I need a truck to haul an occasional Harley and have a fetish for the 2.3 liter ford 4 which i have in my 84 turbo mustang convertible and three previous cars 74 Pinto ,79 Capri and 84 SVO.

So i am hunting a 2.3 or 2.5 Ranger year is not too important but being most of my cars are forced induction either Turbocharged like my mustang or Supercharged like my Pontiac 98 GTP and the only naturally aspirated vehicle is a ford SHO so in all likelihood eventually the Ranger i pick up will be destined for a turbo.

what i was wondering is what transmissions are used in the 4 cylinder Rangers ? i would like an automatic because then my wife can drive it and even though the mustang turbo's until recently only had a manual tranny but the Turbo coupe Thunderbirds offered an option of an automatic so i figure its possible.

other than 700lbs worth of motorcycle the only hauling would be a small boat and trailer or a smallish camper but i would like the best auto transmission available and even though it will be turbocharged it will not be built to exceed 340HP which is what i have to the rear wheels on my 84 vert

i do want to keep the SOHC because i love those motors and even though i am sure the later DOHC engines are great having both vehicles using a lot of the same parts just seems very convenient to me.......

thanks in advance for any future answers ......Robbie

 

Yes, 2.3l Lima engine was called the Pinto engine, it was built in Ford's Lima, Ohio engine plant, which is where Lima name comes from.
Came in 2.0l, 2.3l and 2.5l

1985 was the first year the Rangers got fuel injected 2.3l previous 2 years were carbed, in 1989 they went distributorless, crank position sensor and Ignition control module(ICM) was added, along with dual spark plug heads.

In 1995 all Rangers got the new EEC-V 104 pin computer, including 2.3l, so lost the ICM, it was inside computer now, on all engine models.
1998 to 2001 Ranger lost the 2.3l and got the longer stroke 2.5l instead.

1985 to 1994 2.3l Rangers would have the A4LD automatic, this was a 4 speed with overdrive and computer control, in the earlier years just the overdrive was computer controlled, around 1990 Torque converter lockup was added to computer control.

In 1995 2.3l Rangers got the 4R44E automatic, still 4 speed overdrive but had more shift control for computer, that trans was used until 2001

Since all the stock turbo 2.3ls were pre-1995 they will all use the EEC-IV computer and wiring, so you may be better off getting a 1989-1994 2.3l Ranger if turbo is on your mind.

Computer could be a stumbling block since many turbos did come with manuals and computer needs to run transmission, A4LD would be easier to deal with than 5R44E in this respect, so 1994 and earlier again.

The Lima/Pinto engines have a unique bellhousing/block bolt pattern, so without major changes you are pretty much stuck with using a trans from a Lima engine.

 

the computer i repinned and used in my 84 mustang was out of a 88 turbo coupe which came with an Automatic and a 5 speed as an option and using one in a Ranger has been done by many in the Turbo Ford community so i think it will be fairly easy but i think sticking to an older version would be advised .

after further research i will try and get a 93 because it had the roundish look that i really like and from what i understand at least in the non extended cabs they still used the A4LD
i am trying to obtain a tweecer EEC-V so i can make changes on the mustang ,SHO and if im not mistaken my Dads 91 cougar with the high output 5.0 that was just passed down to me....

it's funny when he first bought that car i actually thought it was quick but with only 200hp at the flywheel and 4000 pounds to drag around i was very wrong. the cougar is only being kept for sentimental reasons because just the repair to the braking system will exceed its value because of the ridiculous electric master cylinder has not been made in years so the complete braking system will need replaced .

hopefully i can find a Ranger to fit my purposes by spring because i will need a tuck by summer

thanks for all your help

 

In general Ford used the EEC-IV computer until 1995 model year, 1995 and up were EEC-V, specifically that applies to Rangers but other Ford models would be within 1 year either way of that time frame

So early '90s would be EEC-IV computers