Greetings from 1994

[ForgedCrank]

Hi everyone, I just bought myself a money pit and have started reading around.
Hoping to pick up some insight here over time as I dive into this extra-wise purchase I just blessed myself with... (that's my version of sarcasm).

1994 Ranger 2.3, manual 2WD 87K miles.
This was a dice roll I got from my boss. He was hauling some brush to the dump and overheated it after blowing a heater hose. His comment to me was "I only drove it about 20 miles, I don't know why but I think the motor exploded". I believe the head is trashed, but not sure yet.
Compression is a wreck 1-60, 2-62, 3-85, 4-165 (don't laugh at me). The only good news is I bought it for 400 bucks. Fixed the blown heater hose in the parking lot and limped it home. Other than barely pulling itself on the way home hittin on 3 cylinders (sometimes), it drives really well. After seeing those compression numbers, I'm kind of surprised I even made it home. For an Indiana rig, it's pretty clean with little rust.
I'm completely unfamiliar with this platform, so I'm going to need some assist over time from anyone who's willing to help an idiot out. I'm generally mechanically inclined, but I struggle to troubleshoot anything without a carburetor on it.
Right now I'm trying to decide if I need to do anymore testing before I pull the head to see if I can find the obvious culprit. I may be looking at a complete transplant... if I can find something.
Once it got up to temp and I was home in the driveway, it didn't want to idle and kept hunting and dropping real low RPM (expected with the state of the compression) and had a tick/knock (somewhere in between). Didn't sound like a rod hammering at all, but also sounded a bit louder than a cam follower or something. When standing above the engine, you'd swear it was coming from the valve cover. When standing by the driver door, you'd swear ot was coming from the bottom end. It's making me wonder if I should gamble on a head rebuild or if I should tear the entire thing down... or source something from the boneyard. Anyway, thanks for providing the forum space, I hope to pickup some knowledge here as I go through this thing.

 

[Uncle Gump]

That truck looks pretty clean for a rust belt truck... worthy of investing some time and money in.

I'd probably start with tearing down the top end and access where you're at. If you need to go deeper... pull it.

That truck would also make a nice V8 swap candidate.

Welcome to TRS...

 

[rumblecloud]

Welcome to TRS.

"...pretty clean.." is an understatement. It looks fantastic.

 

[RobbieD]

Welcome.

That's a good looking truck. Even great looking when you consider that it's 30 years old.

The 2.3 with manual is a very good drivetrain. 1994 was the best year model, in my opinion, as being the most refined of the first three generations. It was also the final year for ODB1, and Ford had it well figured out.

Fix it and drive it; you won't regret it.

 

[JoshT]

Did you do a wet compression test after the dry? If not that could clue you in on if the compression problem is rings or just top end.

You'll have to check the details. IIRC if the wet test doesn't differ much from the dry, then your rings are not a problem. If that's the case I'd pull the head, check the valves, and install a new gasket. You could check for exhaust gasses in the cooling system which would definitely be a head gasket, but you'd have to pull the head to fix anything else anyway.

I'd definitely say it is worth fixing. If you want to get some more out of the 4 cylinder, this might be a good time to tear it down and install some go fast goodies.

 

[ForgedCrank]

Did you do a wet compression test after the dry? If not that could clue you in on if the compression problem is rings or just top end.

You'll have to check the details. IIRC if the wet test doesn't differ much from the dry, then your rings are not a problem. If that's the case I'd pull the head, check the valves, and install a new gasket. You could check for exhaust gasses in the cooling system which would definitely be a head gasket, but you'd have to pull the head to fix anything else anyway.

I'd definitely say it is worth fixing. If you want to get some more out of the 4 cylinder, this might be a good time to tear it down and install some go fast goodies.

Yea I was thinking about that last night while I was moping around. I'll squirt some oil in in later on and run through them again just for giggles, but I'm just as concerned with the knock as I am the compression. I recon theres a chance, and I know this sounds out there, but I've been told a water pump can make that type of noise under the right conditions. I've never heard a water pump do that myself, but a couple of trusted guys I talked to swear it happens. I'd hate to re-do the head and put it all back together only to find out the bottom end has a problem.
I think I'm going to put some plugs in it and get it warmed back up and see if I can zero in on it with a stethoscope. Looking back, I wish I had done that first.
One question... if it turns out this head is warped up or full of cracks, is there a decent aftermarket source for these dual-plug heads?

 

[ForgedCrank]

That truck looks pretty clean for a rust belt truck... worthy of investing some time and money in.

I'd probably start with tearing down the top end and access where you're at. If you need to go deeper... pull it.

That truck would also make a nice V8 swap candidate.

Welcome to TRS...

You cant see it in the pictures, but the DS cab corner is starting to bubble a little, and there is some minor body panel damage on the rear of the bed behind the PS tire. I also noted some actual rust in a really odd place... the radiator mount panels of all places. I'm going to have to cut that out and patch it or something. Piddly stuff that wont cost much to get fixed, and I think it's worth it. The frame, body, and suspension mounts and everything else are clean as a whistle. The interior is even really clean.
The V8 idea sounds fun... a 289 swap would be SO sweet (I've always had a thing for the 289 for some reason), but I don't think I want to dump that much time and energy into this thing. I don't have dedicated shop space either so I'm doing all this in the driveway. My other project is a 56 Willys pickup that I've yet to start on because I don't have space yet. It's been up north in one of my dads barns for 3 years already now. I just want to make the Ranger a nice toolin around driver that is solid and reliable. I just stumbled across this deal unexpectedly and it was hard to pass over for the money. I knew it was a high risk gamble from the beginning, I just got my hopes up a little too much I think.

 

[superj]

Welcome!! Great looking truck.

