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2.8l engine on 83 ranger


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Any thoughts on the 2.8l engine is it good or bad I need opinions to keep it in my 1983 ford ranger 4x4
 


Dirtman

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There's nothing inherently wrong with it. They are in the same family of engines as the 2.9 and 4.0 used in later years. They don't make much power but they are reliable and easy to work on.
 

rusty ol ranger

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Duraspark it and switch to a non feedback carb. Youll gain mileage, power, and reliabilty.
 

1990RangerinSK

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Duraspark it and switch to a non feedback carb. Youll gain mileage, power, and reliabilty.
I would have thought that the feedback carb would increase fuel mileage, because the computer can make adjustments on the fly.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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I would have thought that the feedback carb would increase fuel mileage, because the computer can make adjustments on the fly.
It is a Rube Goldberg contraption that combines all the disadvantages of efi and carburation with none of the advantages.
 
Last edited:

Dirtman

Former Middleweight Moss Fighting Champion
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It's up there.
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It's down there.
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Computer controled carburetors are like giving a cave man an I-phone. It sounds fun but in the end it accomplishes nothing.
 

1990RangerinSK

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It's been a lot of years since I mucked with the carb on my '85 Ranger. I know it didn't have an idle screw. I don't remember if it had a screw to adjust the mixture. I know my Justy did.

To my way of thinking, the computer controlled carb would be the better carb, because the computer can raise and lower the idle speed as needed, and if it doesn't have the mixture screw, it can also adjust the air:fuel ratio as needed.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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It's been a lot of years since I mucked with the carb on my '85 Ranger. I know it didn't have an idle screw. I don't remember if it had a screw to adjust the mixture. I know my Justy did.

To my way of thinking, the computer controlled carb would be the better carb, because the computer can raise and lower the idle speed as needed, and if it doesn't have the mixture screw, it can also adjust the air:fuel ratio as needed.
Until obsolete parts fail on a system nobody fully understood even when new... yeah, it works great.

They should have cut the crap and just ran TBI.
 

Jimmyrig

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They are reliable and hard to kill, but definitely gutless. I put a 100 dollar amazon carburetor on mine a year ago and it helped a bunch. I drove mine daily, 80-100 miles round trip for a year and then on out of town jobs with an average of 160 miles round trip for several months up until a couple of months ago when the threads pulled out of the starter bolt holes.
Prior to me owning it my truck was definitely abused. It's a stock 4x4 and the fenders are cut enough to fit 35's and was somebody's mud toy.
If you take care of that motor it will take care of you.
 
Joined
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Location
Roll
Vehicle Year
1983
Make / Model
Ford ranger
Transmission
Automatic
Any carb suggestions I should put on it? And is the mad ignition also good to put or is duraspark the better way to go
 

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