I don't want to remove the ac because I use it year-round.
It's looking like my best bet is a motor swap once this one dies. I'd have to get the smog referee to allow me to put in something with more power. Does the 2.3L ecoboost drop in or is it a ton of work? I was looking at auctions and I can get a complete wrecked 2.3eb mustang for around $5k and just swap everything over.
I wasn't suggesting removing the AC. Trucks that had AC came with both a clutch fan and an e-fan. You can remove just the clutch fan to free up some power. The e-fan is only triggered when the AC is on though, unless you get a custom tune that changes it, so don't forget to trigger it with the AC and overheat your engine.
As for the Ecoboost, it's been discussed a few times, but nobody has attempted it, so you'd be the guinea pig. The 2.0 and 2.3 are the same basic engine family as the Duratec 2.3, so mounts will probably work, and the trans should bolt up, but from there you're on your own. The Mustang variant looks like it has a better chance of fitting with fewer issues than any of the FWD based 2.0 Ecoboosts, but I'm sure they'll cost more to get too.
Some hurdles that I see would be:
1. The Ecoboost has a cam driven high pressure fuel pump that extends off the back of the cylinder head a few inches, and there's really no room for that in a Ranger engine bay without cutting the firewall.
2. The FWD ecoboost intake manifold is designed to run down, along the side of the engine. In a Ranger, the factory steering shaft is right in that area, so it might interfere. It also seems like it would point the ecoboost throttle body directly at the Ranger framerail. Maybe it would work. Maybe you'd need a custom intake manifold. The Mustang ecoboost intake manifold looks like a closer match to me, but no guarantees that it would work of course. Remember when I said you'd be the guinea pig?
3. The ecoboost is direct injected, with variable valve timing. Your Ranger PCM won't handle that complexity with any amount of tuning, and there really aren't any aftermarket tuners that can deal with direct injection without spending big bucks. That means you're stuck using the PCM from an ecoboost vehicle (which will probably expect all kinds of other modules to be in place that your Ranger doesn't have), or you spend over a grand for the Ford Racing control pack and figure it out as you go. More guinea pig.
4. Can't tell without measuring, but the ecoboost turbo probably isn't located where you'd want it to be in a Ranger. The passenger side of a Ranger engine bay gets pretty crowded with HVAC stuff. I'm not sure if there's room between the framerail/upper control arm mounts and the HVAC plenum for a really hot turbo to hang out without hitting stuff or melting things. You'd probably have to see it in person to know if it would work or not. Again with the guinea pig stuff.
5. Based on nothing but internet pictuers, the FWD Ecoboosts seem to have a different oilpan that is mostly flat across the bottom. The Mustang version has a more traditional looking rear-sump design that might fit the Ranger's engine crossmember better.
This thread has some good pictures of the Ecoboost to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
[url]http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-performance/1944-ecoboost-2-0-l-engine-any-more-engine-design-details.html
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An ecoboost swapped Ranger would be awesome, but the time and effort required to make one fly in California seems like a waste to me when you can buy other vehicles that will make equal or better power and pass emissions right out of the gate any day of the week.