Ford Ranger (1998-2023) firing order — diagram & guide
Driving excellence with the Ford Ranger firing order.
As a compact pickup truck, Ford Ranger has always featured a wide range of reliable, yet tow-friendly engines that last for a long time. There was a slight hiatus in production between the third and the fourth generation, but some common problems have plagued the engines with seemingly irrelevant issues between those two generations.
That’s why our team has devised a complete Ford Ranger (1998-2003) firing order guide and we’ll discuss all the engines and their firing orders in the past two decades. So, whichever version is under the hood of your pickup, you’ll be able to figure out the firing pattern and cylinder layout, and we’ll get right into it.
| CAR MODEL YEAR | ENGINE | FIRING ORDER |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-2019 Ranger (3rd Gen) | 2.3L I4 | 1-3-4-2 |
| 4.0L V6 | 1-4-2-5-3-6 | |
| 2.5L | 1-3-4-2 | |
| 2020+ Ranger (4th Gen) | 2.3L EcoBoost | 1-3-4-2 |
Third-generation Ranger (1998-2019) firing order
The third generation of Ford Ranger is the one that’s been in production the most since there was a break in production between model years 2011 and 2019.
Even so, there were four different engines used in this generation, and we’ll discuss the firing order for all of them in the sections below.
Ford Ranger 2.3L firing order
One of the most reliable options for a third-gen Ranger was the 2.3-liter straight-four petrol engine. It was mostly used in base versions of the car, and the Ford Ranger 2.3-liter firing order is 1-3-4-2.
The engine used a simple, yet efficient straight-four engine with cylinders 1 to 4 spreading from the left to the right side of the engine. Unlike the newer 2.3-liter turbo, this one was a regular naturally-aspirated engine so the power output was significantly lower when compared with the fourth-gen Ranger.
Ford Ranger 4.0L firing order
The high-performance version of the third-gen Ranger used a 4.0-liter V6 engine that was also used in the V6 Mustang of that time. Hopefully, you can use the Ford Ranger 4.0-liter firing order 1-4-2-5-3-6 to check up on the engine’s spark plugs and coils if replacements are needed.
The main issue of this engine is the potential cylinder misfire, so checking the cylinders in their firing order can help prevent those. The first cylinder of this engine is on the left side of the engine along with cylinders 2 and 3, while cylinders 4, 5, and 6 are on the other side.
Ford Ranger 2.5L firing order
Finally, the third-gen Ranger also had one more engine on offer and it was the 2.5-liter engine which was an “OHV” version of the 2.3-liter one. That means the capacity and performance was increased for this one and it was in use from the 2000 model.
The Ford Ranger 2.5L firing order is 1-3-4-2 which is the same firing order as for the previous version of the engine, and the cylinder arrangement was the same as that one.
Fourth-generation Ranger (2019-2023) firing order
The fourth-gen Ranger was the final rendering of the model before the announcement of the ongoing 2024 fifth-gen Ranger. So, this one got packed with some of the latest technology and the highly-capable turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the only offered option.
Ford Ranger 2.3L firing order
For the only option of the Ranger’s engine, we’ve got to start by saying that the Ford Ranger 2.3L firing order is 1-3-4-2. It’s a turbo four-cylinder engine so the first cylinder is on the left side, while the remaining cylinders go from left to right.
So, it’s easy to go through cylinder numbering and this engine is known to waste a bit more oil so we advise you to check the cylinders once in a while with this in mind.
Our take
Ultimately, the Ford Ranger firing order guide will serve you well when it comes to engine maintenance regardless of what version of the vehicle you drive.
It’s perhaps even a good thing that there weren’t that many different engines out there since all the listed ones proved to be reliable and we hope this guide will help you keep it that way.
