Bought Daughter a 2010 Ranger, She Paid it Off, Blew Engine, I Replaced Engine.......

[BKennedy]

Good Info, thanks. They must be talking about valve lash because these deletes are usually used by the racer types with modified cams and oversized sprokets. I have removed most of the parts from the Ranger engine that need to go on the Fusion engine, mostly to clean them up as everything is covered with gunk from the oil leaks. I left most of the Fusion engine intact so I know what bolts to use. On parts I removed from both, I put the bolts in separate containers. I had to remove the timing cover, valve cover and oil pan off the Fusion engine to look it over, and I need to clean all the mating surfaces. The oil pan and timing cover use RTV, valve cover uses gaskets.

I was doing more research, and there really isn't any information about people swapping the FWD engines into Rangers. I did find that the Ranger engine has the least HP rating (143), and the Fusion engine has the highest (160). After deleting the VCT and balance shaft it should be a little more. Frankly, I'll just be happy if it runs after all the changes and modifications.

 

[Stic-o]

Well good news....it was cheaper to replace the truck.... Sarah got a good deal.

 

[BKennedy]

Well good news....it was cheaper to replace the truck.... Sarah got a good deal.

She got the best deal. I'm going 90% of the work, she gets to keep or sell the Ranger. It pays to never check the oil with me as a Dad.

 

[BKennedy]

Not much to report the past week. I've been waiting on small parts, mostly the delete and timing kits. The delete kit came in for the balance shaft. This little piece of machined aluminum and a bolt take the place of 19 pounds of power robbing metal. Every 2.3 Ranger I ever drove has a little vibration when starting from a stop, and the balance shaft was Ford's solution vs properly balancing the engine. Ford still uses balance shafts on the four cylinder ecoboost engines.

I had to tweak the Ranger oil pickup tube to get it to line up with the Fusion oil pump. They appear the same, but the bolt holes and the intake port are slightly wider on the Fusion pump, and the flange face is at a slightly different angle. A little bend here and there, tapped the bosses the supports rest on, slightly lengthened the flange holes, and shortened one of the supports slightly.

The silver bolt in the flange is due to the pump threads starting to strip. I used a slightly longer bolt and a bunch of orange thread locker. Seemed to tighten up nicely.

I think the Fusion oil pump has a higher oil volume than the Ranger pump based upon the smaller sprocket and larger intake port.

I move very slowly when sailing in uncharted waters. This took me almost three hours. I'll clean up the oil pan and block mating surfaces and glue them together with some Ultra Black, then call it a day. Daughter and her boyfriend are coming over tomorrow. The goal is to have the engine ready to drop into the truck by the end of the day. Maybe get it bolted in Sunday. Then, I'll spend a few days putting all the stuff I removed back on before the engine was pulled, fill everything with fluids and fire it up.

 

[BKennedy]

Didn't get the oil pan glued on today. While I was cleaning up the mating surfaces I realized the rear main seal is part of the mating surface. Ridiculous design. I had to put the engine on the cherry picker, remove the flex plate, and replace the rear main, then put it back on the engine stand.

I think I have the engine timed correctly. The timing tools arrived today, and I followed the instructions in my Haynes manual. The way they designed this engine was one way construction. It was built to be assembled quickly and cheaply, and to heck with the end user.

The crank pully puts pressure on the timing chain gear locking it in place. As soon as you loosen the bolt, it's out of time. When Sarah's boyfriend shows up tomorrow, I'll have him read the book and see if he thinks it's timed before I start sealing it up.

 

[Josh P]

It pays to never check the oil with me as a Dad.

Another great quote.

 

[BKennedy]

Got a lot done today. Resealed the water pump, and thermostat housing, and swapped the oil filter adaptor. Rebuilt the fuel injectors and swapped them and the rail. Completed the VCT delete. You have to use a intake cam and sproket off a non-VCT engine. The cam and sproket on the Ranger engine looked fine, no wear or burnt spots so we used them. All I needed from the delete kit was the oil port block. I forgot to take pictures so I'll get a few tomorrow.

With the timing tools, it's easier than I felt comfortable with getting the engine back in time. I checked it 8 or 10 times, then had my helper read the procedure and check it a few times. Glued the oil pan and timing cover back on and had lunch. Used a impact to start the crank pully, then torqued it plus a quarter turn. Before torque, you have to remove the timing tools and hope it doesn't move, hence the impact. Did a final few checks engine timing. It was lined up better than when I took it apart, so we did the best we could. Rotated the engine four or five times with no surprises.

I'll keep swapping parts next week, hoping to get it in the Ranger over next weekend. Another few days bolting on all the accessories, and we will get to see if she runs.

I did notice the Fusion oil pump has the same four mounting bolts as the Ranger pump. RA research showed they were not comparable, but I think they are. I left the Fusion pump alone since I had already modified the oil pickup tube and it appears it's a higher flow pump.

 

[BKennedy]

Think we found what failed. There is a lot of noticeable wiggle in the #2 connecting rod. I'm guessing the bearing and race are fried. I might pull the engine apart to see what failed before I junk it. If I pull it apart, it will fit in the recycle bin.

