2.3L ('02-'11) 2001-2003 2.3L Intake Manifolds, Swap for 2004+?

[pjtoledo]

a 2004 manifold will bolt on to a 2003. a few changes to the vacuum hoses at the rear will be needed.

I was able to do these changes with factory parts, installing 2005 parts on a 2002 engine. the reverse procedure should work.
can't find my pics.

 

[King Of Mercia]

Should I take it out if it's working correctly now? I suppose so... the engine has 150K on it so I guess it's just a matter of time. I think you mentioned having over 200K on yours? I wonder if I'll have the same under 1300 rpm issue if the MIRC is programmed out of the ECU, since you left the MIRC on and connected...

Is there any advantage to using a 2004+ intake over removing the flappers and sealing the holes in the 2003? I'll be retrieving a 2004+ thermostat housing to ditch the heated electronic thermostat anyway. I know it might be less work, not really worried about that.

The advantage is it's cleaner. You don't have to epoxy up a bunch of holes or anything weird like that. And if you don't like the results of the switch, you can go back to the old intake if you just swap one. I didn't want to rip my old one apart just in case.

I should replace my tstat too.

And no, I only had 135k miles on it when mine failed.

 

[Frank S]

I've only run this engine for 3-5 minutes since it was in a wrecked vehicle, just enough to verify it ran good. Didn't hear any unusual noises, so the flappers must be working. Revved it up a bit, but may not have run enough to see. IIRC it has about 150K on it. Some have reported the flappers stopping at well over that, so they may be fine. I'll just grab an intake when grabbing a t-stat housing... when the weather gets warmer! I'm going to do what I can while the engine is out. Won't be running a cat, so it will have a bit better exhaust -- 2" pipe and a turbo muffler. Was planning on using the stock air filter and housing, but might look into something better. The Rousch system looks to be little more than a stock air filter box cover with a cut-out and a cone type filter inside. I may just fab something like that... I'm not spending over $300 on one!

 

[Frank S]

Well, I don't have to change the intake or thermostat! I got the wiring manual a couple weeks ago. Couldn't find the under hood to under dash connector in it. Thought maybe I had a very early 2003 with a 2002 connector and it changed, or a very late 2003 with a (changed) 2004 connector. So I did what I should have done before ordering the wiring manual -- I checked the VIN. Turns out it's a 2006!! A lot of the wiring is the same or close enough, but I'll probably put the 2003 wiring manual up for sale on FB Marketplace or e-bay. Unless someone here needs it -- I'll take a $10 loss, $35 and I'll pay shipping.

I also contacted Mars. After getting a pinout of the under dash connector I'm sure I could have sorted the wiring harness. It would have taken some work, and I think I'd ditch the factory fuse and relay center since I'd be deleting half of it. So re-wiring up the relays. I still had to send the ECM in for re-programming -- more so since it's a 2006. That was going to be $400 no matter what. Mars stand-alones 2.3L Eco-Boost harnesses for $650, so $250 for them to fix the harness and they include a compact relay/fuse center. I called to make sure they would do a non-boosted engine, and they now have my harness (sent about 10 days ago). Said it was possible it might cost a little more, but I doubt it. Has to be easier without the turbo, but then it is different and that might take some more time. Hoping it won't be more than $100 more, but I'm committed now!

 

[Frank S]

Damn! I was just looking through the thread on my car (Duratec in Rambler) to show someone the pics of the wrecked Ranger. I bought it in September of 2023. I'm the idiot who didn't know the year -- I clearly state in my post about buying it that it's a 2006!!! That's what I get for taking ~2.5 years to really get started on the engine and wiring part!! If you look at my project page in the link above the Ranger is on page 5, start of engine/wiring pull is on the bottom of page 16.