Hey everyone

I want to start putting some money into my engine so i can get as much power out of it as i can. I am aware that it is a v6 4.0 ranger, but i don't care. i have a K&N cold air intake on it and soon to be putting a supper 44 flowmaster exhaust on. I also thought about camming, new pulleys, headers, and chip. i Met someone who bored their out and re-did the head but im not sure if i want to get that crazy with it.

Pretty much all im asking is for some opions on what i can do to make my truck faster and handle 35's

 

I think I would drop in a stock V8 before I'd cam a V6.

 

re-gearing will be key for 35's 4.88s are your friend

 

dump some rocket fuel in the tank. That'll get her going hehe.

No seriously the first thing i would do is bigger pulleys and a chip.

 

Super Six Motorsports

 

i can tell you that i used a venom perfomrance 400 module on my 95 SI after putting that sucker on i could light up the damn tires like there was no tommorw i mean i could light them up before but i couldnt ever poor that much smoke off them. You could feel the difference for 400 bucks i was very happy... i know they make them for the F-150 check it out for your ranger. The best part is if you trade and sell cars alot most of the time they will chip it out for free rechip is what i meant. Or its 50 bucks, Just depends on the day.

 

good call on the re-gearing. getting new pulleys seems expensive but i guess worth it... as for chipin it im hearing a lot about this Xcal2 or something?? from what people are saying that is very good chip keep the idea coming

 

i like the 302 idea haha

 

The SCT X-Cal 3 is the latest and greatest. Get it custom tuned, Doug at Bamachips was the best but he's not doing them now. Fred at Rogue Performance is about the only place to go, he is great to. Just email him to get your custom tune made. It's best to wait until you get some mods so the tune can take those into account.
Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda Gas Trucks and Focus!

 

best post in this entire thread.


the 4.0 cost a ton of money to make very little power. for getting 250 rwhp out of a 4.0 the money spent could get your a 5.0 that puts down 350 rwhp easy

 

I've owned and driven Cammed EFI cars and while they're much better than Cammed Carbed vehicles they tend to still have some drivability issues and maintenance issues. I'd much rather have a nice rebuilt 5.0 with maybe a few minor things like, CAI, Headers, and tune. It would give you a decent power and torque boost while driving like a factory vehicle.

 

This isn't good hahaha I'm starting to think about buying a 5.0. I just don't want to put a fuel cell in the bed cause a 16 gallon tank would not be a cool thing to have to fill everytime I take an hour ride and have to refill the damn thing

 

hey what about throttle body spacers?

 

don't waste your money. i just read a discussion on these earlier. no gain because it's not the weak link. in a highly modified engine, maybe, but it wont do much for a stock engine.

 

A flowmaster isn't going to do anything but make noise.
Gearing and a programmer, best bang for the buck. End of thread. lol

Seriously though, with my 05 Sport Trac (4.0L 4x4 auto) on 33s with 4.88 gears and a programmer it did everything I asked. It was fast, shifted quick and firm, pulled well, etc.

If you want to spend some money on exhaust you could look for headers with high flow cats and a magnaflow muffler.

 

I've heard a LOT of people say headers on the SOHC weren't worth it. maybe if you do more engine modification, but even with high flow cats, 2" pipe and a maganaflow, headers aren't a significant improvement over stock manifolds

 

You are probably right, but I wouldn't throw money away by putting a flowmaster on it either.

 

i would go with turbo with only seven pounds of bost

 

For under $1000 you best bet is intake, exhaust, and programmer.

After that you are loooking at an explorer express supercharger and jba headers. The headers won't really be worth the money until you have some type of forced induction. This is going to be about $4,800 in parts and then the labor if you pay to have it installed.


After this you are then looking at custom engine options.

 

Mines a OHV 4.0 but last year I did a Comp cam,Smith Brothers pushrods,Deltacams rocker shafts and bought new heads from Alabama cylinderheads which I had ported and new Comp springs put on. No headers or tuner. Spent about a 1000.00 on the motor.Makes a ton of power and gets the same MPG as it did before the mods.

 

i would rather buy the 5.0 engine then supercharge or turbo the ranger. better sound and more reliable power. how much do they run for? it can't be any more the $4800 i have friends who can put engines soo im just lookingat buying an engine not installation

 

You will need to buy more than just the 5.0. You will need a different transmission and transfer case if you have or want 4wd. You will also likely need to lengthen or shorten your drive shaft.

Do you have a Cherry picker to pull the old engine out? Do you have all the tools for the work and can you weld the engine mounts in? Do you have the space to do all this work Does your state require your vehicle to meet certain emission standards? Some states won't allow you to put an engine in your vehicle if it is an older model year then the vehicle it is going into.

Unless you know for certain that you will drive this truck into the ground an engine swap is a horrible idea as you will never be able to recoup the money you put into it via trade-in, private sale, or insurance claim.

The first question you need to answer is how much are you willing to spend?