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Updating the 3.0L Tech Page - Suggestions Needed




nzanikos

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Motor interchange

One resource I would like to see involves same motor- different years swap outs. Example- would a 2002 3.0 swap into a 1999 3.0 flex fuel? If so, would it be a straight swap, or require additional work and parts. Junkyards have a resource like this, but it does not address what might work with some additional work-for example, a Taurus into Ranger with some head swap work.

Thanks
 

racsan

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i havent done a search here or read this entire thread to see if its been mentioned already,so forgive me if this is repeated information but ive come across something with my wife's 3.0 taurus that may be a issue for r.b.v. vehicles running the 3.0, about a month ago i noticed a intermittant coolant leak, thought it was the head gasket at first, upon watching it carefully for awhile, it appeared to possibly be coming from between the timing cover and the block. upon reading at a taurus-specific forum, i found that it is indeed a posibility, and has happened to othrs. last weekend i tore into it and found that i did indeed have a gasket failre between the timing case cover and the block where the coolant passage is. (right bank, specifically) wasnt a hard repair to do, just took time and a 16 dollar gasket set. and at least on this engine in this application, i was able to remove/reinstall the timing case cover without pulling the oil pan. i did pull the starter and loosen all the oil pan bolts, the 2 closest to the damper obviously need to be removed but the pan can remain in place. car has been back in service a week now and has no coolant leakage. on the taurus chassis, the exhaust crosses over under the pan and along the damper side of the engine, so when it would leak, it caused steam, at first i thought i had a electrical fire. this particular engine is a '93. dont know if they have changed the 3.0 that much or if at all, but i thought this was worth mentioning to those who may have a hard to track down coolant leak on their 3.0 , it sure beats pulling the heads, and then finding out you havent fixed the problem!
 

Camo Ranger

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How about something about the issue of the serpentine belt squealing due to misalignment caused by idler/tensioner pulleys being too large or incorrect belt length. I've heard both but nothing conclusive yet and would like to know the true cause of the problem and a possible solution.
 

alamogeorge

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Parts houses can't test later model coil packs (at least my Autozones and O'reilley).

I found this article that is super basic and helped me out a lot. Maybe we could sticky it or add it to the Library? More than just the resistance check...

Note: With a little common sense (and accidental zaps) you can figure out that you don't need a gadget to tell you if you have spark but if it makes you feel better the gadget they use isn't expensive.

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/ford_...ck_tests_1.php
 
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Idea for your forum

The smog issues and what the spec's of vacum readings for the EGR and other smog components are. my 1997 ford ranger 3.0 has always read above average on the HC PPM. On this test it failed at 63. its above the maximum limit. when I unplug the EGR hose it smooths out perfectly, when I put it back onto the EGR it cuts out during the 15 MPH dino test. do you know any quick fix on that?. Thanks:icon_confused::icon_bounceblue::icon_twisted::icon_hornsup:
 

paulnola

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Suggestions for Tech Library

I belong to Subaruforester.org (our other car is a 2003 Forester) and they have a useful forum page stickied that has all of the part numbers used for common activities, broken down by activities such as tune up, oil change, etc. Part numbers for various filters, belts, PCV valve, spark plugs, etc. are included, both OEM and aftermarket. For the 3.0 I would include the Cam Synchro and sensor.

They also have a page in the library for all of the TSB's applicable to vehicles covered in the forum.
 

paulnola

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"Service Life Extension" suggestions thread for the 3.0 (as well as the other engines)

I was going to make up my own list of things to do to my engine to ensure that I have a reliable and dependable truck for the next few years since buying a new truck is not in my future anytime soon (assuming a rebuild is not needed). In the military, aircraft (and other machines) would be overhauled & updated under a SLEP (Service Life Extension Program), allowing to a longer useful lifespan.

My Ranger is turning 125K miles, so I want to:
Replace the chirping camshaft synchroniser & sensor
Replace the serpentine belt
Inspect & replace any rubber hoses under the hood if needed
Inspect & replace cooling system components (water pump, thermostat, coolant, hoses) if needed
Replace plugs & wires
Replace filters (including fuel and auto trans)
Replace trans fluid (power steering too) if needed

This would be like a milestone maintenance list for high mileage engines, if you will.
 

basketranger

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Head Bolt torque specs: per Federal Mogul website atleast late model 3.0 head bolts torque sequence (part nr: ES72174) 36 - 39 lb/ft, back off one full turn, 20 - 24 lb/ft, 85 -95 degrees, 85 - 95 degrees. yes last step is repeated twice. this info was not on tech page.....googled federal mogul parts catalogue
 
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Lack Thereof

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heavy-use valve seat wear

I have an issue we have discovered while using a (bone stock) 2000 3.0L Ranger as a long-distance tow vehicle.

Under sustained, heavy use, it's relatively common for the stock valve seats to get pounded down. They are apparently quite soft. Since this engine has no provision to adjust the valve lash, this will eventually result in a held-open valve, which will quickly become a burned valve (typically an exhaust valve).

The first symptom is a occasional single cylinder misfire at idle. This becomes a steady misfire at idle and an occasional misfire at cruise (which will trigger a check-engine light on OBD-II vehicles), and finally a permanent misfire, with loss of compression in the affected cylinder.

