underdrive & overheating

[across281]

I have 31x10.5 tires, CAI, throottle cable mod on a 2003 3L and have been looking for some extra mpg's/power. I drive 600 miles trips about 6x a year and was curious if anyone has had overheating problems on long trips? Everyone that says I should use search, well I did and nothing about long trips. Also what is the top pulley kit you guys would use?

 

[RonD]

Just FYI, all Rangers came with factory CAI.
Extra MPG and more power are opposites.
You get more power by burning more fuel per minute, a 4.0l has more power than a 3.0l because a 4.0l can burn more fuel per minute than a 3.0l.
A turboed engine has more power because it can burn more fuel per minute.

Engines are being made more efficient, so can convert fuel into power better.
And you can also change the power to weight of the vehicle, your 3,300lbs Ranger would have more power and better MPG if it was a 2,500lbs Ranger.
Lose the larger tires, they weigh more and have higher rolling resistance than smaller thinner tires.

Switch to an electric rad fan.


No, there should be no overheating on any trips, long or short.
Engine can run just over halfway mark on gauge if you are climbing a long grade, that is normal.

Over heating would be 3/4 on gauge and up.

If you have an automatic it could be running warmer than it should and the trans cooler is in the radiator so could be transferring some heat causing engine to run warmer.

Fan clutch could be failing, not engaging fully when Rad is hot.
Rad is getting clogged up, if coolant isn't changed every 2 years rads will slowly lose cooling tubes to clogs, as this happens there is less cooling available .
Rads are generally 20% larger than needed, once you lose 20% of the cooling tubes rad simply can't cool coolant fast enough when engine is under load.

 

[adsm08]

Also, if you have a 3.0 and a low power issue the problem is that you have a 3.0.

The 3.0 is a car engine and has no effing business in a pickup truck. That was a decision made by marketing, not engineering.

 

[sethsbseries]

Also, if you have a 3.0 and a low power issue the problem is that you have a 3.0.

The 3.0 is a car engine and has no effing business in a pickup truck. That was a decision made by marketing, not engineering.

Pardon me but the 3.0 Vulcan is the best engine to have! Most reliable of all engines offered

 

[RonD]

Yes, 3.0l Vulcan is a reliable engine, not a power house, but it gets you there, where ever there is

 

[stmitch]

Had my underdrive pulley on my 3.0 for a couple of years with no issues at all. I did an electric fan conversion at the same time, and the fan only came on in the warmer months, and even then, it wasn't all that often. if you have overheating issues there's something wrong with the coolant system, not the underdrive setup.

There used to be several options for underdrive pulleys, but the last time I checked, JET was pretty much the only company still offering them. I have no idea if their product is any good or not.

 

[across281]

thankyou for your input on the pulley, i am not convinced of the e-fan being worth time or money for 1hp and 1mpg.Believe me id like to do a 4.0 swap seeing as its very easy but my 3.0 has 70k on it and very reliable.

 

[boozer89]

I got an E-fan kit from Amazon, $60.00 put it on my 98 B3000 3.0 5sp. Most of my long travels are east and west on the interstate, I no average 20mpg, going west, (usually into the wind,) and ive seen 24mpg coming back east. im running 31-10.0s x15 tires. Grabber AT2s. I have noticed very little bit of difference in power, I don't need to downshift to keep up with the 70mph traffic as much, but I still do on the hills.

 

[across281]

thats pretty good boozer, i avgd 18.6 @ 85-87mph(west texas speed limits are high) on stock sized tires havent calculated my mpgs yet on 31s appears to be about the same

 

[across281]

any have any problems with voltage drops? Just wondering if I will go through alternators quicker?

 

[stmitch]

If you have lots of draw on your electrical system from a bunch of off-road lights, or big stereo stuff, then you may have some minor issues from time to time (head lights dimming, etc). On a mostly stock electrical system though, you shouldn't have any issues.

 

[Froggmann]

Underdrive crank pulley would make your accessories last longer, they are all turning slower.

I've been running a crank pulley for over 5 years 50k miles, zero charging or overheating issues--with an electric fan. Towing/hauling 3k lbs in the summer without any issues, even pulling 5-6% grades with the a/c on.

My truck averages 22-23mpg hwy with a 20.6mpg average city/hwy driving.

 

[across281]

ok cool out of curiosity, did it have any effect on yalls AC cuz mine sucks as it is lol

 

[across281]

anyone use an ASP pulley? I saw on another forum the one with this exact # was for a 2.5l http://www.summitracing.com/parts/asp-821120/overview/make/ford

 

[Froggmann]

No ill effects on A/C, mine blows so cold it hurts my hands.