98 2.5 engine upgreads

[some87]

ok guys i got a 98 2.5 2wd and i want to put a lift kit on it but i know im going to need some engine work to push it around. what would be the basics that i should do to my engine to get some more power out of the little thing. i was thinking one of those superchargers that mount to the side of the engine that kind of look like a turbo but dont know anything about them at all. are there any turbo kits that would fit on the truck that i wouldnt have to take the whole engine appart for? the truck only has 52k miles on it and i dont feel like doing a full engine build just for a few more horses. any help at all would be aprishiated. im looking at the fabtech 5.5" Ultimate System

 

[4b316]

Probably the first thing to do is to get a camshaft,a stage one from Esslinger,s is a good start.You can put a eariler Ranger header on it,they help on flow and take about 20 lbs off the front.Cold air intake will help a little.Really need to get in the inside to make any power,milling and porting the head,boring etc.

 

[some87]

i looked on there site and looks like they only have cams for the 2.0 and 2.3 and thats all i saw

 

[skyy_4life]

good idea with the older head swap. to get more power from my 94 was cold air system. exhaust. coil packs. plugs and wires. stuff like that. but after those you will have to start going to big shit such as cams and boring and shit. any REAL turbo is a rip into shit kinda job. i have never seen one of those intake superchargers but it may be worth a try? Ebay has them for cheap.

 

[some87]

well i was looking at something like this but i would need a kit to put it on

 

[some87]

the 2.3 head would fit on a 2.5?

 

[tylerh]

they look the same i know that

 

[Simple_serf]

That's because the engines are the same, except for some small differences and the fact that the 2.5 is a stroked 2.3.

2.0 is an underbored 2.3

That applies to the Lima family only, btw. The new 2.3 (mid 01 on) is completely different.

50K miles? It's not even broken in!

my '98 has 200,000.

Citoriplus had something like 300K on his (BTW...what happened to him?), and some members have even exceeded that. These engines don't have alot of power, but they get good mileage and run forever.

...almost forgot...The 2.3 was availiable as a 2.3T in some cars in the 90's...Factory Turbo.

 

[some87]

lol yeah its weird it has very low miles but it already has problems. the rpms drop when im just sitting around after about 2 min. and 3rd gear grinds when ever i shift if i dont let the engine rpms drop

 

[jas11151990]

I want to do the exact same to my 2000 B2500, any help would be amazing!!!

 

[jas11151990]

is there a page so i can decode my vin

 

[some87]

so if i were to put the 2.3 head on my 2.5 what year engine should i get it off of and what else would i have to get to put it on there?

 

[Beanmachine7000]

Re-gearing to a numerically higher ratio would be the easiest and most cost effective power increaser... You can spend $2,500 on little stuff they are telling you to do and only maybe make 10-20 hp, re-gearing will make a much bigger improvement and be much cheaper... The biggest improvement in my 1/4 mile times on my Camaro was when I switched to a higher gear ratio...

 

[some87]

just the problem is i go between cities a lot and 80 mph is the speed limit. so i want to still be able to hit that with out pushing my engine to hard. i was just thinking of doing the head till i get a bigger engine, but i just need to know what years to look at for the head

 

[Caulk04]

Figure out what size tire you're going to run, and regear so that your new tire size and gear ratio will match the RPM of the stock combo then. However, I'd highly recommend going a little shorter (higher number) on the ratio.