I have. 93 ranger (06/1993 on door sticker) 2.3L
ITruck runs pretty smooth, but noticed whenever I went up a steep hill, I would loose power. I decided the engine had original plus, wires, and coils so I replaced all 3.

In the process of the replacement I noticed the spark plug wires were connected to the coils in the pattern of the 1994 model. I was hoping when I switched the wire order to match the 93 pattern all of my troubles would be gone. No luck

Questions:
Q
1. How do I make sure I am using the correct pattern on huge coil since my truck is a mid 93 I am concerned it maybe the 94 pattern. The registration has it as a 1993 model

2. If it is not e plugs, wires, and coils, what would be the next cause of power loss? Truck keeps running just looses power, also noticed poor gas mileage

Any help is appreciated.

 

It may be a 93 truck are you the original owner? It could have gotten a newer motor put in at some point. As for the rough running try a little sea foam through a vacuum line it can help with a lot of the minor rough running issues.

 

Not sure there was a change in coil/plug wire hook ups?

'89-'97 is listed as:
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3 1
2 4
---
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4 2
1 3
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Front

Some owners did a "coil mod" where they changed the wires around on one coil but most who did this said there was no change in performance so switched back to "normal"
The switch was just to match the other coil so you end up with this:
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3 1
2 4
---
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2 4
3 1
---
Front

Lack of performance under load, i.e. going uphill, could be timing belt tension(lowers compression) , EGR issue, exhaust blockage, or lower fuel pressure/volume(filter or pump issue).

If there is any pinging while under load then EGR or Fuel flow would be most likely cause.