25+mpg 4.0l ohv build

Isn't it a contradiction of terms to ask what has already been done to do higher mileage by burning more fuel. The engine is a factory modified 2.9 low rpm engine made into a 4.0 higher fuel consumption engine by volume. They did what you suggest by taking the block and adding higher efficiency overhead cam setup and more modern electronic fuel system it seems to me. I have in my garage an almost finished flat top 4.0 with a highly modified set of heads to keep the compression ration down. (BTW get a pair of the new casting heads, they will be worth it) I'm looking for horsepower which most of your other mods will accomplish. A later model 5.0 or 3.0 with intake and exhaust improvements will probably get you to your gas mileage numbers. And there is the kicker - it will be cheaper. I could have put a 500 hp 5.0 in this thing with a carb.
cheaper. The only reason I didn't is because of a engine size limit on the competition class I want to run. Good luck.

you want a max mpg bronco 2 with a gasoline cologne engine? running 32 in tires and a bit of lift?





i could not muster the will to spend the money to rebuild a 4.0 let alone try to make one for max fuel economy. so i admire your determination to polish one of these things to such an end.


i look forward to the education from your results. i just cant see getting more then 20 mpg as a normal matter of function from a 4.0 cologne in anything town. maybe a smart car.

i would likely change the stroke and run a custom cut crank....

and custom pistons from diamond and rods....

pushrods from trend.

custom injection and tuning.

the cost of that would be radically prohibitive for benefits gained to the mpg objectives.

once the flow numbers were known on the custom heads then cam selection for the now 3.x , if destroked indicated win, or 4.5 liter if bigger stroke indicated better bsfc could begin.. with some trial and error for sure.

a solid roller setup i dont know whether or not is workable for this situation.




this 25 mpg in town and pulling a 3 k trailer thing is firmly in tdi vw territory.



for what you have listed your doing to this engine i absolutely would have went with a gm ls 4.8 or 5.3 with the best tune i could manage for a gasoline application. that would be number 1 choice with a 3550 trans.


sticking with gasoline my second choice would be a 2.3 mazda engine from a later model ranger and a 2.3 m5od converted to 4x4 andcustom turbo setup..


then its tdi.


or wait to snag up one of the new ranger power trains. i suspect this will be the main swap for these older trucks fairly soon. LIGHT and powerful. and unfortunately.... complicated beyond ridiculous.

woodyedmiston said:

Isn't it a contradiction of terms to ask what has already been done to do higher mileage by burning more fuel. The engine is a factory modified 2.9 low rpm engine made into a 4.0 higher fuel consumption engine by volume. They did what you suggest by taking the block and adding higher efficiency overhead cam setup and more modern electronic fuel system it seems to me. I have in my garage an almost finished flat top 4.0 with a highly modified set of heads to keep the compression ration down. (BTW get a pair of the new casting heads, they will be worth it) I'm looking for horsepower which most of your other mods will accomplish. A later model 5.0 or 3.0 with intake and exhaust improvements will probably get you to your gas mileage numbers. And there is the kicker - it will be cheaper. I could have put a 500 hp 5.0 in this thing with a carb.
cheaper. The only reason I didn't is because of a engine size limit on the competition class I want to run. Good luck.

Click to expand...

generally i would say yes it is a contradiction stock for stock...


not necessarily a contradiction in this view due to the stroke differential. the actual dynamics of the engine and what ranges you are working with vs actual load.


my truck with a medium/heavy load back when it was equipped with a healthy 302 and automatic overdrive was 10-12 mpg with 456 gears and 35 inch tires.


an old schoolbus with 8.1l detroit diesel can do 10 mpg pretty regular.


a fuggin bus!!!! those weigh a bit more then my ranger with a heavy load.

its embarrassing.

my 4.0 b2 gets about 15 cruising down the highway on 33 in tires and 370 or 410 gears with m5od transmission. i have both sets for the 9 inch.

it has a d44 and 9 in. about a 4 in lift.


so i am between a ecoboost 2.0 or 2.3 or vw tdi at this point as what will power it next....

if the op pulls off 25 mpg town with a sub 2k 4.0 build...my ugly ass will copy it. .

