Hey guys, I've got a worn out 88' ranger 2wd with the carbed 2.0 in it. I was thinking about trying to convert it to fuel injection.

An obvious way to go would be to pull the components off of a efi 2.3. But as I'm not familiar with efi in general, what all would I need from the donor truck?

Also, are there any alternatives for my engine that I'm not aware of? Such as aftermarket efi conversion kits or something similiar.

My reasoning for this ambitious project is that my little 2.0 doesn't run as efficiently as it probably should. It's been neglected by it's previous owners. It's vacuum system is totally messed up to the point I'm affraid to touch any of it lest I make it un-driveable. It doesn't run very well in very cold Indiana weather, although it does start every time. I get about 15mpg in the winter, the highest I've had is 21mpg.

I figure if I could get some form of efi going on it, it'll run better overall, maybe a bit more power, and hopefully a bit more mileage.

However, I'm also concerned about the cost of this project. After all, I only paid $350 for the truck...

Let me know what you guys think.

 

Probably the best way to go is to get a donor truck and rob all the EFI equipment off of it. You'll need the wiring harnesses, the engine computer, and all sensors as well as the EFI components on the motor.

As far as wiring goes, if you use the EFI engine wiring harness, there are about 15 wires to hook into the Ranger's electrical system. If you were to swap out the main harness as well it would be a lot of work, but the engine harness would simply plug right into it.

Here's a site with some good info on our EFI systems, and they have good aftermarket wiring harness and other stuff, though most of their items seem to be geared toward V8 swaps:

http://fordfuelinjection.com/

 

Does the truck still have its vacuum line diagram on it? If you use that, it is pretty hard to screw it up; in fact, it may help you identify some components that aren't working right to begin with.

You also mention that the engine is "worn out". In that state, it will immediately become less fuel efficient, EFI or carb, makes no difference, it's gonna gobble gas.

May I suggest that your very next purchases should be a compression gauge and a code reader. An afternoon with those two items, and you will know just exactly what to do. If you are going to go through all the hassle of finding a donor truck for its EFI gubbins, you may as well find one with a better engine, and just swap it...

Humbly presented as options only......

 

Well, I've got a compression gauge, and I did the test on it once. Although I later found out I did it wrong. Didn't take out all of the plugs, didn't stop the fuel, etc...

If I remember right though, the numbers weren't bad considering all things, according to someone's opinion on these forums.

I understand your opinion, I figured it'd probably be too much hassle to go efi anyways.

I guess I'll retry the compression test, and do it right this time.

 

Good, and don't ignore the code reader; they don't go bad, and they work on more than one make. Did you find a vacuum diagram?

 

yeah, I've got one on the truck, and I've got a huge blown up scan of one from someone else here on these forums.

The only problem is, there's a lot of abbreviations on there that it doesn't explain for you. It explains the distributor and a couple other things, but the rest of the abbreviations are left un-explained.

Here's the diagram:

 

Drag out the wallet again. The code reader isn't as necessary as a good repair manual! Haynes is okay, but there are better ones around. In there you will find out what all the abbreviations are, and what those components do.

Place the manual beside your easy chair, and read it during commercials, a lot will be learned. I'm an old dude, and I hate vacuum diagrams, wiring diagrams, and abbreviations (why is that such a long word?), so all this stuff is really difficult for me. A manual is your only friend on a project like yours...

 

It's ok, I just blew the head gasket (I think) on my way to the other side of Indy. Doing 55 to 65, struggling to do 70-75 lol.

Hopefully its the gasket, not some crack valve guides or cracks or something.....

May be just the excuse to find a turbo 2.3......

 

Music to my ears, I am going to do the turbo 2.3 swap on mine as soon as I get the donor vehicle home (got one lined up, just need the $$$ to pry it from the previous owners hands). Luckily for me, my current 2.3 is already fuel injected. Still going to need the turbo's computer and wiring harness though. Even if you get a 2.3 from an automatic equipped vehicle it will double the HP available.