3.0 performance mods

[fastpakr]

Not really. Vulcan's didn't share much with any other Ford engines. You can mix/match different years of upper intake manifolds if you prefer aluminum vs plastic (this may require switching the lower intakes too, or drilling/tapping the bolt holes). Technically, flex fuel Vulcans should have slightly smaller combustion chambers (small compression bump) in their cylinder heads, but that went away eventually, and they all used the same heads.

How much commonality is there between the Vulcan short block and the Yamaha 3.0?

 

[Ranger850]

How much commonality is there between the Vulcan short block and the Yamaha 3.0?

I think the Yamaha was base off of a DOHC 3.0 from Ford but I don't know if that is still the Vulcan or Duratec?

 

[fastpakr]

The DOHC Yamaha 3.0 was based on the OHV Vulcan design.

I was asking how much commonality there was between them once development was complete.

 

[pjtoledo]

same bore spacing and bell housing pattern.
nothing will interchange.

 

[stmitch]

How much commonality is there between the Vulcan short block and the Yamaha 3.0?

Not sure really. I've never looked at a 3.0 SHO engine. The internet says that they share some basic dimensions but not much more than that as far as I know. I'm not sure what (if any) performance gains might be had with a SHO short block. The real performance advantages for those engines comes from the heads, intake manifold, and DOHC.

 

[mikkelstuff]

Since stupid Colorado emissions will not let me upgrade my '02 Ranger with a 5.0L, I keep thinking the only way to get performance out of my wimpy 3.0L would be with a turbo. Anyone tried that?

 

[stmitch]

Since stupid Colorado emissions will not let me upgrade my '02 Ranger with a 5.0L, I keep thinking the only way to get performance out of my wimpy 3.0L would be with a turbo. Anyone tried that?

Turbo 3.0's have been done, as have supercharged. Not sure if any of them will pass emissions tests or not. If we're following the spirit of the emissions laws, then the same thing that keeps a 5.0 from being viable would keep modifications like boost or aftermarket cams/heads/etc from passing emissions tests. But for the time being, that may be different in practice than it is in theory. With the current EPA crackdowns on non-compliant parts and software I'd guess that the days of engine swaps and doing power adders of any kind that aren't certified to pass emissions will be going away in the not too distant future.

For what it's worth, Ford Racing teamed up with Whipple to produce and sell a supercharger for the 3.0 that I'm pretty sure was CARB compliant. If you could actually find a complete kit, and replicate the compliant software then you could have a boosted 3.0 that would be fully emissions legal by the book as well as a local sniffer or OBD emissions test. At least in theory.

 

[pjtoledo]

Not sure really. I've never looked at a 3.0 SHO engine. The internet says that they share some basic dimensions but not much more than that as far as I know. I'm not sure what (if any) performance gains might be had with a SHO short block. The real performance advantages for those engines comes from the heads, intake manifold, and DOHC.

the short block won't help any, only the SHO heads and timing set will fit it.
an interesting fact about those SHO heads, the intake valve lift is only .335" on the 3.0, the auto trans only 3.2 has a mere .315 intake lift.

 

[O No 3.0!]

I recently stumbled across a youtube channel called "the vulcan". I was looking into the intake/throttle body swap from a later model, because my 97 has the one piece intake/t-body. I watched a few of his videos looking for cheap/free stuff that i hadn't done yet, and came across the mass air meter mod. I was skeptical about it doing much after reading all the negative comments, but i figured what the hell. So i took it off, and cut everything out except fot the sample tube where the sensor is & smoothed everything i could. I used a oscillating drywall/wood cutting tool (dewalt) with a carbide blade to cut the big part out & a dremel with a sandpaper roll to finish it up. I took the electronics out to avoid getting anything in it. I didn't open the main part of the meter, just removed the part in the middle. It took about 2 hours to get it all done & reinstalled. The difference was immediately noticeable, throttle response was improved & idle is smoother. The big difference was the very noticeable power increase. Power feels increased everywhere, especially from about 3k on.

