I'm driving to my new home in Colorado, with my 2.3 ranger. I've made it to denver but the poor thing is having such a hard time going up here in the altitude. I have to make a bit more of a climb tomorrow and I'm looking for anything I can do to give it a helping hand. The bed is FULLY loaded with my belongings so loosing weight isn't an option.

 

What YEAR Ranger?

MAP or MAF sensor matters since you will have one or the other, and these tell computer the Altitude above sea level so important sensors for mountain driving

If its a carburetor 2.3l, 1983 and 1984, then you will need to manually set choke plate for now, until you can reset Jets


You WILL lose power at higher altitudes that's just laws of physics and nothing that can be "tuned" out
Gasoline's air/fuel ratio is 14.7 to 1, thats a WEIGHT ratio
14.7 POUNDS of air to 1 POUND of gasoline
14.7 grams of air to 1 gram of gasoline

The more gasoline an engine can burn the more Power it can create
That's why a 5 LITER engine has more power than a 2.3 LITER engine, it can pull in 2.7 LITERS more air so can burn more gasoline at 14.7:1 ratio
Air at sea level is HEAVIER than air at 4,000ft elevation
So the higher you go the LESS gasoline you can burn so the less power you can create

When you get to Denver you will notice that pretty much EVERY car and truck has a TURBO Charged engine, that's because of the LIGHT air, the turbo helps equalize the power loss.

 

Sorry forgot to mention it's a 97. I cleaned the maf before I left Illinois. Only thing i didn't think of, was maybe I should unplug the battery and reset the computer. Anyone think this could be my problem? I mean it is a 6000 foot difference in altitude

 

Cleaning the MAF is about all you can do

There is no "reset" for altitude, MAF is "on the fly" data the computer uses to calculate injector open time, gasoline added to weight of the incoming air
If its off you will get pinging/knocking, or flooding, smoky exhaust and VERY HOT Cat converter
And either would set lean or rich codes

1997 2.3l is rated as 112 horse power, at sea level, you are probably running at about 85HP at 5,000ft, and with a fully loaded bed..............well sluggish would be the kind description
You'll have about a 20% power loss

You should be shopping for a turbo engine vehicle when you get settled

 

If you have a 1000 lbs of cargo including yourself, you're about maxed out on the weight limit, you might just have use a lower gear and go slower.