Throttle Bodies

[James86]

I was in the U-Pull the other day with a buddy and started poking around to see what goodies were worth picking up. I'd heard that different throttle bodies will work on the 3.0 vulcan and a common I've read was a duratec throttle body on a composite intake. I found ONE taurus new enough to have a composite intake, but it was damaged, and I found a couple duratec throttle bodies. However, the composite intake and the intakes on taurus's in general it seems have the IAC on the intake whereas the ranger intake seems to have it on the throttle body itself. So I get home and lo and behold it wont work for me. I kick myself because i had found a older 5.0 lincoln with a throttle body that WOULDVE worked but i left it there because it didnt have the idle passage. Ive skimmed the TRS forums but havent found much on throttle body swaps but was wondering if anyone out there has done it on this site.

What I have looks like this:

And what I came home with looks like this:

I am pretty sure certain 3.8's will swap as well but wanted to see if anyone had experience with this mod since just buying an aftermarket one seems a bit pricey. The info out there seems kinda slim (http://rogueperformance.com/UpperIntakeManifold.html#c). Thanks.

On a side note, I would like to know what wand the people at ford waved that according to the 3.0 section (http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0performance.html), the 3.0 jumps from 145HP & 178ft/lbs in 1999 to 150HP and 190ft/lbs. in 2000. I want that wand!!!

 

[James86]

Nobody? Anybody?

 

[fivespeed3.0]

I have a 2000 Ranger with a 3.0 vulcan. My throttle body looks like yours. I had mine bored out by Proflow Design in Renton Washington. I actually had them source one for me and had it bored out to about 52mm (I actually sent them the very picture you have, I got it from the Morana site) because I didn't want to be without my truck for long. I'm very happy with the results, they tell me that the boring increased air flow by about 23%. I see more power, better throttle response, higher mileage, better acceleration, etc. No fitment problems, no alterations, just bolt it on and go! Hope this helps.

 

[James86]

I know when i looked, I was actually kinda surprised how small the throttle body actually is compared to the intake hose and the intake itself. Do you recall what it cost to get yours bored and a link? I may go this route if it means I don't need to leave the truck sitting without a throttle body while its being shipped out to be bored...

 

[fivespeed3.0]

Yea, the guy at Proflow design was surprised at how small the TB was for a 3.0 Liter too. It cost me $185, which included the extra TB and shipping and handling, and of course the Boring. Here's the link: http://proflowdesign.com/
I think the guy I dealt with was named Jim.

 

[James86]

Alrighty, i fired off an email inquiring about it already. $185 aint bad for a second throttle body bored to spec (I would want to keep the stock one in case it didnt work right)

 

[disciplerocks]

Just use your stock one. Throttle bodies don't add horsepower. They add response, but on a stock motor its not worth messing with.

 

[fivespeed3.0]

I should add that a few years ago I decided to allow my 3.0 to breathe a little better, so bit by bit, as money allowed, I've made some slight mods. I added a performance MAF, aftermarket CAI, headers, cat back exhaust, and the last mod I made so far is the TB. Each mod gave me improvement and I am happy with everything I've done so far without any regrets. You just have to make a decision for yourself with all of the information out there, as there will always be someone out there with their own feelings about things, but, in my opinion, until you try things for yourself, you won't know for sure. I'm glad I made all of the mods I did. I started all of these mods because there is this one hill on a highway near me that my truck always had trouble climbing at 65 mph without downshifting, now I climb it with ease in fifth gear, even with a head wind. So take the information you have and do what you think is right, you won't regret it.

 

[stmitch]

You might see small gains from a slightly larger throttle body, and other minor breathing mods like an air intake, or you could spend about the same amount of money on Morana's box intake, and see bigger gains. I say just go big.

 

[McCormack]

Just use your stock one. Throttle bodies don't add horsepower. They add response, but on a stock motor its not worth messing with.

You might see small gains from a slightly larger throttle body, and other minor breathing mods like an air intake....

So you guys have personally tried a larger throttle body on a stock 3.0 and you found little to no power increase?

 

[James86]

Everything I've read seems to indicate the 3.0 is a revver and so it sems like common sense to help it breathe a little better. I do have a larger cat-back and a flowmaster so thats helped, and I do someday want to get headers, but its on an "as I can afford it" basis. I firmly believe in the long run I'd rather keep my 3.0 than do any sort of swap. If I could get a throttle body that bolts on inexpensively, then hooray for me. The throttle body on a vulcan literally fits INSIDE of a duratech throttle body, and I picked it up for about $11. I know a 3.8 will bolt right up but the throttle cable connects to the opposite side. Some of these re-bores cost hundreds of dollars but a junkyard TB is a LOT cheaper and theres likely to be something that bolts up AND has the IAC motor on it instead fo the upper intake.

 

[disciplerocks]

Your intake and cylinders only hold so much air, unless you port or boost. A larger throttle body will only get the same amount of air to the motor a little faster, hence the better response. You can't get more horsepower out of the same displacement just because you think there is a bottleneck.

I'm not telling you what to do, just trying to help your decision. If it makes you feel better about your truck, by all means go for it.

 

[James86]

Some better responsiveness would be nice, then i might not have to creep up on the car ahead of me with O/D off just to pass someone in a reasonable hurry...lol

 

[Beanmachine7000]

It's a truck, not a racecar... Disciple is right, your engine will only suck in so much air, there's nothing you can do to increase the amount of air going into your engine without forced induction or internal mods...

 

[James86]

I guess i just can't wrap my head around the fact that a comparable sized motor ( duratec 2.5's in contours, 3.0 duratec's in taurus's, the 3.3 in a dodge intrepid) all have such noticeably bigger throttle bodies and such if the cylinder is only a given size. I understand the principle of what you're saying, but i think that the throttle is a fair bit smaller than it ought to be. Of course I haven't cracked mine off to see how thick the casting for the upper is, but im sure a TB could be a bit bigger before its pointless.

Best illustration I can find is this link:

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/333436/1995-ford-ranger-regular-cab-tacoma-wa-us?p=4

The tricky part is that rangers have the IAC on the TB instead of the intake, and many sites that extoll the virtues of such a swap walk thru how to do it with a composite intake, which has the IAC on the upper intake. So either I'm sorta venturing into unknow territiry (I have the stock 1999 intake) or I'd have to swap to a composite which I've heard pros and cons about as well, so I'm sorta reaching out to see what others have done. The more I think about it, the more I think a 3.8 might work even though the throttle linkage and TPS are flipped but the pull is the same direction....