Need to select the pcm

Hello,

I ran into a speed bump. My donor 4.0L is from a 94 non-egr Ranger. All I can get my hands on are 94 Explorer EGR parts.

I hope that if I add the EGR intake manifold and it's wire harnesses/sensors/PCM with my donor that I will still be in business.

Any one know what (else) I will need to make the combo work?

run the non egr engine with a non egr tune.


your goals will require an actual extensive dyno tune...


you would likely want to start with the lastest ohv system you can find...98 plus with the eec v.


this is a torque engine....hard to max mpg from this cologne critter.


2.0 ecoboost....way to go. or tdi.

All things being what they are

Bobby,

I can use a 98 PCM with my 94 4.0L? Isn't the harness and all kinds of stuff changed.

My motivation to pursue this is to save money. I just dropped my BII's low mileage rebuild into my 87 Ranger to get it on the road. Leaving me with the choice of building another 2.9 or learning why these 4.0's are so thirsty for fuel.

The world won't ever believe me but I expect the that flat piston 2.9 to make better than 30 mpg in the 5 speed Ranger since it did so well in the heavier BII with an A4LD.

I do not perform well while I am learning and I know exactly what to do to a 2.9 so I am kind of still on the fence .(

I have most of the parts for another 2.9 build but the money for the machining is light. Where I sit it will cost just about $300 in consumables but the machining has gone up a bit:

crank polish $120
block punch and redeck $120
bottom end balance $180
heads/intakes p/p $700 plus parts
custom regrind $180

I suppose I could, do the bottom and do the head/intakes next spring when I will have the bucks.

1994 and earlier Rangers used 60 wire EEC-IV PCMs

1995 and up Rangers 104 wire EEC-V PCMs

So you would need wiring changes, but the 104 wire PCMs would give you better MPG and the option of programming it

1998 and up Ranger PCMs would expect 60psi fuel pressure, so different fuel rail and I think injector size, that would be another hurdle
1997 and earlier used 30psi system

what ron said.


mainly there are differences in heads between 93-96.... the 4.0 is a rolling changes of nightmares...theres tons written on them...


if i had a stout 4.0.....where i live...its not many dollars to add the later induction system and sensor package to it..couple hours at the junk yard..

the eec5 offers much more capacity to get to the max bar on mpg


as i said before...with the current platforms available, polishing a 2.9 or 4.0 to any extent i actually had to spend more then a 300 bux on i would run the later powertrains.


all things being equal i cant see a ranger getting better mpg then the b2.

Options

RonD, Bobby thank you.

I like options but I am a simple fellow. Sometimes my sense for adventure gets in the way of Mr get it done. I need Mr "get it done right the first time" for this vehicle to be reborn after it's dormant period as a reliable daily driver.

I spent way too much time learning the details from Sven Pruit's book, only to learn he was correct. Every suggestion, every method, they all made better performance and together a symphony of "the way Ford should have sold it".

Again, I appreciate your inputs, I have a brain problem; if I do not fully understand it, I can not use it. This 4.0 just about doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks again.

UPDATE:

I ran out of time and then money. I expect to be wrenches on again by the end of next week.

I still need a 1994 nonEGR wire harness, upper intake, computer, 4.0 starter and... preferably a 94 Ranger dash. Sometimes I read that list and am overwelmed, usually I think...phsift, why isn't this already on the road .).).)

Search Ranger forums for V8 swap builds, and message the builder if he swapped out a 4.0l engine, he may still have the parts you need around

RonD said:

Search Ranger forums for V8 swap builds, and message the builder if he swapped out a 4.0l engine, he may still have the parts you need around

Click to expand...

Thanks Ron, that was very good advice, I had not thought to do that .).).)

