I just joined today and wanted to say hi. I am the new owner of an '01 XLT regular cab 2.5L Lima. I bought the truck from my father for $500. 143,000 miles on the engine. He is meticulous with regular vehicle maintenance, so I hope to get a hassle-free 5+ years out of this truck. The truck does have some standing issues, however, that I hope to fix. Thus I joined the forum.

I have several enhancement and customization plans because I'm confident I didn't buy a lemon and it won't be a waste to sink some money into the truck. Plus playing with these toys are just so much darn fun. Well, it's nice to be with such good company and I'll see you in the forums.

 

Welcome to the forum

You have the last year of the 2.5L SOHC Lima engine, made from 1974 to 2001, was a 2.3l for most of its life, some 2.0l and from 1998 to 2001 a 2.5l

It was nick named the "Pinto engine", because it was first used in 1974 Ford Pinto
Used in Mustangs as the 2.3l from 1976 to 1993
Loads of info on these engines at Mustang forums

The 2.3l and 2.5l are exactly the same, the 2.5l has longer connecting rods and different crank shaft, so its a "stroked" 2.3l, but same block, head and pistons as 2.3l, so what applies to one applies to the other.

There were turbo'ed 2.3l's used in Ford cars from 1979 to 1988, Mustangs and t-birds

It is old technology(1970's design), its a heavy engine with limited power, so MPG is nothing to brag about as a 4cyl engine, and in a Ranger............well if you can get above 22mpg average with manual transmission you are doing great, 20mpg with automatic

Driving habits effect MPG more than any other thing

Rangers hold up well so 5+ years won't be a problem

 

Hey, @RonD . I didn't know it was a 70's designed engine. Engine's have improved since then, but I'm going to try and get the most out of it. I get around 22mpg city driving, which for a truck with 140,000+ miles on it is good, I think. It is a manual transmission. If I can help it, I will never buy a car/truck that isn't manual. I just like shifting--the feel.

I'm glad to hear that Ranger's are reliable. The only money I want to spend on this baby is for enhancements.

 

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy.

 

The dual spark plug design started in 1989 and did help performance and MPG

You can test if all 4 spark plugs are working on each coil pack if you want
Engine off but warmed up
Unplug either coil packs 3 wire connector
Start engine
Should idle smoothly, if there is a steady misfire then you have a bad spark plug or wire on that coil pack

Repeat on other coil pack.

With dual spark plugs you can't tell when one spark plug is not firing, only after BOTH spark plugs in that cylinder have problems will you find out, lol
But with both spark plugs working you get best performance and MPG

The "Spark plug mod" for these engines doesn't do anything, good or bad, so up to you

 

I'll keep your guide in mind, RonD. I've not read anything about a "spark plug mod", so don't know what you're talking about. But, if it costs money yet does nothing for you, I see absolutely no point in doing it.

 

Its FREE but does nothing, you will come across it as you get to know this engine

Just FYI, all fuel injected Rangers came with CAI(cold air intake) from the factory, air filter housing pulls in air from in front of the rad support, so cold air
Air filter has 200% capacity, but does need to be changed depending on local conditions

O2 sensors last about 150k miles, they use a chemical reaction to measure Oxygen levels in the exhaust, as they run out of chemicals they will cause MPG to go down, very very slow change, not a sudden drop, so just a good idea to change them at around 150k, they will pay for themselves over the next 150k miles in fuel savings

 

Cool tips, Ron. I was eyeing a K&N cold air intake in the hopes that I could squeeze more HP and torque out of this engine for cheap. What's your thoughts?

I can get O2 sensors. I'll go ahead and make plans to swap those out in the near future. I've never done it; is it a straight forward procedure?

 

3rd party air filters make engine "sound better" but reduce performance, rule of thumb, if you can "hear" air flow into any engine then you have turbulence and/or restrictions and thats bad

O2 sensors are universal, there are only 2 kinds, 1 volt and 5 volt, you have 1 volt(narrow band), all Rangers, 2011 and older, used 1 volt
5 volt are called wide band, just FYI, they are new, 2010 and up vehicles

Difference in part numbers are the length of the attached wires, O2 comes with wires attached and a universal connector

Each O2 has 4 wires, 2 for a heater and 2 for the sensor then a connector, they come with 6" wires, 12", 18", ect............lengths, thats the part number difference

Because there are wires attached a regular socket wrench can't be used, there are O2 socket wrenches but not really worth the cost unless you need one a few times a year, but they are only $10....usually, lol

O2s use a 7/8" or 22MM wrench size, either will work
So try regular wrench first, flare wrench is best, since it wraps around better

There can be a tight squeeze on these so type of wrench that works varies

Locate the connector first and unplug it, that way the wires can spin as you remove the O2

 

Interesting. The customer review I read said he noticed no difference whatsoever in performance or fuel economy from the CAI he installed/I was eyeing. Now you say what you have, and I find it dubious. How can I increase HP for cheap? Is there something I can do to get more air into the engine?

So the O2 sensor swap sounds very DIY. Good. I love tinkering, but don't have that much experience. I plan on doing what I can myself, though.

I have pretty extensive knowledge of stereo/audio electronics work (used to install for a stereo shop), but not much else.

 

There are a few Dyno tests done by neutral parties on various CAI's, either "no change" or less power are the results

Google: cold air intake dyno comparison

But look at WHO is doing the test, if its a manufacturer of CAI then grain of salt, lol

Changing mechanical engine fan to an electric fan will for sure increase power and MPG, one of the few things that does both, is it much, no not alot but not 0 either

The mechanical fan is powered all the time the engine is running, so is a drain full time, not much but not 0 either
Electric fan is only drawing power, from alternator, when it is on, which should only be when driving slowly or stopped
When you are above 30mph air flow thru rad is more than any fan can provide, so e-fan is off

There are a few e-fan install articles here: https://therangerstation.com/tech_li...-heating.shtml

 

Electric fan, eh? I never thought of that. I'll look into it. Thanks.

Honestly, the only place I read that the K&N CAI I was looking at would increase HP/torque was from K&N, haha. I think I'll save my money for other things.