1990 Ford Ranger XLT 2.3l i4

[skullz696969]

I was wondering if there were any minor / major performance upgrades i could do to a 1990 ford ranger xlt with a 2.3l i4. Without having to replace the engine.
Thanks

 

[BogusSVO]

a small shot of nitrous???

 

[RangerSVT]

You can put a turbo on it with a small amount of boost, it will not do any damage, gains will vary according to you setup
SVT

 

[craveman85]

turbo requires computer modification or swap. make it breath in easier and fart faster. more airflow is more power. you could get a used cylinder head and gasket match it with a dremel and put in some new valvesprings and a cam. high compression pistons but then you would have to run premium fuel.

 

[Spowerback]

turbo requires computer modification or swap. make it breath in easier and fart faster. more airflow is more power. air intake (free air) modification and muffler,cat convertor +cut out magnaflow example cherry bomb

 

[Mforrest327]

Well on my ranger, (2.3 and stick) I did a few things that helped it out a little. First, I took out that stupid baffle in the stock air pipe and cut the tube off right where it gets bigger, attatched MAF sensor to the tube and added a cone filter. Next I seafoamed it which actually made more of a difference then I thought (she is alot snappier on the revs). I then replaced my belt, since it broke, and re-timed it. She is actually running 4 degrees before top dead center and she seems to really like it. None of these will make her do wheelies, but you could tell a difference with each one.


Got a quick question. If I was to buy a used head, surface it, gasket match it, replace springs etc, what sort of power would it give it? I have never had head work done on anything that I have owned so Im kind of curious.

 

[RangerSVT]

If you shave the head about .150, providing you have the clearance, you will gain a considerable amount of power, along with gasket matching the intake and exhaust ports, as well as smoothing the runners out
SVT

 

[skullz696969]

Spowerback if i take off my cat convertor will it mess up the oxygen sensors?
Someone told me that it might but i wasnt sure.

 

[RangerSVT]

It depends, do you have O2 sensors after your cat?? If you don't, then it won't, if you do, there is a way you can trick the comuter into thinking it still has the cat, I have done this to both my trucks, my 96 with a 2.3L and my other 96 with a 4.0L...
SVT

 

[rurouni20xx]

it is illegal to remove or modify your catalytic convertor. you can however have it changed to a high flow convertor. several companies make them including magnaflow and catco. dont discuss cat removal since it will have the thread locked and your username possibly banned. personally mine was already removed (previous owner) but will install a hi flow convertor later, i have a 40 inch classic chambered powerstick and 4 series copy on my 2.3, upsized the exhaust diameter to 2 1/4 from 2 inches. my intake i moved the maf to the first bend in the system got an air filter adapter from a contour and installed an open filter.