Cylinder head change compatability question

[windwaiver]

I have an 85 Ranger 4x4 2.3 FI OHC. The head thats on it come with Oval intake ports. I found a rebuilt engine, they say it was for a FI 85 but a 2x4. The intake ports are round. What can I do with it. The short block is the same. But Can i utilize the head with it. Or will I loose something with the different ports? Or will it even bolt up? Hate to just pull a rebuilt head and set aside, but thats where I'm at.
If I have to are the cam and lifters and bearings the same?

 

[Ranger44]

I would say, as long as you use a lower intake manifold with the same round intake pattern, it wouldn't matter. You're looking into swaping the whole engine into your truck right? If you just want to put the head onto your old block, it'll also work. Truthfully, if you need a lower intake manifold with round ports, I've got one from a 90'. Let me double check somethings.

 

[Ranger44]

If you switch the whole new engine over, you'd be fine. Does the new engine come with the intake manifold, etc?

 

[windwaiver]

No intake manifold on new engine, will it bolt up to the current fuel rail and the rest of the FI work?? Or What do I need to adaption. Are the totally different. Pick and pull closed on SUNDAY. Freaking nevada and there Smog is always an issue. I see that the Cams are the same, I'll just need a cam bearing and seal set.
Do you have to replace the head bolts, are these the stretchers?
I found the engine on Craigslist, rebuilt, still wrapped, 375 bucks. Just happened to show up when I was tearing this truck down for rebuild.
At most I would have to go to kragen to get the right head and the cost is only 280 bucks. But I if I can use this head then I would consider this a >>>>> SCORE!
Thanks for helping guys.

 

[Ranger44]

Ok lets start off on a clean slate:
1). You're rebuilding your trucks original engine?
2). Is your trucks orig. head bad?
3). I would be safe and replace the head bolts anyway.
4). If you don't know if the oringinal head is is bad, than I would have it magnafluxed. This will check for cracks, etc. I would be safe and replace, the cam bearings, valve stem seals, and cam shaft seal.
5). Is you cam a roller, or non roller? Look at the rockers....do they have rollers on them, or are they solid? You cannot use a non-roller cam with roller rockers, or a roller cam with non roller rockers. I think they started using rollers in 89'.
6). Whether the head has O or D shaped ports, you must have a matching intake manifold to go with it.
7). If you get a completely different engine, and it has different intake ports than your current head, you'll need the matching intake mainfold for that head.
8). The lifters (known as lash adjusters) are considered a non-wear item, but they are marginal at best(when reving the piss out of it), and if the engine has led a hard life(lots of reving and abuse), I'd replace them.
9)All heads 1983-1997 will fit onto the block. But I would use a 95-97 head because they change the head around quite a bit. What I'd do is find a roller rocker head engine, from a 89' to 94' and use it(you'll gain some horses). Non roller heads have a tendancy to eat up cam lobes. The rollers last a lot longer.
10). Some one else will have to chime and in and let you know if you can make your 1985 wiring work on a newer 2.3. That I'm not sure off. I know it's simular...but...just to be safe.
The easiest thing to do would be rebuilding your orig. engine. That way you'll know everything will work. But with you intake ports not being round, make sme think you already have a newer head on you 2.3, or that it's a newer engine sitting in there. Go ahead and give all the info you know, we'll go from there.

 

[windwaiver]

First off, old engine Burning tons of oil, smoking like nothing else. Using coolant too. Bought truck used and the engine had been into before, so rings and seals would be useless.
2. The truck isn't worth 1000 bucks running fine. So a total rebuild would be worthless since its my 19 year olds truck. Less care more fare!
3. I bought a crate 2.3L ranger motor, but the head is different, the technical section tell you that they come with both style heads in that year, as well as buying a rebuilt head they need specs on intake ports and smog holes.
3. Having the head rebuilt is about 300 bucks, without a new cam. But the crate motor came with one, and the tech section says the cams are interchangeable in those years.
Not trying to make a lifelong truck, dern thing is already on the 3rd transmission, just never been able to send a car to the junkyard.
My question is

Will I be able to get the different intake and have it merry up with the rest of the fuel delivery? Everything else on the truck seems to be the same.
Anyone have a pic of the round port intake assembly?

 

[Dave R]

Round intake port 2.3 heads were used in '83 and '84 on carbed motors. On '85 and later round port heads were strictly the domain of 2.0 motors.

If I recall correctly, you can swap the EFI 2.3 intake onto the round port head but there is definitely a horrible port mismatch. In the long run, your better off swapping that one for the correct head. Camshafts are all interchangeable for those years.

 

[windwaiver]

Thanks, your right, it will bolt right up, the EFI isn't in the way, I'll repost and let you know if it run ok!

 

[Ranger44]

Ok. I see now. I wouldn't use the old head. If it was using coolant, I'd say its cracked. If you don't care about the thing at all, then I'd do what DaveR suggested and just bolt the existing manifold, to the new head. But if you do care, I'd just find a good junkyard head and swap everything from the crate head to the Junkyard head. All the lifters, rockers, and cam should swap over. That way you have the correct intake ports for your existing inatke manifold.

 

[ifergusson]

A number of years back I swapped a 2.3 in place of my Rangers original 2.0.I wanted to use the 2.0 intake but the ports were different and wouldn't seal on the heads.I just went down to a metal supply place and got a piece of aluminum and cut it out in the same shape as the oval port intake gasket using a jig saw and then overlaid the 2.0 intake gasket and cut holes to match the ports using a hole saw.I sandwiched it in between the intake and head with the appropriate gaskets on either side and drove that way for a couple of years without problem.I was going from a smaller port to a larger, it should work for you as well but you will be going from a larger to a smaller port so there would be more turbulence.

 

[windwaiver]

Well it starts and runs, but the dern block i bought has another hole behind the darn left engine mount, might be another dipstick style hole, thats what it looks like. I'll know more tomorrow when I pull it apart to see, talk about surprises.