2.3L Engine Vibration

[grifchad]

Ford did a wonderful job applying this four cylinder in my opinion. It does demonstrate what I call a mild growl to the feel of the vehicle, but it's a four cylinder. This is based on 50 years of experience driving four cylinders. What everyone also experiences is that the drivetrain mounting system is basically a low-pass filter system. That's why one notices more smoothness as one revs (hence higher frequencies) an engine (no matter what type).

History chatter... I got a hand-me-down Saab with a Ford V-4 Taunus engine in the early '70s. Even though it was a 'V' it needed a balance shaft to help smooth things out. (compactness was the main reason for the V however) I have a Ford straight 4 in a '74 Lotus, but we don't care much about smoothness in that application. All my 4 cylinder Saabs for forty years were comparatively 'rough' and criticized for that, but pushed the design envelope on power vs. emissions vs. weight vs. cost. I have an old straight 6 Jaguar engine that is wonderfully smooth and weighs 600(!) lbs.

Again, I think Ford did a great job minimizing vibration with this four cylinder that we all are referring to as the '2.3' nickname.

I have a 2025 with the 2.3 as well. Love this truck and it's my third Ranger- a 2022 and a 2024 previously. On the 2022 I put a level kit and one size up and heavier tires. On my way to work there is this one long hill in town that I've taken for years. The day after my lift I started driving up this hill when I noticed a slight vibration. I manually downshifted 1 gear and it went away. I reasoned that the truck wants to be in a high gear for economy reasons but the new tire combo put an extra load on the engine and caused it to "chug"/vibrate ever so slightly.
The 2024 (stock tires) would go up this hill in the same gear and I would get just a hint of the vibration i experienced before.
The 2025 just got 275/70 17 6 ply Toyo Open Country tires, and a level. I only have 600 miles on the truck but didn't notice the vibration before. On the highway I notice it now. Its not a tire vibration as it only comes at higher speed under load, and I feel it slightly in the steering wheel as i start going uphill. I just think these trucks have optimized transmission programs geared for efficiency. They seem to hang in a high gear/low rpm scenario long enough that you can feel the engine work.

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