Engine Swap Question

[Bob Hatcher]

My grandson has a 2000 2 wheel drive Ranger with a 3.0 V6 and an automatic transmission - it may need an engine and I found another 3.0 in a 1995 Ranger 4x4 automatic - I am wondering if I can put the 1995 3.0 into the 2000? I realize that I might have to swap over the fuel injection system or other things of that nature to make the older engine comparable to the 2000 truck but will it work at all? Thank You

 

[franklin2]

Car-part is showing a interchange all the way back to 1994. But the big division and question they ask when looking is if the engine is gasoline or flex-fuel.

 

[Bob Hatcher]

Car-part is showing a interchange all the way back to 1994. But the big division and question they ask when looking is if the engine is gasoline or flex-fuel.

My grandson's 2000 is definitely gasoline and I do believe the 95 was also - I saw no emblems anywhere on the 95 truck stating Flex Fuel - what prompted me asking this question in the first place was that his other grandfather is saying something about a letter code like a "u" vs a"v" between the VIN numbers and that makes them un-compatible but I can't say for certain that he knows what he is talking about

 

[RonD]

You can read about the 1986 to 2008 differences in the 3.0l Vulcan engine here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-3-0l-build/

You will need to swap upper and lower intakes with injectors and sensors, so the 2000 engine wiring and fuel system connections are plug and play
Also your 2000 Cam synchro/sensor needs to be swapped over to the 1995 block

The flex fuel vs gas only head chamber difference doesn't really matter, people have swapped these around for years with no noticeable differences
Both, for sure, run fine on gas only, if that's what you have, so the VIN "U" or "V" won't matter, as long as you swap intakes and injectors

Do put a note in engine bay that its a 1995 3.0l, just in case it ever needs a rebuild, as you will read in above article, there were several internal differences for parts

If the 3.0l Vulcan is from a Car then you also need to change head gaskets

 

[Bob Hatcher]

You can read about the 1986 to 2008 differences in the 3.0l Vulcan engine here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-3-0l-build/

You will need to swap upper and lower intakes with injectors and sensors, so the 2000 engine wiring and fuel system connections are plug and play
Also your 2000 Cam synchro/sensor needs to be swapped over to the 1995 block

The flex fuel vs gas only head chamber difference doesn't really matter, people have swapped these around for years with no noticeable differences
Both, for sure, run fine on gas only, if that's what you have, so the VIN "U" or "V" won't matter, as long as you swap intakes and injectors

Do put a note in engine bay that its a 1995 3.0l, just in case it ever needs a rebuild, as you will read in above article, there were several internal differences for parts

If the 3.0l Vulcan is from a Car then you also need to change head gaskets

Terrific - this information was exactly what I was looking for - as long as I can put both engines side by side and make the 95 engine into a 2000, all should be well - at first I thought we were looking at a major difference such as in the transmission or flex plate bolting to the block/crank or something more critical like that - the 95 engine has approximately 160,000 miles so do you think it would be wise for us to do the head gaskets on the 95 before swapping it over into the 2000 engine bay?

 

[RonD]

Not the head gaskets, they were never an issue on the 3.0l Vulcan

Exhaust valves are an issue on any engine with valves, they leak and burn causing loss of compression and misfires
So unless you want to do a Valve Job then use it as is, you can always pull the heads down the road, with engine in the vehicle

If you have a compressor you can do a Leak Down test on each cylinder prior to installing the used engine, that will tell you if Valves(and rings) are OK

Always change the Real Main seal when any engine is out or its transmission is off
Also check all the core plugs(freeze plugs), easy to pop in new ones with engine out, not so easy with engine installed, lol, and they are cheap

3.0l Vulcan had a couple of specific coolant leak points
One are the elbows on front of the lower intake, like to rust out, picture here: https://www.ranger-forums.com/attachments/2-9l-3-0l-v6-tech-32/61425d1374288518-lower-radiator-hose-dscn0298.jpg

The other is the Timing chain cover gasket, it has 2 coolant passages for the water pump, real pain to change this gasket with engine in the vehicle because you should loosen the oil pan to remove the cover and to reinstall it to get a good seal at the bottom

 

[franklin2]

When swapping earlier v8 engines, I check the timing chain and usually end up replacing it. So I end up pulling the front of the engine apart, and as Ron said, drop the pan so the cover comes off. I can also clean the pan up inside and get all the plastic pieces that fell in the pan (this is probably early v8 only).

