I have a 2006 Ranger Sport 2wdr with a 5spd manual and 4.10:1 gears. I love driving this truck and can nurse 600 km to a tank quite easily on long trips. Unfortunately on hills she lacks power so I was wondering if port matching the heads would help get me a little more torque?

 

Not worth the effort or money, just drive it.

 

I would recommend leaving it alone with the 3.0. Swapping in a 4.0 would probably be a better idea if you want the power gains.

 

Well that is advice I was looking for. I avoided buying a 4.0 because of the rear driver side timing chain. At the time I had no place to pull a motor. I would dare to do the heads myself but if someone has already done it and found no noticeable gain I will leave it alone. She starts and drives like a dream every time just as a Ranger should

 

I haven't heard of many people doing performance mods to the 3.0, but doesn't mean it can't be done. I personally have had 2 rangers with 3.0s and they were slow but I just leave well enough alone when they are as reliable as they are. Both of mine had over 200,000 and ran quite well.

 

When I bought the truck it came with a receipt for a new motor installed by Ford just outside of Warrentee. This second motor is getting close to the first but seems to run fine and is quite good on gas. I have taken several trips through the Rockies between Alberta and BC. When I have to downshift to 3rd it picks up power but I get close to 5000rpm which makes me uneasy

 

I don't like to rev my engines out either. 3500 is about all I would sustain. Someone with more knowledge than me may post about performance upgrades, but it seems like most people I talk to just consider slow as being the nature of the beast with the 3.0. Atleast you have the 4.10 gears.

 

Watch out for pinging with the engine under load. 3.0s have a tendency to ping.

 

We have an 04 here with the same powertrain combo and it's anything but slow so I suspect something is wrong with yours. What rpm does the engine turn at highway speed? Ours is around 3k, if yours isn't spinning that high you don't actually have 4.10 gears it's probably more like 3.0 gears and that would explain the poor performace, this motor really doesn't make any useable power below 2500rpm so while cruising around at lower rpms will produce good milage it will require downshifts to accelerate or climb grades.

The other thing to look at is the exhaust, if it still has the whisper quiet muffler on it that is sapping a lot of HP. We also have a '96 with a manual and the catback rusted off it recently, it was a lot louder so I had to replace the exhaust but I noticed the motor revved much more freely and acceleration was much better with the muffler off, and it lost that again when the new whisper quiet muffler was installed. I liked the Dynomax superturbo mufflers on my F150, they flow much better than stock but aren't too loud.

 

Our speed limit is 110km/h where I live and well most of us can't read signs too well either. My rpm is at the 3000 range but some of our rolling hills in the prairies cause me to downshift out of 5th. I will admit to being used to higher torque at lower rpms and maybe that is some of my problem. I recently just hauled a cherry picker and a couple of banana boxes in the back and drove over the Rockies. There were a few occasions where I was in third with my foot through the floor and I just don't like it. I don't think the exhaust is plugged because when I am in third speed picks up. I want 3.0 mileage with 5.0 V8 power as do all of us. If in the next couple of years I should get so motivated I would consider pulling the heads and getting a minimum plane for trueness and then port and polish myself as well as the intake and exhaust. Most V8's gain 50hp from this so I was hoping for at least 35 hp out of a V6. The cost would be minimal as I would do all the work except planing the surfaces myself. The next thought is to just buy a diesel but Rangers are a lot cheaper and rarely break down

 

Yeah don't we all. Lots of people call the 3.0 gutless but compared to a 2.3L that was found in these trucks it's a hotrod, so it's all relative.

The motor will respond to any mod that increases airflow, the exhaust system is a well known choke point on all Fords and it's pretty easy to change so I'd suggest you start with that. Porting is also good if you have some experience but don't waste any time polishing anything but the combustion chamber.

 

Thanks Conanski I was not aware that Fords have known exhaust restrictions. I have thought about a not loud dual exhaust when mine needs replacing. I have no idea what I currently have for exhaust. The last time is was under there was for an oil change two weeks ago and the tire shop that just installed my tires did not pump them up enough. I can usually fit right under and no I am not eating chocolate chip cookies right now... they are turtle cookies