Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Mikeh
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2022
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 3
- Location
- Minnesota
- Vehicle Year
- 1996
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger 2wd
- Engine Type
- 2.3 (4 Cylinder)
- Transmission
- Manual
Have the original 96 short block ready to go and moving on to the head. I have both the original head and another head from a blown up 96 or 97 2.3.
The blown motor head has evidence of moisture on cylinder #2, which had a rod broken in half, and it also cracked the oil pan and wrecked the crank. But the valves seats in that head appear unmolested and in good shape. The valve seats in the original head also appear in good shape as far as the seat surface goes, but the 2 heads appear to be different in valve seat depth. (valves sit .054" deeper in original head).
I suspect that the original motor head had a (botched?) valve job done on it prior to my getting the truck. The valves, guides, seals from it all still look good too, but valves sit down noticeably further in the seat. They are all flush in the valve seat. But stick the same valve in the blown motor head and it sits up with the perimeter of the valve lip standing slightly above the combustion chamber as I am accustomed to seeing on good or reconditioned heads. All the valves are this way. Swap any valve from one head to the other and they are visibly sitting deeper in the seats of the original head. No evidence of burned valves or seats in either head.
The truck was always really gutless while that original engine/head was in it. Shop once told me it had pretty low compression on a couple cylinders. Could not get it to run consistently either. Surged, died, idled at different speeds although every sensor on the thing was replaced. Finally gave up on it and installed a $150 junkyard motor which ran much better (used for daily commuting until it blew up 2 years later). Got my moneys worth I think for $150...
But being I still have that awful running original motor I cleaned it up, tore it down, replaced rings, bearings etc. Pistons, cylinders all in good shape though there was extensive carbon deposit accumulation in ring grooves behind the rings. Bearings showed some wear but no copper showing yet and oil pressure was still fine when the motor was pulled.
But now I am wondering whether the valve seats being cut too deep in the original head was part of the gutlessness and erratic-running problem (along with rings which were not broken but were rather sticky in the grooves). I don't know if the valve slightly shrouded with seats too deep (by .054 compared to blown motor head anyway) would be enough to dismiss using that original head as-is, apart from new seals and lapping the valves lightly.
Or if I should take the head from blown motor to be magnafluxxed and see if it was cracked or had blown head gasket prior to engine blowing up (hydraulic lock broke the rod?). Or, if it is cracked now from piston hitting the head. But the chamber and valves definitely show there was moisture in that #2 cylinder only and the shop that did the assessment of blown engine stated that one of plugs on that cylinder head had fractured porcelain (confirmed by my dismantling it).
Trying to keep this cheap cuz will probably just give it to one of my kids to break again once I get it going again. So, will the deeper cut seats create any problems that would cause significant performance issues? Or those deeper seats warrant the monkey business of either getting a 3rd head or having the one off the blown motor crack-tested and refurbishing one of those.
Thanks for your input.
The blown motor head has evidence of moisture on cylinder #2, which had a rod broken in half, and it also cracked the oil pan and wrecked the crank. But the valves seats in that head appear unmolested and in good shape. The valve seats in the original head also appear in good shape as far as the seat surface goes, but the 2 heads appear to be different in valve seat depth. (valves sit .054" deeper in original head).
I suspect that the original motor head had a (botched?) valve job done on it prior to my getting the truck. The valves, guides, seals from it all still look good too, but valves sit down noticeably further in the seat. They are all flush in the valve seat. But stick the same valve in the blown motor head and it sits up with the perimeter of the valve lip standing slightly above the combustion chamber as I am accustomed to seeing on good or reconditioned heads. All the valves are this way. Swap any valve from one head to the other and they are visibly sitting deeper in the seats of the original head. No evidence of burned valves or seats in either head.
The truck was always really gutless while that original engine/head was in it. Shop once told me it had pretty low compression on a couple cylinders. Could not get it to run consistently either. Surged, died, idled at different speeds although every sensor on the thing was replaced. Finally gave up on it and installed a $150 junkyard motor which ran much better (used for daily commuting until it blew up 2 years later). Got my moneys worth I think for $150...
But being I still have that awful running original motor I cleaned it up, tore it down, replaced rings, bearings etc. Pistons, cylinders all in good shape though there was extensive carbon deposit accumulation in ring grooves behind the rings. Bearings showed some wear but no copper showing yet and oil pressure was still fine when the motor was pulled.
But now I am wondering whether the valve seats being cut too deep in the original head was part of the gutlessness and erratic-running problem (along with rings which were not broken but were rather sticky in the grooves). I don't know if the valve slightly shrouded with seats too deep (by .054 compared to blown motor head anyway) would be enough to dismiss using that original head as-is, apart from new seals and lapping the valves lightly.
Or if I should take the head from blown motor to be magnafluxxed and see if it was cracked or had blown head gasket prior to engine blowing up (hydraulic lock broke the rod?). Or, if it is cracked now from piston hitting the head. But the chamber and valves definitely show there was moisture in that #2 cylinder only and the shop that did the assessment of blown engine stated that one of plugs on that cylinder head had fractured porcelain (confirmed by my dismantling it).
Trying to keep this cheap cuz will probably just give it to one of my kids to break again once I get it going again. So, will the deeper cut seats create any problems that would cause significant performance issues? Or those deeper seats warrant the monkey business of either getting a 3rd head or having the one off the blown motor crack-tested and refurbishing one of those.
Thanks for your input.
