I Need Real And Honest Opinions Please

[TnPride1066]

I HAVE RECENTLY BEEN TOLD SEVERAL THINGS BY QUITE A FEW PEOPLE AND NEED REAL OPINIONS FROM PEOPLE WHO KNOW!!! I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT A TURBO IS A LOT OF TROUBLE, THEY ARE VERY HIGH MAINTENANCE, AND DONT GET GOOD GAS MILAGE. EVERYONE SAYS THAT I SHOULD JUST GO WITH A 4.0 V-6 AND BE DONE WITH IT! AND TURBOS ONCE BROKE IN YOU HAVE TO REPLACE PARTS CAUSE THEY BREAK REGULARLY. WHICH I DONT BELIEVE ANY OF THIS BUT, 2 OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MECHANICS FOR WELL OVER 20 YEARS, AND THEY ARE GOOD MECHANICS . SO IT KINDA MADE ME WONDER, CONSIDERING THESE GUYS DONT KNOW EACH OTHER AND SAID PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING.SO WITH ALL YOU TURBO GURUS IN HERE I WILL APPRECIATE YOUR OPINIONS SINCE Y'ALL ACTUALLY HAVE THESE LIL POWERHOUSES. AGAIN I APPRECIATE ANY AND ALL HELP AND OPINIONS
:thanks:
DALE

[bruiser]

acually gas mileage will stay the same and if you do everything right i.e forged better rearend and tranny ect ect they will hold just as well as a stock motor

[nagelandy55]

Gas milage stays the same as long as your not in the boost. Just like any car, if your not using the power it won't use the fuel. I drove a 5.0 mustang to school once and got better gas milage than the N/A ranger, all because i never drove it hard.
If you think about it alot of cars are turbocharged coming from the factory, and that doesn't make them less reliable. Again its just like anything else, if you keep it within factory spec its going to last a long time, if not its going to wear quicker. That will apply to almost all things.
One thing to remember is that alot of older mechanics don't like turbo's cause they grew up in the muscle car era where the saying was "there's no replacement for displacement". A turbo my friend is that replacement :=)

[Jesshwarren]

If you stay within the stock SVO and T/C boost levels and run a smaller turbo you won't have much trouble.

It's when you start pushing for 400RWHP you can expect a few broken parts along the way.

A 4.0L is no match for the turbo 4cyl. A good running tubo 2.3L will walk away from a 5.0L

[TnPride1066]

Ok Cool Well I Sure Appreciate The Help, I'll Start Tearing Into The Pony Motor This Weekend Then.. Dale

[fordnut71]

there bad for gas milage when you keep flooring it cause of the rush lol

[TnPride1066]

Lmao I Might A Few Times :peelout:

[D94R]

When I beat the snot out of the Ranger I get 19 or 20mpg, if I take it easy the whole tank it has gotten ~27mpg. When it was N/A it averaged 23mpg.


Just cause someone is a mechanic for 20 years doesn't mean they know what they are talking about either, so take their second hand knowledge with a grain of salt.

[TnPride1066]

Thats Not Too Bad, I've Checked Mine, And I'm Averaging,26.5. But I've Already Done The Intake And Exhaust. Before I Done Them I Was Only Getting About 22-23 Mpg.

[nagelandy55]

When I beat the snot out of the Ranger I get 19 or 20mpg, if I take it easy the whole tank it has gotten ~27mpg.


Thats about what i'm getting, but i've hardly ever gotten really good gas milage cause i always goose it to pass and have fun.

[salating]

i havent paid attention to my gas mileage, it sucks because of the way i drive it

i am also running 46lb injectors and 23psi

but its not a daily driver so i get into boost a lot


like others have said, if its pretty much a stock setup you will get good gas mileage if you dont get into boost all the time

[TnPride1066]

Im Not Going To Build The New Motor Stock, I'l Going To Bore It .030 Over , Stroke It,rework The Head With A Good Cam And Valves And So Forth. Have It Ported And Polished As Well. I'm Not To Drag The Truck , But I'm Gonna Make People Notice It When I Get On It !!!!I'm Thinking Of Staying About 9-10 Lbs, Should Be Enough For What I Want. I Also Am Going To Be Looking For Another Tranny To Beef Up And A Rear End. Oh Yea What Would Be A Good Strong Rear End To Put Under This Project? I've Read Where Alot Of People Put Explorer Rearends In, Are They Strong Enough? If So What Year Do I Need For My 97?

[fordnut71]

you can use the explorer rear. its a 8.8 with a 31 spline axle. you can get it from any explorer from 90 to about 2000. late 90s you can get a traction loc an 3.73 or 4.10 gears in them.
or
you can get a rear from a 4.0l ranger. all 4.0 rangers are 8.8 also but only come in a 28 spline an open rear.so you will have to add traction loc an gear if you desire.
the other difference between the 2 is the explorer will stick out almost 2" wider then the ranger rear.

[TnPride1066]

you can use the explorer rear. its a 8.8 with a 31 spline axle. you can get it from any explorer from 90 to about 2000. late 90s you can get a traction loc an 3.73 or 4.10 gears in them.
or
you can get a rear from a 4.0l ranger. all 4.0 rangers are 8.8 also but only come in a 28 spline an open rear.so you will have to add traction loc an gear if you desire.
the other difference between the 2 is the explorer will stick out almost 2" wider then the ranger rear WHATS THE DIFFERENCE IN SPLINE COUNTON A REAR END? IS ONE JUST FASTER THAN THE OTHER? ALSOWILL THE EXPLORER AXLE MOUNT UP THE SAME AS A RANGER REAR END OR WILL I NEED TO DO MORE MODS?

