how reliable are the v6 3.0

[RumpRanger98]

Just curious how reliable the 3.0 v6 motor is. Are the head gaskets prone to fail on this motor as well? How many miles do you guys have on your 3.0?

 

[88gt]

213xxx on mine changing head gaskets right now as a matter of fact but otherwise a super reliable motor in my opinion

 

[Toms01PSD]

Mines got 180,xxx miles and I replaced the head gaskets at 176k. It started knocking a few months ago. I have no loss in power or torque, just a really annoying noise. Very reliable.

 

[pacodiablo]

Head gasket leaks are less common on the 3.0 than they are on many other Ford V6s. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

The 3.0 is pretty solid being an all cast iron pushrod engine.

The Achilles’ heel of the 3.0 is the cam synchronizer on EDIS models. It's one unreliable part that can take out an otherwise strong engine if it fails completely.

 

[kawasakiman27]

My trucks original motor blew at around 90xxx (synch failure). Head gasket on #4 blew out next to exhaust valve at ? miles on clean junkyard motor. (Did mine this weekend also, 88gt) Just dont neglect the motor or truck and youll be fine. keep coolant and tstat new every few years. Head gasket job on that motor is probably the easiest ive seen.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

head gasket failures are common when the cooling system is neglected. on a properly maintained 3.0, they are not a problem.

the cam syncro is a vulnerable spot for any '95+...but is easily monitored/replaced.

the 3.0 is about as reliable as they come. over 300,000 miles isnt uncommon. there may even be a few 400,000 miles engines floating around by now. there was a guy on here a while back who had a 75 shot of NOS on his all-original, 300,000+ mile 3.0.

 

[JohnnyO]

I think it was AllanD who said that anyone who could kill a 3.0, assuming it had oil and coolant in it, should not be trusted to operate anything more complicated than a refrigerator.
The 3.0 Vulcan is one of the automotive cockroaches.

 

[WNY964x4]

when i bought mine it had a blown head gasket , previous owner neglected it , the gasket in turn smoked the valves (all valves on the side of the blown gasket were sonid white) replaced both heads , 4 monthst later i spun a rod bearing (it had oil and coolant in it when it happened) put the second motor in it , and now i had a converter shit the bed , so the truck sits in erie pa.

Timeline

May 08 - Purchased with 145k miles

June 08 - Replaced heads 146k miles

November 08 - Replaced Engine 156k miles

February 09 - Cats Shit the Bed 160k miles

the truck sits in erie with 3 dead converters , prolly parting it out and scrapping it , not gonna put the amount of money it needs into it

 

[Rearanger]

the cam syncro is a vulnerable spot for any '95+...but is easily monitored/replaced.

Wicked, can you elaborate?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

with pleasure, and i appologize in advance for being long winded:

starting in 1995, the vulcan recieved a distributorless ignition system (DIS). this system uses a set of positioning sensors, one on the engines crankshaft and one on the engines camshaft, to determine when to fire the spark plugs. since the oil pump is driven by the camshaft via the distributor on this (and many "V" pushrod engines), ford could not completely do away with the distributor. the bottom half that engages the camshaft and drives the oil pump would have to remain (less ford redesign the entire block). since the bottom half of the distributor would have to remain anyway, the easiest way to retrieve a camshaft position signal would be to mount a sensor right on top of this "cam syncro shaft".

the cam syncro shaft has a small metal flag on the top of it. the camshaft position sensor bolts to the top of the cam syncro shaft, and this metal flag passes through the sensor...in this way the engine knows exactly where the cam is in its rotation (and thus, when the #1 cylinder is on its compression stroke).

heres where we get into trouble.

the cam syncro shaft rides on a set of bushings. for some reason (and this doesnt appear to be a problem on distributored engines for some reason), these bushings seem to wear prematurely, thus allowing the cam syncro shaft to wobble. at this point, the cam syncro shaft will usually emit a noise very similar to a belt squeel (but not always). if left unchecked, the bushings will continue to wear to the point where the metal flag that is supposed to pass through the cam position sensor contacts the sensor. this puts a sudden hault on the cam syncro shaft. the gear that engages the camshaft itself is nylon, and attached the the cam syncro shaft with a roll pin. the force of the cam syncro being stopped and the cam still spinning either rips the teeth off the nylon gear or sheers the roll pin...either case causes the cam syncro shaft to disengage the cam. with the syncro shaft no longer turning, the oil pump is no longer turning, thus oil pressure drops to zero.

it can take a matter of seconds to completely destroy an engine while driving at highway speeds with highway loads and no oil pressure. even if you see the oil light come on, you might not be able to safely pull over and shut the truck down in time to save the engine.

