Erland
Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2020
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 3
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
- Vehicle Year
- 2003
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger FX4
- Engine Type
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
I've been lurking/reading for some time & haven't had much luck finding an existing thread to answer my questions, so I'm hoping some of you might be able to help.
My Ranger is an '03 with the 4.0L V6, automatic, and FX4 package with low miles (66k) and is in really good shape and well maintained. The only modification is a Magnaflow cat-back system.
Living on the western side of Colorado we've got back-country mountain roads and trails galore, plus wide-open highways with speed limits between 70-80mph. I really don't want to give up any off-road capabilities with the truck, but I find it's really getting poor gas mileage for it's size and struggling to keep up on the highways. It doesn't seem right to be getting passed by full-sized trucks which should be suffering from double the rolling resistance and drag.
I'm wondering if there are some simple mods to the engine (like headers and a cam) or changes to the trans that could help me out, or should I look at a complete engine/transmission swap? I love the size of my Ranger and it's nice enough that I wouldn't be opposed to swapping in a modern eco-boost and 6 or 10-speed auto-transmission if I can keep everything functioning like factory.
I am a mechanical engineer with a CNC and a hoist so I can do some fabbing where needed.
My Ranger is an '03 with the 4.0L V6, automatic, and FX4 package with low miles (66k) and is in really good shape and well maintained. The only modification is a Magnaflow cat-back system.
Living on the western side of Colorado we've got back-country mountain roads and trails galore, plus wide-open highways with speed limits between 70-80mph. I really don't want to give up any off-road capabilities with the truck, but I find it's really getting poor gas mileage for it's size and struggling to keep up on the highways. It doesn't seem right to be getting passed by full-sized trucks which should be suffering from double the rolling resistance and drag.
I'm wondering if there are some simple mods to the engine (like headers and a cam) or changes to the trans that could help me out, or should I look at a complete engine/transmission swap? I love the size of my Ranger and it's nice enough that I wouldn't be opposed to swapping in a modern eco-boost and 6 or 10-speed auto-transmission if I can keep everything functioning like factory.
I am a mechanical engineer with a CNC and a hoist so I can do some fabbing where needed.