As a data point : '91 Explorer 4.0L , auto, 4x4, 235/75-15 , odometer verified by GPS .
City - 18.somthing
Hwy - 22.somthing ( Hwy = cruise control @ speed limit, mostly 55mph .)

And having had a plethora of trucks/ SUV of different makes , of similar weight, HP, and displacement ( but various gear ratio ) , ( mostly stock, some of them receiving free flowing exhaust ) , 18& 22 is on the upper end of what can be expected .

Not sure if this build is still on or has been completed but from what GAZ has listed, as far as mods in order to gain MPG, I do think he could get the 25+ mark. Building the torque side of things will allow to turn the tires at a lower rpm which will require less fuel to burn. Personally I would add a Turbocharger to the mix, this will increase the volumetric efficiency of the motor and the use of "EGR" will be in full affect XD

Hello Eric,

Unfortunately, I am still working on this. There have been a couple changes to the plan:

-I need to reuse the original A4LD, 8k on rebuild
-I have not been able to get the bottom end rebuilt or the the machine work for the top end

I am still moving on this, my Machinist is just the best but he runs 2 different companies so he's almost ready to the intakes and heads (he is much busier than me)

My plan had to be adjusted for running out of money, having too many projects cooking and life. I believe that I will be able to have the bottom end work done in a year or so and of the few remaining piggyback chips for these PCM's looks like it will be either a Hypertech stage II. The ignition will get a treat as I had forgotten about the MSD DiS4 I had and I am not certain the rockers I have will work on the 4.0L.

Oh...and I had to borrow some parts from the Bronco for the Ranger ???. Thanks for the interest in this dusty build.
I have spent some time just thinking about how much less work even a stock 4.0 needs to perform to do the work of a 2.9. It will blow my mind if the BII doesn't get better fuel economy with 27.8% more displacement and 22.8% more torque with the same weight vehicle.

I have done the following to the "turn key" donor:

-new Cloyes timing set
-new Melling oil pump
-new Gates water pump
-new Melling push rods
-no more crank case driven fan, using an 18" electric puller (CORR; 16").

I am very weary about the lifters not being replaced but $500 for the set is just killing me to think about and I am scared to try the cheap lifters in a motor that I want to last 200k.

There are many disc brake 8.8's around but my priority pile needs to shrink a little before I flip another set of Explorer perches ..)

gaz said:

Hello Eric,

Unfortunately, I am still working on this. There have been a couple changes to the plan:

-I need to reuse the original A4LD, 8k on rebuild
-I have not been able to get the bottom end rebuilt or the the machine work for the top end

I am still moving on this, my Machinist is just the best but he runs 2 different companies so he's almost ready to the intakes and heads (he is much busier than me)

My plan had to be adjusted for running out of money, having too many projects cooking and life. I believe that I will be able to have the bottom end work done in a year or so and of the few remaining piggyback chips for these PCM's looks like it will be either a Hypertech stage II. The ignition will get a treat as I had forgotten about the MSD DiS4 I had and I am not certain the lifters I have will work on the 4.0L.

Oh...and I had to borrow some parts from the Bronco fir the Ranger ???. Thanks for the interest in this dusty build.
I have spent some time just thinking about how much less work even a stock 4.0 needs to perform to do the work of a 2.9. It will blow my mind if the BII doesn't get better fuel economy with 27.8% more displacement and 22.8% more torque with the same weight vehicle.

I have done the following to the "turn key" donor:

-new Cloyes timing set
-new Melling oil pump
-new Gates water pump
-new Melling push rods
-no more crank case driven fan, using an 18" electric puller

I am very weary about the lifters not being replaced but $500 for the set is just killing me to think about and I am scared to try the cheap lifters in a motor that I want to last 200k.

There are many disc brake 8.8's around but my priority pile needs to shrink a little before I flip another set of Explorer perches ..)

Click to expand...

How far along are you in the build? Surprised to see it's still in progress but it's peaked my interest as I've researched this motor a lot over the years.

-Eric