New to the forums, looking for some more power.

[sooperxtool]

Howdy!

I am actually much more knowledgeable in the turbocharged engine realm and don't have a whole lot of insight when it comes to N/A power. But, if I wanted a bump in performance on the affordable side of things, I would probably start with new spark plugs and wires, electric fan, clean air filter, and a 'big 3' upgrade. If you did all those things at once, I bet there would be a noticeable difference.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

'big 3' upgrade.

What is?

 

[sooperxtool]

What is?

Basically upgrading the wires from battery to ground, battery to alt, and engine to ground.

Article

It is typically an audio upgrade, but it has benefit in general electrical sysem efficiency.

 

[8thTon]

Also, clean the MAFS. It makes a huge difference in how the automatic shifts, as it needs to know airflow to properly determine load.

 

[sooperxtool]

I intended to mention cleaning the MAF but forgot

 

[stmitch]

Put the money you'd spend on a K&N toward an electric fan and underdrive pulley first. Both are good starter mods that will restore power and improve fuel economy by reducing parasitic drag on the engine.
Moranav6racing sells a bunch of performance parts. Some are probably better than others based on what other posters have gone through. I've got his roller rockers though, and they seem to be decent.
You can always port/polish the lower intake manifold and cylinder heads, but those aren't beginner jobs.

If the truck is flex fuel, and you can find e85 nearby, it will add some power and clean the entire fuel system too. Just make sure that you phase it in a little bit at a time (maybe 1/4 or 1/3 tank of e85 with the remainder being regular gas) instead of starting with a tank full of e85 from the beginning. It can clean so well that it breaks up buildup in the fuel system into fairly large bits and clogs filters, injectors, etc. By phasing it in slowly, it dissolves the buildup more slowly over time and you're less likely to get fuel system issues.

 

[Rearanger]

Put the money into your retirement savings, much more productive and better returns.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Swap in a 2.9.

 

[8thTon]

Swap in a 2.9.

Wait, did he want more noise?

 

[mtnrgr]

There have many many add more power to the ole 3.0 for decades all over the internet and what other owners have done. Trial and error, you learn what works and what does not work. I myself have been thru those steps with my 3.0. Starters I bought my 94 new in 94, and in 98 when JBA had headers for the 3.0, I was one of the first one's to buy a pair and installed them. JBA is in San Diego and this is where I live, native actually been here my whole life. A mechanic friend of mine who works there gave me a tip about it. He installed them, and was also using a magnaflow at that time. Both did alright, later to find out they did nothing for a stock engine. Had both removed, reinstalled the stock manifolds, and went with a Flowmaster original 40 with 2.5" piping...the results were way better. Over the years of reading more and more, and nothing really shined a light to do anything like what others have done. Fast forward 20+ years. I had my original engine rebuilt in 2002 at 300,000, what a mean little 3.0, it performed GREAT until 2017 when one cylinder started to loose compression, at 250,000 miles, can see that. I ran it hard and smooth for that 15 years. In 2017 I bought a good used 3.0 long block from my friends yard, and had that rebuilt. Now at 56,000 miles this 3.0 is just a mean happy engine. Still running the same flowmaster, and I love how it performs and sounds. In the long run, the best performance you can get out of the 3.0 is to rebuild the whole engine with some performance upgrades on the inside of the engine. To be clear my ranger is now at 596,000 miles.

There is a guy on youtube that has done certain things to his 3.0 check him out, and go from there...https://www.youtube.com/user/velocityrunner209