1998 3.0 to bigger on a budget

[98greenmachine]

So I have a 98 Mazda b3000 with the 3.0, 5 speed, I'm starting to have some engine problems, mainly compression, I know I have the option of rebuilding the 3.0 but I want a little more power out of the truck, I am interested in putting in a 4.0, my main concern is price, I can go to a u-pull and get a 3.0 for a couple hundred if I wanted to go that route. Anybody have any idea how much a 4.0 would run or even if I could put in something bigger for under $800? And what kind of work a swap would be?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

You will also need the transmission and computer at a minimum. The 3.0 doesn't share trans bolt patterns with any other engine family that I'm aware of.

 

[stmitch]

You'll need the engine, transmission, engine wiring harness, and PCM (basically everything that touches the engine). Since the 3.0 doesn't share anything with other engines used in a Ranger, you'd need those things minimum for any engine swap.

If $800 is your budget, I'd buy the cheapest replacement 3.0 you can find, do a full rebuild, and be good to go for another 200K miles. IF you need more performance, and you have some patience, you could port/polish the intake manifolds for a bit of an improvement in flow, and it doesn't cost much more than time (assuming you have access to an air compressor/ die grinder or dremel tool). The heads can take a port job too, but they're a bit more advanced, and porting too much stuff at once can require an expensive tune, and possibly larger injectors.