Huh.. Here and I thought my '99 w/ the 2.5L wasn't that bad. I was actually disapointed the first time I test drove a 4.0L V6 powered Ranger when looking to upgrade. For the bump in engine size, I really didn't feel like there was that much of a power increase. Of course I complicated things by comparing a stripped 2.5L I4 powered reg-cab 4x2 to a loaded 4.0L V6 powered 4x4 ex-cab. I'm sure the weight difference is pretty substantial.

If the new 2.3L is so good.. why the hell don't they offer it in a package w/ 4x4?!

 

If I recall the old 2.3L barely put out even 100 HP (unless of course you turbocharged) then they upgraded to 2.5L which put out about 120HP. Both of these engines are "lima" engines.

Finally comes the "Duratec" engines, these new 2.3Ls put out 140 some HP, quite a large improvement over the old 2.3L.

But can they stand the test of time like the old 2.3 is the question

 

yea from 93-97 i believe its the 90-105 hp engine cuz thats the one my dad has and the one i drove around for a while it it was awful... i would have gottena 2.3 duratech if i could have found it on an extendec cab but didnt have any luck....

 

I don't think they actually even make the four cylinders with the extended cab. I don't really understand why though, it's not like the duratec couldn't handle it. Heck, they back in the day they made extended cab available with 2.3 and 2.5 lima. But not the duratec for some reason, even though it could handle it better than the limas. Ford just probably wants to force people into the 3.0, because I would think most people would want extended cab. I have standard cab, and I know i'll avoid standard if I can in the future because it feels a bit cramped.

 

Isnt there newer style extended cab XLT's with the 2.3's in them?. My friend is looking for one in an extended cab cause he doeesnt want the 3.slow.

 

my 3.0 with manual is great in 1st and 2nd gear, after that for get it

 

My truck sucks on take off but after that I like it!

 

well I had an older 2.3 the lima and my new 3.0 is leaps and bounds above it. my 3.0 is in a supercab with an automatic and i had a friend with a 2.3 duratec reg cab manual he wanted to see how they campared so we went to a two lane entrace ramp to the interstate it was up hill and we started from a stop well the 3.0 left him off the line and i was about 2 lengths ahead of him the whole way but i never gained any after that

 

Well, YOUR old 3.slow, anyway -- yours was slow even for the breed in general!

 

I was quite impressed with the 2.3......i'm used to the 2.5 that i used to own and now my brother owns.....quite faster w/ that dohc.

 

yea they make 4cyl extended cabs with 2.5limas but theyre really sluggish, or atleast teh one i testdrove was...

i dunno maybe im just used to slow cars but my truck can take off at like 3500 and get me going pretty quick... id love to see how much faster teh 4.0 is, cuz im ok with my 3.0

 

I don't think the 2.3 is faster than the 3.0. Ford needs to get smart and throw the Duratec DOHC 3.0 that thye use in the vans and Escape in the Ranger. That thing SMOKES for 200-hp. My sisters Escape was just as fast as my truck with all the mods [the Level II].

The only 4-bangers I've owned was:

A 98 Geo tracker with 31 inch tires and a 2" lift. It was a Dog, but would climb a tree if it could hang on.

An '02 SVT Focus with the Dual-Stage Zetec with 170hp. It smoked my Mustang -- but I don't drive the Mustang hard at ALL, and I shift her at 4,500 MAX.

My sister had an '01 Sony Focus that I did the airbox mod and an exhaust on -- and it outran my friends '94 Splash 4.0/5-speed, but my [old] Splash was always faster than his. Must be the blue vs. black thing again. My new Splash will be faster than my old one.

 

i drove my friends 03 4 cylinder...it was decent for a 4 cyl., but my 3.0 was faster.
I also thoght my 3.0 was decently fast untill i boght a 4.0....dam that beats them all