What I am getting to, you end up needing a lot of gaskets, and I have found on some engines it's cheaper to buy a complete gasket set for the engine. You won't need the head gaskets, but just about every other gasket and seal you will need. Helps prevent nuisance leaks later.

 

[Bob Hatcher]

What started this trek was, my grandson was heading to work and all of a sudden the temp gauge hit the high point and he wasn't too far from an exit so he went for it - by the time he parked it, there was white smoke or steam everywhere - I sat with him while waiting for a tow truck to take it over to the garage where his other grandfather worked - when they arrived, the engine started right up and they actually drove it all the way up the ramp truck - the engine sounded good - I know the garage looked it over, filled it with coolant and it smoked again like a a head gasket, cracked head or block - that is why I was looking at this other engine - his grandfather tells him to replace the head gasket and run it to see if that fixes it - not too sure of that

 

[Josh B]

Seems like a small price to save an engine

 

[Bob Hatcher]

Seems like a small price to save an engine

I agree - the truck has to leave the garage were it has been sitting and will need to get into my hands soon so I told my grandson to tell the garage to put everything that they have relating to the truck in the bed including the 1995 engine which I already located, removed from that truck and delivered to them - we'll go from there

 

[pjtoledo]

3.0s are fairly basic engines so the swap should go easy. until you get to the EGR tube that will be rust-welded into the exhaust manifold.
and then there is the emissions/pcv tube under the intake manifold that goes to the pcv. it started as rubber and probably has transformed into a hard & brittle stubborn tube.
the exhaust manifold bolts break, replacements are available.
last year the Y pipe was no longer available, don't break it. where the Y pipe attaches to the catalytic converter will be rusted away. you may have to get creative there.

the bell housing bolts look like you can't access them. get a 2 or 3 foot long extension and go over the top of the transmission from the rear.

while you're doing the rear crank seal it probably would be a good idea to do the tranny input seal too.

 

[Bob Hatcher]

3.0s are fairly basic engines so the swap should go easy. until you get to the EGR tube that will be rust-welded into the exhaust manifold.
and then there is the emissions/pcv tube under the intake manifold that goes to the pcv. it started as rubber and probably has transformed into a hard & brittle stubborn tube.
the exhaust manifold bolts break, replacements are available.
last year the Y pipe was no longer available, don't break it. where the Y pipe attaches to the catalytic converter will be rusted away. you may have to get creative there.

the bell housing bolts look like you can't access them. get a 2 or 3 foot long extension and go over the top of the transmission from the rear.

while you're doing the rear crank seal it probably would be a good idea to do the tranny input seal too.

Great information for when we do this job - we had one hell of a time trying to get to those bell housing bolts in the donor truck but, as the truck was going to be junked, found our way to accessing them by cutting part of the fire wall away from the inside but obviously I can't do that with my grandson's truck - the other thing I thought of was to pull the engine and trans forward as a whole, remove the engine, and block the trans up where it sat - then put everything back at one time also - I was also hoping to not disturb the exhaust system by unbolting the manifolds and removing the engine from between them if possible

 

[RonD]

What started this trek was, my grandson was heading to work and all of a sudden the temp gauge hit the high point and he wasn't too far from an exit so he went for it - by the time he parked it, there was white smoke or steam everywhere - I sat with him while waiting for a tow truck to take it over to the garage where his other grandfather worked - when they arrived, the engine started right up and they actually drove it all the way up the ramp truck - the engine sounded good - I know the garage looked it over, filled it with coolant and it smoked again like a a head gasket, cracked head or block - that is why I was looking at this other engine - his grandfather tells him to replace the head gasket and run it to see if that fixes it - not too sure of that

Cracking a block is possible but not likely
Crushing a head gasket or cracking a head is almost guaranteed if you allow engine to stay overheated and drive it for a few minutes
You don't mention coolant in the oil pan so bottom end is OK

In this situation I would make sure cooling system is not leaking, no blown out hoses
Then add a can of Rislone Block Seal Head gasket fix, with coolant
Follow instructions
That will get him back on the road for a few months

Then shop around for best deal on a couple of heads(return core) and head gasket sets, once parts are in change the heads

Or just get the current heads tested/rebuilt, and new head gasket sets