YO! ima 17 year old named jip and am very interested in working on cars and trux.

i currently own a 1988 ranger XLT 2.3L. i have replaced the pressure plate, the slave cylinder, and master cylinder. it runs relativley good but now i have ignition problems. (hard for me to explain, wont get into it) ok, i know i am just a typical teenager to u guys but i'd still like to learn. but first, i need ideas to make a 2.3 better. any good ideas for exhaust?

thanx doods

 

I dont know about exhaust, but you could try making your font a little larger even for my 20/20 vision thats hard to read.

As far as ignition probs go, post what's wrong, and someone here will help out.

 

Welcome to FTE!!!!

 

ok, as far as font goes, is this better?

now, the main problem with the ignition.... ima use a pic...hand drawn of course (forgive the crudness of it... the periods are to keep it together)

.........._
....___/_\___
.../..............\
../.......|........\
..\.......|......../.<---- now, presuming that this is wheretheswitchhas
...\________/.........to be to keep it on. unfortunately, thats right in
.........\_/...............between the "on" and "start" position. if it clix
............................back to the "start" position, it dies. all console
............................lights, engine, everything dies.

 

ok, i own ....well, a 1988 ranger XLT 2.3L and am in need of some ideas to get a few more horses out of it. ....maybe like a high flow air filter? or sumthin.... any ideas?

 

Welcome to FTE!
Look in the Technical post by Ken at the top of this forum.
Happt tinkering!

 

You have the same truck I do, and the 2.3L is known to be weak on power. The first steps would be to make sure you are putting down all the available stock HP buy doing all the standard tune up and maintenance that has been neglected. One example some folks overlook is changing the trans fluid and rear diff oil. If it is old, you would be surprized how much easier it will move. Clean out the whole intake system including TB, Manifold, EGR, etc....

If K&N has a drop-in for the airbox, then that would help a little. A free-flowing exhaust with a descent header will also help some. If you have the $$$ a high flow cat will keep your low end torque and flow nice in the rest of the RPM band. There are a few web sites dedicated to 2.3L performance that have everything from cams, pistons, heads, to whole engines.

 

Sounds like you have a problem with your key "popping" out of the on position. Is this correct? Was this truck stolen at some point?

As far as modifying your truck for speed: Like any other 17 year old you won't listen, but there is no reason for you to go faster. And being only a teenager it is especially irresponsible trying to go fast in a Ranger truck. Learning how to do all the basic maintenance first will teach you a lot more than just slapping parts on. Otherwise you have no frame of reference to go by.

You will also get a lot more respect by using proper english as opposed to “stunna language”. My advise to you is to be patient about learning. First things, first when it comes to learning about cars: Get a Haynes, or Helms or other service manual and start with the basics first. This will get you acquainted with the truck and you learn a lot along the way. Ask questions as you get stuck. IE - do all the basic maintenance since most times the previous owners didn't do a whole lot. Change oil, rotate tires, do a full tune up with plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, air filter, PCV, (and probably left something out). Clean all your air sensors to make sure it is running right, etc.... And remember, being patient and reading everything you can find will teach you a lot.

 

im not quite sure what u meant by stunna language but.....ok.

im glad for help. i know, older people will stereotype me into the typical genre of pot-heads and other adolescents. but u couldnt be farther from the truth u see. i dont want a quicker car to be socialy acceptable, but to be able to pull out on to a 35 mph street and not take literally, 12 seconds to get to 35. i beleive there is sumthin that can b done.

i dont beleive my truck was stolen....mighta been at one point and time.....im not sure. i really apreciate your help and advice. i know a little basic info on cars, but i could see where reading a good manual would be very useful. i shal also try to replace the list u gave me to see if that does anything. im not expecting a monstrous change, but at least a difference.

this truck had been sitting in an alley in round-up MT for about 2 years when we bought it. fired right up and we drove it to the nearest tire joint to outfit it with new tires. so i'd guess just about everything in it is pretty shotty.....

thanx again 4 the help!

 

wait! you think my u's and other short hand stuf is stunna dont u? im sorry... thats just the way i type on the net.... no ones cared b4...