my truck, being a '93, doesnt have this problem. but if i had a DIS 3.0, heres what i would do: if buying a DIS 3.0 with more than 80K miles on it, replace the syncro shaft. after that, pull the syncro and check it at 50K miles and replace again every 100K miles. dont ignore squeeks or long engine cranking times, as these can be indicative of cam sensor or cam syncro problems. if your oil light comes on while driving, as soon as its safe to do so, put the truck in nuetral, turn the ignition off, and coast to a stop. these trucks (that being rangers in general, not just the 3.0) are known for having flakey oil pressure sending units that like to give false low readings. your next step in this situation would be to varify either low oil pressure or a bad sending unit and take appropriate action.

tomorrow, i will try to remember to look around the shop and see if i can find an old cam syncro shaft lying around to take a picture of.

again, sorry for being long winded. i hope i covered everything.

 

[rurouni20xx]

better to be thorough than halfassed imo.

 

[Toms01PSD]

I was going to ask you sludge if you could get a picture of the cam syncro sensor shaft because i'm hearing a squeaky noise and it's not the belt.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i scoured the shop today and couldnt turn up any old cam syncro shafts. they get replaced pretty regularly around here so when one shows up ill try to remember to snag it before it gets tossed.

 

[1badexplorer]

Wicked do some of the cam syncro shafts come with either a brass or bronse gear on the bottom that is known to fail also? My 97 ranger 3.0 can a code for a cam possision sensor a while ago. When I pulled the shaft to inspect everything, the sensor was broken on the bottom, that metal flag had broken off, and the bronse gear that rides on the cam had the teeth worn almost completely off it only on 1 side like the bearings were bad or somthing. Is this a common problem also?

 

[triumphrider-1]

with pleasure, and i appologize in advance for being long winded:

starting in 1995, the vulcan recieved a distributorless ignition system (DIS). this system uses a set of positioning sensors, one on the engines crankshaft and one on the engines camshaft, to determine when to fire the spark plugs. since the oil pump is driven by the camshaft via the distributor on this (and many "V" pushrod engines), ford could not completely do away with the distributor. the bottom half that engages the camshaft and drives the oil pump would have to remain (less ford redesign the entire block). since the bottom half of the distributor would have to remain anyway, the easiest way to retrieve a camshaft position signal would be to mount a sensor right on top of this "cam syncro shaft".

the cam syncro shaft has a small metal flag on the top of it. the camshaft position sensor bolts to the top of the cam syncro shaft, and this metal flag passes through the sensor...in this way the engine knows exactly where the cam is in its rotation (and thus, when the #1 cylinder is on its compression stroke).

heres where we get into trouble.

the cam syncro shaft rides on a set of bushings. for some reason (and this doesnt appear to be a problem on distributored engines for some reason), these bushings seem to wear prematurely, thus allowing the cam syncro shaft to wobble. at this point, the cam syncro shaft will usually emit a noise very similar to a belt squeel (but not always). if left unchecked, the bushings will continue to wear to the point where the metal flag that is supposed to pass through the cam position sensor contacts the sensor. this puts a sudden hault on the cam syncro shaft. the gear that engages the camshaft itself is nylon, and attached the the cam syncro shaft with a roll pin. the force of the cam syncro being stopped and the cam still spinning either rips the teeth off the nylon gear or sheers the roll pin...either case causes the cam syncro shaft to disengage the cam. with the syncro shaft no longer turning, the oil pump is no longer turning, thus oil pressure drops to zero.

it can take a matter of seconds to completely destroy an engine while driving at highway speeds with highway loads and no oil pressure. even if you see the oil light come on, you might not be able to safely pull over and shut the truck down in time to save the engine.

my truck, being a '93, doesnt have this problem. but if i had a DIS 3.0, heres what i would do: if buying a DIS 3.0 with more than 80K miles on it, replace the syncro shaft. after that, pull the syncro and check it at 50K miles and replace again every 100K miles. dont ignore squeeks or long engine cranking times, as these can be indicative of cam sensor or cam syncro problems. if your oil light comes on while driving, as soon as its safe to do so, put the truck in nuetral, turn the ignition off, and coast to a stop. these trucks (that being rangers in general, not just the 3.0) are known for having flakey oil pressure sending units that like to give false low readings. your next step in this situation would be to varify either low oil pressure or a bad sending unit and take appropriate action.

tomorrow, i will try to remember to look around the shop and see if i can find an old cam syncro shaft lying around to take a picture of.

again, sorry for being long winded. i hope i covered everything.

Addition to the tech page maybe?