Head rebuild question

[dinosore]

Ive got a 92 3.0 and was looking to do a head rebuild and replace all the gaskets from the heads up as well. That way I only strip my engine down once and get a bunch of work done. I don't want my truck to be out of commission to long and this is obviously more then a weekend job. I'm wondering could I pull the heads out of a newer 3.0 and rebuild those? if so up to what year can I pull the heads from to fit my engine? Im thinking of doing it this way so that one I can clean and rebuild the heads I pull from a donor and then strip my engine down clean it up and just have the heads ready to bolt back up...minimal down time for the truck plus if I start with heads off a newer vehicle then hopefully they will be less abused then my 21 yr old ones and not be as likely to crack. Thanks for any responses

 

[dinosore]

up to 08 rangers with 3.0? and up to 07 taurus with 3.0? correct?

 

[Earl43P]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0-build.shtml

HEADS
There have been two different head castings used on the 3.0L with two different valve stem sizes, so there are actually four different heads, although you could probably combine the early and late applications and get by with two of them most of the time.



(The chamber for the regular head (bottom) is shaped like an oval, while the one for the methanol engine (top) is more heart-shaped)

1986-7/26/99 (except Methanol applications)
The E6AE-AC/HC and F6DE-GA were built with 8.0mm valves through 7/26/99. These castings both had a 49cc, oval chamber.

7/27/99 - 2003 (except Methanol applications)
The F6DE-GC casting came with 7.0mm valves, conical springs and smaller retainers beginning in 7/27/99 and it has continued in that configuration up through '03.

1996 - 7/26/99 (with Methanol)
Ford offered a "flex-fuel" version of the 3.0L that could run on methanol beginning in '96. This head had a modified, heart-shaped 47cc chamber instead of the regular 49cc, oval chamber. This chamber was probably designed to work better with the methanol fuel that burns at a slower rate than gas, so you shouldn't substitute a regular head for this application if the customer is ever going to run the engine on methanol. These heads had 8.0mm valves along with the regular springs and retainers. They were F6DE-EB castings.

7/27/99 - 2003 (with Methanol)
Although we haven't actually seen one of the latest methanol heads, we suspect that they're still using the F6DE-EB castings. And, it seems quite likely that the later ones would come with the 7.0mm valves, conical springs and smaller retainers that were used on the later version of the regular heads.

HEAD BOLTS
Ford has used two different head bolts for the 3.0L motors. The original head bolts that were used up through '98 were 4.34? long from top to bottom. Ford increased the overall length of the bolts by about an inch to 5.50? in '99. Moving the threads deeper in the block helped reduce bore distortion which enabled the engine to make more power with lower emissions.



(Ford used longer head bolts to help reduce bore distortion beginning in 1999)



(The threads for the longer head bolts were recessed below the deck surfacing beginning in 1999)

I'd pay strict attention to what's in this article. It seems you can use newer heads, but not the longer bolts. Perhaps someone with real expertise will comment.

 

[dinosore]

thanks for that link i missed it when i scrolled through the tech section. Basically if i grabbed 96 or older heads they would be the same as mine? other wise if I grab 96 and up the may be slightly different but will bolt up and probably work just fine with no issues?

i was going to reuse the same headbolts when I pull mine so i didnt anticipate the length of them being an issue. Should I get new ones in my original length instead of re-using my old ones?

 

[Earl43P]

I don't think you EVER reuse head bolts. I believe they are "Torque to Yield" and designed for one use only.

The way I interpreted that link was, you can use ANY year head (I would not use Flex-Fuel ones) but you will need your original length, new bolts.

IIRC, there were newer 3.0's that reportedly had a tendency to suck a valve into the head. Again, hopefully someone knowledgeable will chime in and comment on which year heads to look for.

I have zero expertise inside the engine.

 

[swynx]

I've reused head bolts. Alot of people say not to. But alot of people have reused them with no bad results.

 

[RonD]

From the head bolt torque specs the 3.0l did not use torque-to-yield bolts
(1991 - 1998)Torque in 2 steps [1st (33-41 ft-lbs), 2nd (63-73 ft-lbs)]

When Torque-to-yield bolts are used there is usually a final step of rotating bolt 90degs, so no final torque in ft/lbs, this is not always the case but usually.
Torque-to-yield bolts are designed to stretch the first time they are used, when untightened they do not return to pre-stretched parameters, while they "can" be reused they shouldn't be reused.

Reusing any head bolts just adds a complication if one breaks during final torque sequence, or breaks after repeated heating and cooling..
Head bolts are in a different environment than other bolts, they go thru hot and cold cycling daily, so repeated expansion and contraction of the parts they are holding together and the bolts themselves.
So get the local cost of the new head bolts first, THEN make your decision based on that.

 

[dinosore]

sounds good in terms of the head bolts...honestly they arent that expensive to go nit picking. still looking for a confident answer in years to pull. Im heading to the yard in a few hours to start looking and maybe finally finding a 4.10ls rear end to pull