Replacing a 98 3.0 engine

Been lurking for yrs and you guys have been great keeping my 98 4x4 Ranger truck running . Time to swap my tired engine. I found a rebuilt 99 3.0 4x2 and was wondering if it was a direct fit. Im thinking about doing it myself if its not to complicated. Are there any problems I might run into and will the flex fuel engine be any different then what I have now. Open to any suggestions. Thanks again.

Same engine the only difference is 1 truck has 4x4 and the other is 2WD, all the electronics and wiring should b the same, the flex fuel engine might have a different compression ratio but no sure everything else is the same Ford wouldNT build 2 different 3.0s becuz it'd be a total waste of money on their part

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Should be a drop in affair. The flex fuel engines have larger injectors than the non-flex engines, so you'll need to use the non-flex injectors if your truck isn't flex fuel. Everything else should be the same.

So the issue is, my current computer will not recognize the larger injectors causing the problem? Thanks for the help.

Yep.

This might be to much to ask but would anyone have any direction on the sequence in removing the old engine.? Trans and torque converter, would be the only thing I have never repaired or replaced on a car.Removing the exhaust manifolds?? Looks like everything is going to snap off. Any suggestions??? Thanks

Drop the transfer case and trans, disconnect the exhaust from the manifolds, all topside wiring, hoses, front end drive, rad, etc.

If you can remove the engine with the exhaust manifolds still attached, you can tackle getting them off the engine when it's out of the truck.

May as well grind off the bolt heads or snap them off if they are rusty and not coming out.

Then use new bolts to attach your exhaust manifolds to the new engine.

In a very small nutshell, that's what I would do.

If the studs that attach the y-pipe to the exhaust manifolds are badly rusted, I'd just cut them off. They can be replaced later fairly easily. Once the y-pipe, transmission, coolant lines, fuel lines and engine wiring harness have been disconnected, you should be able to lift the engine out with the accessories and exhaust manifolds still attached if you're careful. The exhaust manifold bolts will be much easier to remove or repair with the engine out of the vehicle. The accessory brackets also have some hidden bolts that are much easier to loosen with the engine out of the vehicle.

The connection where the fuel lines join the fuel rail is usually a huge pain in the ass to separate. They make special tools to remove it, but even with the tools it can be difficult. It may be faster to leave the fuel rail attached to the fuel line, and just unbolt the rail from the engine, and gently move it out of the way when you lift the engine out/put the new engine in. That would be the perfect time to replace the injectors if you need to as well.

Dosent sound to horrible and I have a couple of weeks before the engine is pulled from the donor truck. I think if I take my time it shouldn't be to bad. Thanks for the help. Im sure it won't be my last post.

Tonyd:

I should have taken some pictures for you as I am just finishing a similar swap. The devil is in the details of this:

Pre work:

Go to exhaust shop and get the 3 bolts to connect the y-pipe back together. Get intake, valve cover and exhaust manifold gaskets.

1. Clean both trucks engines/engine compartment (Degreaser, etc). So much nicer to work in clean environment.

2. Spray the exhaust manifold bolts with penetrating fluid if possible (if they are being used obviously not possible). (This may not be required if both engines have exhaust separated at y-pipe, and have EXACTLY same manifolds, but if it is required, you will be happier if you did it ahead of time). Impacts are usually more successful in removing 'frozen' bolts as they apply just a torque; while wrench often adds a bending force...

3. Disconnect battery, intake pipe. Block vehicle, put in neutral.

4. Beg, borrow, steal fan removal wrench (undoing bolts on fan and/or water pump pulley does nothing...) Getting fan out of way allows for lots more room.

5. While I agree fuel lines are pain in @$$; I separated them with $2 tool from local parts store (and lots of colourful language) *see subtle differences below.

6. Remove serpentine belt and alternator. (bolts for this are fairly accessible). I have my assistant put parts in labelled sandwich bags as removed so I can find them for re-installation.

7. Remove a/c compressor if truck has it. I removed the power steering from the engine as I haven't figured out how to remove it with engine without making mess. There are a couple tricky bolts to access.

8. Disconnect electrical wires (including those to transmission) & radiator and vacuum hoses (Take some pictures). I remove rad, but then I don't trust myself not to hit it and would prefer not to replace it.

9. Open front cover plate on transmission; remove 4 torque converter bolts (assistant may be needed to stop engine from rotating while breaking bolts free; then turning to next after first one is removed). Then unbolt transmission (6 bolts).

10. Cut y-pipe bolts with saw. (Appropriate power tool noises).

11. Review the only thing left to remove are the 4 nuts on engine mounts.

12. Chain from exhaust manifold to exhaust manifold, connect to hoist and remove nuts. Lift off engine mounts, pry engine off transmission locating studs, then lift engine out. I put hydraulic jack under transmission to ensure it doesn't want to tip forward. Torque converter should stay in position in transmission.

13. Have adult fizzy BEvERage.

14. Set 2 engines side by each. Compare Intake, Valve cover and exhaust manifolds to ensure they are ABSOLUTELY identical. (my '98 had EGR off drivers exhaust; new one didn't; new engine intake was plastic and pointed slightly different direction than '98; injectors from '98 didn't fit in newer intake; PCV from valve covers was subtly different, wiring was very different. So, I swapped all the '98 stuff to the new engine...reference new gaskets in parts section)

Reverse process to install.

If transmission doesn't mate tight with engine without assistance (arm strong is allowed but no mechanical aids), pull engine back and confirm torque converter is fully installed (push and twist and repeat as required - there are 2 or 3 'interlocks' before torque converter is 'seated'. Using bolts to 'suck' transmission and engine together ruins the front pump, necessitating transmission replacement). Once 1st bolt is in torque converter, assistant can rotate engine to access remaining.

Use torque wrench liberally to avoid over torquing.

Return unused parts/fan wrench.

Enjoy more BEvERageS.

Let us know how it turned out.

A little long winded, but I'm trying not to miss any thing.

Thanks for all the replies.I have never pulled an engine and time is not an object so attempting this is just another project to keep the remote out of my hand.

Did you use the 99 injectors. The 99 I have is a flex fuel. Will the 99 work with the 98 computer system?

Tony

I think I just have the '03 long block.

All the accessories: Intake manifold (lower and upper), injectors, wiring, exhaust manifolds, valve covers, etc are from the '98.

That wasn't the original plan but the '98 upper intake didn't fit on the '03 lower; and the '03 injectors didn't fit in the '98 lower intake.

98 and 99 engines should be nearly identical, except for the injector issue which we already covered (Keep your stock injectors).

It sounds to me like the reason Don had to change the upper intakes is because his donor engine was from a newer model. Ford changed the upper intake manifold in 01 from an aluminum design, to a similar unit made from plastic. They made several small changes at the same time, so keeping his stock, aluminum upper intake was easier than swapping out everything from the newer engine. You shouldn't run into this issue when swapping a 99 engine into a 98 because they had indentical manifold designs.

And if you have Air Conditioning, can the compressor be removed from the engine bracket and swong over to the side as to not have to loose the freon?