Upgrades? How much is too much?

[Rockhound]

I have a 94 ranger, 3.0L, 4x4, manual trans, 140,000 miles. The engine is stock.

I'm sure that I am not the first/only person that would like to hear that sonic boom as you break the sound barrier on your way to work and drive (fly?) 200 miles to and from work on less than a gallon of gas AND have this a reliable truck. However, the likely hood of that happening is just about the same as me leaving the truck as is and NOT alter and play with something. With that said....

There are a lot of small and large mods out there for this engine. I'm looking a little more power (and something to do) such as power pullies, roller rockers, cams, port matching, head work, injector, etc....

My question is, at what point do you exceed the ability for your ECU and PCM to keep up with the mods without reprogramming anything. I would figure, and stop me if I'm wrong, that there would be some very fine line in which stuff like larger valves, port matching, roller rockers, cam changes, and injector changes would confuse the hell out of the computer.

What is that fine line? How much is too much for the computer? How easy and practical is it to go beyond that line and have the computer reflashed for what you need?

 

[Big Jim M]

Nearly, if not all, of the things you have outlined won't help one little bit going to and from work! Now if you plan on putting it on the track that would be another matter.
Racing items do quite a lot at higher rpm, which you would see on the rack. However most if not all racing parts inhibit low rpm uses.
Lots of the guys I know have spent thousands on their engines...and the end result is they run horrible on the street.
You can install this and that thinking you upgraded the engine.. but there will be no findable improvement on the way to work.
Big JIm

 

[bigcountry]

underdrive pullies and a dry high flow filter like aem and gasket matching the heads and the intake and you should still be doin pretty good. i polished my throttle body with some p400 sand paper and you will tell a big difference in my opion what i would is what i mentioned and maybe some 4.10 gears and with all that it will still be a bit difference it wouldnt be like you said breaking the sound barrier but it would be a bit faster. it will still be a good truck and still get you around pretty good but if you are really wanting to get some more power tom monrona racing like a stroker kit, the roller rockers i have heard there are some things you need to do to keep the motor from havin problems with the pushrods and valves.

 

[Rockhound]

Out of the sake of trying to be funny, I think that I was a little misleading on what I wanted/needed out of the truck. I realize that I don't need a super fast truck and that trying to do so will hurt driveability and reliability. But I can't leave stuff alone! Haha.

The truck runs great. It just doesn't have any power. It has new heads, new rings, no vacuum leaks (I've checked 3 different times using different methods and just replaced all of them anyways for peace of mind). IAC, IAT, TPS, and MAF are all good. It does however have a lean bank #1 CEL (O2 sensor? or Cat problems?) that I'm still in the process of diagnosing. Most importantly, I would like to hit 65 mph in the wind and hold that speed without the pedal being welded to the floor! 4.10 gears are a good idea, but I plan to go to larger tires and gears in the future when this truck becomes my play truck and not my work truck and I only want to have them changed once. For some reason changing gears myself is my cryptonite. That and my driveway is banked like a Nascar track!

I was just wondering if there are certain mods and which mods would start to mess with the computer.

Thanks guys for your ideas and information.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

I'm looking a little more power (and something to do) such as power pullies, roller rockers, cams, port matching, head work, injector, etc.

The injectors are the only thing you mentioned that would require new programming. (And quite frankly, there is absolutely nothing to be gained by using bigger fuel injectors unless you plan on running boost or nitrous.) All the other things may see some benefit when you add a custom tune, but the truck will still run fine without it.

If you are looking to get started, get the underdrive crank pulley first. It's simple to install, and while it won't give you a huge HP boost, it does make a very noticeable improvement in the way the truck drives.

 

[graff104]

Out of the sake of trying to be funny, I think that I was a little misleading on what I wanted/needed out of the truck. I realize that I don't need a super fast truck and that trying to do so will hurt driveability and reliability. But I can't leave stuff alone! Haha.

The truck runs great. It just doesn't have any power. It has new heads, new rings, no vacuum leaks (I've checked 3 different times using different methods and just replaced all of them anyways for peace of mind). IAC, IAT, TPS, and MAF are all good. It does however have a lean bank #1 CEL (O2 sensor? or Cat problems?) that I'm still in the process of diagnosing. Most importantly, I would like to hit 65 mph in the wind and hold that speed without the pedal being welded to the floor! 4.10 gears are a good idea, but I plan to go to larger tires and gears in the future when this truck becomes my play truck and not my work truck and I only want to have them changed once. For some reason changing gears myself is my cryptonite. That and my driveway is banked like a Nascar track!

I was just wondering if there are certain mods and which mods would start to mess with the computer.

Thanks guys for your ideas and information.

could the lean bank be caused by injector problems? only thing i can think of you didn't mention.

 

[Big Jim M]

The lean bank can be caused by a vacume leak.

Big JIm

 

[Rockhound]

Thanks for the replies. I have thought about dirty injectors as a cause of low power and lean bank, but haven't had a chance to replace or clean them.

Big Jim - I REALLY REALLY hope it is not a vacuum leak! I have replaced all of the vacuum hoses out of paranoia that I might have missed the leak when I checked all three times. But now that you have put the idea back in my head...maybe there is something I have missed.

 

[Ranger44]

Just do the underdrive pulley's and regear. With anything else you're throwing away money. You can find stock axles that will swap in that already have 4.10's.

Next step after that......forced induction.

As for the lean problem? Clogged fuel injectors?.......maybe. Run some fuel injector cleaner in them. Or take them out and service them.

Clogged fuel filter....more likely.

 

[Rockhound]

Thanks Ranger44. I'll look into the swap in axles. Surprisingly enough there really aren't any salvage yards in the town I live in. The nearest ones are 40 miles but worth a shot.

I don't think it is the fuel filter. I changed it right after getting the truck and then again after a few thousand miles just in case. They seemed clean, so I am leaning more towards the injectors.

I appreciate everyones help and advise.

Thanks guys

 

[rum66runner]

not to kick around and bring up an old thread for nothing but you could get the newer style intake manifold or make something. (upper plen. wise) just keep in mind the smaller the runner length the better top end it will and the longer the length more low end torque you will produce (there are limitations on this and you have to keep in mind if fabricating something... how well the air will flow) porting the heads won't do ya much good if you don't have the air flow coming in. Also your truck is a 93 the pc isn't exactly state of the art the only real problem you'll run into while building your 3.0 and tuning is the maf and ecm are limited to a certin bit rate (aka a really low number value as it's from the early 90's!) what this will do when you get into higher rpms and your getting more air flow than your maf can read this will create a lean condition and we all know where that leads too.

 

[bigcountry]

if you are still running lean on i suggest checking the EGR i had that same problem on my 1997 4.2 and i tried everything from seafoam to replacing parts like sparkplugs,fuelfilter,and plug wires and a new coil pack. yes the last two were a bit much but hey i could tell a difference with a new coil pack but i never checked the egr ti was so clogged up it wouldnt open i had to replace it

 

[oachs83]

I have a nice set of Roller rockers in the Parts section if still interested.