Need some more horse power

[1987rangerxlt]

More power

I was on empty yesterday and when filling up ($60) I added a bottle of Gunk fuel additive. On the bottle it says it should be done after an oil change and since I had one done yesterday, it was the perfect time!

Talk about cheap, it was under $10. Don't be too cheap, stick with a brand name fuel additive like "Gunk."

 

[Big Jim M]

Useless crap ain't it...
Big Jim

 

[koolmilds]

Are you speaking about the power or the transmission?

'Cause I'd be amused to see what's left of that FM145 or A4LD.

i think a properly rebuilt A4LD would handle the power, providing the pistons didnt turn into molten piles of aluminum. if i remember correctly, back when i had my 94 4.0 with A4LD, there was only one guy in the U.S. that could basically build you a bulletproof A4LD to the lowly cost of around $1600 excluding shipping to and from Arizona.

 

[AllanD]

"Bulletproof" and "A4LD" in the same sentance?

I should wash your mouth out with ATF for that.

AD

 

[BlackBII]

"Bulletproof" and "A4LD" in the same sentance?

I should wash your mouth out with ATF for that.

AD

lol



I have seen a A4LD stand up to everything I could throw at it.....





But it wasn't in the truck anymore

 

[Ranger44]

"Bulletproof" and "A4LD" in the same sentance?

I should wash your mouth out with ATF for that.

AD

LOL Now thats funny.

I'd really say that lower gears would provide better acceleration.

Or swap in a 4.0.

Other than that, like everyone else said, don't be afraid to down shift and keep the engine in it's correct powerband.

 

[AllanD]

There is no replacement for displacement.

what you want isn't necissarily power, but torque.

People wanna feel that "push" when they press on the skinny pedal.

That push can be from power, which USUALLY requires downshifting
and letting the engine rev (and it requires proper gearing)

Power is simply a matter of burning fuel, generally speaking power
is a measure of "work accomplished" Vs time.

But in more specific terms its a matter of how much energy is
released in a specific ammount of TIME.

Torque is a measure of FORCE.
Force comes from how much fuel can be burned in a piston engine per-cycle.

That requires either forced induction or displacement.

The 2.9 engine is already a peppy little beast.
Relative to it's displacement it actually makes power
similar to the 5.0"Cobra" or 5.8 Lightning engine.

How much room is there for "up" from cheap add ons? NONE!

So if you want to climb those hills faster you have two choices gears
and/or downshifting and lettign the engine spin (essentially using the power you have)

OR swapping in a bigger engine that doesn't need to spin.

Bigger engines that DO spin (5.0HO) are "faster" and "more powerful"
but they also burn a lot more fuel, generate more waste heat, etc...

AD

 

[mkpecor]

i have a 2.9 and going up the pass or hills on the free way i go to 4th and the motor loves it 60-65 in 4th. i even have a steep ass hill by my house im in 3rd doin 45mph. us the power. im running a 2.9, 33x12.50-15 swomps, 3.73 gears and get around fine.

 

[blue'90]

Try using a throttle body off an '86 2.9l. its much bigger in size, you could almost fit a tennis ball in it.

 

[holyford86]

Try using a throttle body off an '86 2.9l. its much bigger in size, you could almost fit a tennis ball in it.

all that will do is ruin your ease of throttle modulation down low and fake you into thinking that you have more power because the engine will be able to pull more air sooner in the opening of the throttle plate. the engine draws less than 250 cfm pinging off the rev limiter. the small throttle body will flow that no problem. the reasoning behind ford swapping to the smaller throttle body probably was to address the fact that the tb was too big to begin with. I swapped to the smaller throttle body in my 86 and noticed no difference in power and the throttle is way easier to modulate. Did you ever notice that the advertised horsepower of the 2.9 stayed at 140 for the entire run of the engine? the larger tb has no bearing on horsepower apparently.

 

[crawlin91]

No, the cheapest and simplest is to drive it correctly.

I'm thoroughly amazed at how many people try to floor 2.9Ls at 1500-2000 RPM. They SUCK that slow.

2.9Ls are happiest around 2500 RPM. And for F's sake, don't be afraid to drive Hwy 17 in 4th. I do that EVERY day, with a 4.0L (that will do 1500 RPM "OK" but it gets better mileage and works happier at the same 2500 RPM).

Your 2.9L will almost do highway speed in 2nd even with 3.73 gears. It WILL do highway speed in 3rd, and will be fairly happy doing it. I drove my 2.9L up to the Eisenhower Tunnel that way (I-70 in central Colorado, over 10,000 feet).

You don't always have to be in the highest gear on the highway, especially up hills.

x2 just learning to drive my 2.9 CORRECTLY helped alot. Its got plenty of torque in the right gear.

 

[Bunnell1988]

No, the cheapest and simplest is to drive it correctly.

I'm thoroughly amazed at how many people try to floor 2.9Ls at 1500-2000 RPM. They SUCK that slow.

2.9Ls are happiest around 2500 RPM. And for F's sake, don't be afraid to drive Hwy 17 in 4th. I do that EVERY day, with a 4.0L (that will do 1500 RPM "OK" but it gets better mileage and works happier at the same 2500 RPM).

Your 2.9L will almost do highway speed in 2nd even with 3.73 gears. It WILL do highway speed in 3rd, and will be fairly happy doing it. I drove my 2.9L up to the Eisenhower Tunnel that way (I-70 in central Colorado, over 10,000 feet).

You don't always have to be in the highest gear on the highway, especially up hills.

X3. Ive only had mine for a little less than a month, and im very happy with the power it puts out. granted I went from a 2.0 automatic car with low torque....but still. I usually shift about 3-3500k, depending what gear im going into.