Rebuilding my 2.3 (95 edition)

[lordkyleofearth]

I am rebuilding the 2.3 out of a 95 ranger and have hit some bumps. No one seems to have all the torque and clearance specs for this motor. The haynes manual has the major bolts, but no clearances.

1) What are the connecting rod to journal bearing bolt torque specs and clearances (I want to check them with palstigauge) (I have found sites listing the torque specs ranging from 30 ft/lbs to 85 ft/lbs.)

2) Is there a place that sells a replacement gasket for the oil pump?

3) Any tips or pointers?

Additionally, if anyone wants/needs pictures of the engine, fully broken down, I'd be glad to snap them.

 

[rurouni20xx]

im going to be building a 2.5 engine for my 92 2.3 and want to see how on the head the intake and exhaust ports, along with the chambers. also are you redoing your valves/taking the cam assy out of the head? id like to see how that goes from cam installed to removing it piece by piece to the valves, not familiar with the hydraulic roller setup. would like to see what the cylinders from above and from the crank thru the bores and how the crank is layed out, the other thing is on the auxillary shaft (idler for the timing belt) how that looks. im going to order a reman bare block from racerwalsh.com and want to see what im going to have to do get/install on that side of the block. as far as your gaskets are concerned id look into felpro gaskets and see if they have the oil pump gasket. and also if your lucky and have a nice guy that works at the ford dealership (like i am at the local honda/yamaha atv/utv/motorcycle dealer) you can call and they can look that up for you, otherwise hunt down a chiltons manual (they usually list that specification). only piece of advice ive seen from reading around is keep an eye on the connecting rods during piston install so they wont scratch the crank journal. from personal experience (do this all the time with atv engines and have done so with a diesel tractor engine) when installing pistons with rings (final assembly) if a piston ring compressor isnt available, hose clamps around the rings will work, tighten flush to the piston, slide it in the bore then unscrew the hose clamp 3/4 to 1 1/2 rounds and TAP the piston in with the wooden handle side of a hammer. once the piston is all the way in the bore unscrew and reuse on the next piston. one other thing, when examining the bores, take your finger and at the top of the bore, run your fingernail about 1/2 inch down the bore to the top. if there is a ridge, get a ridge reamer or others have used scotch brite pads if your not boring the block and take that ridge out, new top compression ring hits that and your shattering the ring, and you now have metal floating in engine, not good. cheers and would love to see your pictures.