Hi guys,

My daughter had been asking about getting a vehicle to work on together but many of them ideas of hers were PITA vehicles like 1990's Mazda Miatas etc which don't seem to be something I want to work on at over 50 yrs old.
So I got her to look at trucks so we can have something with some room under the hood and under the vehicle. Dakota and Ranger etc. She started looking at full size trucks but at near $5 a gallon that isn't so great. She's been driving my paid of Ford Escape which nets about 20mpg in town.

So we found a 2003 Ranger. 2.3 I4 with a manual. The reliable combination.
Also the idea is to do some "performance" mods among other things so starting her off with a V8 vehicle was asking for trouble.
The 2.3 is not a fast truck to begin with so after some pretty good mods it would net just not being slow.

Besides driving a 1990's Ranger at a past job I'm new to the Rangers but not new to cars.
Been wrenching since approx 1985. Worked on cars for a while some years back (when most were still carberated) but then got into commercial/industrial HVAC wrenching on that stuff.

I'm a DIY mostly and will opt to make my own circuits and controllers if possible including single microprocessor controlled.
So I will be doing a lot of that when it comes time to swapping out that horrible fan clutch to an electric fan to get some low RPM power freed up and when I most likely craft in a turbocharger.
I've still got some turbos and an intercooler and some misc parts from previous projects. The last being a 1996 Mustang 4.6 2V that I did a DIY single turbo on.
A 4 cyl truck ahould be so much easier. And maybe my old quarterhorse tuner hardware is still compatible on this PCM?

Anyway. That is the gist of it.

 

Welcome to the forum

2003 Ranger was last year for analog setup, which can be a good thing, 2004 and up used digital CAN Bus network for everything
It has a GEM module behind the radio that runs all the cab electrics including wipers

2.3l is the Duratec DOHC model not to be confused with the earlier 2.3l Lima SOHC engine, 1983 thru 1997 Rangers
2.3l Duratec is the Mazda L engine, but in a RWD configuration, this makes the PCV valve a pain to change and there is a cooling system fitting on the back of the head which can only be accessed with transmission removed, or if you have very very small hands and tools, lol, generally speaking when trans is off you should change this fitting
It is a very good engine, good power and good MPG, and so far very reliable

2001-2003 2.3l Rangers have a heated thermostat and IMRC(intake manifold runner control) both of these were dropped in 2004 and up Ranger 2.3l

You have an M5OD-R1(M5R1) manual transmission, very reliable, but they use ATF, yes automatic transmission fluid in a manual transmission, Mercon V is spec, but many prefer synthetic equivalent
These transmissions are engine specific, bell housing does not detach, so an M5R1 from a 3.0l Ranger will not fit on a 2.3l or 4.0l engine, but all are listed as M5R1 models

 

Ah nice info.
I thought it was the same 2.3 as previous but I guess not.
Well, in 2003 Ford did OWN most of Mazda so they did share some designs from what I understand including the initial development that came to be in the Direct Injection Mazda SPEED turbo engines and the Ford EcoBoost later.

So far today I removed the fan clutch from the truck and drove it a bit. Indeed it has a bit more initial acceleration.
I will probably go find a decent junkyard electric fan assembly and add it or replace the small electric fan I saw behind the clutch fan.

I had done a similar thing with a Dodge Dakota. I would remove the clutch fan and just use the stock electric. I am in Arizona and it survived unless I was off road in 4LO climbing hills or towing. I would throw the fan clutch back on for that.

Since I do DIY, I'd just make a soft start/electronic fan speed controller instead of just using a relay to bang on and off.
And read the coolant sensor voltage into an analog input on a DIY controller and figure out the temps and program the starter and variable speeds to make it work.
Shouldn't really need much fan at highway speeds I would assume.

As for the stereo, I did see a module behind the radio to the side when I installed a Sony with Android/Apple Car play with a camera. But that was before I saw your post and likely not the newer BCM based stuff as you mentioned.
My 2015 F-150 had the module and whatnot.
I bought a newer screen and module on eBay for that truck which gave me Android Auto and the new(er) system. Which was a NICE upgrade from that lame SDCARD based navigation I didn't use.

If this has an intake runner control, I assume it is long tube for off idle and a bypass for upper RPM's? That may explain the shift in power at above 4K RPM
Anyway. It does seem improved without that clutch fan.
Those things used to get tight on hot Arizona days and steal power that was even noticeable on the V8 Econoline's and F-250's I drove over the years.
I prefer electric fans for that reason.

 

Yes, you could add a relay activated by current smaller fan wires to activate the higher amp draw bigger fan, it is already temp controlled and AC activated so shouldn't be big project

Below is 2003 AC wiring which shows the e-fan relay and fuse, 20amp
20amps might be enough but.................probably not

 

That would be cool if it is.
I was reading on older threads about the fan clutch (before I saw the electric) and it was mentioned that the fan might not be temp controlled but only with the ac clutch.

I bet FORscan could set that temp and test that. Might have to dig that out.

Looking at the schematic you sent I see the fan is single speed and switched on the batt + side.
As for the larger fan, I'll go solid state to start that thing slow.
The inrush current with a relay can be 50 amps on fans.
Wiring IGBT or MOSFETS I generally would switch the negative side as it is easier to make those circuits.
I probably have most of what I need in my electronics stash

 

Its possible the Ford engineers would only use the electric fan as a "condenser fan", AC on, but then why hook it's relay up to the PCM, they could have hooked it up the AC Clutch relay much easier
But hard to figure out why engineers do a lot of things, lol

There are automotive PWM(pulse width modulation) e-fan controllers on the market, but pricey vs simple on/off relays

You can always stick a capacitor on the circuit for start up amp draw like they do with many higher amp draw blower fans

 

I build DIY so I'll make a PWM based one from scratch.
I might just put a thermistor on the condenser liquid refer line and another on the coolant line and read them both into a microprocessor. If I add a second fan I'll leave the OEM as is.
if I swap in a dual fan from the junk yard I'll have to decide to leave the one controlled by the stock control or control them both myself.