83' Ranger Head gasket replacment -need help with parts and a gameplan

[Atomsk]

83' Ranger Head gasket replacment -need help with parts and a gameplan
I made a post about 2 weeks ago asking a few questions about a 1983 ranger project

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157114

I got the truck to my parents house and want to get started on it.

problems are a blown head gasket and a leaky radiator.

specs
2.3L I4 lima
4S Manual
No PS
RWD

I need to know what parts I am going to need and what parts I should replace if I am going to be tearing this engine down.

Head Gasket - is there a package that i should get with the Head, Intake, exhaust, and any other gaskets i should replace while I have the engine broken down?

Head bolts - I do not want to reuse the old ones but I am not sure what bolts i should be getting. Is there a difference from a $50 set and a $100 set if I am not building a racing/performance engine?

Radiator - My uncle said I might be able to have this one repaired. Is that a wise choice? From what i was looking at the price for new ones ranged from $100-250 on ebay. what are your thoughts.

Hoses - Once I start pulling stuff out to get the head off are these hoses going to break? Do they tend to break? If so is it worth it to just buy new ones and what would the cost of that be?

Water pump/Oil pump - I have no idea about these yet. I don't know if these have a big chance of needed to be replaced or how much that would cost.

Am i missing anything?

The next thing I could use would be some good videos of people doing this job right on this engine or ones that are similar.

I am not looking to get this project done in a short period of time. It will be my dad, younger brother and I working on it. I would just like to be able to plan it out a bit in my head and on paper be for I just jump in.


Once I get the head off I plan on taking it to a machine shop.

How do I go about finding a good shop? Are there things i need to ask them to do? will they try and up sell things i wont need?

thank you for your time and if there is anymore information i should post just let me know.

Here are some pictures not sure if they will help with anything or if i need some more at a diff angle let me know.

 

[Mark_88]

Hi and welcome to TRS~!

First thing in my opinion would be to remove the head and take it to a local shop. Good shops may or may not be your options as it is hard to determine who is good and not without local references.

I am making a separate paragraph for this important point: Have them magnaflux the head to check for cracks. It sounds like you may have had an overheat (leaky rad/blown head gasket) and that can damage a head.

So get set also to find another head that will work...older 2.3 parts like heads can be interchanged fairly easily...but try to get the same type of head (D-port or O-port). If you want to read up on the different heads search for and find a posts by Kenneth S and you will find several older posts on the head types.

I wont answer all your questions now, but I will say buying a new rad and all hoses is worth the investment...as long as you rebuild the top end and install the head gasket properly (milling the short block may help also if serious overheating occurred).

Nice pics btw...you are probably one of millions that actually has that emission diagram so you may be a bit of a celebrity on here...so many people looking for that routing diagram over the years...you could probably make a few bucks just selling the image...lol

As an aside recommendation...and only if you do not have to do smog tests or if the carb/intake setup does not run properly...is to scrap the whole carb/intake and dump the smog pump and go with something newer...you will be happier in the long run...and there are many options available that others have tried and tested...another search on that will give you plenty of reading material.

However...be warned...you may actually need to register your vehicle as rebuilt or whatever your area requires to avoid serious financial penalties for tampering with emission controls as installed by the manufacturer (Ford, obviously)...it's not as critical as deleting the cat, but somewhere up there in serious offences if you do not cover the bases...

Otherwise...have fun...great projects and many hours of fun...and many fund$ of our$...

 

[Mikel89us]

If I were you, do as mark said, have the head crack checked. If the head is good, buy a re ring kit. I know it may sound extreme, but if the truck has miles on it, which most of these little guys do, its not a bad idea to put new rings and bearings in it all the way around while its down. This is my personal choice, the kit from northern auto parts is only like $170 and still under $200 for all felpro gaskets. And that kit will come with every gasket you will need to redo the entire motor.

Now, the head bolts, I have stated many times in the past, the head bolts on these motors are not torque to yield, and are safe for re use. If you are dead set on buying a new set, don't screw around with a cheap set, they are probably not as good as the stock ones, buy ARP bolts.

 

[Atomsk]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Mark_88
When I take the head in to get its machined/fluxed what gaskets or parts would I need to supply them with?

I will be buying a new radiator. I plan on making a shopping list of when parts I plan on getting and posting them here to see what people have to say about them or if I should choose a different brand or spec ect.

The truck will need a smog once it is up and running again. The truck was running last April when the gasket blew. They drop it to a shop to get it checked out. The shop said it was a blow head gasket and leaky radiator $1000 quote to fix both. They drove the truck home and it has not been started since. I don't think there should be any problems with the carb/intake it was just recently rebuilt or replaced be for the head blew.


Mikel89us
Thanks for the link to Northern Auto they seem to have most everything I am looking for.

I am not sure what gasket kit you are talking about though. This one looks like it contains the most but I am not sure if that has the pieces that the machine shop would be changing out if they are even going to do that. I am not 100% sure as to what the machine shop will be doing besides a pressure test and milling.
Here is the link to the gasket kit I am talking about
http://www.northernautoparts.com/part/gs-260-1172

As for the head bolts, I saw a few different sets on North auto. When it comes down to it an extra $50-80 to toss on new ones would make me feel better about the whole thing just knowing that if something happens in the future that it was not because I recycled the old ones. If you could take a look at witch ones you think would be the best option that would be awsome.

Thanks again for the help fellas. My Dad, Brother and I can't wait to get this started.

 

[XLTsplash]

I use Fel-pro gaskets and head bolts. You should also buy a new timing belt.

 

[Mark_88]

Thanks for the quick replies.

Mark_88
When I take the head in to get its machined/fluxed what gaskets or parts would I need to supply them with?

I will be buying a new radiator. I plan on making a shopping list of when parts I plan on getting and posting them here to see what people have to say about them or if I should choose a different brand or spec ect.

The truck will need a smog once it is up and running again. The truck was running last April when the gasket blew. They drop it to a shop to get it checked out. The shop said it was a blow head gasket and leaky radiator $1000 quote to fix both. They drove the truck home and it has not been started since. I don't think there should be any problems with the carb/intake it was just recently rebuilt or replaced be for the head blew.

Ah, OK...that answers quite a few questions. The shop will not actually need anything other than the head to test. They strip it down and do the test...if it is cracked then you will need a replacement head and you might want to shop around for one in the mean time. Junk yards or some specialty shops carry the heads...but they can be expensive.

Good to hear that the intake and carb are working...the carb actually looked fairly new, but I've seen them in junkyards in similar shape...I found my 2 bbl in a scrap yard and the carb looked like it just came out of a factory box...that was probably one of the best finds I've ever found.

As long as it isn't a must do project like a daily driver, take your time...btw, the head bolts on my original 2.0 that I had 14 years ago were used several times with 2 or 3 head replacements. The only time I changed them out was when I found newer looking ones in a junkyard. The last set I picked up out of an 87 Mustang and the motor only had 100,000 km on it...the bolts were like new!

So...if you can access junkyards...they are a great place to learn how to do things...like remove the head...but you will have that experience before you actually need to get a head...unless you want to have one rebuilt before hand.