Banks turbo for the 4.0?

Had a Banks turbo on my 2006 LJ auto for 3+ years with no trans problems. The 42rle is a computer controlled transmission and the computer limits the torque to trans to a safe level. Shouldn't be a problem.

I am glad it doesn’t limit my torque too much. It goes pretty good when you put your right foot in it. I was almost able to keep up with a Camry on a steel hill yesterday. That says something for a TJ.
 
I am glad it doesn’t limit my torque too much. It goes pretty good when you put your right foot in it. I was almost able to keep up with a Camry on a steel hill yesterday. That says something for a TJ.
The computer only limits the torque during shifts, after engagement the computer applies line pressure based on calculated torque and temperature.
 
I'm more of a carburetor guy but yeah if you like computers and millions of tiny wires and multiplexing.... have at 'er. Before getting yer panties in a knot.... there are a few of us who like to do it all ourselves without paying a geek to tweek the computer.

And yes, after trouble shooting the lockers... even the TJ is stupidly complex.

But first you need to be old enough to understand what hot rodding is.
Tuner cars are not hot rodded cars.
And I prefer rat rodding anyway.

Glad you found your niche in tuner tach and marketing to those who like to pay for it rather than do it.
Me? I only do it for myself.

Troubleshooting the lockers is stupidly complex? They're a few wires and air lines, entirely mechanical. Are you sure you should be doing anything yourself?
 
I just noticed that lots of distributors still have the Banks turbo for sale. Did Banks change their minds and start building them again?

Edit: The distributors may have them but they are not on the Banks website.
 
I wouldn't count your chickens before they hatch. They might not have updated that site. If you go to their main page and put in vehicle details, the turbo kit did not appear for me.
 
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I decided to install the Banks Turbo (Sidewinder) with an intercooler. Did it about 4 months ago and wanted to share some of the outcomes so far. I would be happy to answer questions on either the install or other observations, but let me start with these.
First, prior to the install, I was able to do a full freeway tank drive at 65 miles per hour. It was 13.8 mpg. After the install, I drove the same distance at the same speed. It was 15.2, or 1.4 mpg better. I also did a commute tank test before and after, which included a 3000 ft. pass climb. Before the install my mpg was 13.2 and after was 15.1. That was a nearly a 2 mpg increase. I should add that my jeep has 2" lift on 31" tires and a modified exterior that causes additional drag.
Second, the torque is amazing. Yes, you could see the increase quoted on the stores webpage, but I want to share my experience. From a stop, it accelerates as fast as any new car now. In fact, not that we broke any laws, an LJ challenged me at a light just to see what would happen. Let me say it wasn't even close. And, no, I didn't take his pink slip.
Third, and this is my favorite, the horse power is instantaneous and monstrous! Before the install, I could only climb the pass at 60 mph. before it would drop a gear and push the RPMs to 4000+. After the install, I could do 80 mph IN OVERDRIVE! Not that I drove over the speed limit ;).
Hope you enjoyed reading this. And as I said, hit me up if you have any other questions.
Great info! I’m looking to do the same but only find 99-02 kits, I have a 98. Thoughts?
I’m also a beginner under the hood...
cheers!
 
Great info! I’m looking to do the same but only find 99-02 kits, I have a 98. Thoughts?
I’m also a beginner under the hood...
cheers!
If you're a beginner under the hood, then I would look into a supercharger. A supercharger is bolt on. I've heard about 1 or 2 hour install. Plenty of members on WTJF have done it.
The turbo will require cutting and welding. There are issues that arise that will require a moderate degree of mechanical knowledge. I chose the turbo in part because I live in California. Banks is the only one with a CARB sticker that is 50 state legal. Glad I did. Took me a couple weeks, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I don't know the current status, but Banks is no longer making them. I bought the last one from a national company, they said. Shortly after they were discontinued on the Banks website, I saw them for $10k on ebay. If you do go turbo, there are plenty of us here to help.
 
If you're a beginner under the hood, then I would look into a supercharger. A supercharger is bolt on. I've heard about 1 or 2 hour install. Plenty of members on WTJF have done it.
The turbo will require cutting and welding. There are issues that arise that will require a moderate degree of mechanical knowledge. I chose the turbo in part because I live in California. Banks is the only one with a CARB sticker that is 50 state legal. Glad I did. Took me a couple weeks, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. I don't know the current status, but Banks is no longer making them. I bought the last one from a national company, they said. Shortly after they were discontinued on the Banks website, I saw them for $10k on ebay. If you do go turbo, there are plenty of us here to help.
Thanks! Doubt I’ll do the work myself though. I’m in TX.
 
I have been running the Banks system including the Intercooler on my 2006 Rubicon for the last two years. It has performed flawlessly. Apparently the EO approval was revoked for all except the 2005 and 2006 TJs because the Banks site says “for race applications only” for earlier model years. Does anyone know anything about that?

I realize this thread is super old but I spoke with a Banks tech about this issue. He said the new CA emissions test had issues with the 99-04 map sensor. The sub-test thought elevation was above 10k feet so the test simply would not run. The 05-06 didn’t have this issue, but Banks decided to pull the kit from shelves rather than only offer it for the 05-06.
 
