Putting 2.5L Head on 2.3L ?? Also Timing??

[FasterNU]

OK, so I cracked an exhaust valve on my 93 or 94 Ford Ranger(i think VIN says it's a 93 despite being listed as 94 on paperwork)

Regardless... I found a good deal on a 2.5L motor with manual transmission, engine stand, and entire rebuild kit. $100

I read that the head shouldbe interchangeable on here, so I started trying to swap the head over. Everything appears to be looking OK.. except the actual pully/gear on the cam itself.

The 2.5 doesnt appear to have any markings that I have noticed. So, this leads into my next question. How the heck do you time these things???

Is the timing belt the same between the motors? Do i need to switch pulleys or not?

Thanks in advance
-Aaron

 

[4b316]

The heads are a little different.If you look at where the intake bolts on,I believe your 94 has a water port right in the middle and the 2.5 head does not.We had to weld up the 95+intake and grind it down to seal it up.Maybe yours is different?There is a mark on the gear somewheres,I think it should be a diamond.

 

[FasterNU]

The heads are a little different.If you look at where the intake bolts on,I believe your 94 has a water port right in the middle and the 2.5 head does not.We had to weld up the 95+intake and grind it down to seal it up.Maybe yours is different?There is a mark on the gear somewheres,I think it should be a diamond.

Well, after cleaning the head all up and trying to install it last night... I ran into a problem.

I think my intake from my 93-94 would have bolted up and the exhaust fine too. But I am not 100% sure yet. I wasn't going to use the 2.5L's intake or anything because the sensors are much different being OBD2.

My problem actually ended up being the alternator bracket and coil pack brackets. There are 2x threaded holes that are absent on the front of the 2.5 head. I would have to drill and tap this head if I want to use it. It's right to the left of the thermostat. The thermostat also has a differnt bolt size. New 2.5 head has smaller bolts. I think that would still work with the gasket though.

After running into these problems... I think I'm just gonna go try to find a head from the same year. I don't want to go through all this work to find out the truck isnt timed right or some other issue that would prevent it from starting right back up.

So, although the Ranger Station says that a 2.5L head will bolt on the 2.3L block... it's not really true when it comes to actually getting everything like accessories to bolt up perfectly. Oh well live and learn I guess.

 

[dangerranger83]

Just fab up some brackets for the accessories.

 

[4b316]

It will bolt right on,but only on a post 95 2.3 engines.The pre 95 were a little different.We ran one on the race truck but only after doing the above mods and I think we used the 94 coil and alt brackets and just used a couple holes,probably not a good idea for the street.

 

[FasterNU]

It will bolt right on,but only on a post 95 2.3 engines.The pre 95 were a little different.We ran one on the race truck but only after doing the above mods and I think we used the 94 coil and alt brackets and just used a couple holes,probably not a good idea for the street.

Well, I could probably fab up a bracket for the coil packs.. but that still would leave one bolt missing from the alternator bracket. I think it would probably hold but this truck takes quite a bit of abuse.

My main concern is still the timing though. I actually tried to look at the timing of the heads side by side last night...and I can't figure it out. They dont seem to match up for some reason. I must be doing something wrong. Timing marks arent the same between them. But the actual pulley appears to be the same size and everything. That's why I was thinking about swapping pulleys over(so I could use old timing marks)

It's a full blown pre-runner. Here's a couple pics.

 

[FasterNU]

Oh... and I dont think I can use the bracket from the 2.5L for the alternator. It goes right in the way of the coolant line that runs to the heater core.

 

[4b316]

I think you better get the pre95 head if you are going to have landings like that.The bracket wouldn't take to many of them.