4.0L OHV & SOHC V6 Tech General discussion of 4.0L OHV and SOHC V6 Ford Ranger engines.

Is the MPG that bad?

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  #26  
Old 02-14-2015
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Yes, coolant is draining a bit overtime, i noticed some liquid on the ground on the snow when i park my truck overnight, mechanic said it was due to extreme cold, and not head gasket.

But i alway feared that the head gasket would be blown, or cracked head, since its smoking so much. But blown head gasket at 127000 miles? I though these engine were bullet proof. :/
 

Last edited by insistent; 02-14-2015 at 07:56 PM.
  #27  
Old 02-15-2015
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Your first post was in kms. My step dads neon had its head gasket go with 148k kms. Half of what you have now.

I'd put some money on that being your problem.
 
  #28  
Old 02-15-2015
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Blown head gasket won't leak to the ground.
Leaking gasket for the head can, there is a difference.

Blown head gasket is when the metal ring to seal a cylinder to the head on the head gasket breaks down, since cylinder/head has water jackets/passages surrounding this ring, when it breaks down it sends 1,000+ psi pressure, when cylinder is firing, past this ring and to a water passage, this displaces coolant and forms an "air" pocket in the head, which will cause overheating in the head.
On intake stroke of the now leaking cylinder coolant will often be pulled in thru the breach, and burned on the next power stroke, showing up as white exhaust with sweet coolant smell.
If left unrepaired long enough, the breach can expand across the head gasket to an oil passage, leading to coolant in the oil, the milkshake effect, this is less common with newer gasket materials.

Leaking head gasket is more common on bi-metal engines, cast iron block and aluminum heads.
But can happen on all cast or all aluminum engines.
As mechanic said it is caused by cold weather.
Metal expands when heated, so, of course, it shrinks when cooled.
As the block and heads get colder their metal shrinks, in extreme cold coolant can leak from gaskets that now have little compression on them.
The larger metal parts shrink more than the bolts torquing them down, so ft/lb pressure on the gasket is less

Aluminum expands and shrinks 5 to 7 times more the cast iron, so bi-metal engines can leak even in moderately cold temps, this was a major issue when aluminum heads were first used on production vehicles, along with the fact that the different expansion rates ripped up composite head gasket material, that was when they switched to metal head gaskets(MLS), but these were even worse for cold weather sealing, these were modified over time to give better cold seals.
 
  #29  
Old 02-15-2015
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Originally Posted by morris
Your first post was in kms. My step dads neon had its head gasket go with 148k kms. Half of what you have now.

I'd put some money on that being your problem.
Yeah im afraid so, gonna try to find out if its really the case.

Originally Posted by RonD
Blown head gasket won't leak to the ground.
Leaking gasket for the head can, there is a difference.

Blown head gasket is when the metal ring to seal a cylinder to the head on the head gasket breaks down, since cylinder/head has water jackets/passages surrounding this ring, when it breaks down it sends 1,000+ psi pressure, when cylinder is firing, past this ring and to a water passage, this displaces coolant and forms an "air" pocket in the head, which will cause overheating in the head.
On intake stroke of the now leaking cylinder coolant will often be pulled in thru the breach, and burned on the next power stroke, showing up as white exhaust with sweet coolant smell.
If left unrepaired long enough, the breach can expand across the head gasket to an oil passage, leading to coolant in the oil, the milkshake effect, this is less common with newer gasket materials.

Leaking head gasket is more common on bi-metal engines, cast iron block and aluminum heads.
But can happen on all cast or all aluminum engines.
As mechanic said it is caused by cold weather.
Metal expands when heated, so, of course, it shrinks when cooled.
As the block and heads get colder their metal shrinks, in extreme cold coolant can leak from gaskets that now have little compression on them.
The larger metal parts shrink more than the bolts torquing them down, so ft/lb pressure on the gasket is less

Aluminum expands and shrinks 5 to 7 times more the cast iron, so bi-metal engines can leak even in moderately cold temps, this was a major issue when aluminum heads were first used on production vehicles, along with the fact that the different expansion rates ripped up composite head gasket material, that was when they switched to metal head gaskets(MLS), but these were even worse for cold weather sealing, these were modified over time to give better cold seals.
Useful information thanks.

