Hey all, been lurking around for a while and am finally getting around to posting.

To keep it short, I bought a Ranger last fall (2003 FX4 Level II) to replace the much used old beater '89 Accord I'd been driving since college. I had gotten used to tinkering with it just to keep it running and replacing worn out parts. I guess I liked spending that time in the driveway, as now that I have a nice shiny Ranger I want to start messing with it as well.

So, to all the experts out there... what are some ideas for part upgrades/modifications that a strictly weekend mechanic can do to get the most out of an FX4II? I'm much more interested in performance than the looks. It's my main ride, but I don't put a ton of miles on it (I use a bike or mass transit to/from work... just reached 4,000 miles in 7 months and 1,500 of those were for 2 long trips). I do drive off-road, but more for getting to remote places via trails or logging roads as opposed to going rock-crawling or bogging for it's own sake.

Any info, ideas or recommendations appreciated-- I have looked through some of the articles here and previous posts already. Just wondering what all y'all would consider a good place to start.

Thanks,

 

I will list off a few mods with the crank hp gain and price, that you could do on a weekend with ease.

-***** dual program chip 10-20HP, $325

-JBA Headers 10-15HP, $600

-KKM Customs Intake 2-3HP, $130

-Gibson Exhaust system 5-6HP, $230-350

All of these are pretty easy to do for a weekend mechanic.

 

Well, I don't know if I would entirely agree with the headers being an easy installation; things get pretty tight in there and it will definitely take most of a day to do. Also, be aware that those HP numbers Waffen listed are a tad optomistic and that the gains will generally be at the upper end of the RPM band, beyond normal driving. Other things you could consider doing are:

-Pulling that doggone silencer out of the airbox (free, easy and a better choice IMO than a K&N filter)

-Upgrading the limited-slip to a selectable or automatic locker (anywhere from a few hundred to $800+ depending on what option you choose)

-Upgrading the front with a locker or limited slip (an upgrade you would likely get no use out of at all based on the kind of off-roading you do)

-Swapping out the mechanical fan for an electric fan (<$200)

-A trans-go shift kit. It firms up the shift points kind of like a performance chip does, but with none of the other benefits of a chip. ($40, but I'd say go with the chip instead)

-Clear corner markers. Not exactly a performance upgrade, per say, but they make the truck look sooo much better.

-Upgrading the rear drum brakes to disc brakes. Stainless Steel Brake Corporation makes a <a href="http://www.ssbrakes.com/products/detail/2243/?make=Ford&model=Ranger&year=2003">conversion kit for late-model rangers</a> that I think is a do-it-yourself kind of project, but it's pricey @ $700.

 

Thanks for the notes, much appreciated. I should have noted that I have a manual, so the shift points are up to me thankfully.

Near the top of my short list were a chip and air intake-- soksniffer, any reason why you prefer just ditching the silencer as opposed to replacing it? I'm assuming it's just a cost::benefit thing, but regardless I'd be interested to know.

I think for now, I'll leave the diffs and axles alone, though I remember hearing something about the stock lube tending to get foamy-sludge pretty quick. Is that true or did I make it up?

I hadn't considered the header/exhaust stuff, figuring it might be beyond my scope and ability. Hadn't even thought of the fan.

Thanks again for growing my to-do list. Keep 'em comin'!

 

I did a KKM intake, Gibson cat-back exhaust, and Diablo chip in that order. All made a difference. There are better intake kits available for your FX4 than my 93, but try to find a true cold-air setup with a heat shield or if you can't find that you can build your own airbox to keep the hot underhood air out of the intake. The exhaust made a good power differnce, I love my Gibson, but if you want it to be real loud you might want to look at other brands. The Gibson is a noticeably lower, deeper tone but not super loud so it doesn't drone in the cab. The Diablo chip made by far the most power gains. Motorhaven says 8-10% HP increas, so for you 16-20 HP would be about right, depending on location and gas quality available. These 3 mods all work well together and cost me about $700 total. All were realatively easy, 2 hours or less so the perfect weekend projects. Headers will be my next step, but it's gonna be a while.
I am running much stronger than when I got the truck. I even went with larger 32" tires over the 31's it had, and would still run circles around it compared to before.

 

Three relatively easy things I would consider would be:

Rancho RS9000 series adjustable shocks. $250. You can dial in the ride you want, or adjust your ride when you have a heavy load in the truck.

A steering stabalizer. About $100.

