Hello I am new to owning a Ford Ranger. I purchased a 1991 XLT Ranger 2 months ago, and its had a remanufactured engine put in in 2001, all oil changes have been kept up to date from previous owner, timing, radiator and all hoses, and thermostat have all recently been serviced. Only 76,000 on the motor. I have the 2.3L Mazda motor, and its not too good on gas or powerful at all, what is the best way to modify this truck and its engine to make it more fuel efficient and have more of a get-up when I am trying to accelerate. I am loving my Ranger and I want to expand its capabilities.

 

Welcome to the forum

You have a 2.3l SOHC Lima engine in a 1991 Ranger, the 2.3l DOHC Mazda L engine was used in 2002-2011 Rangers, Ford called it a Duratec engine

2.3l Lima was first used in 1974 Ford Pinto, so pretty old design, it was used in Fox Body Mustangs, and then Rangers until 1997
It has a timing belt, which needs to be change every 80-90k miles so yours will be due soon

Yes, its not great on gas, 18-20MPG, and doesn't have alot of power, about 100HP, old design

Mustang forums are a good source for upgrades to this engine, 1979-1993 Mustangs used them
But outside of turbo charging there is not alot of things that are worth the cost

Rangers all have Cold Air Intakes and headers for mid-RPM power(scavenging exhaust)

Best thing is to get it running like factory fresh, then go from there

 

I have previously thought of a turbo charging option, would my motor be able to handle that type of power being as old as it is? I have motor swapping as an option but would like to get as much out of this one as possible. I have also looked into tuning and found some tuning chips that increased power and mpg, is there anything there that would help me as well?

 

Tuning chips won't work on your 1991, waste of money, they kind of always were, no car maker detunes their engines, they sell MPG and performance
Maybe back in the 70's and early 80's when emission got strict, but not in the 90's for sure, and not with fuel injection
The 1995 and up Rangers, with the newer computers can benefit from custom tunes

Yes, the Limas will take about 5-7psi of boost as is, more would require a rebuild

Only practical engine swap is a carbed 302/5.0l V8 in a 1991, the 1996-2001 Explorer EFI V8 swaps are harder on 1995 and older Rangers
Larger Ranger engines(i.e. 4.0l) require the same work as V8 swap so why do a smaller engine

 

Okay so I got a quote on the 4.0L, waiting on another quote as I am trying to find motor and trans in a package deal. Would any other modifications be needed when swapping this engine? Or any that would help?

Thanks for helping, cant wait to get my hands dirty :)

 

There are a lot more ways to add the 5.0L-W to a '91... one that I like is a new separate three wire hookup engine harness, like sold by Ford.

The only problem that you will come up with is removing the existing engine harness, it is an integral part of the main harness, but it can be done with care.

Choose the Computer based on which engine you choose, I used a '93 Stang Engine and the computer and engine harness that came with it, and it worked out well.

Understand, RonD, is by far the better source for information, and you need to choose wisely before deciding what you intend to do... to me the 5.0L-W Swap IS the way to go, mine felt like a new truck when completed.

Ltr