 

[pjtoledo]

interesting....

 

[cbxer55]

I recently stumbled across a youtube channel called "the vulcan". I was looking into the intake/throttle body swap from a later model, because my 97 has the one piece intake/t-body. I watched a few of his videos looking for cheap/free stuff that i hadn't done yet, and came across the mass air meter mod. I was skeptical about it doing much after reading all the negative comments, but i figured what the hell. So i took it off, and cut everything out except fot the sample tube where the sensor is & smoothed everything i could. I used a oscillating drywall/wood cutting tool (dewalt) with a carbide blade to cut the big part out & a dremel with a sandpaper roll to finish it up. I took the electronics out to avoid getting anything in it. I didn't open the main part of the meter, just removed the part in the middle. It took about 2 hours to get it all done & reinstalled. The difference was immediately noticeable, throttle response was improved & idle is smoother. The big difference was the very noticeable power increase. Power feels increased everywhere, especially from about 3k on.

Interesting. I've looked in the MAF of my 98 and thought a big gain could be had if that YUGE chunk of metal the sensor is in could, at the very least, be streamlined. It's a big ugly chunk in the middle of the airflow. I know I felt a difference just putting on a BBK 56 mm throttle body. Didn't expect to, but throttle response is better everywhere. That TB along with the YUGE three inch intake tube from the MAF to the TB really let it sing at high rpm now. May look at that MAF again this weekend. See if I feel like doing some internal shaving.

 

[O No 3.0!]

Interesting. I've looked in the MAF of my 98 and thought a big gain could be had if that YUGE chunk of metal the sensor is in could, at the very least, be streamlined. It's a big ugly chunk in the middle of the airflow. I know I felt a difference just putting on a BBK 56 mm throttle body. Didn't expect to, but throttle response is better everywhere. That TB along with the YUGE three inch intake tube from the MAF to the TB really let it sing at high rpm now. May look at that MAF again this weekend. See if I feel like doing some internal shaving.

Well on my 97 it made a very real difference i could feel on the first drive. Low end throttle response is better & it pulls much harder thru the gears. If you have a dremel type tool already, it is free besides the sanding rolls & mandrel to do the grinding. Cutting the big part out was the only challenge. Make sure you remove the electronics before you start & clean it thoroughly after, because if you get a piece of metal on the heated mass air wires, they are toast.

 

[Ranger101]

I recently stumbled across a youtube channel called "the vulcan". I was looking into the intake/throttle body swap from a later model, because my 97 has the one piece intake/t-body. I watched a few of his videos looking for cheap/free stuff that i hadn't done yet, and came across the mass air meter mod. I was skeptical about it doing much after reading all the negative comments, but i figured what the hell. So i took it off, and cut everything out except fot the sample tube where the sensor is & smoothed everything i could. I used a oscillating drywall/wood cutting tool (dewalt) with a carbide blade to cut the big part out & a dremel with a sandpaper roll to finish it up. I took the electronics out to avoid getting anything in it. I didn't open the main part of the meter, just removed the part in the middle. It took about 2 hours to get it all done & reinstalled. The difference was immediately noticeable, throttle response was improved & idle is smoother. The big difference was the very noticeable power increase. Power feels increased everywhere, especially from about 3k on.

Did you take any pictures of your process? I would try it but don’t want to screw anything important up.

 

[O No 3.0!]

Here is the maf meter. Im going to clean it up a bit more this weekend now that i have some longer polishing bits.

 

[mc17eln]

@O No 3.0! Real smooth porting you got there. I have a '02 that switched to removable MAF sensor and plastic intake manifold like 'the vulcan' video showed. Your mod got me thinking that next time I go to the yard, I will get myself a spare removable MAF to experiment with cutting short the plastic MAF sensor in the same fashion as your mod.

Is there a feature in FORScan that shows the power output like on a dyno? I like to let the numbers do the talking.