Hello people, I am recently an owner of a 92 4.0 pushrod powered ranger. I have had no luck whatsoever in finding the basic important specs on the motor(valve sizes, rod material, etc.). I have access to mitchell ondemand and other software, I was just wondering if these motors have been broken down by someone else to know the goods and bads and years of both. I am primarily an older car guy(I love simplicity) with kick of L series datsun and 20/22r. This is my first fairly electricfied motor to play with. In my honest opinion to date (no offence intended) the ford 4.0 is really weak. I am guessing that the motor is severly de tuned for smog purposes, with a displacement of 4.0l the hp should be way more than 160/225 a nissan vg30 3.0L can kick 250hp and 300tq without much work, mostly just removing smog crud. This seems to be the place to get questions like this answered so I await to see what everyones expertise can show me.

 

Well...your 92 isn't going to have much smog stuff on it to begin with, and pulling it is going to do pretty much nothing for the engine. It's not a hot-rod engine. It's designed for a small efficient truck, not racing or heavy pulling. To get any real power you're going to have to do forced induction, that's the only way this engine will ever really pump. Remember it's nothing but a remodeled 2.9L...not exactly a powerhouse. Ask specific questions and we can provide specific answers.

RP
Zach

 

a 22r isn't a race engine either however it can be made to put out some decent numbers. heck a ford inline 6 250ci isn't a race engine and its just a taller bored stroked 144 and it can throw down when you add two more carbs to it. If forced induction is the only way to go then its just adding boost to untapped potential. I read today that the 4.0 valves are 1.5 and 1.3 int/exh has anyone put larger valves in. If so what valves were used instead Manufacturer/engine.

 

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Remember, the old 4.0 was a pushrod design that evolved out of the old 2.6. Without a complete redesign it was pretty limited in stock form and has since been replaced by the SOHC 4.0. But there are folks who still like to mess around with them and I've read about one guy who turns 12's in the 1/4 with his Ranger 4.0. Here's a short list of his mods:

Stock 4.0 Block, 0.30 over, O-Ringed and Balanced. Custom JE Flat-Top Pistons, Total Seal Rings, CompCams 422 Grind - Duration- .270/.284 - Lift -.500/.500, 24lb Injectors, 70mm MAF and Throttle Body, Ported and Polished upper and lower Intake, Ported and Polished heads.

Don't see any dyno results and I know he's running nitrous as well, but these motors do have some potential.

 

Surely he did something other than that? Seems an awefully short list to run a quarter in 12s.

RP
Zach

 

My thoughts as well, and of course there were exhaust mods but beyond that the info's a little sketchy. Of course, this is the Internet where you can claim anything you want. For example, did you know that I'm 6'4", incredibly handsome and extremely wealthy? Women fall all over themselves to go out with me.

All of which is about as far from the truth as it's possible to get and serves, I hope, to illustrate my point!

 

Like any motor, if you want to go the old fashion route, you can make power. the problem with the old 4.0, is there isn't alot of aftermarket suport. If you were to really work over the heads, port and polish, bigger valves, a strong cam, balance, and blue print the block, add high compression pistons, long tube headers, port the intake, large tb, and maf, cai. Run 4:56, or 4:88 gears, I'm sure you could get a ranger down the road in short order. Maybe throw in some aviaton fuel for good luck. Thats the way we use to make power back in the day, before all this computer, and emssions crap.

 

I forgot, we would need larger injectors, and a good tunefor the computer to tie it all together, with slicks, and traction bars, I could see low 13's, maybe even a high 12.

 

nod. now thats the kinds of things I like to hear. To date I am running a 70mm maf, kn, no cat flowmaster 2.5" tube. next thing is to improve air flow into the intake with steel intake tube to maintain consistent intake diameter and I need a larger thottle body,
Does anyone know of any t/bs that are a swap from another motor that is about 65mm? Yes I know after market places sell them for 250, I just can't justify 250 for a housing and butterfly.

 

Just to let everyone here know all of this info is going to be condensed and reposted for others to find easier than what I am doing.
BTW one large and possibly easy issue to take care of is the 1.46 rocker ratio. Any pointers on getting that closer to 1.6 (clearances permitting) would be great I am going through my libary checking mount diameters and ratios of other motors.

 

The TB will do little for the 4.0L, that came up a while back.

RP
Zach

 

thats like saying going from a 250 cfm carb to a 350 cfm carb won't do anything for a 250 ci inline, when infact a motor of 250 ci with about 80-85% volumetric effiency (depending on the intake limitations,cam blah) redlining at about 5500 runs sweet with a 350 and like a dud with a 250. Currently on the lead-in side of the motor the restriction is the 55mm Tb. Granted changing the tb will do nothing without changing the 55mm maf (done), will do a little more than nothing without an aircleaner that can flow, and will do more than nothing if you get rid of the flow restrictive cats. Considering that the next steps for this motor are going to be better ratio rockers, mill head, change valve sizes, and all the odds and ends that go with that, I would believe that a larger tb would be about right.

Using a couple of carb calculations simplified for a single throat, in order to flow enough air to get to the desired 250 hp I would need a venturi just bigger than 65mm.
So just out of curiosity does anyone know if the tb's for the fords changed at all over the life of this motor, and/or is there a t/b off of other models that bolt on?

 

The tb on a 4.0 sohc is supost to 65mm, I've not checked it, or do I know if it will fit an ohv 4.0.

 

cool I will track someone down and check it, I have friends with newer rangers. I checked an explorer(not sure the year) and it was the same as mine, but i believe it was ohv(it was at 8:00 at night and I was tired.

 

There are a ton of TBs for sale on Ebay, all different sizes and prices. I'm wondering if one for a 5.0 might fit. Stock for the Mustang 5.0 is 60mm and 65mm is a common upgrade, but then people often find they want more and let the 65s go fairly cheap. Worth a look...