Replace the all-terrain TA's with Mud-TA's, (about $600) the Mud TA's actually do quite well in sand because of their rounded shape, as long as you don't try and bury yourself(your ranger is light so pretty hard to f-up that bad in the sand), they are ok in mud, not the best but by far not the worst, and they do ok on the road. They handle as well as the AT's on dry pavement but durring heavy rain they channel water better than an AT, IMO a great all around tire for a 4x -

 

Looks like the intake and exhaust will be up while I warm to the idea putting in the chip.

Waves, it seems like your suggestions are kind of re-upping. Would the Mud-TA's make that much of a difference, given that I do mostly trail, fire/logging road and beach driving and I already have the all-terrains? I've found the BFG all-terrain's to be greaton the trails thusfar, good in the snow, better than I expected on the roads... I just haven't hit the sand yet. I'd be looking for more than a small incremental gain under rare driving conditions to justify dropping $600 this early in the process. Same for the Ranchero shocks-- are they that much of an upgrade over the Bilstein's in your opinion to justify the swap given my needs?

I can see how the air in/out of the intake and exhaust upgrades would make an impact, the fan and brake swaps intrigue me (the latter especially if I find myself towing more this season) and the axle/diff suggestions possibly later on as my comfort and budget increases.

 

I would just start out with Exactly what AG4.0 said. For intakes, stay away from K&N, the oil in them seems to mess up the MAF sensor. Heard lots of good reports about the Gibson exhaust. For chip, get a Diablo, you can order it from motorhaven.com. I would get a dual-stage, so you can switch between 89 octance and 92 octance. This is what I plan for my truck, gibson and diablo. I removed the silencer in my airbox and it seemed to help, I don't like the K&N intake designs.
Since your truck already has Bilstien shocks, forget about the ranchos. They're nice if you greatly vary your load, but my Bilstiens seems to work very well all around. If your <b>tires</b> are new and you like them, keep them. I prefer M/T over A/T, but no since in spending $700 if you like what you've got. (the BFG A/T's suck in mud though, so beware)
Good luck and enjoy the truck

 

I poo-poo intake kits for a few reasons;
1) as 98 mentioned, the oil on K&Ns can foul the MAF. That's not to say it will in your case, but I've seen the results of MAF oil fouling first-hand (on a friend's truck)
2) I don't like K&N's claim about "the dirtier it gets, the better it filters!" That sounds to me like it doesn't filter out the smaller stuff when it's clean.
3) Most aftermarket intakes (even most with air dams) end up pulling in hot air from the engine compartment, while the stock (or a properly modified) box pulls from behind the headlight, before the engine compartment.
4) That great big cone looks like it can suck a lot of air, but the MAF and throttle body are still the same size, so they end up being a bottleneck. If you look at the area of the hole in the airbox (w/the silencer removed), it's already greater than the area of the MAF and TB, so going any bigger (as with a cone filter) really isn't doing anything. The MAF and TB remain the bottlenecks to high RPM airflow.
5) As you guessed, it's a cost/benefit thing, too (and perhaps most of all). Even if an aftermarket kit did offer better gains over pulling the silencer, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that improvement would be way high in the RPM band, and unless I'm running quarter miles, it's not worth the $100 or $200 bucks to me. Some of the kits do look pretty sweet, though.
--If you decide to pull the silencer, swing by Home Depot or Lowe's or someplace and check the HVAC section; I found a rubber collar that was exactly the right size to fit over the lip of the larger hole (secured with a hose clamp), and fit that collar against the intake point behind the headlight to make sure I was still getting that cooler air.

IMO, don't swap your A/Ts for M/Ts. I have a set of M/Ts just for off-roading (a long time dream of mine: dedicated off-road tires ), but I wouldn't like using them day-to-day at all (even though they are better on-road than most other mud terrain tires). I realize you bike more than you drive in commuting, but I'd still say hold off on them until you either need them on a regular basis or you can throw money away in buying them to use part time. Also, M/Ts are the pits in snow (unless you get them siped).

Putting on a cat-back exhaust is a breeze; there are lots of write-ups available through searches. The only really tricky part is getting the stock exhaust out in one piece. It's doable, but it's like one of those rustic horse-shoe puzzles where you have to turn & twist it just the right way. Most people seem to like Gibson. I have a Dynomax that I'm happy with, and I've read good things about both Borla and Flowmaster. Most exhaust manufacturers recommend against using pipes that exit straight back if you plan on towing.

