New to me '99 Ranger, 2.5, 5spd, reg cab. looking for your COLLECTIVE WISDOM and a path forward please.

[JBeechcraft]

Hey folks! Quite some time ago I purchased a 1999 Ranger 2.5, with a 5 speed manual regular cab. The 2.5 and the 5 speed was the winning combination and the price of $400 sealed the deal. I bought it and put it in the back yard til I could get to it and now is that time. It has 198K on the clock and I know NOTHING about it since the previous owner resides in an unknown location. No complaints. Body is straight and I'm going to use it as a daily. Before I purchased it, I "tried" to start it and it sounded like there was a compression issue. The block is fine and yesterday, I did a dry compression test: 1) 125; 2) 55; 3) 125; 4) 0! Yikes. Tomorrow, I'll drop some oil in the chambers and see if any of those values change. It appears as though this is a bone stock and completely unaltered truck (other than the heavy metal skull shifter knob!). I thought it may have jumped a tooth on the timing but all the diamonds, triangles and what not lined up perfectly on top dead center. There are few signs of any glaring maintenance things. The oil filter is low budget but the oil is very nice. No milkshake and super clean. Ignition wires look original and it's possible that the plugs and even the timing belt may be factory as I see no signs of anyone having done anything to this. When I pulled the valve cover off, I was AMAZED at how clean all the surfaces were. Not shiny new like a new head clean but absolutely zero sludge. Metal surfaces are dark brown, but sludge free. Camshaft looks pretty darn good so I'm encouraged. I have a few more items before I actually get the head free and out to look at the head gasket as I suspect that the head gasket is blown, or, there is some valve seat recession going on. I would have been a bit more decisive about a head gasket being blown if the low compression values were side by side pistons, not a #2 and #4 low compression situation like this. I'm wondering if you folks have better luck taking the head and having it rebuilt in a good machine shop or just buy a new one from Clearwater Heads here in Florida. I'm also wondering if the collective wisdom indicates that this is more of a head issue than a lower end (rings) kind of thing. Do Rangers typically go 198K miles and need only a head rebuild, or are they pretty much toast top and bottom at 198k? I know maintenance is the best predictive indicator, but I don't have any information on prior history. The only thing that guides me to head gasket is the 3-way water valve in the passenger side that seems to go to the heater core. One of the nipples is broken off and it's got a bit of the old orangey water overheated appearance at the break, however, there's no glaring signs of an over heat situation like orangey stains all across the hood, motor and firewall kind of thing. I guess if the bottom end is gone, I'll just pull it and do new bearings, pistons, and whatever else work needs to be done. If that happens, I'll drop the transmission and do the clutch as well.

Looking for some direction knowing what you now now (which is what I now know) and some advice as to what most think is the best path forward. I thank any and all of you for your time, wisdom and experience in advance!!!

 

[Rick W]

I don’t know anything about the 2.5 specifically, but you’re thinking seems sound to me.

Before I started taking the engine apart, I would pull the spark plugs out or even just disconnect the coil, and crank the engine to get the oil to circulate everywhere and see what happens to the compression. If that doesn’t bring the compression up, then I would put oil in the spark plug holes to see if that makes a difference. But yanking the head and just diving in is probably the closest distance between the two points.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I would keep with your current plan, the Lima engines aren't known for bottom end issues unless odd things happen, the most common is valve recession (if you still have the valve cover off, look how close all of them are to the same height aside from the cam lowering them) as the head just has induction hardened seats not inserts, they are NOT known for bad head gaskets but they will crack between the valves and put compression into the coolant... having a corroded valve wouldn't be unheard of either especially after sitting...

There's a lot of those engines out there with over 300k, my '97 2.3 has 245k on it right now and runs pretty good, I have no bad complaints, I also acquired mine for $450 but I drove it on the trailer...

 

[Blmpkn]

That one hole reading a big fat 0 *should* realistically make figuring out WHY its dead AF a good deal easier. I doubt a wet test would bring THAT figure up at all.. but it's a reasonably fair bet that a wet test could probably raise the numbers on the hole that reads 55.

Do you own/have access to an inspection camera? Easiest place to start on the dead cylinder would be to jam the camera into the spark plug hole and take a look at the top of the piston & the cylinder wall. Could be something like a broken valve spring as well.. but that's generally not too common.

The single cam 2.3s were somewhat notorious for having valve seats that were about as hard as a stick of butter sitting on your dashboard in the middle of August. The 55lb cylinder may have a depressed seat.. naturally making it impossible for the valve to seal properly.. I'm not sure if Ford fixed that problem by the time the 2.5 came around..wouldn't be surprised if they didn't.

If it IS a depressed seat, getting your hands on a leak down tester would let you know without needing to deal with popping the valve cover off.. getting covers off usually isn't a big deal on most engines but.. it's honestly kinda a pain in the ass with the limas.

Rotate the motor so both valves are closed on the hole reading 55.. and fill it full of air. If you can hear air leaking out of the exhaust or back through the intake that'll let you know that a valve isn't sealing AND it'll tell you which one.

A brand new (complete) head seemed to be anywhere from 4-600$ when I was looking at them last year.. and a complete reman long block being around 1400$ + shipping.

