Cylinder Head Compatibility

[Bob Hatcher]

I am helping my grandson remove the heads off of his 2000 Ranger with a 3.0 V6 in order to change the head gaskets - we will be sending the heads off to the machine shop to be checked first and have a valve job done on them - just in case they are cracked, we have another 3.0 that was removed from a 1995 Ranger that never overheated - can we use these heads on the 2000 if we need to? Thank you very much

 

[franklin2]

I plugged in a 1995 ranger with a 3.0 and looked for a cylinder head on www.car-part.com. Compatible cylinder heads came up all the way to 1999. No 2000 cylinder heads came up. Some something is different about them. It may be a minor thing, I am not sure. But car-part interchange is for a direct bolt on with no modifications.

 

[stmitch]

There are technically 2 cylinder head designs for Vulcans around 98-01. One being Flex Fuel (with kidney shaped combustion chambers) and the gasoline heads with more oval combustion chambers.

Ford eventually realized the different chamber design wasn't needed and did away with the Flex Fuel heads around 2001 or 2002. After that, Vulcans got the same (regular gas) heads regardless of fuel type.

So, long story short, you can use any Vulcan head. Just make sure they're a matching pair.

Also, the head bolt length changed in 98 I think. This was done by drilling further into the block. No change to the heads for this, but you may see different part numbers for the bolts.

 

[JeremyS]

I have purchased numerous cylinder heads from this place, including for my 2002 3.0 Ranger, and the quality has been top notch. You can always reach out to them with questions.

The Cylinder Head Shop

We offer quality rebuilt cylinder heads. We have over 30 years of experience remanufacturing cylinder heads.

thecylinderheadshop.com

 

[Bob Hatcher]

There are technically 2 cylinder head designs for Vulcans around 98-01. One being Flex Fuel (with kidney shaped combustion chambers) and the gasoline heads with more oval combustion chambers.

Ford eventually realized the different chamber design wasn't needed and did away with the Flex Fuel heads around 2001 or 2002. After that, Vulcans got the same (regular gas) heads regardless of fuel type.

So, long story short, you can use any Vulcan head. Just make sure they're a matching pair.

Also, the head bolt length changed in 98 I think. This was done by drilling further into the block. No change to the heads for this, but you may see different part numbers for the bolts.

Well the engine I took out of a 95 was not a flex fuel version and neither is my grandson's 2000 which is what the 95 heads might be needed - it sounds like the older heads might work then - also, it appears that, I should be able to just order a set of head bolts for the 2000 since you say that the block is tapped deeper

 

[franklin2]

Car-part is pretty good on interchange. I am suspicious that something is different with the 2000-up heads. May be something small that can be overcome easily, but if they would bolt on with no problems, they would have included them in the list.

 

[franklin2]

P.S. Look at this link. They sell cylinder heads. They have a listing for cylinder heads, 2000-up. Something is going on there.

FORD RANGER 3.0 LITER V6 REBUILT CYLINDER HEAD 2000 UP

Rebuilt Ford Ranger 3.0liter cast iron cylinder head. Pressure checked for cracks and resurfaced. Guides and seats have been replaced as needed. New VITON valve stem seals have been installed. Heads are given a valve job. All valves have been vacuum checked to ensure proper sealing. CHI 800-942-4503

www.headsonly.com