate boost but the formula goes like this:

Pressure Ratio=(CD*PR*2)/ED
Where:
Pressure Ratio= (boost in psi+14.7)/14.7
CD= Compressor displacement in liters
PR= Pulley ratio, Crank Dia/Blower Dia
ED= Engine Displacement in liters\
The 2 is because the blower displaces its rating ever rev, but the motor only does every two.
 
#11 ·
Perfect!!! Thank you so much!
I like to take an educated approach to the things I do, and this definitely helps! I will check out what is stamped on the blower when I get home.

I am sorry to be a pest, but do you have any idea where the second cammed pulley supposed to go? I got the one on the snout flange, but the lower one is confusing me...
 
#12 · (Edited)
Do you have an aluminum puck with a notch in it that goes with it? You'll need it. The cammed pulley and puck goes on the lower alternator support bracket bolt. The puck goes behind the pulley assembly to make a larger seating surface and the notch picks up one of the ribs in the alternator bracket casting. If you can't figure it out I can take a pitcture later. Mine is still attached to my motor even though I am running it NA at the moment.

Your motor with any decent amount of boost is going to be outflowing the blower inlet and stock type throttle body set up higher int the rpm range. My datalogs indicate flow peaks at about 560cfm with the provided blower inlet. I would get it tuned with the biggest pulley (least boost) you have and go from there. You're still going to pick up a ton of torque down low.

I'm actually in the process of redesigning the kit to top mount the blower with custom intake manifold and blower inlet. Target inlet flow will be 1100cfm. If there is enough interest in the future I may offer an upgrade kit for people who already have the compressor from the KB kit.
 
#13 ·
Got it! I do have that puck, was wondering what the puck it is for.
I also have Fastman 52mm TB that is supposedly rated at 690CFM... I am hopping that will do the trick for now. I guess dyno will show... or maybe not.

You are right on the money about the tuning. I was going to get it tuned with a bigger pulley first. Then add Meth injection, switch to the smaller one and tune it yet again. Don't want to take a chance on the smaller pulley without a cooling of a sort.

I wish I can top mount that KB, but 5.9 motor sits so high in ZJs that I have to get a cowl hood just to clear the blower outlet that goes into the M1. Forget about stuffing the head unit on top of the engine....

What oil do this things use? Mine came prefilled, but it is not new for sure and I wanted to change it.
 
#14 ·
Redline 50w racing oil. Your speed shop should be able to get it. It is green. The blower doesn't hold very much, DONT overfill it, if you do you'll have to drain it. I use a shot glass filled about a cm at a time to fill mine. I think you can go 10k miles on a change, but watch the level.

My new set up should be lower than the KB remote deal.
 
#17 ·
Thank you yet again! Should I check oil lvl every 1k? Or just at the 3k oil change? I mean does this thing go thru oil like some engines?

As far as that intake setup goes I am very interested. I don't really like the way KB is mounted, but I sure as hell like it better than vortech setup.

I was gonna chime in here on some of this, but five9's got it covered it looks like.

BTW, I have 3 idlers on my setup. I have two on the S/C snout bracket, and then the one down lower. They were all cammed, but I replaced the lower one with a solid instead.
Thank you for your input!
That is the way I was going to mount mine originally until I saw KB diagram... that got me very confused.
I was going to use something like http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LFP-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesfor the lower idler pulley. Or just get another stock idler and use that one. I have like 2 laying around.
 
#16 ·
I was gonna chime in here on some of this, but five9's got it covered it looks like.

BTW, I have 3 idlers on my setup. I have two on the S/C snout bracket, and then the one down lower. They were all cammed, but I replaced the lower one with a solid instead.
 
#18 ·
Just pulled my gas tank, about to drop in the walbro.
Damn hoses were stuck, so took a little bit. Will post up a few pics.
 
#19 ·
Just get a solid idler from KB directly. They run about $60, but are really nice. You don't want somethig huge like those ones in that ebay auction. You'll have trouble finding a belt the right length. As it is it's hard to find one so damn long.

I tried changing the uppers to solids, but then I couldn't get the belt tight enough, and there actually wasn't enough room, the solids are a bit larger and they would actually almost hit the 6# pulley on the snout. The belt wouldn't even fit in between. So I sent one back and just replaced the lower one.
 
#20 ·
OK well after all the work dropping the tank and replacing the fuel pump I get no fuel pressure on the line. Hooked up hose to it to see what the thing flows, it is barely trickling down.
So after all the freaking work I have a bad BRAND NEW walbro 255LPH pump. Fuck me. No stores around me can get it, so i have to deal with eBay seller I bought it from and wait for the replacement. So much for getting the fucking supercharger running this weekend. Fucking hate shit like that. I am so pissed it's not even funny!
 