The fan swap doesn't really give you much of a gain, but rather reduces (slightly) your losses. It's a good mod if you've got the time, the cash and like fooling around with your truck. Just don't expect a lot out of it. Here's a link to a write-up about it: http://www.generation-edge.net/forums/efan.asp

I don't have much info about the brake conversion, but I think someone over at Ranger Power Sports has done it. Another option for getting rear disc brakes on your Ranger is to do a rear end swap from an Explorer. It typically costs less, but sounds like a lot of work.

FWIW, I'm really happy with my DiabloSport chip.

Oh, one other pseudo-mod I discovered on-line today... apparently, with the 2001 rangers (and presumably with subsequent years, although I haven't checked my 2002 yet) the A/C compressor kicks on when the dash selector is in any position other than off or feet-only. So if you just want to run your dash vents to get some fresh, non-cooled air in, the A/C compressor needlessly cycles on and off. The mod involves adding a switch to cut the signal to the compressor so it won't come on unless it's really wanted.

 

Rookiepete - the Mud TA's are a noticable difrence. Because of their more rouded shape (take a good look at the shape of the All-Terrains TA's and the Shape of the Mud-Terrain TA's, look at them while you face the front of your truck) they are a much more rounded tire. The more rounded shape is much better in the sand, I found I was able to "float" through the sand alot better than on the AT's, I could actually go through alot in 2 wheel drive, places that with the AT's I would have had to use 4 wheel drive (I did this on my old 93's 4x, I presently have a 2x set up like a pre-runner). The other noticable advantages would be when you get into anything with any mud, youn have much better traction because due to the Mud TA's wider tread the tires lugs are self cleaning, unlike the All Terrains that don't, they ball up and their traction is terrible in the mud, also on the road in the rain they are a much better, once again due to the wider lug, they channel the water much better. As for the RS-9000 series adjustable shocks - a huge difrence. You can adjust the ride from way too soft to way to rigid and everything in-between. Now, if it is worth doing or not, IMO, it would be a great way to really dial an FX4 in, but hey just my opinion. I have run both sets of tires and like them both, it just seems to me that the Mud Terrain TA's seems to be a better choice of all around tire on a 4x than the All Terrain TA's. I haven't gotten to run the RS-9000's on my truck yet. My friend put them on his and I was just amazed at the fact that in a matter of seconds you could change the ride so drastically. You could set it soft for your ride on the road to the trails, and then set it firm while riding on the trails or the beach, and then back to soft for a nice ride home. Or you could just stiffen up the rear if you had a heavy load in the rear. I can't say enough about how impressed with those shocks I was.

 

As you start to sink your teeth into mods, you'll find there are a few dedicated Ranger sites that are good sources of information with all forums devoted to Rangers and Ranger modifications (unlike this one which is great for general Ranger info). I'm apparently not allowed to list their names, as they were expunged from my previous post. There's also an interesting (and slightly more expensive) alternative to a performance chip, but I also wasn't allowed to mention that, despite the fact that Motorhaven (from whom I bought my chip) doesn't even sell it. I can't send a PM, either, but know that the truth is out there! Or, at least even more exhaustive information than is available in this particular forum.

 

Yeah, they vibrate more and hum louder on the highway.

 

Well yes mud ta's like any off road tire will vibrate more if you do not maintain them properly, like rotate and ballance every 5k miles like you are supposed to per he manufacturer. I have had the vibration problem with the all terrains from not following the 5k mile rotate and ballance. It only took me ruining one set I paid good money for to cure me of doing something dumb like that ever again. This problem occures with any off-road or all terrain type tire you do not properly maintain. As for being louder on the highway, yes as they get worn down you will be able to notice them being a little louder, but it's not unbearable or as bad as you make it sound. I still stand behind what I last posted that Mud TA's are a better all around tire than an all terrain ta though, as I have done quite a bit of off-roading on mud and sand with both.

 

Wow, excellent info all. Most helpful and impressive.

soksniffer, I had a few of those sites up in my browser before I refreshed and found them out of the message. Nice first thread experience here... seeing "*****" and having potentially helpful URL's pulled

Thankfully, google and "ranger forum" is helpful.

Waves, I'll keep the Mut TA's in mind when its time to replace these... or I get stuck in a hole. Whichever comes first, and I'm hoping the former.

 

Hey good luck and let us know what you end up doing and how you like the outcomes of whatever mods you decide to do -

Waves