Possible gear change in new to me Ranger

[Ecky]

Sounds about right to me. 3.45 would probably leave a bit of fuel economy on the table, as it would basically be like getting another half gear at the top and losing half of one at the bottom, but you'd only lose that economy on the flat. A vehicle needs to be drivable, and I don't know of any other vehicles geared as tall as the Insight.

[Ecky]

Engine off coasting and pulse and glide are both reasonable alternatives to gearing taller. If you're willing to shut your engine off down hills, you can get all of the benefits of having a taller top gear and leaving the engine on.

[hat_man]

I usually engine on coast in neutral down hills and up to stop signs/lights. I need to read up on PNG and learn how to do it correctly. But that's a thread for another time. Other than tightening up the nut behind the wheel and coasting whenever I can, I just drive the truck. I'm always looking for mechanical and aero mods so I can just enjoy the drive, without a lot of extra work.

[Ecky]

I can probably summarize it for you.

-Leave it in gear and coast when you need to come to a stop unexpectedly, like when a traffic light ahead of you turns red, or just when you need to bleed off speed quickly. This is less efficient than coasting in neutral (still has pumping losses and adds drag) but it causes your engine to burn zero fuel while coasting, and helps you slow down.

-Coast in neutral whenever you can do so and not lose speed, or when you have a planned stop, like a stop sign you're aware of well in advance. I coast in neutral down hills and use power up the other side. I also tend to coast toward stop signs whenever I can.

Coasting in neutral with the engine off is better than either as it's zero pumping losses, zero drag and zero fuel used, but you'll want a kill switch to do so safely. Many vehicles lock steering when you turn the key off, whereas this doesn't happen if you use a spark or injector kill switch.

[19bonestock88]

If you’re planning on more mods (clutch fan delete, aero mods, etc) then I’d do the 3.27FD and then add the other mods to make it easier to hold speed... the steeper grades could be handled in 3rd or 4th gear...

Then again, if you switched to P&G with engine off, you could eliminate the need to re-gear... my car has a 3.84FD and I average 45+mpg usually

[cajunfj40]

Danger, Will Robinson!

Your 2003 Ranger has a different part number for the rack and pinion than my 2000 Ford Explorer, but it is the same basic system/design. I have found only one reference to the problem in a vehicle newer than 2000, but there's a potential failure mode here that's quite scary.

I have experienced this first hand: If you turn the steering wheel at all with the engine off - and no electric power steering pump to keep fluid under pressure in the system - you will get air into the steering.

That air will eventually cause a MAJOR DEATH-WOBBLE! The steering wheel starts juddering violently back and forth. At 55mph that was scary as hell. I thought a tie-rod end had come loose and one or both wheels was whipping back and forth like a bad shopping cart caster. The fix is to pull over and, with the engine running, crank the steering lock to lock several times to purge the air.

I've wanted to try EOC'ing my Explorer, but I've had to give up even coasting downhill out of the driveway once I experienced that issue and learned the cause.

You might want to try and re-create the problem in a controlled manner before trying to EOC at speed, or do some more research.

Me, I must wait until I get enough round-tuits to manage to put in an electric power steering pump.

Good luck!

[elhigh]

As near as I can tell, at the time my truck was built Toyota offered a 3.35 rear. I have a 3.73 aboard and the engine feels both ridiculously buzzy and woefully underloaded at 60mph. Knowing how the truck feels when I pour on the power, I know the torque output of the engine is sufficient that a taller rear end wouldn't tax it.

I think your Ranger isn't much heavier than my truck, and as earlier stated the Duratec makes more power than the Lima (or, indeed, the 22R). I think if the opportunity presents itself, snap up the 3.27 and swap it in with confidence. There's sufficient power to get the truck down the road with no problem and a downshift for an incline isn't a big deal.

[hat_man]

Not being the mechanical type, my next question is this.....

The 3.27 was only offered in the 3.0l and 4.0l Rangers and I believe only the 4x4 versions. With the 3.27 only being a 100 rpm difference across the board, will it make that big an improvement over the 3.45, or just a marginal one?

I'm believing everything that you all are saying, but I guess it's fear of the unknown. I can get my hands on either one with a little searching. I guess it's the joys of ecomodding. No one really does what we do so there isn't a lot of information on the results.

[19bonestock88]

It won’t be hugely better than the 3.45FD but the 3.27 should help more nonetheless... with some light modding, an Explorer axle will swap in, but it is made to go over the axle, so it’ll drop the rear of your truck around 5”...

[me and my metro]

There are some bolt on spring perches designed just for putting an Explorer diff in a Ranger. Just look on the Ranger forums.