What did you do to your Ranger today? (Part Deux!)

[8thTon]

Ok. I'm going to break it down why the 3.No is a miserable engine on a good day.

From Ford:

3.0L V6 1986-07

Bore: 3.504
Stroke: 3.150
Bore spacing: 4.330
Main journal diameter: 2.519
Rod journal diameter: 2.126
Connecting rod length: 5.532
Deck height: 8.661
Compression height: 1.535


Bore:stroke ratio of 1.11:1
Rod ratio of 1.76

So the thing basically sits at "ideal" ratios out of the gate. And with a compression of 9.3-9.7:1, supercharging is a viable option once you switch to forged pistons.

However.

Ford set the engines up from the factory to run as an economy engine. Meaning that while SHO versions do exist, they've been pushed to their hard limits already.

Rogue performance (only 3.No performance info I could find) even discusses the limitations, in detail

https://rogueperformance.com/potential.html

Between crank angles, block and head architecture, sh*tty intake and head design, and a miserably small cylinder bore that doesn't allow for shared pistons (read: you cannot find an off the shelf forged option like I did with the 5.8 Trinity) you're going to be hard pressed to find sh*t that works (other than SHO stuff (and good luck with that....), but at that point the ranger and taurus blocks are a terrible option when compared to aerostars four bolt main blocks).

Futlrthermore, due to the heavyweight design of the engine, they are known to warp and distort when overheated. Sure, 2.9 and 4.0 would pop heads from casting sand left in them by poor quality control, but block warp was something rarely encountered.

Cam profiles and valvetrain are miserable as well. Yes, they can be cammed, but the benefits are few.

I did look into the 3.0 heavily two years ago or so.
I've been reading up on it still to help Eric in his build.


But in my specific case, the 3.no was the inferior choice to the 2.9 in every conceivable way.

Besides. I can't get on Facebook and buy DOHC heads for the 3.0 that were developed by Brian Hart and Cosworth like I can (and did) with the 2.9:

Oh, and Cosworth did have the opportunity to choose between the 2.9 and 3.0 when developing a v6 for Formula 2 use.

They picked the 2.9. Enough said.

So I read your link and it basically said the 3.0 is a really nice engine stock, but hard to mod. I'll take that compared to one which may work fine once you re-design the thing to fix all the design and manufacturing mistakes!

Lol, what you've described is an engine where all the parts were properly designed to be exactly what it is - a simple and inexpensive power source. Even when it was designed it was an antique architecture, but done with modern design. These are pretty reliable engines in stock form, other than a few bouts of manufacturing defects that most engines go through. There was no need for forged crank, rods or pistons so they are not there, but that is not a bad design. The later intakes flow fine, and I think 154hp is fine for such a simple 3.0 V6. I have no complaints about how it performs in my Ranger, the thing moves surprisingly well. It all depends on what you're interested in - the 3.0 is a lousy place to start for mods because there are so few performance parts available. If I wanted more power I'd start with a different engine, like finding a gearbox to put a 3.0 Duratec in.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

So I read your link and it basically said the 3.0 is a really nice engine stock, but hard to mod. I'll take that compared to one which may work fine once you re-design the thing to fix all the design and manufacturing mistakes!

Lol, what you've described is an engine where all the parts were properly designed to be exactly what it is - a simple and inexpensive power source. Even when it was designed it was an antique architecture, but done with modern design. These are pretty reliable engines in stock form, other than a few bouts of manufacturing defects that most engines go through. There was no need for forged crank, rods or pistons so they are not there, but that is not a bad design. The later intakes flow fine, and I think 154hp is fine for such a simple 3.0 V6. I have no complaints about how it performs in my Ranger, the thing moves surprisingly well. It all depends on what you're interested in - the 3.0 is a lousy place to start for mods because there are so few performance parts available. If I wanted more power I'd start with a different engine, like finding a gearbox to put a 3.0 Duratec in.

Spot-freakin-on.