We've seen it play out twice. Our truck was purchased used, and put into service towing cars on a flatbed trailer. This was mostly highway cruising over rolling hills with the cruise-control set at 60MPH, punctuated by periodic sustained WOT hillclimbs lasting several minutes in the mountain passes. The factory engine lost compression in one cylinder after about 15,000 miles of this use. At that point the engine had over 100,000 miles on it, so the failure was chalked up to simple old age, and it was exchanged for a name-brand remanufactured long-block. We did zero investigation of the cause before giving up the engine for a core.

The remanufactured engine suffered the same fate after about 20,000 miles. At this point we were curious, so rather than filing a warranty claim on the reman engine, we pulled the intake and head ourselves, sure that we would find some sort of vacuum leak from a bad gasket or cracked manifold, leaning out cylinder #1. We were wrong. We took the head into a machinist to have it rebuilt, and he told us that the Vulcan engine's stock valve seats are prone to sinkage under heavy use, and recommended the we have harder ones installed. We took his advice.
 

2002rangerv6xlt

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"Service Life Extension" suggestions thread for the 3.0 (as well as the other engines)

I was going to make up my own list of things to do to my engine to ensure that I have a reliable and dependable truck for the next few years since buying a new truck is not in my future anytime soon (assuming a rebuild is not needed). In the military, aircraft (and other machines) would be overhauled & updated under a SLEP (Service Life Extension Program), allowing to a longer useful lifespan.

My Ranger is turning 125K miles, so I want to:
Replace the chirping camshaft synchroniser & sensor
Replace the serpentine belt
Inspect & replace any rubber hoses under the hood if needed
Inspect & replace cooling system components (water pump, thermostat, coolant, hoses) if needed
Replace plugs & wires
Replace filters (including fuel and auto trans)
Replace trans fluid (power steering too) if needed

This would be like a milestone maintenance list for high mileage engines, if you will.
I'm also a New Orleans expat:headbang:

My truck is approaching 171,000 mi. I've replaced all of the fluids several times (except for the brake fluid, I'm guilty on that one) and have been running synthetics everywhere. Next weekend, I'll be doing my own little SLEP by doing the timing chain and will be replacing all of my coolant hoses, water pump, maybe harmonic balancer, potentially some other things too. I recently replaced all of my control arms, shocks and sway bar links, too. You may want to check the PCV curved rubber hose near the firewall. It cracked on me, and you need to get the replacement assembly from Ford. I have also replaced the MAF and two upstream O2 sensors. I should probably make a better list and create a separate post for this....

The only things that have really crapped out on me were the alternator (no biggie) and the manual transmission (biggie). I started having syncro noise around 60,000 mi or so and it finally sh*t the bed at about 130,000 mi. I changed the fluid frequently, too.

There is another post of mine that talks about some trouble I had during the lower control arm swap and my work around but I'm not sure if that would belong in the 3.0 forum or not.
 
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rquaale

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dont know if any one else had has this issue but vacuum hose routing would be nice either as a diagram or with pics of how they actually run would be nice
 

chiloh30

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I dont know if this counts, but I read a lot of this and that about "how do i check my injectors."

And I want to add my two bits, because I see a little of this and a little of that.

To Check Injectors:
1. Get a mechanics stethescope
2. Get a ohms meter
3. get a noid light

A: remove intake manifold
B: use stethascope and listen to injectors while partner is cranking ignition,,(all wires should be disconected because you took off man), so engine will not start just crank.
C: You should be able to here injectors clicking open and shut.
D: Attach noid light to injector plug and have partner crank engine, noid light should flash quickly
E: Use ohm meter to check ohms on injectors by touching contacts on injector should read between 11 and 18 ohms above 18 it is shut and not working.

If you do all this and something still does not work, then your problem is else where, bad plugs, bad wires,,,,,,,,,,
 

flatlandriver

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First post here. Not sure if this is the best place for these comments, but here goes anyway. These are mostly issues with the tech article, "Rebuilding the 3.0".
I am currently 90% of the way through swapping an '03 Taurus donor into a '99 Ranger. I believe the article's comment that head gaskets must be changed when swapping a FWD into a RWD are incorrect.
Here's just a couple of observations from my engine swap.
1) the FWD and RWD waterpumps are identical with the exception of a longer nose for the RWD so that the pulleys all line up for the serpentine belt. The pump will cause coolant to want to flow through the block in the same way with both engines.
2) however, the thermostat on the FWD lower intake manifold is located at the "rear" of the engine, whereas the RWD lower intake has the thermostat at the front.
3) if you have a look at the head gasket pictures from the "Rebuilding" article you will see that the FWD gaskets have coolant slots at both ends. The RWD gaskets have holes at only the front. My conclusion is the reverse of what the article states. I think it would be disastrous to swap a RWD engine into a FWD without changing head gaskets, but a FWD into a RWD application will work. There's already a hole in the head gaskets at the front of the FWD engine that will accommodate the RWD thermostat location and coolant flow.
 

Victorymike18

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Not sure if it was mentioned, but it would be great to have more info and diagrams of the motor and all the components attached to it. IE: some shots of the motor with arrows to the different parts.

I am new to the Vulcan, and Ford motors in general so I just don't recognize a lot of these ancillary electronic and vacuum components.
 

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