Do I have the correct replacement engine for my 99 Ranger with the Flex Fuel system?

[dmccrea]

I just bought a 99 Ranger that has the 3.0L Flex Fuel system. This is going to be the primary vehicle for my college age daughter.

Current engine was run out of engine oil by prior owner so I have to replace it.

I have acquired a replacement engine via EBay from a salvage yard. Vender attests it is a Flex Fuel engine from a 99 Ranger. It arrived yesterday.

But before I install it, I want to verify that the engine heads, block, fuel system, etc. are a Flex Fuel system. So I'm looking for the motor code for this engine and where to find it on the car/engine.

The Haynes manual I have says the motor code should be on the valve cover and stamped on the block.

Yesterday, I called both a Ford dealership and the Ford corporate customer service and was given two distinct engine codes to look for on the block. The dealership said I should have the code "9G579AA" on the door column label. He also thought it should be found on the driver side strut column as well as on the engine (he wasn't sure where). The corporate Ford customer service gave me this code: "OHV EFI NA V6 G*12V" and that this code should be found somewhere on the engine.

I have looked the engine over and I am not finding either of these codes.

Can anyone here offer me any reliable instructions?

Thanks ahead of time.

 

[RonD]

It actually doesn't matter, but read here for some more numbers to check: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0-build.shtml

There were a few changes to the 3.0l half way thru 1999, so July '99 and earlier were slightly different than Aug '99 and later, maybe that's why you are getting different answers

The 3.0l from 1986 to 2009 can be a flex fuel engine or gas only, drivers choice
The main difference to run E85 was in the size of the injectors, ethanol has a lower air/fuel ratio so needs larger injectors.
Gasoline is 14:1
Ethanol is 9:1

VIN 8th digit will be V for 3.0l Flex Fuel, U for 3.0l Gas Only

The blocks are exactly the same, the flex fuel head chambers were shaped differently but those that have swapped gas only heads to replace flex fuel heads have reported no change in performance or MPG running gas or E85.

I would just check the injectors on the replacement engine, if they are the same as current engine then it came from flex fuel vehicle.
If they are not the same then swap current injectors to replacement engine.


Don't forget to replace the rear main seal on the replacement engine, also give all the core plugs(freeze plugs) a good look.

 

[stmitch]

It's going to be tough to confirm anything with the engine out of the original truck because there's no visual difference between a flex fuel and non flex fuel 3.0. The only important difference between the 2 types of 3.0, are the fuel injectors. If you can't determine if the replacement engine is or is not flex fuel, just use the injectors from the blown engine into your replacement engine and everything will be fine.

 

[dmccrea]

Thanks for your reply!

RonD and stmitch,

Many thanks for your return responses.

Great idea...to compare the fuel injectors of the engine I received to those of the failed engine. I'll do that tomorrow and report back.

Again, many thanks for your combined input!

dmccrea