The Danger Ranger: A First Car Chronicle

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: That truck needs this sticker, with the Ranger badge right in the middle:

this would look great next to the "Top Gun class of 1986" sticker I just ordered

mndsm wrote:

alfadriver wrote:

mndsm wrote: 2.3l dura is very similar to 2.3 mzr. I havemt been able to confirm, but I know a disi is a relatively easy swap into a regular 3 ( was a small part of said swap years ago) and I suspect a disi would be possible into a 4 banger ranger. Find a cx7 with a lunched automagic for peanuts and proceed.

I'd avoid that- for a first car, that kind of swap would be a little over anyone's head. As for similar vs. same- the DI engines from Mazda were pretty different than the standard MZR/Duratec engines. We looked into using them, too, for other things (a Turbo Focus back in 2005). If anything, I'd swap over a set of cams from a 2.3l car, as the truck cams had lower lift and duration. Other than that, learn to work and drive.

Good to know . There's a lot of dirt cheap rangers here, and I like me some disi.

What would it take to swap the cams over? would I have to jimmy with timing and such?

NoPermitNeeded wrote: What would it take to swap the cams over? would I have to jimmy with timing and such?

It would require you to remove and replace the current cams and reset the cam timing.

This would be a great thing for you to learn to do, but given this is your daily, it might be best if you shadow someone that wouldn't mind helping you and answer your questions.

That is a really nice truck.

FlightService wrote:

NoPermitNeeded wrote: What would it take to swap the cams over? would I have to jimmy with timing and such?

It would require you to remove and replace the current cams and reset the cam timing. This would be a great thing for you to learn to do, but given this is your daily, it might be best if you shadow someone that wouldn't mind helping you and answer your questions.

To make it more "fun", you can take any set of cams from any other 2.0 or 2.3 Duratec/MZR and they will swap into your motor. For the era of truck you have, the only difference between the engines is the height of the block and the longer crank that goes with them (ok, the pistons and rods are changed, too, but big deal). The heads are all the same from one motor to the other. And for your case, the cams are, too.

In terms of how well the stock calibration will work- it would be better if yours was a manual, but it should work well enough- it's not big enough of a change to mess the calibration up that much.

FS suggested going to some LoCost sites- I'd bet over there, they have suggestions on which cams to go get.

It's NOT a trivial swap- these engines don't come with timing marks- they are all assembled at the factory with machines. But you can do it.

If you've never really tinkered on a car before, I don't think you should jump into a cam swap. Cut your teeth on maintenance items first.

In reply to mazdeuce:

I know that Middle Georgia and Atlanta SCCA both allow trucks. I've raced against a 1996 Toyota T100, and an Isuzu Vehicross in each region respectively.

Sky_Render wrote: If you've never really tinkered on a car before, I don't think you should jump into a cam swap. Cut your teeth on maintenance items first.

So me telling him to frankenswap a motor that might sorta fit and is obnoxiously complicated was a bad plan?

You'll also need at least a few new buckets/lifters/tappets/whatever you like to call them since this is a solid valvetrain engine that sets the valve lash with different thickness buckets. People say you can move around and reuse the old ones that are the right size but I don't know if I recommend it having wiped a cam in an OHC engine right after doing that, maybe the practice should be paired with use of cam break in lube and running in at high idle like you'd do on a pushrod V8.

I agree that this is a fairly difficult/involved job and probably best not attempted solo by somebody without much experience.

All of the off-the-shelf camshafts that I've seen for your engine all tend to move the powerband up the rev range. The Duratec in my daily driver already starves for bottom end, so moving the powerband up seems like it might make the truck less enjoyable. Especially with the craptacular automatic transmission that Rangers have. It would never be in it's powerband.

Overall, you've got a really nice truck there. If you're craving performance, the best thing I can suggest is swapping to a manual transmission, but it's not a rookie modification. I'd focus on handling before anything else if you're certain you want to modify it.

Alternatively, if you're wanting things to tinker with, you have an excellent go kart/motorcycle transport vehicle now.

These have always been on my radar for DD-gopher use. Great vehicles.

My first engine R+R was on an old 2.3l Ranger. When I was 12. You got this.

Start with swapping in an LSD diff. It's a needed mod, and a fairly straightforward for a beginner job.

