94 ranger 4.0l v6 manual Arguement

[Skatike27]

Facts- 94 ranger 4.0l v6
- 95,000 original miles (Owner claims it had 76k original when i bought it)
- 5 speed manual

Alright heres the issue. I just bought a two place snowmobile aluminum trailer. I have a four wheeler (500lbs) and a sled (500lbs) plus the weight of the trailer (500lbs) from what I have figured, 1500 to 1700 total weight being towed, I can barely get over 60mph in overdrive (5th) or 4th gear. Thing is maxed, pedal to the floor. I believe it should have to work to pull the load but not this much. My good friend (a chevy guy-his first problem) claims that I'm lucky the truck will haul my wheeler in the bed. I need some examples of loads people have pulled and at what speed for what distance.

If there isn't something odd about this I think I need to sell my ranger.

 

[strvger]

don't sell it, re-gear it instead. double check to see what gears you have in your axles. my guess is 3.45 or 3.73. 4.10 gears would be the minimum i'd go. i have an 800# tent camper and haul 27 gallons of gas in an aux tank in the bed. i'm running 4.56 gears and cruise close to 65mph in 5th gear. you've got a great truck, but that doesn't mean it can't be made better. and depending on where you live and how you use your truck, if you're doing the gears, might as well consider a locker or limited slip for the rear axle as well.
good luck with your truck, and Welcome to TRS!!

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Well first things first... It is not recommended that you tow anything in 5th gear. With my 2.8L and 3.73 gearing I can tow my trailer with a 600lb 4 wheeler and a 400lb 4wheeler just fine upto 60mph in 4th.

But yeah the reason your truck has that much trouble is because of gearing more then likely, and when you run the truck in overdrive (5th gear) the engine is now spinning .75:1 vs 4th which is a direct 1:1 ratio and much easier on your engine.

 

[Tony Raine]

yeah, leave it in 4th for towing


3.0 5 speed

i once had to tow 6 fourwheelers with this truck. one in the bed, and 5 on a 16 foot trailer. the other rig (f150) broke down right before the trip, so i took his trailer and all the fourwheelers. wasn't the best setup, but got the job done

4.0 automatic

made a 200 mile trip while keeping up with traffic. which meant going 80 mph to keep from getting run over by semi's

did a short trip like this, also with no problems

 

[trail B2]

Sounds a little weak kneed to me considering 4th or 5th gear ya I did read that.I used to pull a couple of motorcycles behind my 2.9 and it went highway speed no problem.I think my 4.0 could pull your trailer fine as far as power.I don't pull anything bigger with mine because I have a F/S diesel.

 

[Skatike27]

Thanks for the help guys. Sounds like I need to re-gear it or rebuild the motor. Just curious, anyone know roughly how much a rebuild costs usually as far as parts?

 

[DJ2.3]

I have a 96 4.0 auto with 3.27 gears and have no problem towing that much weight. The most i have pulled was a jeep cherokee on a tow dolly, probably close to 5000 lbs no problem.

 

[3.0ranger1227]

3.0 auto towed at full highway speeds for 3 hours while towing a 3 tall stack of boats and kayaks. OD off at around 3500 rpm.

If I drafted my friend's van I could go into OD though. 4.10 gears

 

[Skatike27]

Im really starting to wonder if the owner didnt have the mileage right (5 digit odometer). Maybe it really has 195k and not 95k like i think.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Well first things first... try towing in just 4th gear. If you towed it in 5th even with larger trucks you will feel the power sucked from your engine.

 

[Captain Ledd]

I love throwing this pic around.

This is my '97 with a 2.3L 4 banger. 235/75R15 tires (~29") 3.73 gears.

I was able to hit 60MPH with this thing. Ranger bed loaded flat, and some more parts in the bed of the J10, and my friend in the passenger seat. A couple flat parts on the highway I actually was able to throw it in 5th (didn't last long on any kind of incline whatsoever). Drove it 180 miles back to college.

Towing in O/D in a manual isn't as bad as an automatic. As long as your not sending tons of power through it you're fine. (but in this case it sounds like you are)

What RPM are you running in 5th gear @ 60 MPH? and in 4th @ 60? What size tires ya running?

 

[starshooter10]

sounds like something is wrong...

i've pulled a very similar load in my ranger with no problems...

750 lb harley in the bed with 2 ~500 lbs ninjas on a trailer (mid 90's 600 and a 1100) truck didnt sweat it :\

it would slow on some inclines but a quick shift to 4th cleared that up...

i have a 93 ranger 4.0L with a 5spd and 3.xx gears.
190k miles

 

[ronclark]

I have to say somethings wrong with your truck.
I have pulled a ranger on a tow dolly with my 2.9L 5speed, its was a slow go, but i could keep 55.

 

[Skatike27]

I love throwing this pic around.

This is my '97 with a 2.3L 4 banger. 235/75R15 tires (~29") 3.73 gears.

I was able to hit 60MPH with this thing. Ranger bed loaded flat, and some more parts in the bed of the J10, and my friend in the passenger seat. A couple flat parts on the highway I actually was able to throw it in 5th (didn't last long on any kind of incline whatsoever). Drove it 180 miles back to college.

Towing in O/D in a manual isn't as bad as an automatic. As long as your not sending tons of power through it you're fine. (but in this case it sounds like you are)

What RPM are you running in 5th gear @ 60 MPH? and in 4th @ 60? What size tires ya running?

4th gear and 60mph = 2000rpms 5gear and 60 = 1500 rpms.

 

[AllanD]

Facts- 94 ranger 4.0l v6
- 95,000 original miles (Owner claims it had 76k original when i bought it)
- 5 speed manual

Alright heres the issue. I just bought a two place snowmobile aluminum trailer. I have a four wheeler (500lbs) and a sled (500lbs) plus the weight of the trailer (500lbs) from what I have figured, 1500 to 1700 total weight being towed, I can barely get over 60mph in overdrive (5th) or 4th gear. Thing is maxed, pedal to the floor. I believe it should have to work to pull the load but not this much. My good friend (a chevy guy-his first problem) claims that I'm lucky the truck will haul my wheeler in the bed. I need some examples of loads people have pulled and at what speed for what distance.

If there isn't something odd about this I think I need to sell my ranger.

At what speed are you shifting into 4th and then overdrive?

Because I have a well running 4.0 with 4.10 gears and frankly I think OD is USELESS when NOT towing below ~65mph.

If you have 3.73's (likely but not certain, but better than the other likely alternatives), 3.55's (More likely) or even 3.27's
(also possible) with increasingly taller axle gears you'd have SEVERE issues at 60mph in OD, because you've shifted up into a gear you can't really use.


Your owners manual tells you "DO NOT USE OD while towing" (At all)