Hey There. I am new to the 4 cylinders and am trying to figure out just what I can do to mine. 99 in a Ranger w/auto trans. I have a decided lack of power with mine plus mileage is terrible. Can I get a cold air intake and change timing events? Is there a better way to go? I would prefer to work with the 2.5 instead of putting in a 5.0 like everyone around here suggests. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Mike

 

With the auto, there isn't much gonna help unless it's forced induction, One major restriction on the lima, is the head, it doesn't flow well. A port, and polish, cam, and header would help, there are also aftermarket heads available.With an auto tranny, a turbo would be your best bet for any real noticable difference. If you had a manual, I'ld go with some bolt on's, and head work. Maybe others will have some idea's.

 

Sure makes you wonder what the engineers were on when they designed that head, doesn't it? Would they purposely design it to get such poor performance, including mileage?

I am going to spend the winter redoing a head for mine, the usual port/polish etc, plus open up the exhaust (that livened up my 200"6); we will see if my pension will allow a Racer Walsh header or not! Gonna look for a heavier cam in there as well.

 

Well, the Lima head was designed in the late 60s or 70s, so emissions was something they were shooting for back then. Of course, techonology is better and we see better ways to accomplish that goal now...

Until Jag-u-ar designed the Tritons/Intech OHC engines, pretty much all Ford heads flowed like garbage as it is...I can see the cheaping out coming from not updating things until the newer I4 was brought out by Mazda.

 

Hmmm... I always equated "efficiency" with getting the best out of the fuel burned, meaning you get great fuel mileage if the engine is burning EVERY drop as effectively as possible. Silly me...

Decades ago, I was able to get 20% more mileage out of my engine, simply by aggressively changing the manufacturer's design; I had Mr. Vizard to thank for that, but I have yet to find a modification document that equals the effectiveness of his recommended changes. I am not afraid to go at a cylinder head with grinding tools, all I need is a bit of guidance!

Even the mods I did to my I-6 made a big differnce to its performance, not only hilclimbing ability, but fuel mileage as well. Designing something correctly is no more difficult than designing it poorly.

Any hints on what I need to do to the combustion chambers on this pig?

 

Remember, a truck will have different operating parameters than a car. The truck is more of a torque animal designed to carry heavy loads than a horsepower animal. The head design assists with torque, and emissions. Opening up the head to more flow may/may not upset the torque balance and emission goals. It depends on how the head is worked.

I had a 99 auto and it got 21.5 mpg. It was a short bed, standard cab. jd

 

I get all that, but my Toyota got much better than that ~25mpgUS, and was California legal. And I would bet that it would tow a 2.3 backwards: more torque, better ratios, 15 more hp: where was Ford??

I like Fords, wouldn't own another full-size truck; my 300" 6s served me extremely well, and will be the basis for my next project. My wife is a Mustang nut, and She Who Must Be Obeyed will have a Mustang until she doesn't want one any more. I am close to dumping the 2.3 and installing the fresh 3.8 V6 in its place; the only thing stopping me is the fact that I LIKE 4-holers.

But I am really disappointed with the 2.3 technology.

 

Which Toyota did you have?? jd

 

79 lwb pickup. I pulled it apart for another project (the infamous "Lumbergini"), and did nothing to the engine which had ~200,00 miles (not kms) on it, and it ran for years after. It started to burn a bit of oil, so I did a rering (no need for a rebore!) and bearing change, still runs sweet as a nut.

I have owned a few of those engines, and never had to touch them; turns out the oil problem had to do with valve seals.

Also, there's a guy in NY who owns a Volvo P1800 with 2 MILLION miles on it; original engine, though I don't know how many times that it has been rebuilt. THAT is how to build an engine: it gives away nearly half a litre displacement, but pulls 115hp, and the same torque.