 

Ok you asked for some advice so here goes. when your first starting out it is hard to not want to personialize, hopup, and modify you truck, we all went through thatat your age. But you don't have much money or experence. So here is what you do to get the most respect.
1. listen to G2IC_WRATH, learn all you can about your truck by looking at service manuals.
2. Get on the internet and learn all you can about basic engine theory.
3. learn all you can about mods to increase engines performance.
4. Clean you truck up, and I mean spotless everywhere and keep it that way.
5. Get you truck running the best it can stock, All standard maintence, brakes/cooling/ plugs etc

Now you are going to impress your friends, because when they need helpwith there vehicles they will ask you and you will know a lot of the answers. You will hear a lot of BS from kids that don't know what they are talking about, but just explain how it really works and you will gain there respect. Also if you don't know just say so and look it and tell them later. you will become known as the go to guy when it comes to cars/trucks. It will pay dividens the rest of you life.
So there you go, you asked.
Dave

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to bash, I just want you to realize there is no magic formula to learning about cars and trucks. The best ways are to learn from a mentor, and/or research a task and do it yourself. I applaud teenagers that want at least some mechanical knowledge. At some future point you will be giving others advise on how to fix common problems and most of all know when you are in over your head. For example, there are tons of us on here that could tell you what just about every internal engine part does, and where it goes. On the other hand, most of these people will not feel comfortable assembling a whole engine. There is a whole lot more to it than just knowing where parts go.

As I saw from another post you made, you have already learned a hard lesson when it comes to dropping the trans. Basically, you better replace parts while it is down or Mr. Murphy is bound to come visit. You may want to verify what trans you have (Mazda or Mitsubishi) so you can replace the rubber plugs up top that leak on the Mazda 5sp trans. If you do a search you will see what I am talking about.

Next, I saw your engine swap post asking what engine to go with. In YOUR situation you will be much better off in the long run staying with the 2.3L. You may not think so right now, and think it has no power, but you would be surprised how well a properly tuned 2.3L will run. Not to mention you CAN get 24-30+MPG with a 2.3L that will save you a lot at the pump.

Yes, I was referring to your "text messaging" style posts. You may find that using proper English in properly formatted sentences will give you a lot more credibility when posting on tech sites.

 

I agree that you should get a tech manual for your truck and actually take the time to sit down and read it. Another option you might have is doing what I did when I was your age, keep in mind I am only 20 now. While I was still in highschool I enrolled in an auto mechanics class given by the local community college to learn as much as I could from ASE mechanics and it is a great way to get parts and help for a real cheap price. If you don't have access to such a class my other suggestion would be to get a job at a local shop changing oil or tires and learn what you can from the mechanics that work there. Personally I am a mechanic by trade. However I speacilze in diseal engines and commercial application. Now as for getting a little more go out of your truck I would again agree with everyone you tells you to make sure that you are getting all you can stock out of the engine and then go from there. One relatively cheap way to get a little more horsepower, torque, and fuel milage out of the truck would be a Tornado. YES they actually work rather well and it is worth the investment. I have one on my 98 Ranger 2.5L and I could tell a difference right after I put it on. Books are great but get as much hands-on experince as you can by working with others who know what they are doing and by trial and error on your own vehicle. And never be afraid to ask for help from others when you are not exactly sure what to do or how to do it, it will save you time and money in the long run. Like I said I am a mechanic by trade and I still ask for help all the time. No one can know everything about working on vehicles and you would be suprised how much a second set of eyes or second opinion can help when you are doing repair work.

 

i know how it is to want to upgrade your truck...im only 18 and i havent been here for too long but these guys know what they are talking about and the people on this forum are very helpfull. they have helped me with my 90 xlt 2.9l several times and for that im greatful. also what they have said about learning the basics is correct. since ive started my own maintenance i have been asked several times to help friends.. im not gonna lie and say ive never done any upgrades to my truck i mean not to long ago i added a cherry bomb muffler to my truck(yes some people frown on it but oh well). but anyways just take your time and you will have your beast roarin and ready to go in no time.

 

I found this site when I was almost 16 when I got my 1986 Ranger and they all helped me out alot!.. this is a great site.. I am 17 as well and now have a 1994 ranger and 2 1986 rangers.... I have done a lot of work on the 1986 but never driven it...lol.. oh well, just though I would say that. good luck!