90 km/h top speed?

[vladj]

hey i have an 89 ford ranger with a 2.3L dual spark plug and a 5 speed. my problem is the fastest i can get this truck to is 90km/h and thats downhill. i thought it was the oversized tires i had on so today i put on 185/65R15 tires and it didnt fix the prolem. im not trying to race people i just want it to go the speed limit

please help

thanks;

vlad

 

[Bryan22]

ouch 55 MPH, whats it do when you get going that fast? why won't it go faster?

 

[Mark_88]

Is your truck 4x4 or two wheel drive? What gears are in the rear end? Rear gears can limit top end if they are high enough (like 4:56 or even 4:10)...there is an axel rating inside your door...check that against the codes listed in the tech library (I think it's still there)...

If they are 3:73 or lower you should be getting more top end...even my 2.0 Ranger could go faster than that...

 

[vladj]

when you reach top speed i have the pedal to the metal in 4th gear and it feels like it reached it top speed. if i shift to fifth it just slows down to 80 with the pedal being pressed to the floor. this truck is a 2wd with 3.08 gears in the back. has new spark plugs and wires and alternator. it does misfire when its cold at idle. but it has a lot of power till it reaches 60 km/h. oh and it also has a dynomax cat back exhaust with a glass pack instead of a cat and it has a short ram intake. any ideas?


thanks;

vlad

 

[Mark_88]

Fuel injectors may be plugged up if you have FI...timing may be off slightly...could be carbon deposits on the pistons...

Some cheap mods like a shorty header might help for either carb or FI...the header is lighter and flows better than stock...run some injector cleaner through the gas line...pull a plug and inspect the tops of the pistons...if they don't look clean you can try the sea foam trick...

Oh, and the throttle cable spacer trick might be just the thing you need...if your throttle cable is stretched it will take up the slack and allow you to open it up completely...

 

[vladj]

it was sea foamed a couple of month ago.it might be the injectors because i run a year old fuel in there for a tank. oh and whats the throttle cable spacer? is it when you put zip ties behind the gas pedal?

oh btw its a f/I

any other ideas?

thanks

vlad

 

[Bryan22]

3.08 gears on a 2.3 is part of the problem. I bet if you got some 3.73 or 4.10 gears it'd do A LOT better.

 

[balage]

I don't know what is the problem, but where were you born my friend? km/h in the speed, and milimeter in the tyresize? oh plus Vlad is your name...Transylvania?
Just guessing

 

[vladj]

i was born in russia but i live in canada now.

also why would ford produce a truck that cant go 100km/h so something has got to be wrong

 

[rangerbum]

Something must be wrong. My 2.3 in 4th gear can hit 95 MPH. And I think thats like 150 or 160 Km/hr

 

[vladj]

ya im trying to figure out what. if i can get it to go 120km/h ill be happy

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

something is wrong, and its not your gears.

start with the basics: what condition is your air filter in? what about your fuel filter? have you attempted to recover codes from the computer (check the tech library for details). a compression test and a varification of the fuel pressure would give you a good indication of the general health of the motor.

 

[gb2003]

i have a 90 2.3 5 spd with 3:08's mine will go up to 70 mph in 3rd so u have to have something else wrong

 

[feellnfroggy]

I have a 92 EFI, mine does the same thing with stock tires and wheels. My wife said though that when I was doing 55 by my speedo(and it took all day to get there) that I was really doing 70+. Have you had a tranny swap lately? Its the wrong speedo gear. The other problem I have is timing. I have two coil point out on the waste spark coil and the timing defaults to 10deg bTDC. I dont know how htat affects the speedo, but who knows. Check the tranny to see if its the one that came with yuor truck Its prolly the gear. (Could be warn teethy too, Its only plastic)

 

[vladj]

I have a 92 EFI, mine does the same thing with stock tires and wheels. My wife said though that when I was doing 55 by my speedo(and it took all day to get there) that I was really doing 70+. Have you had a tranny swap lately? Its the wrong speedo gear. The other problem I have is timing. I have two coil point out on the waste spark coil and the timing defaults to 10deg bTDC. I dont know how htat affects the speedo, but who knows. Check the tranny to see if its the one that came with yuor truck Its prolly the gear. (Could be warn teethy too, Its only plastic)

it is the original tranny i knew the old owner but i could be the timing, ill try to get it ajusted and then see