Engine bay clean up

[2.3l]

I have recently bought a 92 ford ranger and I am looking to make some changes starting with the engine. I love the 2.3 but not the clutter I was just wondering if there were any tips you guys had about removing certain parts or replacing them with smaller parts so I could have some more room under the hood.

 

[Mark_88]

Howdy and welcome to TRS~!

You have the same name as my engine! Cool!

But, as you probably know, the stuff under the hood is functional and serves a purpose. It's also probably the best you can get under there unless you are going turbo or just want to look better without worrying about performance.

In that case...you could remove the air box and put a K&N "cold air intake" that is just a big filter on the end of a tube...it tends to look like it makes the engine more powerful but it's like viagra and only allows what you have to work...no, wait, that's not right...

Anyway, I have one on my truck (cold air intake, not viagara falls) and I don't think it looks better...it's a bit of a PITA actually...

The other side usually has power steering and AC units that take up a bit of room...and take out a bit of power...cleaning them up can be done easy enough.

So...a bit can be done but it won't really get you anything other than a different look...and it may be a source for headaches if you don't do them right...

 

[2.3l]

Engine bay clieab up

I am going to try to make it a street race truck. By try I mean im not to savvy with engines but im taking it slow and learning as much as I can before I take action. So I plan on turbochargeing it and dropping it a little or at least putting on a decent suspension kit. As well as exaust, and engine tune ups.

 

[scotts90ranger]

You can get rid of that silly intake muffler (the phallic looking tube between the airflow sensor and the throttle) and replace it with a piece of tubing (PVC or ABS or something would be fine). I suggest against getting one of those "cold air intake" kits as they convert your stock cold air intake to a HOT air intake... the stock air filter in the '89 and up 2.3L's is the same as what's used on the 155hp 4.0L so it flows enough.

Other than that, anything you remove will most likely cause a check engine light to come up, and won't gain you any power. Compared to anything new your engine compartment isn't all that cluttered.

You can technically eliminate the coil pack for the drivers side spark plugs without issue (ground the outer two terminals of the connector and the computer won't know it's not there) but having more spark is good so I'm not sure I would do that...

I would also suggest getting rid of your ground terminal for your battery cable, those repair things cause all sorts of problems that are sometimes hard to locate. I despise the one on my Geo Tracker, but it's a TINY engine so it works for now, I'm pretty sure that's it's cranking problem right now...

If you don't know too much about engines, I wouldn't suggest just jumping in and trying to take stuff apart and eliminating it, your year engine shouldn't have any serous problems and other than changing the oil you shouldn't need to get under the hood much, you aren't going to loose a significant amount of weight or power by taking stuff off the engine.

 

[tomw]

Quote:"I would also suggest getting rid of your ground terminal for your battery cable, those repair things cause all sorts of problems that are sometimes hard to locate. I despise the one on my Geo Tracker, but it's a TINY engine so it works for now, I'm pretty sure that's it's cranking problem right now..."

I read that, and thought, how in heck will getting rid of the ground cable help anything? Then read it one more time, looked at the picture, and finally understood.

The ground cable TERMINAL is a 'help' type item, that may cause problems. It is hard to get a good connection for all the copper wires in the cable between the contacts of the terminal. Corrosion can happen and then you're stuck. If you trust it, flush it well with baking soda & water [NOT ON THE BATTERY], and then goozie it up with grease to prevent the acid vapors from the battery from causing corrosion.
The 2.3 does not grab a whole lot of amps to start, so should be OK if you protect the cable. Remember, acid and corrosion can work their way down the cable inside the insulation, and you won't know until it doesn't work any more. I have sliced open insulation and found crumbled wires when the corrosion was ignored.
tom

 

[2.3l]

So how about instead of going the removal of parts route, I'll go towards just kinda reorganizing the bay. Time is not an Issue and I want to learn how to use my truck and repair or replace parts when I need to.

Before buying this truck I was set to make a race truck, I had become interested in all these nice cars you see running around the streets with there aftermarket setups, but there was a Lack of trucks. I found this ranger and though it would be the perfect contender for a "street style truck". Although it's not a Honda with all the customization in the world, it still has a great aftermarket range. I know it takes a lot of money to get all these parts and systems, and I am on a unfunded budget but I'm not worrying about time. I want perfection.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Reorganizing you can do

I'm not sure why Ford moved the alternator to the exhaust side, maybe for shorter wires? If you look in junk yards you should be able to find a bracket to move the power steering pump lower and have the alternator above it, I think it's a little cleaner...

I'm not sure what that bundle of wires is by the clutch reservoir, but that could probably go away.

Like Mark said, you "could" remove the power steering, that would just require finding a manual box at a junkyard then you could get rid of that whole bracket and pump and hoses, but you would loose the power steering which I've come to appreciate, my Ranger didn't come with it, and my Tracker doesn't have it...

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

The ttb and tib front suspensions on these trucks are not good for street style racing, but are great for jumping and baja style racing. The problem is the front likes jacking up when going thru chicanes and sharp corners leading to rollovers. I started building my 91 ranger for racing before knowing this stuff. There are band-aids you can do to help but I would seriously look at a newer sla style front suspension if you want to street/rally race. You can look thru my build thread to see what I did for a short course type race-truck. Basically try to get the COG as low as possible and use heavy sway bars and springs to control roll.

 

[2.3l]

I think the wires are from an aftermarket a/c unit the previous owner installed but later removed.

 

[tomw]

If you want simple, go old. You almost could crawl under the hood, and almost stand next to the engine in the older F100s with the straight 300 six. When I worked on my Dad's T-bird, there was enough room that I could hang my legs down onto stuff while messing with the distributor, plug wires, etc. There were 3 vacuum lines. One for the wipers & power brakes, one for the distributor vacuum advance and one for the windshield washer pump diaphragm. The diaphragm moved the pump on a bracket attached to the generator so the drive roller was smushed against the backside of the v-belt running the generator. Little gear type pump then turned with the engine running. It did have the supply and delivery hoses attached also, but compared to curent under-hood, simple.
tom