96 4 banger engine questions

[stackz]

ok, 96 4-banger ranger. is it a 2.3 or 2.5??

didnt the lima engines start getting smaller journal cranks after 93 with the mustangs??

which journals are smaller?? I've read about people tossing 2.3t rods/pistons in the blocks and then boosting. are the smaller journals just the crank journals or something?? whats up with this stuff??

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

ok, 96 4-banger ranger. is it a 2.3 or 2.5??

didnt the lima engines start getting smaller journal cranks after 93 with the mustangs??

which journals are smaller?? I've read about people tossing 2.3t rods/pistons in the blocks and then boosting. are the smaller journals just the crank journals or something?? whats up with this stuff??

83-97 rangers were the 2.3 (there were also the 2.0 in the 80s). 98-2001.5 got the 2.5.

All the dual plug 2.3 ranger engines (89+) have the smaller main journals. The mustang started getting the dual plug engine in 91 or 92. However, rod journal sizes never changed so putting the turbo pistons and rods on the ranger crank works perfectly. The ranger crank is the same thing as the turbo crank (except for main journal sizes) and every bit as strong. Up to 94 the ranger got the same rods as the turbo cars as well, so you really only need turbo pistons on those models. 95+ rangers all have smaller valve stems and different EEC-V sensor provisions, so they are a little more difficult to convert to turbo spec.

But yes, a 2.3 ranger + turbo pistons + lots of boost = one wild ride. With enough boost they'll walk all over a mild 5.0 conversion ranger.

 

[stackz]

cool. instead of swapping over to a vam 2.3t computer I'm just going to get an sct tuner for the stock computer. I'm also going to keep the dual plug head and just grind out the combustion chamber "heart" between the valves. after that it pretty much mimics the turbo d-port head chamber.

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

cool. instead of swapping over to a vam 2.3t computer I'm just going to get an sct tuner for the stock computer. I'm also going to keep the dual plug head and just grind out the combustion chamber "heart" between the valves. after that it pretty much mimics the turbo d-port head chamber.

Yeah, it's much easier to just tune the EEC-V setup. Plus you get to start with a MAF sensor

I wouldn't worry about combustion chamber. A dual plug head with turbo pistons (what I run) is about 8.4:1 compression ratio. Mine will do 16-17 psi with no detonation. It would probably do more except I run out of fuel with the 35 lb/hr injectors after that (My head is ported to flow 65% over stock). You just can't run both spark plugs due to the much faster burn running both. That's running it with a turbocoupe computer with timing curves for a single plug head. Since you are going to be tuning your EEC-V you could probably tweak the timing curves to run fine with both plugs firing.

In any case, the extra .4 point in CR isn't going to hurt anything, and will give it a slightly better low end.

 

[skyy_4life]

where is a good but cheap place to get turbo pistons the are same bore as my ranger because i think on my new turbo ranger project im just going to do pistons. any suggestions on were to buy good turbo pistons to fit my 2.3l?

 

[Sevensecondsuv]

www.turboford.org

If there's none for sale in the "for sale" section just post in the WTB section. A good used set usually goes for $40-$100. Otherwise you can usually find them on ebay.

If you're taking the motor down to the pistons, I'd strongly recommend you hone the cylinder walls, replace the rings, rod bearings, main bearings, and inspect the oil pickup screen for plugging (a known issue on the ranger 2.3 engine). These are all cheap parts but impossible to do without pulling the motor. That way you know you have a bottom end that's ready for abuse with a turbo.

As for rings, the turbo pistons and dual plug ranger pistons have different thickness rings. The earlier ranger engines had the same thickness rings as the turbo engines but the turbo rings a different part number due to all the rings being moly rather than just the top one in the ranger set. The difference is about $50 per set at $30 for the ranger rings and $80 for the turbo rings. This is a decision you'll have to make. FWIW, I cheaped out and got the 80's 2.3 ranger rings and 15,000 miles of turbo abuse later it still hasn't bitten me.