what stuff would help my engine perform good? mpg and horsepower.

ford ranger xlt 1998 4x4 ohv v-6 4.0 162k miles auto transmission. i was thinking of getting a screamin demon coil pack because i hear it helps the bosch4's run better. i was also thinking of getting a gatorback belt. reasonable prices plz. for air intake would k&n be a good way to go? also is there a chip i can put on my truck to help with acceleration and to help the computer process faster? i got a fiber glass cab over the back. got a dual exhaust but dont know what brand. what type of exhaust would help my truck. and also sound good .

 

check out the throttle cable mod. real cheap

 

Do a search on your trucks specs. and the mods. will be endless

 

One suggestion, replace the Bosch plugs with Motorcrafts. The Screamin Demon won't correct a plug that runs too hot (which the Bosch's do), and they are less reliable than the OEM coilpack. And, don't throw your money away on K&N air filters, intakes, etc. they will do more harm than good!

 

Hi Dan, I'm in Howell.

With that many miles and a low budget I'd just focus on general maintainence items. A good induction cleaning, filter changes, and making sure no brakes are dragging would be just as effective as adding on hi-po parts.

I'd do the following and in this order:

Buy two bottles of "cheveron with techron" cleaner. At the next fillup pour them both in and fill with shell 93 "v-power". I've done this many times and it is indeed effective on motors with a lot of build up / miles. And don't go cheap on the pour in cleaner. Use only the "techron" stuff.

Now, get an old tooth brush and a spray can of "throttle body cleaner". Not carb cleaner! It must say *throttle body cleaner*.
Take the TB off and clean it with the spray and tooth brush.
Using only the spray clean your MAF. Be careful with it and only gently spray the sensors wires. GENTLY!!

Dis-connect the neg terminal of the battery. Turn on the headlights and ignition then wait ten minutes. (this clears the KAM) Turn both off and re-connect. The start the truck and let it fully warm up. Then put it through the four idle learning steps. (search here at R-F)

After that tank of fuel is run down replace the fuel filter.

Check for a dragging brakes and tire pressure.

Now IMO your ready for aftermarket mods. IMO the best place to start are spark plugs. Many here at R-F are biased towards the stock motorcraft plugs. They are indeed good plugs, but I'm a big fan of Bosch +2s for stock motors. Some here report bad experiences with them? Here is the very expensive plug I use: MY PLUG WEB PAGE (denso IT series)
My next suggestion would be a stock or aftermarket coil & plug wires.
Next I'd suggest a tune via a chip or flash devise. (use lasota racing)
Next I'd get some underdrive pullies. (excellent bang for the buck IMO)
Unless your into high rpms an awful lot a aftermarket intake is not a good bang for the buck.

Check out my web page linked below my sig.

Rich

 

Hey, If you have a dual exhaust on the truck now and it has seen better days I would get a cat back exhaust system put on. But stay with a single pipe exhaust from the cat all the way back. Dual exhausts dont run good on the small six cylinder ford engines. There isn't enough power to make it grumble, just fart. Plus in the winter you want an exhaust which will warm up quickly, the hotter you exhaust gets, the better your truck will run. yes a wide open exhaust produces hp. But if its a good running truck that will run for a long time you want, then go with a single pipe. Magna flow and Flow Master both sell tons of reasonably priced mufflers for rangers which you can put on yourself and provide a descent sound. Hope this helps...

 

I need to do this to. Good write up!

 

Hey, what is the throttle cable Mod??

 

Click Me for Thottle Cable Mod

That should get you started.

 

What are the idle learning steps? i searched but could not find them.

 

i run a flowmaster 50 series on my 99 3.0.....sounds good. at first when i got it sounded kinda weird but after 2 weeks it broke in and sounded much better.
i would also recommend changing the transfer case fluid...just did mine and it was definantly needed and looked a little low...

 

What are the idle learning steps? i searched but could not find them.

 

There really isnt any benefits of running a single inlet dual outlet muffler set up, aside of looks. From my understanding, ive found that a single inlet dual outlet, single inlet single outlet sound identical. I actually plan to just swap a muffler on my 04 run all original piping since its still in excellent shape, and get a better sound and free up some HP.


And Flowmasters technically can't "break in". because theres nothing in there for it to break in, unlike a glasspack or something. Actually now i think of it... Besides of it rusting out being louder, if it was still intact, then it would slowly get quieter due to carbon build up..