#21 ·
\
So after all the freaking work I have a bad BRAND NEW walbro 255LPH pump. Fuck me. No stores around me can get it, so i have to deal with eBay seller I bought it from and wait for the replacement. So much for getting the fucking supercharger running this weekend. Fucking hate shit like that. I am so pissed it's not even funny!
:jester:
 
#23 ·
The A/C compressor is going to switch places with the alternator, both on new brackets to sneak the blower drive pulley in between. My first prototype will not have A/C so I can work on the more functional details first.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Sorry, been a while lol.
Well yes, but nothing good. i was getting ready to slap the thing on, not just a test fit, but engine was running a bit funky... Missing at times and vibrating... So took the valve covers off to find this:


Yeap, you guessed it... a broken spring! I got them to got with my cam... well something went south... I was lucky that the broken piece actually was held in place by the retainer instead of falling down and causing more damage.

So while I was trying to figure out the whole spring ordeal I ordered few more things to go along with the build.

F&B 52X55mm TB with renzoni mount:


Labonte Motorsports Meth injection Kit with 3 different nozzles:


Got my new MSD 6al-2


Got my carbon fiber hood to clear the KB:




Insulated the KB unit itself including the intake pipe:




Also swapped in 242 transfer case for the heck of it. makes it easier when dyno tuning.

But anyway, i am still at it. too cool of a project to just let it go!

That Noshua tape is just there to prevent the fibers of the insulating self adhesive from splitting where the two different pieces meet.
 
#32 ·
Hey thanks man! It is def. a fun project, I guess hickups on the way are just that much more fun.
As far as pump goes, lol. That is a long sotry. I swapped in the pump and put in the new fuel regulator. No pressure atthe rail. Took it apart, tested pump, it works. Put it back in, fuel comes out... very slowly, but rail is still dry and my FP gauge is dead. So back and forth I went, so finally I just got another pump. Same story. So I put the old FP regulator back on and what do you know, it works! God that sucked. On the plus side I can drop the fuel tank and get the pump out in about 10-15min now.

That is a great looking start so far hope to see some more updates and videos when it is up and running..
:gathering ideas:

SCT and Kenne Bell along with the rest of my bolt-ons.
I read this forum for a lil while and listened to the right people so SCT for supercharger tunning was a no brainer. Plus when I looked at the freaking optimizer II, I realized that it is just not a good way to go.
255LPH pump, 42# injectors, SCT and a supercharger is the way to go. Will save you tons of headaches.

I will try to get a vid of the jeep on the dyno when it will be getting tunned.
it is currently at the shop, getting new valve springs and Martin Sanine valve body.
If not then I will make a vod of it finally running... when it will be finally running lol. I had that supercharger since jan 2007, so as you can see this has been a long road lol!!!
 
#33 ·
As far as pump goes, lol. That is a long sotry. I swapped in the pump and put in the new fuel regulator. No pressure atthe rail. Took it apart, tested pump, it works. Put it back in, fuel comes out... very slowly, but rail is still dry and my FP gauge is dead. So back and forth I went, so finally I just got another pump. Same story. So I put the old FP regulator back on and what do you know, it works! God that sucked. On the plus side I can drop the fuel tank and get the pump out in about 10-15min now.
Glad you got it working. When I did mine, I had a similar prob but found that my pump was actually wired backwards from the stock wiring harness. Pos was actually neg and vice-versa so I ended up just swapping the pinouts on the connector and all was good.
 
#34 ·
Ok fellas.
I know it has been a while, but like I said I wasn't letting this thing go. And here is where I am at today.
Couldn't find my supercharger tune, emailed and call Sean, got it today.

Supercharger in place, loose for now to make few adjustments


Charge tube is in place, everything tide down



Ross diving into the jeep balls deep. Hooking up the breather and catch can here.



And there she is!!!



Pics of what you have to do to your hood to fit this beast in. Yes. All that needs to come out.


You need this hole to make sure the blow off valve clears the back hood brace.



Yeah... still need to figure out the wiper arm issue. Otherwise I will be stuck only with driver side wiper working.



2 Bar map hooked up and installed. Bracket that Ben(5.9Racer) from my forum made worked out great.
 
#35 ·
This is the catch-can. Idea was borrowed from Andrew(Moparboy72) on my message board, we copied his exact setup. Down to brand of parts.





Thank you to all that were helping me with is as well as cheering me on.
I will start it today and post a video as well.
 
#36 ·
OK got her running. She runs great, saw 5# of boost easy.
Having a major issue with belt slipping of the tensioner. No matter how tight I make it or adjust it, it wont stay on!
Any ideas???? I really need some help on this one.
 
#37 ·
you could get a better belt! lol i see ur running a cheap belt go get a gatorback belt with the groves cut in it and try her out also not sure on any upgraded pulleys but see if someone like richard racing makes anything u can use
 
#39 ·
Here's the way she sits now.




Larry, when I try to move the cammed pulley on the bracket my belt becomes too long... for some reason.
Can anyone PLEASE post a pick of how they routed a belt on their KBs.
I would really appreciate that guys.
 
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