Either way.. seems like you're going to have a bit of an expensive repair coming your way. Good luck and keep us updated on what you find.

 

[JBeechcraft]

I don’t know anything about the 2.5 specifically, but you’re thinking seems sound to me.

Before I started taking the engine apart, I would pull the spark plugs out or even just disconnect the coil, and crank the engine to get the oil to circulate everywhere and see what happens to the compression. If that doesn’t bring the compression up, then I would put oil in the spark plug holes to see if that makes a difference. But yanking the head and just diving in is probably the closest distance between the two points.

Thanks Rick for taking the time with your reply! Appreciate it. You make a good point re: cranking it over and getting some juices flowing. You made me think in that under the valve cover was much cleaner than I thought, but I don't really recall seeing much/any freshly pumped oil in there. Dipstick looks fantastic as if there was a recent oil change and no signs of water/oil attempt to co-mingle. I'll take a deeper look today. Thanks again!

 

[JBeechcraft]

I would keep with your current plan, the Lima engines aren't known for bottom end issues unless odd things happen, the most common is valve recession (if you still have the valve cover off, look how close all of them are to the same height aside from the cam lowering them) as the head just has induction hardened seats not inserts, they are NOT known for bad head gaskets but they will crack between the valves and put compression into the coolant... having a corroded valve wouldn't be unheard of either especially after sitting...

There's a lot of those engines out there with over 300k, my '97 2.3 has 245k on it right now and runs pretty good, I have no bad complaints, I also acquired mine for $450 but I drove it on the trailer...

Hey there Scotts90ranger. Thank you for taking the time to reply as well. Love to know you snagged a ranger for $450 and drove it on the trailer! You gave me a bit more confidence in the lower end on this thing and I will head over today and look much closer at the valve train from up top. I'm still thinking that my best plan now is to just pull the head and really see what's going on there. It's not an impossible job by any stretch and I'd like to know. The machine shop I've used religiously for 30 years is GONE! I'm devastated. Dad and son team. Dad died suddenly it seems and the son kept the shop running until "progress" came along. The warehouses were bought and son was left to scramble outta there in less than 30 days. I found him on Facebook and he called me back. When I drove there, I didn't recognize a thing. New high rise under construction and my world shattered! Time to find a new machine shop it seems, but devastating! Life can be cruel. Thanks for the confidence in the longevity of the Lima motor. I'm re-inspired. Thanks again for your time, wisdom and experience!

 

[JBeechcraft]

That one hole reading a big fat 0 *should* realistically make figuring out WHY its dead AF a good deal easier. I doubt a wet test would bring THAT figure up at all.. but it's a reasonably fair bet that a wet test could probably raise the numbers on the hole that reads 55.

Do you own/have access to an inspection camera? Easiest place to start on the dead cylinder would be to jam the camera into the spark plug hole and take a look at the top of the piston & the cylinder wall. Could be something like a broken valve spring as well.. but that's generally not too common.

The single cam 2.3s were somewhat notorious for having valve seats that were about as hard as a stick of butter sitting on your dashboard in the middle of August. The 55lb cylinder may have a depressed seat.. naturally making it impossible for the valve to seal properly.. I'm not sure if Ford fixed that problem by the time the 2.5 came around..wouldn't be surprised if they didn't.

If it IS a depressed seat, getting your hands on a leak down tester would let you know without needing to deal with popping the valve cover off.. getting covers off usually isn't a big deal on most engines but.. it's honestly kinda a pain in the ass with the limas.

Rotate the motor so both valves are closed on the hole reading 55.. and fill it full of air. If you can hear air leaking out of the exhaust or back through the intake that'll let you know that a valve isn't sealing AND it'll tell you which one.

A brand new (complete) head seemed to be anywhere from 4-600$ when I was looking at them last year.. and a complete reman long block being around 1400$ + shipping.

Either way.. seems like you're going to have a bit of an expensive repair coming your way. Good luck and keep us updated on what you find.

Hey there Bumpkin. I want to thank you for your time and contribution, seriously appreciate it. I'm with you, I don't think much is going to influence that big nasty "0" and I agree that the "55" might be persuaded to jump up a bit, surely not to 125 as my delusions would dictate : ) Inspection camera is a GREAT idea. I may look a Harbor Freight for one as that would be nice to have in the tool box. I did spend the time getting the valve cover off and agreed, it was not the easiest one I've ever tackled. BUT, I was rewarded with an unexpectedly CLEAN underside of both the valve cover and the top surfaces of the head. No indications that anyone has been in there but just a shocking state of affairs as I expected sludge and maybe the ole water/oil mix. Not the case, just really clean! I'm curious if you have ever had any experiences with Clearwater heads for the Ranger. They seem to sell new ones and it seems my neighbor just spent $650 having his Celica head redone at a local "cylinder head depot." Doesn't seem that much more expensive to just buy a new one at $750. Any thoughts? Great idea re: closing the valves and shooting some compressed air in there. I'm hoping I don't have to do a complete "long block" and I understand that there will be some expense, BUT, to me, a truck is an essential tool which I use constantly and unlike a sedan, I'm much happier to spend some good money on a great tool like a truck than just transportation. I do want to thank you again for your time/wisdom and experiences! Much appreciated!