I just got a 2009 Ranger brochure. They don't list the 3.0 V6 in it. Is this the first year without the 3.0?
im actually surprised it took the vulcan this long to die.
i love the little 3.0, but it was a painfully outdated pushrod design (fords only pushrod engine for nearly 10 years now). it should have been replaced by a SOHC or DOHC with aluminum heads and/or block long ago.
id like to have a moment of silence for our old friend, who has gone to that great junkyard in the sky...
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they put the 5.0 in the explorers until at least 2000
im actually surprised it took the vulcan this long to die.
i love the little 3.0, but it was a painfully outdated pushrod design (fords only pushrod engine for nearly 10 years now). it should have been replaced by a SOHC or DOHC with aluminum heads and/or block long ago.
id like to have a moment of silence for our old friend, who has gone to that great junkyard in the sky...
![]()

im actually surprised it took the vulcan this long to die.
i love the little 3.0, but it was a painfully outdated pushrod design (fords only pushrod engine for nearly 10 years now). it should have been replaced by a SOHC or DOHC with aluminum heads and/or block long ago.
id like to have a moment of silence for our old friend, who has gone to that great junkyard in the sky...
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Good riddance.
Why? It is one of the most reliable engines offered in any vehicle, not just the Ranger. I get 20-21 MPG in mostly (80% +/-) city driving too...I don't care what you think of the Vulcan, that's good for a V6 automatic Super Cab pickup.
I don't know why you hate the Vulcan so much. It's a pushrod, all iron, 60* V6, just like the Cologne motors.
It has marginally more power than the 2.3, and gets similar milage as a 4.0. If I ordered a truck I would not check that box.
My automatic SuperCab 4x4 F-150 with a 5.4 gets 18mpg hwy, if I am going to downsize to a small 2wd pickup with the small V-6 it should by all means get more than 5-6mpg better than my fullsize with the big V-8.![]()
boy this arguement gets old. the 2.3 lima was never rated for more than 112hp in n/a form, vs. the 3.0's 145ish. and i hate to burst your cologne baloon, but the OHV 4.0 is only rated at 160 HP making the spread between the 2.3 and 3.0 almost 2 times wider than the one between 3.0 and 4.0.:
my 3.0 will hit 24 MPG regularly on the highway, thats exactly 6MPG better than your f-150...and thats with a 4wd. some of the 2wd 3.0 guys have gotten up to 28 or so.
open mouth. insert foot.![]()