what carb do i have on my 2.0?

[Kenneth S]

good, sound advice... i would like to think i would be sensible with a 2.3T under the hood, after the "new mod" feeling wears off a little... i wasn't wanting the turbo just so that i could race people(but have a short list of people getting a beatdown if it gets done), but also so that i could climb hills without needing to downshift, tow more, better mileage, etc... plus the relative reliability and tunability of EFI compared to the carb... i figure 200 at the wheels would fix all those after going to a 3.55 rear gear...

If you got the 3.73's in it all ready, keep them. I switched my brothers 89 Ranger with a 2.3 with a 5 speed over from the stock 3.40 gear to the 3.73 gear, with the 3.73's it could then pull the hills without having to downshift, and actually got him getter gas mileage also.

 

[19bonestock88]

the 3.73 gears are almost okay with the 2.0, but it needs more power on hills(could be the intake gasket though), but when i switch to the 2.3T, it's definitely getting a 3.55 posi... 3000 RPM at freeway speed is a little much

 

[Kenneth S]

The 2.3 needs to rev some. Mine runs 3200 rpms at 65 mph, and getting 27 mpg in the process. I drove mine like that for a 1000 mile round trip in one day.

 

[19bonestock88]

is yours auto? or are you running in 4th gear? my 3000 RPM(in 5th) is a true speed of about 75 mph(with the summer tires which are about a quarter inch shorter), 80 on the speedometer... and while i agree that the power is above 3000(why i cruise there), there is no real need for me to rev that high if i have enough power at, say, 2750 RPM to do the same thing... i got way better mileage going about 2250-2500 RPM on the highway(or about 62-67 on the speedometer)

i see you're from Texas so i'll ask... were there any hills on the trip? i climb mountains both ways to and from school on the trip home on the weekends, but i guess i'd get some pretty stellar mileage if i could just cruise at 80 mph on flat ground... doesn't take too much throttle to hold it, but i floor it at the sight of a hill...

 

[itlives]

I just read this whole thread (at work -hah ha!).
I think the obvious reason to NOT drive your engine as is is you could burn a valve running it lean.
That's what's happening on whichever cylinder is getting the extra air from the leak.
And, if I were in college, I think I'd put a better/bigger carb on the engine I have (assuming your not burning oil). Even if you bought a Holley 350 and Summit Racing's adapter, you would still be way ahead money-wise than putting a 2.3 turbo in.
Then, after taking that half step backwards (for the new carb), start going forward with the turbo engine.
2 steps forward, 1 step back is still moving ahead.

 

[19bonestock88]

i have no choice but to drive it, but i have the gasket and it will be changed in at most two to three weeks(as soon as i can get my mechanic to help me)... i only drive it extensively on weekends and i try and take it easy, and only run premium fuel to help what it can. i'll see how it runs after the repair to assess if the carb really needed work or the leak was the problem... i considered the adapter on post 12 of this thread if i end up not going 2.3T... thanks for the input though

 

[Kenneth S]

is yours auto? or are you running in 4th gear? my 3000 RPM(in 5th) is a true speed of about 75 mph(with the summer tires which are about a quarter inch shorter), 80 on the speedometer... and while i agree that the power is above 3000(why i cruise there), there is no real need for me to rev that high if i have enough power at, say, 2750 RPM to do the same thing... i got way better mileage going about 2250-2500 RPM on the highway(or about 62-67 on the speedometer)

i see you're from Texas so i'll ask... were there any hills on the trip? i climb mountains both ways to and from school on the trip home on the weekends, but i guess i'd get some pretty stellar mileage if i could just cruise at 80 mph on flat ground... doesn't take too much throttle to hold it, but i floor it at the sight of a hill...

There were hills on the trip, and on the way back I had Miller 180 syncrowave tig welding machine in the bed (for what I paid for welder I still cameout way cheaper than buying it localy), but anyways my truck has 215/65/16 tires, and a 2.3 that is very good condition (no leaks, good compression, etc), and a 5 speed. I never had to dowwnshift for hills, and it takes very little throttle to keep it running 65 mph. It really depends on how good of shape your engine is in.

 

[19bonestock88]

but at 3200 RPM at 65 mph, were you in 4th gear? mine is at 3000 at 65 in 4th...

 

[Kenneth S]

My mistake the 3200 at 65 mph was on another truck, mine turns 2500 rpms at 65 mph in od (getting older sucks sometimes).

 

[19bonestock88]

my 2500 RPM in 5th is between 65 and 70 on the speedo except i have huge hills that i climb on the interstate and if i tried going that slow,
1. i would get run over by everyone
2. i would have to downshift to 4th to maintain that speed on the hills

so i run at 3000 RPM and the engine pulls a little harder uphill... less downshifting but more time with my foot denting the firewall...(i imagine you wouldn't need quite full throttle to maintain 65 up some of those hills in 4th...

 

[Kenneth S]

The only time I had to downshift going up hills was when I bought another Ranger that was complete, but wasn't running. I used one of those 2 wheel car dollies to tow it. I had to go down to third gear going up on all the hills except one where I had to use second gear (it was a long 70 mile trip)!

 

[19bonestock88]

there are some big hills between Rosedale,WV and Morgantown,WV... the ones on the interstate require going down to 4th gear, and the ones on the two lane could be taken in 5th if you could take the turn at the bottom fast enough... but sane cornering considered, there is a 3rd gear hill, and a 4th gear hill, and a hill that's a mix of 3rd and 4th gear...

 

[Mark_88]

I've found that if I keep the oil topped up my truck handles hills much better...since plugging up one oil leak it has been running much better...oil helps compression to a degree...or perhaps not burning the oil makes the engine run better...

When you fix the vac leak it will be interesting to hear how it performs...

 

[Kenneth S]

Like I say, it's all in how good of shape your engine is in.

 

[19bonestock88]

the engine is in great shape, other than the gasket leak... i now have an appointment to fix it, btw... i had to wait until school let out (in case we run into complications) but this coming weekend, it's getting fixed! yay!