ok so i got this 96 3.0 prerunner and iv got all the suspention and fab work done but now i need more power... i hear this is the site for the answers
i dont want to kill my MPG and i dont want to get into a crazy swap
right now i have a 3.0L AT with flow master 40, and 5:13 gears on 35" tires with no performance upgrades at all
i want to get a little more power out of it without straying away form what ive got going right now.
so i know a programer and under drive pullys are good, but what make and brand is best?
also i keep hearing the intakes wont make any extra HP but what about a throttle body spacer?
jet chip?
any input is welcome
thanks,
Dustin S.

 

 

no help on the 3.0 for you, but nice truck. you did all your own work?

 

Throttle body spacers are crap.

You can try modding your intake box, headers and a real exhaust and you might get 10-15 hp more but thats it. The only way to get decent power is a 4.0 swap or a 5.0 swap.

You can also try adding boost but I doubt you engine will handle it probably has a lot of miles. Even if you wanted to boost it, no one makes a kit for your truck.

 

Just drop a 302 in and get a good dd with high mpg's. Throttle body spacers and Jet chips suck. You won't see much out of the 3.0 period. I have a Spintech Pro Race, K&N, used to have a pulley and was about to program it and slap headers on but I'm saving for the 5.0L swap instead. You won't get much unless you swap your motor, or spend serious money.

Closer shots of the upper and lower links and the front susp. please.

Looks like a nice little truck. Too bad you're in AZ, we could roll out to the Mojave and have some fun. One more thing, please cage your cab! With links and L/T you will be reaching speeds and pushing that truck beyond it's limits without a cage. Play safe!

 

no most of it is done by solo motor sports
I aquired the truck out of CA and just had to do some tuning and very little fab work to make it work right ... now its the ultimate street/ dirt truck

 

another swap is out of the question right now the engine and tranny only have like 40k on them right now

 

im not gonna turbo a prerunner again cuz by the time you build boost in the dirt you need to shift
plus they turbo never liked the shaking and jumping very much

 

well then you can get headers, exhaust, pullys and a tuner and get 10-15 hp increase. sounds like that your only option with the route you want to go. even though swapping a 4.0 would be a much bigger increase and probably around the same price.

and yes trent is right, you need to role cage that. you will see every linked and LT truck on here has a roll cage

 

nice job man looks good

 

i will be caging it an about a year but right now its my DD so i need it every day

 

yeah theres a reason for a roll cage

Im sure hes plenty aware that a cage is necessary...

 

I'm sorry to say but unless your going to turbo it your not going to get any kind of power out of this engine. As for the lag your talking about you can go with a nicer turbo like a ball bearing ceramic one that has a low spool RPM. If you really want to do something to the engine you can always get a stroker kit and make it into a 3.3L engine. Its up to you on how much money you want to spend on it but if your looking for power your not going to find it in this engine.

 

Im with most of the other guys on this.. dump 500 bucks into a 40k used 4.0, maybe put it on blocks and start building it, P&P plus all the internals, get it purring like a tiger.. then swap it in. I could see you dumping about an extra 1500 into just the engine work, without doing things like headers, intakes, exhaust, etc.. etc..

On my own sig you can see the aftermarket parts I've got on, looking into more power and going to end the mods with a bang by finally buying a tuner and putting it all together with a nice tune.

 

I'm actually happy with my 3.0. I think it serves it's purpose fine and for a truck as big as mine, my last tank of gas was an average 18.5 mpg's.......I'd say that's pretty good. Hopefully, sometime in the near future I'll be able to get my truck on the dyno (I know, what for?) just because I want to. But it puts out enough power for me, I can mess with all the 240sx's and little civics around town and not be scared to be blown away, it holds it's own up to about 70, then OD SUCKS.

 

Programmer is the best bang for your buck when it comes to the 3.0. Next would be intake and exhaust, then pullies. After that there isn't much besides forced induction.

 

I totally love that truck man. Reminds me of how i got into thems Ranger trucks.

 

don't quote me on this but I could swear there is a supercharger you can put on the 3.0's and get near the performance of the 4.0's... I think it was yellow rhino who supercharged his 3.0...

 

Whipple did have a kit, but idk if they do anymore.

Brenton

 

According to whipples website it is no longer available.

Stuff you can do:

Exhaust
Headers
Cold Air Intake
E-Fan
Half Shaft Throttle Body
Roller Rockers
Pullies
Tuner
Screamin Demon and new wires
Gut the MAF

Some of these have already been mentioned I am just compiling a bigger list.

 

yeah the best option was the whipple..but they stopped making it almost 2 years ago.

i had the 3.0 with some mods. wasnt too bad. but i did the 5.0 swap and im very pleased

 

but the 4.0 swap is going to be way cheaper than the whipple... you can search different ranger forums and ebay and hope you get lucky with a whipple if you want

 

yea i know that the 4.0 swap is a good idea but my engine cage is already all built around a 3.0 to keep all the ac and stuff
plus the 3.0 isnt gutless and it gets way better mpg than my stock 4.0 5spd
iv also noticed that the 3.0 likes to be up in the rpms almost like a 2 stroke dirt bike, expicaly in the dirt
i just would rather pull a bit more out of what ive got right now so
so what kind of programer to get?
who makes a good set of headers?
and whats the deal about gutting the maf?
thanks everyone
oh and ill get some better pictures today for the guys that asked

 

were you able to keep all the ac and heat with the 5.0 swap?
and did you get the motor out of a explorer or a mountanier?

 

Sharp looking truck.