 

[BKennedy]

Replaced gaskets on everything I could take off the engine that I had gaskets for. Installed the valve cover and torqued it to spec. New spark plugs. Old plugs looked original and were dry and clean, just worn out. Cleaned up the few more parts that need to go back on before the engine goes in, and then the most expensive reservoir hose in the history of Ford reservoir hoses ($160) broke a plastic fitting. The fitting looked like it had degraded and was crumbling so I guess its good it did it with the engine on the stand. Found a Dorman part on Amazon that will get here Sunday. The Amazon part is $100 less than anywhere else I could find it, so I will have to settle for Dorman. I don't think anyone else makes a replacement in any case.

Here is a stock photo of the goofy thing. The part that broke is the silver T that appears to be made out of metal on the replacement. The weird part is that hose at the T goes to a vacuum tree on the intake. Why would there be a vacuum line on a coolant hose?

It starts at the thermostat housing, wraps around the rear of the engine, then turns to metal hard line. The metal T goes to the heater core, the end attaches to the bottom of the coolant reservoir tank. The OEM part is all crimped together so no replacing just a hose or one piece of it. The hose goes under the exhaust manifold and shares two of the manifold studs, so it would be a real pain to install with the engine in the truck. Will have to wait until it shows up before the engine goes in.

Here is a pic of the VCT delete.

Before

After

 

[410Fortune]

Has to be coolant in that hose
Could it be throttle body pre heater?

Good work documenting all of this! Nobody ever posts all these details except us anymore lol lol try finding all these little tid bits in a video or on Facebook group = good luck. Eventually everyone will go back to this format

I’m thankful for this because I will be doing this exact same thing very soon
I have 2008 outside missing 4 banger engine (blew head gasket)!

 

[BKennedy]

The hose to the vacuum was dry when removed. We were thinking there is some type of vacuum pump valve in there to assist getting coolant all the way around the engine? I think I need to cut the old hose open and see what's what.

 

[Turdle]

Surely that is a coolant line for pre warming intake.

Bet there is a pathway thru intake and back out.
If that was a vacuum pump and it lost seal, hydrolock could occur. Weird.

 

[Rick]

The hose to the vacuum was dry when removed. We were thinking there is some type of vacuum pump valve in there to assist getting coolant all the way around the engine? I think I need to cut the old hose open and see what's what.

Apply vacuum and then test the flow through the hose. Hard to imagine that that small piece in the line is a pump. Seems more likely to be an open or closed valve like a heater control valve.

 

[BKennedy]

I cut the old part open. It's a T with the small hose running into a vacuum tree on the back of the intake. The vacuum tree has five vacuum lines. One comes from the EGR, one from a valve on the driver side fender that looks like it goes to the transmission, a small one to the heater core bypass, the large one from the PVC, and this one. I didn't remove the tree because it's not leaking and I don't think I have the gasket. Maybe it pulls vacuum to bleed the line, but somehow doesn't allow coolant into the tree? It's the only thing I can think of.

 

[Rick]

Must be one of Ford's "better ideas".

 

[410Fortune]

It is a coolant hose
It is actually heating the vacuum tree

2.3L ('02-'11) - 2005/2002 duratec engine pics, hoses

prepping a 2002 to put in my 2005. swapping the external parts to match. I'm leaving the 2002 aluminum valve cover since it isn't leaking. fuel rail will need swapped, intake vent by the oil cap is a miss-match to the 2005 hose. here are the dreaded rear hoses. by the time 2005 rolled around a...

www.therangerstation.com

Cooling systems are pressurized
No need to plumb vacuum to a pressurized system for bleeding lol

In the later years the pcv system is heated it is all Emissions bs

 

[BKennedy]

Thanks for finding that. Little hose goes to the vacuum tree, then to the EGR, through the EGR and into the block. Makes perfect sense!

 

[BKennedy]

I was cleaning up some of the mess we made swapping parts and I found a very thin washer. I had read online that some of these engines used a diamond encrusted washer to help keep the crank pully from loosening. It goes between the crank pully and cam gear. I didn't see one on either engine until I found this one on the concrete. Don't know which engine it came out of, so I ordered a new one and a new crank bolt from fordparts.com. picked them up today. Ford shows it as the same part number for both engines. Can't hurt, and if anything loosens it will grenade the engine. New bolt from Ford weighs about twice as much as the Dorman one I bought and installed. Next time Sarah's boyfriend is over, I'll have him help me time and torque the engine one more time.

Washer is #6378 on this diagram

 

[410Fortune]

Why not just use a keyway like a normal crankshaft sheesh

 

[BKennedy]

Why not just use a keyway like a normal crankshaft sheesh

Cheaper and quicker to manufacture is my guess.

The reservoir hose arrived in a box big enough for four of them. I got it installed. I'm leaving the intake off until the engine goes in. It sits about an inch from the firewall and kept us from dropping the transmission tail down to get to the top bolts. Nothing left to do but replace a windshield washer fitting I noticed we broke when pulling the engine. Need to wait until my help is available to pull the crank pully bolt and replace the washer, and get the engine installed.

Edit: I reinstalled the timing kit, removed the crank pully, and installed the washer. Made sure it was all still in time, reinstalled the pully and hand tightened the bolt. Still need my assistant to recheck the engine is timed correctly, and hold the pully while I torque it.