Road & Track did an interesting article on the Ranger 2.3L engine including photos of the engine that was on display at the NAIAS. Looks like the block actually has more in common with the Focus RS than the Mustang EB. It uses the same coolant transfer passage between adjacent cylinders as the Focus block which is different than the Mustang block. It is also an "open deck" design, same as both the Focus and Mustang.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-shows/detroit-auto-show/a15840269/ford-focus-rs-ranger-engine/
well, that is not a production vehicle.
that sure as fawk is not a production engine for a ranger.
it will have a different setup in final production. nothing you see under the hood or under the truck for that matter will be 100 percent part of production. some of it will be real close...not 100 percent...
when I was busting their balls over what was cruising in camo here on the strrets of Detroit and s/w Michigan that I had a chance to look at, and then right there what we were looking at... they made it abundantly clear it was just a platform whore...don't judge hard or detail pics....would not even let us sit in the back seat..
99% sure4 it is same 2.3 eco as in the new Explorer.
Explorer Sport gets the 3.5 TT, BTW.
just like the original 3.5 ecoboost debut in the lincoln, when it was being fitted for a hot rod project to showcase it at the naias all those years ago(I was there for that too btw)....p/d sent a block to have a bell housing made. it had to be a front wheel drive block at that time as there was no such thing as a rear wheel drive block. the bell housings they sell to this day for swaps using rwd transmissions are based off of that.
it has been said from day one that the rear face of blocks on a 3.5 ecoboost are different from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive....and that is in fact true....there are differences...just not in the bolt pattern.
in this case...the explorer engine is tuned for truck duty (awd and towing) and the trans programming and entire build are geared to the off road tuning of this 4wd system the ranger will offer. this is the engine I would platform with.
its the easy button. pretty simple.
Interesting, thought belt driven fans went the way of the dinosaur, oh how I long for that clutch fan noisy roar lol.
like to hear from engineer why they are using that 'technology'.
most vehicles have electric cooling for the obvious reasons.. but rear drive truck hd applications also have a mechanical fan, that is these days electronically controlled for low speed load cooling. the super diesels will pull 30-40 hp. would not surprise me to see a mechanical fan in the jeep or ranger heavier tow options.
theres an area under max load at 30-45 mph where an aggressive mechanical fan is the secure option.
Have also heard that Ford is installing a special line at their Cleveland engine plant just for the Ranger 2.3L. If that is true along with all the changes pointed out in the R&T article it sounds like the Ranger engine will be unique to that vehicle.
with this market addition, the diesel and the 2.3 longitudes are going to grow on an exponent. they will need capacity expansion. this will take time.
PLEASE REMEMBER this is a platform whore we are judging here.
slow the roll. the real thing will be much better.