What to do while I have the motor apart

[akshep90]

My buddy has a 99 Ranger 3.0L 5spd that has has a problem lately with overheating. Long story short he was told that it was either a cracked head or cracked block by our local mechanic. They wanted $1,500 to tear the heads off and fix it. He asked my opinion on what he should so, and we decided to rebuild the entire motor our self. We found that it was only a blown head gasket. We are sending the heads and block to be machined. While those parts are off getting re-worked we wondering if there is anything we can do to get a little more power out of it. My buddy was wondering about an aftermarket cam. Any suggestions? It will have the stock heads with stock rockers, springs, and lifters.

 

[RonD]

Have a read here: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0performance.shtml

Check out some of the links found there

This general 3.0l rebuild info: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/3_0-build.shtml

 

[stmitch]

There are no aftermarket cams for the 3.0. Everything that is available is a custom regrind. It's absolutely doable, but it's going to take a little work on your part to figure out cam specs that will give you what you want.

If the engine is going to be primarily stock, the only things I'd really focus on for performance would be porting/polishing the heads, and the intake manifolds (especially the lower intake). Take the time to grind the roughness out of the combustion chambers to reduce pinging, and get a decent valve job. Gasket match the runners. P/P jobs really don't cost very much more than time if you do them yourself, and they make the 3.0 a much nicer engine.

I painted all of the surfaces that oil will touch with a special thermal paint called Glyptal when mine was being built. It fills in some of the low spots in the casting, and provides a slick barrier that makes the oil run back into the pan where it belongs much faster. Taking some time and doing little things like that can make a big difference in the quality and reliability of the engine once it's back together.

 

[don4331]

If you are sending the 3.0 block/crank to the machine shop and want some more power, ideas to consider:

No replacement for displacement.

Bore out to 3.552 (4.6 pistons)
Offset grind crank for 2.000" rod bearings (stroke becomes 3.402")
Above combination uses 5.7" Chev SB rods with early bearings.

Makes your 3.0 into a 3.3l; 10% more power is not to be knocked.

Things to consider:

My '98 Ranger 3.0 had a 60 lph pump. Using 3.785 liters/gallon; 6.009lb/gallon; derating pump to 90% capacity (Ford's recommendation for age/wear/tolerances); 0.5lb fuel/hp/hr (stoichiometric) , means the stock pump can only support a 171hp engine.

The 3.0 also only had 14lb injectors. Derated to 85% (Ford's recommendation so injector seats properly before next injection cycle), multiplied by 6, using same .5lb fuel/hp/hr says the injectors only support 143hp. Before you say WTF, my 3.0 was rated at 150hp; the pump was rated at 60lph @ 12v; but your electrical system is probably running 14v, so pump in flowing a little more; and if it is flowing more than what is used, it turns excess into pressure. And the extra pressure allows the stock injectors to flow what is needed. The Ranger 3.0 fuel system is beautifully matched between requirements and capability. Who says Ford engineers didn't do some intelligent design?

Now, if you intend to make more power, one should really replace the injectors with 19lb ones, and the pump with an 88lph one (engines going lead at full power tend to have short lives). And then, you are going to need a tune.

If you just want a little more top end power Tom Morana's 1.8 rockers might not be a bad choice.