best engine swap and performance upgrades

[canyoder]

hey there all, im looking for more power out of my ranger- 96 2.3 5 speed manual everything including manual steering lol. im trying to make one bad lookin and performing truck on a bush light beer budget. what do you all think that is the easiest plug and play motor swap. i would keep the manual trans, but whats the best. thanks for the input everyone.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

4.56 gears and a Trac-lok. And a 500 shot of NO2...

K nitrous aside... You will see the biggest noticeable power gain will be with changing gears. And the Lima engine can be built to be very powerful.

As for engine swaps, they is the "plug and play/ bolt in" 4.0 swap. But radiator to drive shaft must be swapped (preferably the axle too), and ecu/wiring to exhaust must be swapped too. And with a little more work and money, there's the Explorer 5.0 swap.

 

[RonD]

The inexpensive bolt on engine stuff has already been done by Ford.
Swapping motors is cheaper if you can buy a donor vehicle, so can get the engine, wiring harness and computer.

I would also look at selling the '96 2.3l and buying a Ranger with a larger motor, maybe find one with a blown head gasket or other issues that you could fix.

 

[Surrey]

RonD makes a good point. On a budget, your best option might be to just sell what you've got and buy a Ranger with a 4.0 in it. Saves trying to get it running after an engine swap too, which in it self must be worth something...

Gears are a good option, but obviously they dont make the engine put out any more power or anything.

It seems they make a tonne of aftermarket parts for these engines, as they are popular turbo candidates and very common engines, so with a bit of searching Im sure you can find some ideas.