Is this a rare find?

[ranger_mclaren]

Those are symptoms of a broken 2.3. They are perfectly capable of pulling a 4x4 Ranger down the highway.

Maybe so. I know there good motors or i woudn't have bought to begin with my friends single plug 2.3 is a beast althogh he rebuild it the first year he got it pistons and all so it's new now and its in a 2wheel drive. i've always had timing and fuel problems with mine i had to keep the timing advanced to just keep it running it idaled at 1500 rpm or it would die. even after having head rebuild by a garage and having timeing fixed properly, but i still recommend something bigger for a 4x4. ( i also had 3 inch lift and 32 inch tires to put in the mix)

 

[Mark_88]

The 2.3 4x4 is getting rarer by the day...they simply don't make them any more and if you can fix it relatively inexpensively and maybe keep it for a turbo swap later it would be a nice truck...I'm sorta wishing I had looked into a 4x4 before I bought my 2wd Ranger...and with a good rebuild on the engine you can get more ponies out of them without the turbo setup...it's just NOT a 3.0 or 4.0 so don't expect to be off to the races with it...

 

[Mechanickid]

+1 My 85 2.3 4x4 has some balls for it being so small. One wheel wonders all the way through 1st and 2nd.

 

[woodyedmiston]

Ford put out a lot of those in that time frame (an Escorts with no air) to offset CAFE standards. They are not rare - but they kinda had that John Wayne Hatari look and sold pretty well.

 

[GreatWhite]

I dont understand how a 2.3L 4x4 could be any worse then the offroading king Suzuki Samurai that has a smaller motor. I basically think that vehicle could go into any situation and get out. But are probably extremely weak motors on the highway?

 

[Anger]

dual plug started in 89

 

[Hahnsb2]

I dont understand how a 2.3L 4x4 could be any worse then the offroading king Suzuki Samurai that has a smaller motor. I basically think that vehicle could go into any situation and get out. But are probably extremely weak motors on the highway?

Engine has very little to do with off-road capability.=

As well as roller rockers.

 

[fordxranger]

2.3L are not a bad motor, I knew a kid who had 350,000 miles on one in a first gen ranger 4x4 in high school. Not to mention I read about a built one that ran 9's and pulled a huge wheel stand in a mustang. Personally I'd rather have a 2.3L in my truck than the 2.9L it came with. throw a turbo and a roller cam in it and never look back.

 

[GreatWhite]

Engine has very little to do with off-road capability.=

As well as roller rockers.

I dont understand how an engine has little to do offroading. You need enough horsepower to get up certain things and that sometimes requires a bigger engine.

 

[fordxranger]

I dont understand how an engine has little to do offroading. You need enough horsepower to get up certain things and that sometimes requires a bigger engine.

gears. you can gear the hell out of underpowered rigs to make them go through anything.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

You could move a Ranger with a weedwacker motor and some crazy gearing (not that you'd really want to)...

 

[GreatWhite]

oh alright, thanks for clarifying that.