Front air intake opening

[e21pilot]

I was at the yard yesterday pulling some parts from various first gen Rangers and Explorers when I noticed something interesting on the units with the 4.0 V6 engines.

On the rad support, right behind the passenger side of the front grill, there is a black plastic deflector that allows air to enter into the intake tube which is routed under the battery tray.

I noticed that the Explorers have a large deflector with a larger hole to let more air into the engine as compared to the Rangers even though they both had the same 4.0 engine.

I wondered if I should grab one off an explorer and use it to replace the one on my 4.0 Ranger? Perhaps the extra air might give my engine a little more power?

 

[tmcalavy]

If your truck has a MAF and not a MAP sensor it might make a difference that you can notice. The deflector is there to keep water out of the first intake hose, and the airbox and the engine. Maybe they went with the larger hose for Explorers cause of some other reason?? My 90 F150 had a MAP sensor and a speed density program in the engine in the computer, so it made no difference at all when I modified the air intake to take a big K&N cone filter...it had no way to measure airflow (MAF) and no brain to adjust engine stuff based on airflow (computer program) so the beast still got the same mpg, or less, but it sounded tough...well, as tough as an inline 6 can sound...and was a little peppier. Don't know if your Ranger has MAF or MAP though.