 

[ForgedCrank]

Well, looks like it's boned... top and bottom.

Dry / Cold: (original test)
1-60psi
2-62psi
3-85psi
4-165psi

Wet/Cold
1 - 135psi
2 - 130psi
3 - 140psi
4 - 300psi +!

So it sounds like the rings are stuck or it's scored all to h***... not to mention #4 valve stuck or a cam lobe is wiped.... or similar.
Opinions? Do you think my assessment is accurate... I need a complete rebuild, top and bottom?

 

[Uncle Gump]

So... 300+ on a cylinder? Is it full of water? Full of fuel? Massive carbon build up?

You'll have to start by pulling the head... then access while you go.

 

[ForgedCrank]

So... 300+ on a cylinder? Is it full of water? Full of fuel? Massive carbon build up?

You'll have to start by pulling the head... then access while you go.

no, I dropped a bore scope in there and nothing looks out of place. I have no answer for the extreme pressure other than the valves aren't opening at all.
At this point it doesn't matter... I found this in between the valves on Cyl #1:
The thing is toast

 

[JoshT]

Well, looks like it's boned... top and bottom.

Dry / Cold: (original test)
1-60psi
2-62psi
3-85psi
4-165psi

Wet/Cold
1 - 135psi
2 - 130psi
3 - 140psi
4 - 300psi +!

So it sounds like the rings are stuck or it's scored all to h***... not to mention #4 valve stuck or a cam lobe is wiped.... or similar.
Opinions? Do you think my assessment is accurate... I need a complete rebuild, top and bottom?

Wow! 300 sure seems high. Wonder what is causing that reading.

It does sound like it is time for rings. Given your next post, a full rebuild is in order.

no, I dropped a bore scope in there and nothing looks out of place. I have no answer for the extreme pressure other than the valves aren't opening at all.
At this point it doesn't matter... I found this in between the valves on Cyl #1:
The thing is toast


View attachment 111587

During the compression stroke the valves should be closed anyway, so it doesn;t entirely make sense to me that the valves not opening would cause that hight pressure reading.

Yep definitely time for a replacement head.

You've got some leway on selecting a replacement head. There are 3 heads you could potentially use with success.

1) 83-87 (IIRC) single plug ... Your truck will run and drive on a single plug head, just disconnect the secondary coil. If you do this, retain your factory camshaft and roller followers, by all accounts they give better performance than the earlier slider components.
2) 88-94 dual plug large valve stem ... Exact replacement for your stock head.
3) 95+ dual plug small valve stem ... Essentially the same. You can use it on your truck, but you will want to get a complete head and also use the matching cam followers. These used a smaller valve stem than the earleir models and it's best to not mix the followers.

Personally I'd pick up a complete rebuilt head for your model truck. Here's two options from eBay that I can recommend. I believe that I purchased heads from this company many years ago, and I know that I've seen a lot of good reviews about them in the past. If you don;t want top use eBay, they also have a website under the name Clearwater Cylinder Head.

FORD Mazda B2300 2.3 RANGER 8 PLUG SOHC CYLINDER HEAD LARGE SPRING 88-95 REBUILT <$620 with prepaid core return (cracked ok, read listing)

FORD 2.3 RANGER MUSTANG 8 PLUG SOHC CYLINDER HEAD LARGE SPRING 88-95 NO CORE < $870 no core return required

I'm no where clsoe to getting it running, but if the head on my 85 2.3L is cracked I'll probably go through these guys for a replacement.

This would also be a good time to decide if you want to make any changes in the bottom end to improve performance. I would say to look at the cam as well, but it doesn't appear to get any easier to change a cam in vehicle than this engine. If you think you might want to turbo in the future, now would also be the time to upgrade the pistons, stock rods and crank are good though. Rangers used hypereutetic pistons, but you want forged for forced induction. Actually if I needed to get bigger pistons, I'd just go ahead with forged, that way if I decided to turbo down the road the bottom end would be ready for it.

If you do decide to dip a toe into performance there are a few places supporting these engines. Esslinger Engineering is the high dollar one, but you probably get what you pay for. Boport does a lot of work with these. Stinger performance, lots of good stuff and better prices than the other two IIRC. Big R motorsports also has some items for the 2.3L, it seems more geared towards forced induction performance, but has some cams that claim to be good for N/A.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would be tempted to just find another 2.3. It is a dice roll going with a pullout engine that is 30yo... but odds are good it won't have been thru what yours has been through.

 

[ForgedCrank]

I would be tempted to just find another 2.3. It is a dice roll going with a pullout engine that is 30yo... but odds are good it won't have been thru what yours has been through.

I'm leaning that direction. I think I'm just going to find a solid junkyard core and overhaul it since I need the head and I'm going to have to bore this one anyway. May as well just start over. I'm seeing a lot of stuff around (like the post right above) that is giving me ideas, but I'm not really the mod type. I'd rather just build it back stock and move on. It's a big hit, but I still think the truck is worth it. I just don't know this game... finding a good core and a quality rebuild kit is my challenge now. I don't need perf parts (and can't afford that anyway), but I don't trust the ebay stuff.
If I can't find a good core, I'll just buy a new reman head and punch out this block I recon.

 

[JoshT]

It is a dice roll going with a pullout engine that is 30yo...

...and that's why I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't take a chance on another used takeout engine. The replacement engine could be better, it could be the same, or it could be worse. You've got no way of knowing without opening it up and looking and at that point you are already practically rebuilding.

I'd consider buying a used engine to rebuild and swap in, but I don't see the advantage to that in this case. If the truck were uable then sure. In this case pulling the engine and rebuilding it does not take a usable vehicle off the road for the duration, it sounds like the vehicle is already unusable.