Ford ranger 2.3l mods

[NEOAethyr]

Been looking at some since yesterday.
Found a few I wanna try out, this is the 1st one I wanna try.

http://www.hotrodhigh.ca/2300Shockin.html

I'm trying to improve gas milage and the low end rpm as much as possible (going up and down hills is a gas killer for the rangers...).


Edit:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/how-s...2-5l-only.html

Found the above page which helped a bit more, much easier to understand now.
I did the mod, seemed to work fine, disconnected the batt to reset the ecu and I'm letting her sit for a while to ensure she gets reset.

Next I play with the intake.

[NEOAethyr]

I'm gonna have to do more research before I can mod the intake resonator.
Some say it's best to keep it as is, some say it's louder without it but more hp.

I can smell the unburnt gas from the 1st mod I did.
So I probably should change the plug gap on the intake side and increase the gap a little, leaving the exhaust plug gaps alone.
I'll have to do that in a few days when I can borrow a plug gap tool thingy.

[zanzabar]

that is only on the ford engine and not the mazda one right. and with that and a hyperchips (if you have OBD2) should be able to lean it out so the emissions are not bad while making a little more power on top of that mod. and if you have the mazda engine there are few turbo kits that can be adapted as well as intake, cams and programers that can get it up to 175HP and some head shaving to get to 10.5 compression you can run 200HP.

[NEOAethyr]

It's a ford ranger xlt 2.3l, 4cyc and I think the year is '93.
I doubt it's a mazda engine but I don't know, they are essentially the same company just that mazda has rotary's in some of there vehicle's I think.

I did the mod, hooked the battery back up and ran her for a few sec's.
Definite increase in power, no doubt about that.
I haven't got the chance to drive it around yet though after the mod, I'm just waiting on my grandma to drop off some of my money before I go and take off.

I could smell the exhaust though, gassy smell.
I think it may be possible to get rid of that prob for the most part by adding a small gap to each of the main, intake plugs for a slightly longer spark/burn.
My grandpa has one of those spark plug gap tools so tomorrow I'm gonna have to do that.
The quicker the better, I have a feeling if I leave it as is for a year I could screw over my oxygen sensor on the exhaust.

Maybe the computer will fix it up a little though after I do some driving.
Hard to say.

I think it's been 2 years now, since I changed the plugs and wires on it.
When I did the mpg went to shiz, right after changing the plugs.
I'm hoping this mod fixes that.
Used to beable to go to town and back on $3, after the plug change years back it took me more like $5-6.
It's still that way, but as the gas prices increase, I've learned to baby it, keeping the rpm's low as I can, shifting an extra 5mph early.

I let a cousin of mine take the truck to town towards the end of last year.
He got back, didn't say a word about it, and it ends up he pop'ed off my exhaust from the header.
So I got the stuff to fix it, and at the time I let my crack head uncle live with me...
Well he got out there befor eI even got up from bed, said he fixed it, and he took off for the day.
Well funny thing is, he stole my caddy converter.

Just a week or 2 ago the pipe he used to replace the caddy wasn't even clamped down or anything, it got lose and my entire exhausts got unhooked.
I just fixed that up right yesterday, clamped it, need tape now to seal it all up and make the exhaust air tight.
I didn't have a choice when it came to that mod lol...
Because of it though I can definitely smell the unburned gas from the latest mod .

Engine is in good shape, body was in good shape until I let the crack head use it... (he went scraping, and didn't care about damaging my truck)
That and I learned how he was driving my truck too :|.
It's all bashed to heck now, but looks aren't everything , as long as she runs good I'll put off getting another vehicle.

[cobra93]

I don't think I'd bother with the coil unless yours is bad and this one is cheaper. (first link)
The more power the ignition has the more opportunity it has to "leak" outside the wires.
Higher power coils are for firing the plug under increased cylinder pressure, not for a more complete burn.

I also have a 2.5L ranger (2000).
The second link was interesting, but I don't believe the results are due to the secondary (minimal) spark.
I have posted my thoughts in the that thread under the same user name, if you're interested.
I believe it page 9, don't remember.

Thanks for the link to that thread. I may have to try it.

EDIT: I should have read the first link better, thought it was a aftermarket coil ad.

[[XC] Lead Head]

The high powered coil mod is for the Turbo 2.3L motors.

Unfortunately there is not much in the way of naturally-aspirated mods for the 2.3/2.5L "Pinto" 4-Cylinder engines in the Rangers without going very radical. There are lots of Turbo 2.3 swaps into rangers, but that's a huge undertaking.

Best mods to keep your 2.3 happy? Change the plugs, plug wires, air filter, oil filter, engine oil, and the oxygen-sensor. The oxygen sensors only work reliably for 60,000-100,000 miles.

[PaganII]

Can you put the "P" head from an Explorer 5.0L on that engine or is it the OHC engine?

[zanzabar]

Can you put the "P" head from an Explorer 5.0L on that engine or is it the OHC engine?

the 4 bangers are always OHC with fords since the 70's. and you can always get the head shaved with an acid run on the runners if you really need more.

[STEvil]

5.0L is a v-8 btw, 2.3L is an inline 4 banger.

You're probably running rich since the cat was gutted/removed and/or the o2 sensor is dead. Do an o2 sensor delete mod (resistor in place of o2 sensor) but check plugs a few times after that to be sure you dont run it lean.

[zanzabar]

5.0L is a v-8 btw, 2.3L is an inline 4 banger.

You're probably running rich since the cat was gutted/removed and/or the o2 sensor is dead. Do an o2 sensor delete mod (resistor in place of o2 sensor) but check plugs a few times after that to be sure you dont run it lean.

there are a few inline 4 engines that could run with a set of v8 heads that had better performance and or are cross flow, i think that they were mostly chevys though and a couple of mercs.

[PaganII]

Volvo DOHC on a 2.3L
Head work -> http://www.hotrodhigh.ca/2300Heads.html

[[XC] Lead Head]

5.0L is a v-8 btw, 2.3L is an inline 4 banger.

You're probably running rich since the cat was gutted/removed and/or the o2 sensor is dead. Do an o2 sensor delete mod (resistor in place of o2 sensor) but check plugs a few times after that to be sure you dont run it lean.

..Or just replace the O2 sensor for $45 and have the computer operate properly. A resistor won't work on Ford EEC-IV equipped vehicles. They alter the fueling based on the O2 sensor rapidly switching lean-rich. If the O2 sensor does not switch, the EEC-IVs will detect that, set the check engine light, and disable O2 sensor input until the issue is rectified.

[NEOAethyr]

Thanks for the advice guys .
I got some muffler tape on today, also put a bunch of screw on clamps (I need more muffler clamps guh....).
I haven't taken the plugs out yet to look at them.

The mod for the dual coil thing does help with the low end rpm range, say you shift early and baby it, it helps in that respect.
Gas mileage, keh I have no idea.
I kept letting my cousin use it to goto town (I hate driving in the city), and each time he put around 50 miles on it, 2x the amount he should of.
Majorally pissed me off.
(That and he told me he's stomped on the gas a few times since the mod, d@mn him... I just reset the ecu too, ohwell)
I no clue what my mileage is right this moment.

Should be around 25-28 mpg, when I baby it.
Driving normal, I est long ago, was around 13'ish - 15 mpg.

Definitely gonna keep working with it to do what I can.

[jaguarking11]

The engine is the 2.3L pinto engine. Tough as nails but not much power. You can get the parts from an svo or a turbocupe to convert to turbo. 210hp or so is the outcome. But not worth it. Just keep it stock. Those I4 are known to last 300k+ miles. Put a new belt in it if you don't know when the cam belt was replaced last.