alright fellas, I'm 16 and my grandpa gave me his 95 ranger with the stock 2.3. its been sitting for months. it should run but i need a battery, the clutch needs bled, and i need both rear shock mounts welded, apparently there's a bad wire in the dash too because the speedometer doesn't work... I have an old boss with a shop who's gonna help me out but i would like to do as much as i can myself. the main goal is ti get it running at the moment but in the future id like to put bigger injectors, bore the cylinders, and maybe even turbo it with one from a mustang ecoboost. Here's what i need to know

Where can i find shock mounts?
What are some fairly cheap and reliable shocks to run on the rear?
how can i diagnose the speedometer problem?
is it possible to push something like 250 hp without spending like 900+ dollars?
can i make my own 3in exhaust ( i want it to come out the side either out the bumper in front of the tire or in front of the rear tire)

I'm sure i'll have more inquiry's in the near future.
any advice or insight is appreciated
thanks guys

 

Welcome to the forum

2.3l SOHC Lima engine was first used in 1974 Pintos so is nick named the Pinto engine, also called the Lima engine since it was made in Ford's Lima, Ohio engine plant
Good reliable engine, but very heavy so has a low power to weight ratio, it is what it is

Mustang forums are the best place to find out what upgrades work and what doesn't

Injectors are not like Jets in a carb, larger injectors don't give more power they give RICH codes, you won't need to change injectors until you do add a turbo, any other changes will work fine with current injector size
For less expensive updates look at cams and better air flow

Air is Power, NOT fuel, a 5 liter engine has more power than a 3 liter engine because it can use 2 more liters of air every 2 RPM
Thats why turbos or supercharges add more Power, they force in MORE AIR, not more fuel, MORE AIR
Add more fuel and you get a flooded engine, add more air and you get more power

1995 Ranger speedometer uses a VSS(vehicle speed sensor) on the drivers side of transmissions tail shaft, 2 wire sensor hooked to a gear drive
Pull out the gear drive and have a look at it, could be gear is bad or the VSS sensor is bad
Looks like this, the gear is detachable: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...s_withgear.JPG


Exhaust Manifold on your engine now is Tuned for mid-RPM power, you can put as big a pipe as you want AFTER the manifold, but don't touch the manifold, unless its to install tuned "headers"
Since the 1950's car makers have been using "tuned" exhaust manifolds to get free scavenged power from lowering pressure at the exhaust ports to suck exhaust out, its simple Physics but there is "tuning" involved in the design
The MYTH of back pressure comes from people installing custom "free flow" headers in place of factory headers(exhaust manifolds), they would LOSE POWER because they lost the scavenged power from the "tuned" exhaust

Website here on the 2.3l stuff: https://www.route66hotrodhigh.com/2300.html


Your 2.3l has Dual Spark plugs for better power, there is no alternating, BOTH spark plugs fire at the same time all the time
Its a good idea to unplug the 3 wire connector on each coil pack, one at a time, and start the engine, this will tell you if the 4 spark plugs on that coil pack are all working
If there is a steady miss then one of the spark plugs, or two, on the plugged in coil pack is bad
Reason to do this is because you can't tell if a spark plug is bad until BOTH spark plugs in the same cylinder are bad, but if one spark plug is bad then you are losing power

The 2.3l ran just 4 spark plugs from 1974 to 1988 and did just fine
The reason dual spark plugs are not used that much on newer engines is because 4 valves in each cylinder provided even more power so head space for a 2nd spark plug was hard to find, lol