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No 3.0 in new Rangers


ckblum

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For those of us who can't afford to just choose a vehicle with a newer engine the 3.0L is great. I can't afford a vehicle new enough to have the Duratec 2.3 but I still need good power and decent mileage for my 3 hour commute to school. The old 2.3L was gutless but great on gas, the 3.0L had good torque and hp and was still pretty decent on fuel, however getting a 4.0L was pretty much pointless just to gain more power but sacrifice economy. For me and many other people the 3.0L was the perfect mid-range engine.

Don't bash it because it has served it's purpose just fine, of course it will be beaten by newer, better engines. That's a good thing isn't it? I'm glad we are making advancements in technology that allows the newer 4 bangers to compete with a 3.0L, I'm sure at the time the 3.0L was made they never thought a 2.3 could make as much power as it and still get great mileage.

Who knows maybe one day all vehicles will be perfect little 4 bangers with phenomenal torque, great horse power and awesome gas mileage. Then you can all argue how every other engine was obsolete and sucked and pretty much a waste of time and resources.
 


Motorcraft

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I would have to say after owning a ranger with a 3.0 auto on 33's and driving the hell out of it, the engine never gave me any issues and would do anything i asked of it, now my 4.0SOHC with 35's is more powerful but i get around the same fuel mileage with both trucks so eh. the 3.0 started every day and as far as i know is still driving my old truck around. this 4.0L i have in my truck hahahaha if it gets past 120k before dieing i will be happy
 

Bryan22

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Seems like some people get good 3.0 and some get dogs for a motor. I always hear people talking about how gutless they are, until they'd sit passenger in my good ol 92 3.go! too bad I sold that thing I loved that truck, and I got middle of the road MPG 17-18 in town 20-22 on the highway. I guess you either love them or hate them. I personally loved mine, alothough my next ranger will have a 2.3 duratech =].
 

hades

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Really? It's not in the list? Well maybe they got rid of it. Or perhaps, they're gonna update it or do some upgrades.

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Wicked_Sludge

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ford killed all of their few remaining pushrod engines this year (3.0, 4.2, whatever else there was). we wont be seeing a return of them, the design is just too outdated.

the duratec line will slowly replace everything soon. even the 4.0 SOHC's days are numbered...since the 3.5 duratec makes more power with less fuel.
 

pacodiablo

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Seems like some people get good 3.0 and some get dogs for a motor. I always hear people talking about how gutless they are, until they'd sit passenger in my good ol 92 3.go! too bad I sold that thing I loved that truck, and I got middle of the road MPG 17-18 in town 20-22 on the highway. I guess you either love them or hate them. I personally loved mine, alothough my next ranger will have a 2.3 duratech =].
Apparently. A lot of the 3.0 haters have never owned one. As for those who have, I can only attribute it to them getting "bad apples." I love my 3.0. It scoots along pretty well, and it sounds so nice at 5000 RPM. There isn't anything I'd rather have but an EFI 5.0 in my truck.
 

loneranger04

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i have 2004 ranger edge with the 3.0L and it has never let me down no matter what i ask of it.
 

Bryan22

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yea, no matter how much anyone hates the 3.0 it's bullet proof. i put a quart of oil in mine every time i filled up the fuel tank for over 70,000 miles and it never whimpered. I don't remember who said it but I love this "If you can manage to destroy a 3.0 that has oil and coolant in it, you shouldn't be able to operate anything more complex than a refirgerator".
 

bmxryder

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well ive never ridden in a 3.0L but when i bought my ranger and i heard there was a 3.0 and a 4.0 v6 i didnt see the point in buying a motor with less power and a small bit better mileage. is it really worth it? if i spend $75 more on gas a year for the power then i DEFINANTLY feel its worth it.
 

hihoslvr

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i have 2004 ranger edge with the 3.0L and it has never let me down no matter what i ask of it.
x2 (knock on wood)

and to bmxryder: ever heard the phrase "Run whatcha brung"? If I had a 4.0, I probably wouldn't complain about it neithr. But I got what I got, and it's paid for too.
 

bmxryder

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and to bmxryder: ever heard the phrase "Run whatcha brung"? If I had a 4.0, I probably wouldn't complain about it neithr. But I got what I got, and it's paid for too.

yeah i agree with run whatcha brung, but why did you end up with a 3.0? did you just blindly buy a truck without researching what you acually wanted?
 

hihoslvr

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hehe, yeah sort off. I had an old Toyota PU with a 3.0 V6. Wanted to get an F150 w/V6, couldn't find any I liked that I could afford (this was back in '04 mind you, when they were still goin' for 15K+), then I found this little gem, and the rest is history!
 

Wicked_Sludge

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if i spend $75 more on gas a year for the power then i DEFINANTLY feel its worth it.
i drive 11,000 miles a year just for my commute (doesnt include other runnings around). my 3.0 gets 23-24MPG highway. we'll give the 4.0 a GENEROUS figure of 20MPG. if i average a cost of $3/gal for the year, that saves me about $300 a year on fuel. if we give the 4.0 a more realistic fuel economy figure like 18MPG, i save over $450 a year.

of coarse i actually drive more than that since i also tow my boat into town during the summer and drive out on the beach quite a bit...so actual savings are even higher.
 

red85

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I have been in and driven countless 3.0's. Sure they aren't barburners perfomance wise, but they are dead nuts reliable. My wife's 08 Ranger with the 3.0 has been excellent. I ordered it with a 5 speed and a 4.10 limited slip so it will pull the 85 to the track pretty easily too.
 

reginald fairfield

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It is weird what someone said, some 3.0's do seem really slow. I love the one in my pickup, it will get up and go, and it has 3.73 and open diff, extended cab so a little heavier. The ranger's we have at work also have the 3.0. but they are single cab with open 4.10 ratio, yet they go way slower. It takes them forever to get up to 3 grand for some reason, I know that I could beat them in my personal pickup. You would think they would haul ass with a single cab and low gears.... Still nice little pickups anyways though, even though they are xl's...
 

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