Rebuilding the 3.0

[Nich]

So Ive rounded up all my parts and dropped the block off at the shop. Im planing on offset grinding the crank to increase stroke. Does anyone know of any problems i may run in too. I plan to run new stock heads with machine in dual springs and 1.7 rollers and a camcraft cam. The block is going .040 over with silvolites that should be wearing zero gap rings if i can find them, and the whole assembly is being balanced and indexed at 120. Any insight on this setup would be nice.

 

[rurouni20xx]

you need ring gap or when the pistons heat up the rings will close up and break. i dont kno how far you can turn down the crank, there is a stroker crankshaft assy available tho if you want to stroke the motor. your oversize bearings will make up for the difference so you wont gain any stroke by turning your crank down any further, unless of course your using longer rods then you need to look into piston/head clearance. the smaller the crank journals the more chance of throwing a rod so be careful, i wouldnt go more than .020 under unless its necessary. morana offers 1.8 rockers for the 3.0 now if you want to look into that as well. while your at it look into some underdrive pulleys as they have been reported to help the truck out as well as a regear for the rear end. what are silvolites? you mean keith black pistons? good set of hypereutectic pistons minimal swell and hold up in the bore well. .040 over is excessive make sure the block can take it, have it magnafluxed and your bores centered. .030 is the most id go just as a safety margin. thats my .02.

 

[Nich]

Appreciate the input. As far as the crank goes I'm having it offset ground s to shift the actual throw of the rod .010 = .020 stoke and so fourth. The shop said the block would hold up to .070 over so .040 over sounded reasonable. The 1.8 rocker are tempting but mixed with the cam I'm not sure, ill stick with the 1.7 rockers. As for the rings i don't intend to run a complete zero gap but def a set of grind in rings with very little gap. My friend used some equation to come up with my hypothetical comp ratio he says hopefully 10.0/1.
All that being said I still don't plan to get huge hp out of this setup, but 160 at the flywheel would be nice. Oh and Ive already ordered a complete set of under drives from stuffforyourranger.com.

 

[rurouni20xx]

kewl beans my coworker thru 2 rods thru his oilpan/block so i got to see the internals of his 04 ranger 3.0. 10:1 is a good number, you should be able to run midgrade fuel no probs, regular grade im not so sure about. you going with flat-top pistons? im going to look in my engine blueprinting book and see what the ring end gap is for nitrous/boosted engines and post it for you, thats what id set my gap as. coil bind from a higher lift cam/rockers could be a problem, measure that with your feeler gage and compare the specs. since your machining everything id like to see if there are some oversize face valves and have them installed as well. more room for air to enter/exit is a good thing along with a polish of ports. you dont have to open them any since your running stock manis just get the ruffness out, i use a dremel with flex shaft and sand it out (60-120) then use crossbuffs (180-240) for a mild dressing. looking into cartridge roll setup as the money comes when i do my truck thats what i use on atv heads and just did my new throttlebody. another way to cheat some compression is thinner headgaskets if available, just pay attn to valve to piston clearance and deck spacing.

 

[Nich]

Yeah I'm running kb silvolites flat tops. I actually have some dual springs I'm having machined in. The heads have allready had the bowl work done and the pretty smooth. I intend to swap to a newer upper intake with w 4.6 throttle body. Also running 24 lb injectors out of 4.6. I plan on either getting the new touch screen programer our using bama tune here in Alabama four my computer.

 

[rurouni20xx]

i emailed bamachips with no response to my 2.3, idk. the flat tops will help reduce hotspots which is a plus. will the 4.6 tps/iacv attach to the 3.0 harness? and also will the 24# injectors help it any since we only use an 88lph fuel pump? the tune would help with all that but b4 swapping injectors etc id do the math and fig wat u need for the hp number your looking for. rogueperformance.com has all the formulas listed along with a few mods. the maf mod i dont recommend tho cuz it throws off the maf reading. the 3.0 actually produces around 140-150hp stock so 160 should be achieveable without much fuel system modification. the amount of modding your doing however may actually push you into the 175hp range, so id look into what is required for a 180-190hp fuel system and go from there. a lil overkill never hurts as a safety net when tuning. easier to have a lil room to open a hair than have to redo the fuel system and go back tuning.

