1996 ford ranger project

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Bought this truck this winter and I’m finally able to start working on it.
It’s a 1996 ranger with approximately 150k miles on it and almost perfect with the exception of a minor crinkle on the passenger side fender.
Has dual exhaust and a 4.0 that’s been SUPER OVERHEATED!
Gotta find a 4.0 to replace it with, then I’ll be swapping It out along with the auto to manual swap!

 

[Josh B]

What all does "super overheated" do to one ?

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Not entirely sure how to answer that, … the coolant/water runs out just as fast as I can pour it in, hemorrhages white smoke, has a home made freeze plug repair, etc…. All thing’s associated with a blown head gasket. Maybe I should have put that in the description?

 

[Josh B]

was water in the oil? are you sure it's been destroyed ?

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Water in the oil and it’s knocking pretty good.

 

[Josh B]

Good luck with it man

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Wouldn’t happen to know anyone in the Spokane Washington area with a good 4.0 OHV would ya?

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Got this thing in the shop as sort of an “emergency” repair since my truck is going to be down for some significant work. Got the engine undressed, and all the under the hood work done. Next is all the “under the truck” stuff. Tried one of the bell housing bolts on the top of the engine and boy is it tight!
Nothing custom minus wheels and tires for this one. Maybe later down the road I’ll do a lift, bumpers etc… but for now I wouldn’t mind having a nice stock truck to run errands in.

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Got the engine out of this thing and let me tell you…. The guy that worked of it last really loved his impact! Everything was super tight and I broke a few tools in the process.
Also think I figured out the reason for the major coolant loss… the “freeze plug” wasn’t home made like I thought, but wasn’t done very well, and the thermostat housing was installed wrong/improperly. No coolant was gonna stay in this thing no matter what lol
All that aside, I found out that it has a new transmission as of mid 2019 (HUGE PLUS)
Previous owner knew nothing about this thing.
One other thing…. I know the cam synchros are different as far as being 2 and 3 (2 wire for the 2000 engine I will be using and 3 wire for the older 96 engine) wire and so is the “flag” on the inside of the sensor… my question is, can someone walk me thru timing this thing? I have done it before but it’s been a long time.
TDC on cylinder 1 on a compression stroke and drop the synchro in the same way it came out ? Or am I missing something? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[19Walt93]

That's not a homemade freeze plug repair, they used to sell those things so people could avoid a big teardown to replace a plug that had restricted access. It's 2 washers connected by a bolt with a rubber plug between them, tightening the bolt makes the rubber plug expand. I liked the expandable metal ones a lot better. If you're up to it, I'd tear down the engine and see what it actually needs before buying a 20+ year old used engine with an unknown history. Do you have a good machine shop nearby?

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

That's not a homemade freeze plug repair, they used to sell those things so people could avoid a big teardown to replace a plug that had restricted access. It's 2 washers connected by a bolt with a rubber plug between them, tightening the bolt makes the rubber plug expand. I liked the expandable metal ones a lot better. If you're up to it, I'd tear down the engine and see what it actually needs before buying a 20+ year old used engine with an unknown history. Do you have a good machine shop nearby?

Yes, I realized that it was not a home made plug lol I already have a motor for the truck since the one in it is knocking and squeaking like metal on metal. The machine shops up here are decent if you find the right one that wants to do the work. Rebuilding one of these older 4.0 engines gets real expensive though. It’s much easier just to buy a wrecked truck and use the engine from it. I normally don’t buy a wrecked truck/donor till I hear the engine run and get it up to temp. In this case I found a 2000 explorer at a yard sale accidentally for $100 with a title because the transmission lost reverse. I heard it run so I picked it up. Yes, it has the 4.0 OHV lol

 

[19Walt93]

Yes, I realized that it was not a home made plug lol I already have a motor for the truck since the one in it is knocking and squeaking like metal on metal. The machine shops up here are decent if you find the right one that wants to do the work. Rebuilding one of these older 4.0 engines gets real expensive though. It’s much easier just to buy a wrecked truck and use the engine from it. I normally don’t buy a wrecked truck/donor till I hear the engine run and get it up to temp. In this case I found a 2000 explorer at a yard sale accidentally for $100 with a title because the transmission lost reverse. I heard it run so I picked it up. Yes, it has the 4.0 OHV lol

Lucky deal on the last year of the OHV, hopefully it's had some maintenance and serves you well. I'd suggest replacing the rear main seal before you install it, old seals dry out and stiffen up and you'll never be closer to it.

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Oh yeah man, I’ll be re sealing the whole thing. Rear main, front main/timing cover, head gaskets, etc…. Just makes sense.
I have just thrown engines in without sealing them first when I was younger, and I regretted it. I actually just pulled the exhaust manifolds off of the “new” engine and that was interesting. As you know the later generation OHV has manifold studs. Had to break out the torch and got them all out minus one. The very last one broke off less than flush and now I am in for a treat.

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Finally back in town after vacation! Pulled the heads off and well….. I need another engine …. Cylinder walls are damaged and the heads are cracked! So this project has hit a wall unfortunately

 

[North Idaho 5.oh]

Casually looking thru Facebook marketplace and I found a 1996 explorer with 115k and runs like a top but the transmission is bad… going to look at it on Tuesday …. Hope it’s everything this guy says it is …. Will keep y’all posted