4.0 vs SOHC 4.0?

[bruker]

Is there much "seat-of-the-pants" difference between the two 4.0's or is it just the numbers? Aslo which do you feel is the most reliable and trouble free engine?

 

[Blueranger99]

go for the overhead valve 4.0. i heard the overhead cam 4.0 has timing chains on the front and back of the motor and the tensioners go bad and you need to pull the motor to fix it. also i testdrove an 09 4.0 ranger and it didnt seem any faster than my 99 4.0- of course it was an auto and mine is a manual. mine is closing in on 200k and has no problems and burns no oil.

 

[Beef52751]

IIRC the Sohc has more top end power but the OHV makes better low end power

 

[CheapThrillB2]

Is there much "seat-of-the-pants" difference between the two 4.0's or is it just the numbers? Aslo which do you feel is the most reliable and trouble free engine?

OHV 4.oL hands down.

 

[THE H.P FREAK]

HI!... Well I vote the opposite. The SOHC destroys the OHV hands down. I've towed with both and raced with both. The SOHC responds very well to small bolt-ons. I've got about $1200 invested in mine and it runs 13's in the 1/4. I've had no durability problems with mine at all. JMO.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

OHV for a 4x4 asit has more low end torque

SOHC for a street driven truck.

 

[Ranger#1]

ha ha this thread makes me proud to own a ohv motor hell yea power to the ohv's

 

[Jay FX4]

Is the difference between the two engines really that noticeable? I can only speak for the SOHC, which is what I have and I like it just fine, but I wouldn't have thought there would be a lot of difference.

 

[fireguy12117]

seat of the pants, i dont have much to go since all i ever had were 4 bangers.

as far as reliability i would have to say that no such thing exists if its something made by man. two identical motors could have two very different history's for reliability so i take the stand point of ease of repair. OHV motor for sure...that design has been around forever, there is a ton of information out there on em, and with a will to learn you can figure out most anything on one of these style blocks.

i see major differences and good debates on the two styles if your going to get into modifying internals for performance.

 

[exbass94]

Below about 1700 rpm, the OHV makes slightly more torque than the SOHC. Anything above that, the SOHC makes more torque and horsepower than the OHV.

The timing chain issue has been completely fixed by 2001. I fully intend on getting over 200k miles out of mine. My SOHC Ranger will also whoop the crap out of my OHV Explorer in a race.

SOHC FTW!

 

[fastpakr]

Yep - the low end torque issue is an old wives tale. You're talking about a couple of percent below 1700rpm, and a huge difference from there up. One notch down in gears and you'd far more than make up for it.

 

[Jay FX4]

Thanks for the graph! That says it all.

 

[gw33gp]

Yes, isn't it amazing how a graph can show the truth. I got tired of hearing how the OHV had so much more torque than the SOHC. When I got the graphs for each from someone (I think it was Will), I decided to overlay them on Photoshop for comparison.

I also tow with the SOHC and I never experienced a lack of torque.

I think the complexity of the timing chains for the cams may be a long term maintenance issue. However, with 100,000 miles on mine now there is no sign of any problems and I plan to keep this truck for 300,000 miles.

 

[CheapThrillB2]

Just to clarify my comment was based solely on maintence cost and longevity. Not on power/torque.

 

[joejoecat]

I just bought a 1999 Ranger 4.0, Automatic,4X4 ,3.73 rear end. What do I have OHV or SOHC. All I can find on the engine is 4.0 EFI ?