Back Again

[JCMaidens]

Hey everyone long time no post I kno. The truck has been running great and we havent been doing any work to it. But This spring we are wanting to take it muddin so we are back to working on it. Just to refresh we have a 91 ford ranger 4wd A4LD tranny and a 2.9L engine. So with all the snow we have been hammered with in the last few weeks we decided to get big ole' snow trackers for it. Big mistake! Yea they fit but now they are rubbin the inner fender thingies. So naturally the "normal" thing to do is to put a lift on it LOL. Here is where all my questions come in to the mix. We are planning on a body lift but wondering if a susp. lift would be needed. We will probally just take it somewhere and have it done right the first time. So now we are looking at 30 in tires with a small lift. I realize the 2.9 motor is ummm inadquate so heres my thoughts on trying to give it a little more help this is where all your expertise comes in handy. We are thinking about a K&N intake system not just replacing the filter. Also we are considering replacing the stock fan with a lighter weight fan. Also we are looking into a different exhaust something less restrictive. We have changed the spark plugs up to 1 step hotter and put new wires. Do you think all of this will help squeeze a little bit more oommff out of the 2.9 or are we just wasting our money. Another engine swap is out of the question. We are closet grease monkies and do not have all the proper tools and experience to complete a 2.9 to a 4.0 swap. Any and all advice is appriecated.

 

[dgndngrngr]

the k&n system and an electric fan may increase throttle response a bit but overall not much hp or torque gain. exhaust might help a bit but the stock cat should be left there for backpressure reasons. sorry to say it but the 2.9 just isnt that powerful. and plus the A4LD is weak. one thing you could do is add a tranny cooler up front which would be helpful for muddin and coupled with an electric fan it would put some life back into the tranny. ive run into the same issues with power in these engines and dont want you to waste your money like i started to.

if you do find a 94 or older 4.0 and know someone with a picker, the actual swap isnt that bad and it could be done in a weekend

 

[IMenriched]

the k&n system and an electric fan may increase throttle response a bit but overall not much hp or torque gain. exhaust might help a bit but the stock cat should be left there for backpressure reasons. sorry to say it but the 2.9 just isnt that powerful. and plus the A4LD is weak. one thing you could do is add a tranny cooler up front which would be helpful for muddin and coupled with an electric fan it would put some life back into the tranny. ive run into the same issues with power in these engines and dont want you to waste your money like i started to.

if you do find a 94 or older 4.0 and know someone with a picker, the actual swap isnt that bad and it could be done in a weekend

Yeap...agreed
good maintenence ...is the best route with the 2.9...swapping in a soild 5speed manual tranny would help to.

if you looking for seat of the pants feel... changing to a higher gear ratio on the axels would gain more than anything. 410 gears seem to be the popular choice..if you're really into mudd'n maybe even higher.

the 4.0 has far more..."upgrades" available that would yeild better results.

body lifts will gain you height you need. the Teck library has suggestion as what you can fit under it with varying different lifts.

I would lean towards the suspesion lift kit as compared to the body lift.
you'll get most key suspension parts new, that are in all likelyhood worn out anyway, thereby, improving drivabilty. yes they are pricier...but you do get lots of new componets.