[fordnut71]

the rear wont make it any faster or slower
explorer axle is 31 spline
ranger is 28 spline
spline is just the strength of the axles, more splines the stronger it is
also the explorer is a over hung rear
the ranger is a under slung rear
so if you put the explorer rear in you will need a spring pearch move to make it work they are cheap.

[TnPride1066]

Hmm, Beyond My Technicalities...:hehe: I Think I Will Look For A Ranger 4.0 Rear End Then..

[fordnut71]

if you want to lower the truck the explorer rear will lower it almost 3" in the rear just with a swap.
i have a 4.0l rear in my ranger with 4.10 gear an a 88 mustang5.0 traction loc

[TnPride1066]

Really? I Was Going To Lower My Rear End Afterwards!!!because The Truck Doesnt Look Right . The Rear End Is Jacked Up Like An Old Nova!!!! So What Will I Need To Have Done Just Have A Shop Cut Off The Hangers And Weld New Ones On Above The New Axle?aslo Will I Have To Change My Drive Shaft? Or Will My Ranger One Fit Right In?

[fordnut71]

if you go with the ranger rear if you want to drop the rear you can do whats called a shackle flip it will take out 2" in the rear. also if you dont carry heavy loads you can remove the lower helper spring an its 3/4".
with the explorer rear it will lower 3" just by installing it on top of the springs

[TnPride1066]

Cool I Will Keep That In Mind! Thanks Man

[flyin]

The 4.0 sohc will make you wish you had a 2.3. Power is good from them and they drive nice but they use fuel and a lot of it. The mileage ratings from a 4.6 3v mustang are very close to the 4.0 sohc v6 except you get an extra 100 horses. maybe within 1 or 2 mpg.

[flyin]

Also, if you have timing chain issues which several earlier ones had the motor is done for.

[fordnut71]

my wife has a 99 explorer with the 4.0 sohc an it does quite well on gas milage. some where in the mid 20s mpg. cant really complain about it as its over a 4000# truck fully loaded. my 94 explorer 4.0 ohv will just get around 20mpg an it dont have anything in it. my 97 ranger gets about 30mpg with the 2.3.

[freebyrd24]

if you can an explorer rear end it will be very easy. Rangers come with a spring under axle setup. Explorers come with a spring over axle. If you use an explorer 8.8 rear end with explorer leaf springs, and take the explorer shock perches you will be all set. This will give you a 4-5 inch drop. Trust me it happened to me when I wanted to be stock height! So if you are looking to drop the rear end anyway, that will do it and you can keep stock shock location as well.

Let me know if you wanna know more or any specifics about it.

www.rangerpowersports.com has a section of tech stuff on there that tells you all the axle codes so you can find the one you want.
Heres the link
http://www.rangerpowersports.com/tech/?p=76

I got my axle out of a junkyard for $150! I've put thousands of trouble free miles on it

I believe 95+ explorers have disc brakes, and you'll have to check the codes for which axles have what, such as limited slip, or diff gearing etc....

[D94R]

Initial info is backword freebyrd. Rangers are spring over axle, Expos are spring under axle. So, when you put the Expo axle on the Ranger springs it creates a static drop in the rear end. Like you said too, if you use the Expo leafs and axle in the Ranger, you also get a drop in the rear.

[flyin]

my wife has a 99 explorer with the 4.0 sohc an it does quite well on gas milage. some where in the mid 20s mpg. cant really complain about it as its over a 4000# truck fully loaded. my 94 explorer 4.0 ohv will just get around 20mpg an it dont have anything in it. my 97 ranger gets about 30mpg with the 2.3.

your fuel must be better in canada

[fordnut71]

your fuel must be better in canada

same fuel you use. but we pay more for it though, even though it comes from here.

[freebyrd24]

whoops sorry, i just worded it incorrectly! explorers have leaf UNDER axles and rangers have leaf OVER axle

[taknotes]

yea and if you have any questions with it, theres at least 3 ppl (me, d94r, and freebyrd) who have the expo axles, its actually pretty simple to do if you want the drop

[freebyrd24]

feel free to ask away! we should have a sticky or something if enough people are interested in the swap so that there is one central place where people can ask about it

[TnPride1066]

Initial info is backword freebyrd. Rangers are spring over axle, Expos are spring under axle. So, when you put the Expo axle on the Ranger springs it creates a static drop in the rear end. Like you said too, if you use the Expo leafs and axle in the Ranger, you also get a drop in the rear.

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE IN "STATIC DROP" AND DROP IN THE REAR? I'M LOST. ALSO WILL I HAVE TO DO ANY WLDING TO GET THE EXPO'S LEAFS ON A RANGER ? OR ARE THEY THE SAME LENGTH?

[freebyrd24]

Expo leafs and ranger leafs are exactly the same :cheers2:

Just unbolt the ranger ones from the shackle, and bolt up the explorer ones. Its that simple!

Now with static drop... I'm not 100% percent positive on the technical aspect, maybe someone else can chime in. I could guess but I'll leave it to someone who knows 100%

The drop you are going to get will be from the axle being under the spring, to it being over spring. So just picture moving it to on top of it, and it drops it. The drop is approximately the height of the axle, plus the thickness of the spring if that makes sense.

[taknotes]

Or you can just use the ranger springs, like I did