i've got a 2004 ranger with 3.0 automatic. 2wd. Are there real gains from upgrading to say - 4:10 gears on this truck? would it feel better? made a huge diffrence on my mustang. what kind of gears do these things have from the factory?
thanks for any help

 

You may have 4.10's already, but possible 3.73. You may want to check the tag on your differential. What size tires are you running and what kind of driving do you do.

 

I had the same truck, it came with 4.10 gears. I wouldn't mess with the gears unless you change the tire size personally.

 

wouldnt surprise me if it has 4:10s. The truck feels like it has a lot of torque. My mustang had 302 lb tq to the rear wheels ...yea it was faster but this truck feels like it generates it even quicker than the mustang. Damn, i was hoping i could do some things to quicken it up, there goes the gears idea.

 

Intake, exhaust, under-drive pulley, e-fan, and tuner make it a different truck.

 

I already have a k/n with air silencer removed,

my lights are dimming with my stereo so i dont want undersdrive pullies and jesus do Ford rangers sound like JUNK with exhaust. I can't understand what ppl on youtube are smoking these things sound worse than hondas with exhausts. I think i'd just look stupid putting any exhaust on it - truthfully, in bone stock form- imo they sound amazing for a v6 american truck,

I dont believe in electric fans and reliability and wiring. the stock clutch style works quite well and i dont want to sacrifice it for a few extra ponies.

now the tuner...i really am interested. Have you or anyone else here had any experience setting the shift firmness with these tuners? i hear on automatic mustangs they made it a diffrent pony.

 

I can understand that you don't like the way they sound but really, worse than a honda? lol

You do know that a lot of cars come stock with electric fans? They are very reliable. The tuner is really how you'll want to get a little more get up and go. The tuner can firm your shifts and make them quicker so that will really make the truck feel better. You've got a 3.0L so unfortunately they really aren't that quick.

 

Sounds like you have maintenance issues with the lights dimming you should take care of first before you start trying to make power. You can run an overdrive pulley on the alt if your running extra stuff like lights and amp. You can firm up the shift pretty good, made a big difference on my truck. As for the exhaust you're crazy. My truck sounds sick, and not even comparable to a ricer. Most tuners will tell you not to waste your money on a programmer if your gonna run stock exhaust.

 

It seems like every electric fan conversion i've done doesnt end up right and after searching online - many people like sticking stock. I'll consider it after some research tho.

As for the light dimming... The truck has a sweet sound system and if i put the amp all the way up the alternator can't keep up if i put the head lights on. I don't feel like buying a capacitor as they are fine for now.

Really i love this truck. I sold my mustang for 6,000. I got this 04 ranger with 100k miles for 4100.. I changed fuel filter, plugs, all fluids, polished it with some color X and NXT. powerwashed the engine, this thing is clean i love it. Honestly though i'm not too disappointed with the performance. I still stay ahead of the pack and that auto tranny feels great with the 5 spd. IF i make it firmer, will it make things harsher? will it sacrifice the reliability of the tranny?

Are there any exhausts that sound as good as stock? i know its a personal thing but man these engines sound like weedwackers with flows and stuff to me.

 

If you make your tranny shift firmer, it will be slightly harsher than stock, but it will not make you feel like your truck is falling apart. As far as reliability goes, it should not be the end game for your tranny, as long as you do your part to change the fluid in recommended increments (as you would if there was no trans kit), it should last as long as it would without the firmer shifts.


Its kind of a hard decision when you go looking for exhausts for a ranger. Its not like an I-6 4.0 Jeep, where a nice 40 series will make your truck sound mean. our v-6'ers just wont make that note. i guess if you want to put an exhaust on, you have to just focus on the note in an rpm band and stick with it. My 02 is running a Gibson extreme dual, and on idle to 3k it is a great tone in my opinion...after that point...ya kinda give it up. My little bro and i put a dynomax cat-back on my dads 02 fx4 and the note is pretty good as well. (same story as mine, after 3k you kinda give it up). So the best opinion is to look around at different notes, although the horsepower gain you will receive from the addition will not be anything to write about, the note will make it seem faster. hehehe

 

as a former honda guy my flow 40 on my 2.5 sounds way different than any "ricer" exhaust ... not that i minded my cars i had full catbacks on both a 94 accord ex and a 96 integra ls

 

what tuner should i invest in? superchip? diablo? ScT?

 

I have seen some good write-ups on SCT Xcal 2, 3 tuners, but i have not had the chance to use one before. i was reading a product review today for the diablo tuner:

https://www.ranger-forums.com/f25/an...-tuner-107523/

 

have you considered running a higher amp alternator or a 2nd battery for your sound system? also you could try adding a throttle body spacer. i go to school with a guy that has your same truck and he said it improved his low end torque alot.

 

lolz