 

[stmitch]

Tom Morana told me he was working on a specific cam to compliment his 1.8 roller's but it may be awhile, so if you need this done soon, I'd just stick with the 1.7's and your camcraft(just make sure camcraft knows which ratio you're going to use). Morana also sells a box style intake manifold with a 4.6 throttle body on it that he claims is good for 20hp, so that may be easier than trying to modify your existing setup to accept the 4.6 throttlebody.

I'd also recommend doing a minor port/polish job on your heads since the heads on 3.0's are a major restriction. Lastly, larger valves are available from SI industries, if you were considering them.

 

[rurouni20xx]

read around on the port theory more, the intakes ports are huge for the displacement and the exhaust if gasket matched allow reversion big time. best to simply smoothen them out.

 

[Nich]

Yeah I dont plan to do anything else to the heads, Ive allready cleaned and smothed the bowls and ports, I dont really feel the need to use bigger valves at this point in time, I may take my old heads and have a stage three job done before long. As far as fuel goes ive modfied my fuel rail to accept a aftermarket fuel pressure reg and the setup calls for 20lb injectors and the factory fuel pump should be good for atleast 180hp, if i have problems with fuel ill upgrade to a 5.0 fuel pump. The intake is going to be the next upgrade, for now im just running the newer intake with seprate tb, I havnt looked into the tps problem yet but intend too. I would idealy like to get a custom intake made but Im having a hard time finding a shop to do so, I dont have the welder for aluminum. If bama tune doesnt email back Ill just drive out to jasper and see them. Im having trouble finding a scanner and doubt i will for my year model.

 

[rurouni20xx]

im looking into a tweecer for my 92 2.3 truck, supposedly has the same tuning options as a full programmer, for 550 with datalogging its worth a shot 2 me. only thing u need to add is a wideband o2 setup and go from there. the injection sounds good, let me kno how it goes. if the tps/iacv plugs dont work diyautotune.com sells blank universal weatherpak plugs that you can make yourself that attach directly to them, if you dont want to do that i dont see why you couldnt splice in a harness off a 4.6 car to connect.

 

[Nich]

Yeah i need a good programmer, I have a old wide band o2 off of a older project i could dig up. Ill probably just re pin the 4.6 tps plug with my factory harness. 550 with data logging isnt that bad i may need to look into something along those lines. Does anyone make a kit to flash your own chips, Im pretty familiar with hondata and have flash a few chip for a old turbo hatch i had, Ill have to look into that aswell.

 

[rurouni20xx]

what kills most of my ranger projects is lack of obd1/eec4 tuning options to be honest. the tweecer actually plugs into the service port and reflashes it according to the website, this is a goldmine to me, ill be purchasing one in the future and get back with you on how it goes. would rather do a field test before i recommend something to you. the website says they can do custom tunes on already installed chips too. flash your own chips is a good question to me, hell finding a chip for the 3.0 is an even better one since bamachips wont respond to my emails. talk to the guy at rogueperformance.com as well hes an sct flash dealer he may be able to help you out. that entire website is based on 3.0 performance as well.

 

[Nich]

Yeah rogueperformance.com Is where i ripped off the plan for my 3.0, Think he has it labeled mini Boss 3.1. Lots of good stuff on that page. Im gonna shoot bama tune a email today and see what happens, if i dont hear back by wen ill drive to jasper and see them, Ill let you know what i hear.

 

[Nich]

Im not sure where your gonna get your wide band, but i got mine from xenocron tuning. Now the sell the lambda in line unit and o2 sensor for 199.00 or with a guage for 229

http://www.xenocron.com/lc1-lambda-cable-standalone-wideband-controller-with-02-senso-p-58.html