I really want to beef up my 96 Ford Ranger without having to buy a new engine. The engine is in good shape. Any ideas as to how I can do this? Thanks in advance

 

Welcome to the forum

1996 Ranger came with 3 engine options, 2.3l(SOHC), 3.0l(Vulcan), or 4.0l(OHV) which do you have?

Manual or automatic trans?

2WD or 4x4?

Regular or extended cab?

 

Hey there!

I have a 4.0 engine. It's not the original engine actually. Manual and 2wd Ford xl reg cab

 

Not alot of HP upgrades for the 4.0l OHV engine, Supercharger is about it.

Rangers all came with Cold Air Intakes(CAI) so no help there.

They also have tuned exhausts, for mid-band power, you can replace with low-band headers to move scavenged power lower in the RPM band.

One upgrade for any engine using a mechanical radiator cooling fan, is removing it and replace it with electric cooling fan.
This releases some power for rear wheels and increases MPG, so win-win.
It isn't much but isn't 0 either.

Use Motorcraft spark plugs if available, Autolite if not, other brands don't work as well in the 4.0l OHV engines.
Spark plug wires should be changed every 15 years or so, 10 years if you are rich, lol.

Run a can of Seafoam in the gas tank once a year to keep injector tips clean.

Change fuel filter every 5 years

Coolant, thermostat and air filter every 2 years

 

Thank you for the info =)