New to the forum....Let me start by saying hey my name is Chris...Been buying different cars working on them and getting them running for years recently been buying alot of rangers ....... I got this 02 edge that had a locked up motor pulled engine out tourque convertor and all took oil pan off to find what I though locked up bearing on cylinder 3...Metal shavings and all ..... Reading around on internet I found a Mazda b3000 was a direct replacement for the 3.0 ranger engine ..... Well I notice sensors are different and some not there ....Any help on swap would be fantastic....I know the 3.slow isn't the most sought after engine and other swaps would be better but trying to use what I have. Thanks for any input and if this is already mentioned on the forum if you could point me in right direction thanks

 

Welcome to the forum

1986 to 2008 3.0l Vulcan engines have changes but the long block is interchangeable

Yes, the sensor placement will be different from '97 to '02, so you need the '02 intake on the '97 engine.

But the heads and block(long block) will be the same.

You will need to swap intakes, and CPS(cam position sensor), '97 is 3 wire, '02 will be 2 wire

'02 accessories and brackets will bolt to '97 engine

I think both will have EGR system

History of 3.0l Vulcan engine is here: Ford Ranger II 3.0 liter Engines

I would make a note on the rad support that the engine is a 1997 for future reference, some internal parts are different.

 

Sounds good I'll replace the intake both lower and upper gonna do oil pan new oil pump and a few others... My 02 doesn't have the pipe coming from header to intake... So I'm going to swap headers and everything I can ...Since the 02 had 120k miles and the 97 had 170k.... Replacing all gasket.may go ahead and do head gaskets ...... Next question that I'm not 100% on is do I use the gasket kit for the u VIN or the v VIN when ordering the gasket kit or will I need both

 

U is Gas only, V is flex fuel, can use E85

You use head gasket for the engine you are doing, look at the link in above post, outside of the VIN the only way to know is to take the head off

I wouldn't bother with the heads unless you know of a problem, head gaskets don't "wear out", if engine is over heated they get crushed a "blow" but they do not wear out.

 

I'm just going to high-Jack this thread a bit, I'm sure the OP may want to know too.

Ford Ranger II 3.0 liter Engines

Ron, in the link it talks about the differences of the heads and blocks, but from what I can see the coolant passages in all the block variations are the same, as well as the heads, and yet there are different head gaskets sets. A set for the RWD (left and right) and a different set for FWD (non left and right, the gaskets are interchangeable for both left and right on the FWD)
It also states that the FWD head gasket set can not be interchanged with the RWD trucks.
If the coolant holes are the same all across the board for the blocks and heads, why are there different head gasket sets.
Why should they change because a truck is FWD or RWD ?

 

Thanks .... I only really see maybe 1 or 2 gaskets that are different in the head gasket set.... Some valuable knowledge giving on this site ...I'll have the motors stripped down all gaskets and components swapped tonight and install Tom. ...Will let yal know how it turns out

 

dude, if you got a 02 edge, just go get a 1999-2001 explorer 5.0 and swap that in , it will pretty much bolt right up and you will get a beast of a little truck

 

RWD engines are longitudinal mount, front to back, so radiator connections are both at the front of the engine.

FWD is transverse mount, side to side, so the Rad connections are often Front and Back of engine.
Different head gasket changes the flow pattern thru the engine.

People have put Taurus FWD 3.0ls into Rangers without changing head gaskets and reported no over or under heating issues, which is fine BUT........I would change to RWD gaskets because there could be hot spots in the heads that won't show up on the temp gauge, opinion not fact.

Gas only and Flex Fuel heads only have different chamber shapes because Ethanol has a different air:fuel ratio, more ethanol is needed so better full burn with the different shape if using E85.
But people have used gas only heads and run E85 with no complaints
And obviously the Flex Fuel heads run fine on gasoline only because thats what most people run in them, lol.

 

Thanks Ron, never seen under the hood of a FWD Ranger, didn't realize the engine was mounted side-ways.
I've seen other 4X4's, but never in one where the engine was mounted like that.

 

There were no FWD Rangers, Taurus and Sable were FWD and the 3.0l Vulcan was used in them.

 

Sorry, my bad, I thought FWD stood for Four Wheel Drive.
Front Wheel Drive _ yes.


If you apply what I thought FWD stood for, you can see why I was getting confused.

 

OK, makes sense
RWD
FWD
4WD