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I realize this thread super old but I spoke with a Banks tech about this issue. The new CA emissions test had issues with the 99-04 map sensor. The sub-test thought elevation was above 10k feet so the test simply would not run. The 05-06 didn’t have this issue, but Banks decided to pull the kit from shelves rather than only offer it for the 05-06.
Figures. As usual Californians completely f@#$ing something up for everyone else.
 
Figures. As usual Californians completely f@#$ing something up for everyone else.

They screwed Banks hard imo. Imagine going through the efforts and costs to get a CARB EO on the turbo, then years later being told “your status on the turbo is no longer good bc we changed our test”. That’s major bs.

Meanwhile, it’s Bank’s name who gets mucked up when we see “off road use only” for the 99-04 but not the 05-06 and don’t understand why or if what we are reading is true.
 
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I'd be willing to wager that the real reason Banks stopped selling the kits is because TJ owners, in general, are too cheap to spend $5000 on a turbo kit and as a result the kits weren't selling.

I thought they originally said they lost their source for the turbo?
 
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I'd be willing to wager that the real reason Banks stopped selling the kits is because the TJ is a very small niche and TJ owners, in general, are too cheap to spend $5000 on a turbo kit and as a result the kits weren't selling.
 
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I thought they originally said they lost their source for the turbo?

I find it hard to believe that a company the size of Banks Performance couldn't source a turbo or solve a minor C.A.R.B. issue when the site is full of banners like this

20230303_093748.jpg
 
I'd be willing to wager that the real reason Banks stopped selling the kits is because the TJ is a very small niche and TJ owners, in general, are too cheap to spend $5000 on a turbo kit and as a result the kits weren't selling.

Ultimately yes, the supplier issues they experienced were the result of purchasing volumes. The C.A.R.B issues were PCM access related.
 
I find it hard to believe that a company the size of Banks Performance couldn't source a turbo or solve a minor C.A.R.B. issue when the site is full of banners like this

View attachment 404583

I respectfully disagree. That banner is EXACTLY why they pulled the product imo. They weren't going to let the 99-04 Wrangler muck up their "50-state legal" marketing. Same with the water/meth injection. Gale's SEMA videos before and since emphasized that Banks products are 50-state legal.

For additional reference, notice that AEM's water/meth kit has warnings plastered on their product page "off-road use only, $10,000 per day fine" for their kit. Banks simply dropped that kit. And we can safely assume they didn't drop the kit due to a sourcing problem for controllers (which are way more advanced now), brass nozzles, or basic tubing. That's all in their wheelhouse, but it's not a 50-state legal item anymore.

I spent a good amount of time researching this and asked three Banks techs over the span of four months. Two of them knew less than we do. The newer techs at Banks just spew the same rumors as that we come up with because they weren't around when the kit was sold.

I spoke to one of the two techs who were around and his answer was very different regarding what vehicle the turbo came from and the main reason for why the kit was pulled. He went into detail with me about the elevation issue and said they spent a good deal of time trying to get the 99-04 to pass but it wouldn't play nice and the CARB folks told Banks to pound sand for those years. Again, the 05-06 had no problem.

Do not underestimate the might of the CARB (their mission as a global emissions leader is far beyond caring about a company that's more of a liability than an asset to their cause). CA has been pushing out large manufacturing companies for years.

Also, I don't believe this was an issue with the turbo. A newer Banks tech told the seller of my used kit that the turbo came from a 2006 Volvo S60. The seller then suggested I just buy one of those. I was new to turbos at the time (still am) but I could tell that was not the same turbo and thankfully I did not purchase one. That was bad info.

When I more recently spoke to the seasoned Banks tech he told me it was from an S70 but didn't recall what year. I looked into it —> Bingo. Take a look at the 1999-2000 S70 and you will see it. Just clock the turbo and mount the wastegate actuator to the bolt in the bottom left quadrant when it's oriented correctly. There might be some machining that banks did, but otherwise I 99% believe that's it. The turbo is known to be super reliable, it runs at 6psi, and there are a ton of them because it was on other models as well. I can't recall all the other models but I have that info saved.

To help provide credibility to my conversation, I also discussed other heat exchanger options with him. This tech was open with me on a level that is rare in corporate America. He said that the intercooler kit came with a heat exchanger that in his opinion was larger than it needed to be and he felt going smaller would have provided good IATs and allowed more circulation to the engine's radiator. Those are words spoken when someone is shooting it straight with you rather than worrying about sounding perfect for product liability reasons or never speaking badly about his company. I appreciated that.

The point of my post was to provide some credible evidence indicating what actually happened. The intention was not to drum up more dreamt-up thoughts on what happened. I don't doubt that sales played into it, but a large corporation like that paid a lot of money in tooling, design, CARB, etc. and I believe the 50-state legal issue was the straw that broke the camel's back and some random TJ kit sales didn't come close to offsetting the cost of damaging their 50-state legal marketing mantra.

The tech spent over an hour discussing the above information, parts replacement part numbers, and my future intercooler ideas and wants me to call him if it works simply because he likes that stuff and is interested in the results. He gave me the water pump they used, serp belt they used, etc. and said he would have given me more info but recently Banks updated their database system and most of the info is gone (he was actively trying to find it and said it seems to be gone now). He said the newer techs don't know the turbo stuff (when I asked him about some conflicting info). I appreciated him taking the time to shoot it straight with me. He could have been bullshitting me, but I don't think that was the case.

Edit: words
 
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