2.3L ('83-'97) Running sluggish. Any advice?

[Lilredranger1995]

I just recently came to own a 95 Ranger 2.3L manual transmission. It has sat up for 8 years but surprisingly little work was needed to get it started. I am having trouble with acceleration. Some are telling me she’s getting too much gas and others are saying just the opposite.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Check how much the throttle plate opens when the gas pedal is fully depressed. Sometimes the throttle cable will stretch over time. You can put in small zap straps at the foot pedal end of the cable to fill in any gap. Google search of this forum can help with images.

 

[Lilredranger1995]

I’ll have to try that this afternoon. Much appreciated

 

[racsan]

Id check the compression, I had a ‘92 2.3 several years ago that had sat for a long time, had under 100K miles but rings must of stuck, Compression on it was above 100 but not by much, I forget now the exact numbers,it was horrible on gas for a 2.3 (19 if you used 4rth, 17 if you used 5th) . It took forever to get up to speed, and with 14’s & 3.73’s that shouldnt of been a issue, My first ranger was a ‘88 with the identical driveline and had good power, acceleration & got 24-26 mpg quite regularly.