I have a 1992 Ranger with the 2.3l 4. It is the most stripped-down truck (I think). My problem is that it is hard to get it to go over 75mph, and I can only do that in 4th gear...if I come to even a slight hill I am history. It only has about 70k on it, and it seems to run great other than that problem. Any tips on how to improve the performance without spending a lot?

Thanks,
Kanch

 

Just a few quick "check" items for you.
Air & fuel Filters, Plugs and wires, Is this a DIS??
Is this 2WD?? Lower it, helps with the aero drag...
Need more info, if you wanna go faster...


Steve & the Rockette

 

Filters are new, but I have not checked plugs and wires (dealer mechanic said they won't affect it--sounded a little fishy)

It is a 2wd, and I don't know what you mean by DIS.

Thanks for your reply and your patience with my ignorance....
Kanch

 

Hey Kanch,

Could change the filters with K&Ns next time you change them but question is do you wanna spend that much money one just a few horsepower if you haven't already. I think most air filters should be changed about once a year or cleaned that often if its a cleanable one. Fuel filters, they say to change around one year or ten thousand miles. Some people say to let them go a little longer. Once again, depends on the protection you wanna give your engine and the money you want to spend.

The plugs and wires. Well take a look at your plug wires. First thing, if they have numbers on them, then they are stock and need to be replaced. If you look at your wires and see discoloration in spots (ie. darker spots or lighter spots up and down the wires), these spots show where you're losing voltage going to your plugs. Tends to hurt. Probably run about 50 for a good set. The plugs, well if you're changing wires might as well change plugs too. Pretty much any platinum plug will be good. Normally run about a buck a piece. If I am correct, I believe your truck has the 8 plugs. A couple on the driver side maybe difficult to access but with the use of a swivel socket, should be easier. If you pick up a cheap Haynes manual for your truck, inside the back cover shows you many pictures of spark plug defects, how they occur, how to avoid, etc. Both plugs and wires should be changes in between 25K and 50K miles, depending on how bad looking wires and plug tips are looking.

Hmm...DIS, my guess with that would be whether its a Distributorless Ignition System (DIS?) or if it has a Distributor. I believe '93 had the DIS. If you look under the hood there would be 8 plugs, 8 plug wires, and 2 DIS (one for each side).

I know that when I changed my filters and plugs and wires, I noticed a big difference when I started driving again. One thing I've heard about is that when making these changes, make sure to disconnect the battery. Allows the computer to reset itself to stock and then reprogram itself when driving for the first 20 or so minutes (or at least thats what I've been told numberous times). Also, never hurts to take a few minutes and clean off those battery terminals.

Hope I've been somewhat of a help to you and hopefully your truck runs better for you too.

James

PS. You might also see a slight drop in gas mileage. No idea why it happens but always seems to when doing tune up stuff like this.

 

James,

Thanks for the response. I will check the plugs and wires if it ever stops raining here in Illinois (no space in my garage for my truck!). I really appreciate the replies and helpful attitudes from the members of this site.


Kanch

 

Kanch,

Hey anytime buddy. I know I've saved a lot of money and time thanks to a lot of people here at this site so why not help a fellow Ranger owner too? I hope everything works out for you and I hear ya with the rain. I live in Western Washington and its pretty much rain 3/4 of the year. Goodluck.

James

 

 

I am brand new to this forum and already like it alot, I was going to post this same question so thatnks for answering me before I had to ask.
I have "heard" that a free flowing exhaust can help alot and also heard of a performance chip for the 2.3 ranger/Mazda trucks but have been unable to find one.
Any ideas if these would really work and be worth the money and effort?
Thanks in advance and great forum here.

 

Can't go wrong with either one, a free flowing exhaust will help the engine breathe better, and a performance chip will improve all aspects of driveability.

 

Grab a code reader as well, it will tell you a lot about how the tune is. Go up 1/4" on the exhaust, big turbo-style muffler, dump it out ahead of the rear wheel, good to go.

Once the monsoon stops, spend as much time under that hood with your new Haynes (not the best, really) manual as you can; you will learn a lot.

75mph is enough to get a ticket in most jurisdictions; what's your hurry?

 

Dollar for dollar, get a longtube header from pacesetter. Run a 2.5" exhaust (with no cat if for offroad use ;-) ) and a glasspack or flowmater delta muffler. Cold air intake and gear swap. Trust me you will be amazed. Mine will scratch 33's on dry pavement. And smoke em on wet pavement. My truck is locked too.

 

What rear axle ratio do you have? You can get the code from the info sticker on the back doorpost on the driver's side or the actual ratio from the tag on the differential. If you have the 3.45 ratio (Code 84) like I do, you have a 100 hp engine trying to move a close to 4,000 pound truck. I can do 75 in 5th gear if the road is level and the wind is behind me. There isn't a whole lot you can do to get more power from that combination. You best bet is to replace the rear axle with one that has 3.73 or 4.10 gears if you want more speed. The engine has room to turn at a higher speed that would result from either of those ratios.