Hot Rod Ranger

[HotRodRanger96]

Hello all I have a 96 ranger 2.3 5 speed stepside and my idea is to take the fuel injected 2.3 that's in it change the head gasket to a Cometic MLS with a compressed thickness of .018-.027 should up the compression a little next polishe and smooth out the intake and exhaust ports for better flow and change out the cam sprocket to an adjustable one all while I got the head off then fab up a cold air intake out of some 4 inch tubing next redo the exhaust take out the cat install a Flowmaster 40 or 60 series muffler and install either 2 or 2.5 inch exhast pipe exiting in front of or behind the passenger rear tire. I heard blocking off the egr will gain you some mpgs so let's block it off. Upgrade the ignition coil, wires, and plugs possibly look into polishing and smoothing the intake manifold all of this to get as much hp and fuel mileage as I can before pulling the 96 2.3 engine and replace it with a full on carbureted race engine. Stupid idea? Cool idea? Why the hell? What's your opinions comments or criticisms. Knowledge is king

 

[RustyShackleford94]

Your probably not going to gain much but if your up for the task i say go for it and let us know how it works out. Maybe even shave the head a little and run it on 93.

 

[Dirtman]

Unless it's forbidden by the class, almost all Pinto engines used in racing are now EFI. Carbs are simply inefficient and can't match the performance of even a stock EFI system.

If you want to actually make power with what you have the only thing that's gonna make a huge difference would be to add a turbo. But there are plenty of N/A Pinto engines that make good power, just takes alot of work. Like said, boost in compression will help, but most of the work needs to be done on the head via better valves and better porting, then a better cam to make use of the increased flow and compression. Parasitic drain is the other thing, obviously AC needs to go in the trash, as well as the clutch fan, and If the truck is gonna be a toy, power steering can go too.

 

[HotRodRanger96]

I forgot to say also while the head is off changing out the cam to an 89 2.3 cam
89 cam profile
1989-1994 2.3L Roller cam
Lobe Lift
Intake 0.2381"
Exhaust 0.2381"
Rocker arm ratio1.64:1
Theoretical Valve Lift @ Zero Lash
Intake 0.390"
Exhaust 0.390"
Valve stem 0.3419" dia

96 cam profile
1995-2000 2.3L and 2.5L Roller Cam
Lobe Lift
Intake 0.2163"
Exhaust 0.2163"
Rocker arm (cam follower) ratio 1.86:1
Theoretical Valve Lift @ Zero Lash
Intake 0.402"
Exhaust 0.402"
Valve stem 0.2750" dia

This hot setup is to use a 95+ Rocker Arm (1.86" ratio) with a 89-94 Roller Cam (0.2381" lobe lift). This will give you a valve lift of 0.443" which is pretty dam hot

Do this I'm also going to have to change out the fuel injectors form the stock 9-14 lb hour to 19 lb hour. My understanding is that the stock 5.0 V8 fuel injectors will fit in the 2.3 and are 19lb hour.

 

[Dirtman]

You can't swap the injectors until you know how much your other modifications have actually increased airflow. If they are not balanced properly you'll run into computer issues unless you tune the ECM. Which you'll need to do regardless but it's still better to wait until after you know if the larger injectors are required.

 

[Blmpkn]

A 4" Intake will be wayyyyyy too big. Unless you want to make like 1000+ hp lol. Having such a large intake will likely lower intake air velocity... which is extremely important for an N/A motor.

Speaking of intake air velocity... do you have experience with porting? It's extremely easy to completely ruin your performance AND a head by just "getting after it". This is generally something that should be done by someone who has years.. decades even.. of experience AND has a flow bench.

Honestly, just put the full blown race motor in it. Or fabricobble up a way to mount an Eaton m62 or m90 on it, bigger injectors, and have it tuned.

 

[HotRodRanger96]

A 4" Intake will be wayyyyyy too big. Unless you want to make like 1000+ hp lol. Having such a large intake will likely lower intake air velocity... which is extremely important for an N/A motor.

Speaking of intake air velocity... do you have experience with porting? It's extremely easy to completely ruin your performance AND a head by just "getting after it". This is generally something that should be done by someone who has years.. decades even.. of experience AND has a flow bench.

Honestly, just put the full blown race motor in it. Or fabricobble up a way to mount an Eaton m62 or m90 on it, bigger injectors, and have it tuned.

I see what your saying so it probably be a good idea to keep it close the the stock size or slightly bigger.
I'm not going to be porting per say mainly smoothing out the casting ridges and the roughness so the air has less turbulence and keep what air speed is there up
I'm trying to keep it NA just because I don't know much about forced induction.

 

[HotRodRanger96]

You can't swap the injectors until you know how much your other modifications have actually increased airflow. If they are not balanced properly you'll run into computer issues unless you tune the ECM. Which you'll need to do regardless but it's still better to wait until after you know if the larger injectors are required.

Ok thanks for the info

 

[Blmpkn]

I see what your saying so it probably be a good idea to keep it close the the stock size or slightly bigger.
I'm not going to be porting per say mainly smoothing out the casting ridges and the roughness so the air has less turbulence and keep what air speed is there up
I'm trying to keep it NA just because I don't know much about forced induction.

What's your goal with all of this? Are you just after a fun project or do you want to end up with a motor that's going to create a substantial amount more power?

 

[HotRodRanger96]

What's your goal with all of this? Are you just after a fun project or do you want to end up with a motor that's going to create a substantial amount more power?

Just a fun project the truck is my daily so a lot is going to have be on vacation from work

 

[scotts90ranger]

Yeah, you've got a lot in there...

The cam profile hasn't changed much, in around '96 they changed some valve geometry with smaller valve stems and such, a while ago there was a long thread about that and it turned out to be moot...

You have a cold air intake now, get the air muffler out (the weiner looking thing in the middle...) and that should be enough.

Your biggest gain is going to be in intake port modification in the head, they're the most restrictive part of the path, I think I cleaned up the exhaust on my '90 but I don't remember since that was like 8 years ago...

You aren't going to gain a lot taking the catalytic converter or EGR out, maybe .1mpg on either, it's not from the 70's, the emissions equipment in the 90's wasn't that restrictive, people need to get their heads out of 1972! You'd probably gain more getting the EGR out since it displaces oxygen, but the cat isn't a restriction, leave it there...

 

[19Walt93]

If it's a 2wd it would be reasonable to swap in a lower(higher numerical) rear end gear and make a difference you can feel. If a 96 is still a Lima like I think it is, you can plane .020"-.030" off the head and boost the compression and gain some power but 87 octane gas probably won't work anymore.

 

[89Twincharge]

Instead of changing the rear gear ratio you could just get smaller tires... You don't really need a locker unless your above 150ish hp or plan on autox or carving corners in the hills... So reducing the tire size would have same effect as changing a rear end just altering wheel speed per rpm!!! As for performance dude just turbo it!!!

If it's a 2wd it would be reasonable to swap in a lower(higher numerical) rear end gear and make a difference you can feel. If a 96 is still a Lima like I think it is, you can plane .020"-.030" off the head and boost the compression and gain some power but 87 octane gas probably won't work anymore.