 

[mtnrgr]

Drove a few hundred miles to the desert, and my 94 turned over to 600,000 miles. Yes, it's a 3.0 Ranger.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Drove a few hundred miles to the desert, and my 94 turned over to 600,000 miles. Yes, it's a 3.0 Ranger.

You should write an article about your truck and what's it done during those 600,000 miles.

I bet it has tons of stories to tell.

 

[Blmpkn]

Made enough progress on the flatbed to leave it on the truck. Hopefully it's 100% this weekend.

I need my own garage. It's a bummer having to coordinate with my buddy on his few and far between days off.

 

[sgtsandman]

Tightened all 20 lug nuts on the 2011 that someone was kind enough to loosen last night. If I ever catch them in the act, I'll loosen up their boiler room with a lead projectile.

 

[ericbphoto]

Tightened all 20 lug nuts on the 2011 that someone was kind enough to loosen last night. If I ever catch them in the act, I'll loosen up their boiler room with a lead projectile.

It was birds from North Dakota who traveled by railroad.

 

[sgtsandman]

It was birds from North Dakota who traveled by railroad.

You sure it wasn't an African or European Swallow?

 

[ericbphoto]

You sure it wasn't an African or European Swallow?

They may have looked like swallows.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Tightened all 20 lug nuts on the 2011 that someone was kind enough to loosen last night. If I ever catch them in the act, I'll loosen up their boiler room with a lead projectile.

Kinda sounds like you're lucky they were still on the truck.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Tightened all 20 lug nuts on the 2011 that someone was kind enough to loosen last night. If I ever catch them in the act, I'll loosen up their boiler room with a lead projectile.

Look man.





We live in uncertain times.

I'm just sayin. Your vehicles security system should be tiered - first you get the beeping and the flashing, and if you're dumb enough to keep going, well, hit the afterburner

 

[sgtsandman]

Kinda sounds like you're lucky they were still on the truck.

I think the only reason they didn’t loosen more than they did was because the caps clip on the lug nuts. Otherwise, I might have been on the side of the road trying to figure out what was wrong in the morning or dealing with the aftermath of a wheel unexpectedly departing the vehicle with no explaination.

If it had been the clown car or the 2019, where there is no cap clipping over the nuts, it could have been deadly for the operator and possibly for others on the road.

EDIT: I did check the other two, just to be safe. They were fine. The 2011 was the only one parked on the street.

I also took down the military flags. My guess, as well as the neighbor’s, is that they were the catalyst that drove the lug nuts being loosened.

 

[Ranger850]

I also took down the military flags. My guess, as well as the neighbor’s, is that they were the catalyst that drove the lug nuts being loosened.

that is a shame. You should be able to fly those flags and feel better, not threatened.

 

[pjtoledo]

I think the only reason they didn’t loosen more than they did was because the caps clip on the lug nuts. Otherwise, I might have been on the side of the road trying to figure out what was wrong in the morning or dealing with the aftermath of a wheel unexpectedly departing the vehicle with no explaination.

If it had been the clown car or the 2019, where there is no cap clipping over the nuts, it could have been deadly for the operator and possibly for others on the road.

EDIT: I did check the other two, just to be safe. They were fine. The 2011 was the only one parked on the street.

I also took down the military flags. My guess, as well as the neighbor’s, is that they were the catalyst that drove the lug nuts being loosened.

now's a good time to go incognito. way to may people looking for any excuse to start an issue.

 

[sgtsandman]

that is a shame. You should be able to fly those flags and feel better, not threatened.

I agree. I had and Air National Guard flag, thin green line, and an Agent Orange Toxic Exposure flag. To be on the safe side, I took down the thin orange line flag that represent search and rescue and EMS down too incase some ignoramus thinks it’s a police or military flag as well.

I was half tempted to flip the US flag upside down but it might get interpreted that I was in distress instead of the nation, so decided against it.

Not much I can do about the veteran plates on the trucks since they are the registration plates for them.