How to ID 3.0L Vulcan Engine

[philbirkeland]

I will shortly be looking on Craigslist for a '91-'97 2WD Ranger with 3.0L Vulcan V6 and 5 speed manual transmission. Owners will not necessarily know what is in their truck. I am a Ranger newbie. 2WD and manual transmission are easy to recognize. So is a 4 cyl engine, by counting sparkplug wires. However, the V6's are potentially confusing. By just lifting the hood, how do I tell the difference between a 2.9, 3.0 and a 4.0? Puzzled in Tacoma. Phil.

 

[Chance]

They are fairly distinct engines.
the 2.9 has 2.9 Fuel injection written right on the plenum.

The 3.0 as viewed from the back

The 4.0

I could take a pic of an extremely dirty 3.0 if you want an actual picture of one.

 

[mn_smokeater]

What he said

 

[graff104]

if it is pre 95 the 3.0 will have a distributor instead of a coil pack which is a dead give away.

 

[macarchie]

If I am not mistaken, (for the 1991) the 2.9 L was only available with 4WD and the 3.0L was only available with 2WD. I have the 3.0L (2WD) with 197,000 miles. The engine has never had a problem. The 5-spd tranny was rebuilt years ago and occasionally a new starter and water pump was needed, but it has been a great truck.

 

[DCinDC]

3Ls have several different intake configurations.

Read the valve covers, or VIN engine code "U".