Looking to swap an engine, need some advice

[NaomiTheNomad]

I have a 2006 3.0 ford ranger, im looking to pull a junk motor from a 2001 3.0 ranger and rebuild it, then swap it. My only question is, will i need the ecu and wiring harness from the 01? Or can i just swap a 01 3.0 motor into the 2006? I know they are the same engine, im just worried about any differences in wires and sensors, are they the same for the two years?

 

[Brain75]

from the tech library, the 3.0 underwent minor revisions up till 2001, after 2001 they are all the same....

1991-2009 Ford Ranger 3.0L V-6 - The Ranger Station

The 1991-2009 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 Vulcan engine is a 60 degree V6 engine that replaced the 2.9L V6.

www.therangerstation.com

I think you are well past the PATS 1 to PATS 2 switch, so both should be PATS 2

are you maintaining the same trans? (auto trans computers throw a fit if they can't see the trans connected when you swap to a manual).

I've never touched the 3.0 so I'd definitely wait for someone better qualified to answer...

and just a sanity, check they are both the same 3.0 motor right, neither of them is the 3.0 ecoboost (entirely different animal)

 

[NaomiTheNomad]

from the tech library, the 3.0 underwent minor revisions up till 2001, after 2001 they are all the same....

1991-2009 Ford Ranger 3.0L V-6 - The Ranger Station

The 1991-2009 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 Vulcan engine is a 60 degree V6 engine that replaced the 2.9L V6.

www.therangerstation.com

I think you are well past the PATS 1 to PATS 2 switch, so both should be PATS 2

are you maintaining the same trans? (auto trans computers throw a fit if they can't see the trans connected when you swap to a manual).

I've never touched the 3.0 so I'd definitely wait for someone better qualified to answer...

and just a sanity, check they are both the same 3.0 motor right, neither of them is the 3.0 ecoboost (entirely different animal)

yes they are both the same transmission and engine type (3.0 vulcan) both are RWD as well, i do know the MAF if different, although i can swap my air intake tube and filter housing with the maf still attached, as for o2 sensors and camshaft, crankshaft sensors they all seem to be the same as well

 

[Brain75]

over on ford-truck someone commented that the shortblocks are identical, so worst case you have to swap all your accessories over

 

[stmitch]

Just make sure that the fuel injectors for the 06 are swapped into the 01 engine just in case one is flex fuel and the other isn't.

 

[Brain75]

If the '06 is flex (so his fuel delivery system, computer etc - "the truck") and he did that, would he effectively be making the new motor flex as well?

I understand the only real difference in the injector is bigger capacity which is definitely needed since you have to put more e85 in to get the same bang - hence the 33% worse mpg with e85. The PCM definitely has differences, but from a discussion over on the ford-trucks they claim that there is no differences inside the engine or heads.

If he didn't swap injectors he definitely would be making his flex '06 into a non-flex, it wouldn't be able to dump enough fuel in when running on e85.

As pricey as injectors are, if you get some with the 'yard motor and they are genuine oem I would be stripping whatever core you send back down and not including anything you don't have to.

And yeah I understand this is all shop talk, most likely he doesn't have a flex to begin with, just entertaining the idea in my brain.

 

[stmitch]

The early flex fuel 3.0's had different combustion chambers. That stopped around 2001 sometime, and all Vulcans had the same heads after that regardless of fuel type. The only meaningful difference between flex and non-flex Vulcans are the fuel injectors and the PCM program. Early flex fuel trucks also had a physical flex fuel sensor near the fuel filter that also went away around 2001 but that's not really relevant to this swap discussion.

For engine swap purposes, all that matters is that the injectors . If not sure which injectors the donor engine has, then replace them with the onin the running engine are the same as the injectors in the broken engine. If there's any uncertainty, then reuse the original injectors by installing them into the donor engine and move on.

Using the smaller, non-flex injectors with a flex fuel PCM will result not only in an inability to utilize the flex fuel capabilities, but also drivability issues and eventually CEL's are likely.

 

[pjtoledo]

when I swapped the 3.0 in my 2000 I was able to keep the AC system intact and just lay the compressor off to the side.
when rebuilding the '01 swap all the external '06 parts to it, make the '01 match the '06 truck.
the 3.0 is a very basic engine design, easy to rebuild.
do you have the owners manual?
what does it say about E85/flex fuel compatibility?
should not matter if you keep the '06 injectors.

 

[NaomiTheNomad]

when I swapped the 3.0 in my 2000 I was able to keep the AC system intact and just lay the compressor off to the side.
when rebuilding the '01 swap all the external '06 parts to it, make the '01 match the '06 truck.
the 3.0 is a very basic engine design, easy to rebuild.
do you have the owners manual?
what does it say about E85/flex fuel compatibility?
should not matter if you keep the '06 injectors.

Unfortunately i do not have the owners manual, i do know on my vin it has a U and not a V, at least i think thats one way to tell if its FF, also 2WD, The junker i was looking at unfortunately didn't fit the fancy. Thinking ill keep looking for 2001-2006 3.0 motors to have more plug and play, really dont want to swap pcm’s or flash it and splice wires. So far I'm pretty sure mine isn't a flex fuel.