Hot-rodded work truck?

[mountainman]

Saw a coolant leak.
Found leak to be coming from timing cover.
Pulled timing cover.
Decided to finally install JBA headers that I got a while back.
Snapped bolts trying to get exhaust manifolds off.
Pulled heads.
Taking heads in today to get them rebuilt.
I have new plugs, cap, rotor going in.

Now that I am this far into the engine, what else should I do?
I pull a small construction trailer sometimes and have a topper on with tools in the back of the truck. Lacks power pulling the small trailer.
I don't want to spend a million dollars and I need to get this back on the road ASAP. I need just a little more "juice" but I don't want to make the truck unreliable and I need it to last me a few more years- maybe another 170k miles.

I've looked on Summit and Jegs and haven't really found any reasonable options for performance parts. Also, I don't think the UD pulley set is worth the money, is it? And it is only the one pulley- the crank pulley?

Injectors?
I am not sure what the stock injectors put out but I see that there are some aftermarket on Jegs. Are they worth it and in what case would I want to use any of these? JEGS High Performance

Camshaft?
Are there any reasonably priced cams out there?

Intake?
Again, are there any reasonably priced options out there?

Timing chain?
Is there a gear set available?

 

[adsm08]

There are things you can do, but a lot of them are expensive and won't provide much.

The problem here is that the 3.0 is a car engine. It has no low end torque and wasn't really meant for towing things. It was just stuffed into a Ranger because it was there and someone at Ford thought they needed to offer a small V6.

 

[mountainman]

Hmmmm... great. I am polishing a turd.

 

[adsm08]

The 3.0 isn't a bad engine. A pickup truck (and by extension the work people expect out of a pickup truck) is not an ideal application for it.

FWIW the 5.0 has the same problem.

 

[stmitch]

Since there are no aftermarket heads/intake manifolds available, your best bet is a little port/polish while it's apart. The lower intake especially is very small and rough. The heads can be cleaned up quite a bit too. It can be time consuming work though.

I saw a dyno sheet for a 10% underdrive pulley generating something like 8hp and 11lb-ft at the wheels, but I can't verify those numbers. I definitely felt a difference on mine after I installed the underdrive pulley and e-fan. Got better fuel economy too.

 

[RangerNielsen]

if its feeling gutless you can re gear it to something lower.

My 94 ranger 3.0 is super gutless. and i am kinda embarrassed to admit that my 88 2.9 has more get up.

 

[hcomplyr]

try and find a set of roller rockers since you already have the heads off

 

[eriddles]

its a work truck so you are asking for power and fuel economy right?
remove that huge heavy belt driven fan and install a electrical fan and a good controller

it will save you the cost in fuel money
its one of the best thing i ever did to mine 9 years ago

 

[mountainman]

Since there are no aftermarket heads/intake manifolds available, your best bet is a little port/polish while it's apart. The lower intake especially is very small and rough. The heads can be cleaned up quite a bit too. It can be time consuming work though.

I saw a dyno sheet for a 10% underdrive pulley generating something like 8hp and 11lb-ft at the wheels, but I can't verify those numbers. I definitely felt a difference on mine after I installed the underdrive pulley and e-fan. Got better fuel economy too.

Yeah, apparently when they freshened up the heads they did a "lite port and polish" so we'll see what that means soon.

I am thinking that I will end up doing the underdrive pulley set- can't hurt none. Not sure but I will probably do the fan late- busted my budget a while back. EEk!

 

[mountainman]

if its feeling gutless you can re gear it to something lower.

My 94 ranger 3.0 is super gutless. and i am kinda embarrassed to admit that my 88 2.9 has more get up.

I guess I could re-gear it but I'll have to see as I like the lower RPMs while cruising down the interstate. Where do I find the gear ratio?

 

[mountainman]

its a work truck so you are asking for power and fuel economy right?
remove that huge heavy belt driven fan and install a electrical fan and a good controller

it will save you the cost in fuel money
its one of the best thing i ever did to mine 9 years ago

Yep- going to have to do the e-fan. The more I think about it- it just makes sense.

 

[RangerNielsen]

I guess I could re-gear it but I'll have to see as I like the lower RPMs while cruising down the interstate. Where do I find the gear ratio?

On the driver's side door, there is an info sticker. On the lower row of the sticker, there will be a square that says: "Axle", and have a number under it. You then have to look up the gear ratio. This would be the axle information that came with the truck.

OR

Some where on the axle housing themselves, there is an info plate welded in it, or on it, that will have magical codes for you to decipher (there are threads on here to help with that). I have never been able to find them, on any of my trucks.

 

[bobbywalter]

hhmmhhmmm

need to pull trailer.


3.7 swap. which would be a mother as the systems are so integrated...thats supposed to be solved soon...


or 4.8. either of those would be a serious improvement in power and likely better economy then a 4.0....


the 3.0 dont mind spinning so 410 gears if you have something taller already.


a turbo or supercharger would be the best way to improve it...or maybe swap a 3.0 cammer in out of a taurus.


i feel bad for 3.0 guys. if you half ass change the oil on time they wont ever die and your stuck with ho hum power forever.


i would not do the pullies on a work truck with a e fan mod. but the e fan mod should be priority with a good control setup.

fwiw....i worked out of my ranger for almost 4 years before i got sick of the 2.9 and swapped in a cobra engine back in 95....its been through the ringer and still is my main work rig to this day....but the daily operating costs dictated i put a diesel in it.

maybe a tdi swap like greengeeker on this forum may be a good swap to consider instead of pouring to much turd polish on this 3.0....