STM317 wrote: All of the off-the-shelf camshafts that I've seen for your engine all tend to move the powerband up the rev range. The Duratec in my daily driver already starves for bottom end, so moving the powerband up seems like it might make the truck less enjoyable. Especially with the craptacular automatic transmission that Rangers have. It would never be in it's powerband. Overall, you've got a really nice truck there. If you're craving performance, the best thing I can suggest is swapping to a manual transmission, but it's not a rookie modification. I'd focus on handling before anything else if you're certain you want to modify it.

And that is exactly the reason the cams in the rangers were short and stout.

STM317 wrote: All of the off-the-shelf camshafts that I've seen for your engine all tend to move the powerband up the rev range. The Duratec in my daily driver already starves for bottom end, so moving the powerband up seems like it might make the truck less enjoyable. Especially with the craptacular automatic transmission that Rangers have. It would never be in it's powerband. Overall, you've got a really nice truck there. If you're craving performance, the best thing I can suggest is swapping to a manual transmission, but it's not a rookie modification. I'd focus on handling before anything else if you're certain you want to modify it.

Handling is what I'm gonna tackle first, I was just curious. Sway bars and bilsteins are first up.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Alternatively, if you're wanting things to tinker with, you have an excellent go kart/motorcycle transport vehicle now.

I like this idea...

alfadriver wrote: ... the cams in the rangers were short and stout.

???

I don't think that is gonna work.

In reply to FlightService:

but they do make better low end torque.

As your first car, daily driver, see how cheaply you can drive the next 50,000 miles. Every dollar saved is money you can spend doing something fun. Do all the maintenance required to keep it reliable. Being a truck, you could play with a go kart or other fun toys. Racing fun on the cheap, if you can get a team of even 2 or 3 members, could build a cheap autocross or rally cross car. Really no fun modifying your main car. But having a reliable inexpensive car, makes having something else fun. A cheap autocross car you can take apart and not have to put back together on a set schedule.

I love this forum. 15 year old gets his first car from his grandpa. The hive immediately starts taking cam swaps. Awesome.
I would suggest getting a small book from the store. Every time you fill up, write down the date, price, gallons, and mileage on the truck. Whenever you do maintenece, write down what you did and what you spent. It's easy to forget what you've done, what it costs, and the true running costs for just owning a driving a car. You also create a solid paper trial which is important for a kid selling a car in a couple of years. Nobody trusts that a 17 year old takes care of everything, but a book and a pile of receipts can add a couple hundred in value for the right purchaser.

mazdeuce wrote: I love this forum. 15 year old gets his first car from his grandpa. The hive immediately starts taking cam swaps. Awesome. I would suggest getting a small book from the store. Every time you fill up, write down the date, price, gallons, and mileage on the truck. Whenever you do maintenece, write down what you did and what you spent. It's easy to forget what you've done, what it costs, and the true running costs for just owning a driving a car. You also create a solid paper trial which is important for a kid selling a car in a couple of years. Nobody trusts that a 17 year old takes care of everything, but a book and a pile of receipts can add a couple hundred in value for the right purchaser.

What Deuce said, wish I would have done the same on my Miata. I had a few receipts but no hard paper trail for everything I did to the car, it didn't hurt the value much but I'm confident I could have asked more if I had a really solid maintenance log. Great looking truck, Rangers and their cousin the Mazda B-series have been on my radar for a work truck. Enjoy it!

Happy 16th! Nice looking truck.

I'd echo a mileage/maintenance log... but you're a teenager. Do y'all even use paper anymore? Work on your Microsoft Excel chops and log this stuff in a spreadsheet.

mazdeuce wrote: I love this forum. 15 year old gets his first car from his grandpa. The hive immediately starts taking cam swaps. Awesome. I would suggest getting a small book from the store. Every time you fill up, write down the date, price, gallons, and mileage on the truck. Whenever you do maintenece, write down what you did and what you spent. It's easy to forget what you've done, what it costs, and the true running costs for just owning a driving a car. You also create a solid paper trial which is important for a kid selling a car in a couple of years. Nobody trusts that a 17 year old takes care of everything, but a book and a pile of receipts can add a couple hundred in value for the right purchaser.

Happy birthday. Sweet first ride! I dig the idea of it as a hauler for a kart. Learn to drive and maintain it.

Y'all are too kind. Up early this morning and opened up the DMV. I am now a licensed driver! Easily my happiest day so far.