If my head gasket or something is blown, id rather swap the engine with something that has decent power/mpg ratio, like a 5.0 explorer 98-01, and these would fit bolt on right?

Though how much should i expect to pay if i cant do the job myself? Would a sohc 4.0 swap be cheaper?
 
  #30  
Old 02-16-2015
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No, they don't bolt right in.

V8 was never offered in Rangers
Explorer V8s are popular to swap into Rangers because the size of engine bay is similar but still a tight squeeze.
Along with the engine you need transmission, computer and the wiring harness.

4.0l SOHC would be less expensive since since existing transmission could be used, 4.0lOHV and 4.0lSOHC use similar bolt pattern, but you would need an '06 or later SOHC or replace the timing gear setup on earlier SOHC.
And computer and wiring harness.

In either you would also need to deal with Ford PATS, so you would need the PATS keys that came with the computer for the engine going into the Ranger, and you would need to change ignition key cylinder to match the new keys.


Blown head gasket would not first show up as lower MPG.
Overheating is what you would first notice, for sure.
 

Last edited by RonD; 02-16-2015 at 11:10 AM.
  #31  
Old 02-16-2015
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Engine tend to stay at about 200F, guess thats ok?
 
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Old 02-16-2015
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Yes, 195-225degF is normal operating temp
 
  #33  
Old 02-25-2015
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So i went to a mechanic and he made one of those blue fluid test on coolant, and no lead was detected in coolant line, however there was a clunking metallic noise at low rpm behind since i have the truck, he lifted it and shaked the exhaust and the sound is coming from the silencer, he think the cat blew up and part went to silencer then blocking the path, and also causing that noise.

What do you guys think about it?
 
  #34  
Old 02-26-2015
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I think you need new cats
 
  #35  
Old 02-26-2015
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Hmm then at this point i should be getting a whole new line, since ill also need a new silencer, something that sounds good and isnt expensive, their exhaust that they would order would cost 1000$+ alone. Ive heard flowmaster or gibson is best for price.

However i still dont know why i my exahust make so much white smoke, gasket test kit didnt detect a leak in coolant line and cylinder, could a clogged exhaust do that?
 

Last edited by insistent; 02-26-2015 at 08:01 PM.
  #36  
Old 02-26-2015
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$1k for an exhaust?!?!? My Mbrp kit was $250. Find another shop that is cheaper. You could also buy some flanges and make your own system. As for the white smoke i dunno.
 
  #37  
Old 02-26-2015
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Its about the same price everywhere in quebec.
The only site that i found these part and are for canadian resident with decent price, is here
http://www.tdotperformance.ca/perfor...t-systems.html
There are a bunch of choice, but i dont know what i should go for.

http://www.tdotperformance.ca/gibson...luminized.html
This one looks good, but what would you recommend me?
 
  #38  
Old 02-28-2015
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Up to you. If you're close to the border buy it online and ship it to the states to a UPS store. Saves a **** ton.
 
  #39  
Old 02-28-2015
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Yeah thanks.

But first I want to be really sure the exhaust is causing restriction, using a vacuum gauge on a intake vacuum source, but i have no idea where to plug it up, do you know where?
 
  #40  
Old 02-28-2015
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Sorry, I dont.
 
  #41  
Old 03-01-2015
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Ok thx anyway, ill figure it out eventualy.
 
  #42  
Old 03-02-2015
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Originally Posted by insistent
Yeah thanks.

But first I want to be really sure the exhaust is causing restriction, using a vacuum gauge on a intake vacuum source, but i have no idea where to plug it up, do you know where?
Look for the Vacuum Tree, Power brake booster is usually plugged in there.
There is usually 1 or 2 capped(unused) vacuum ports, you can use any of those.
Or just remove one of the smaller hoses and use that port.
 
  #43  
Old 03-03-2015
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Thanks

My vacuum gauge should be coming soon, will try shortly.

By the way, i will remove the o2 sensors to see if there will be a diference on backpressure, should i unplug the sensors or leave it plugged anyway?
 
  #44  
Old 03-03-2015
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Won't matter, you should be doing this with cold engine, and O2 sensors are not used until engine warms up, the O2 sensors will heat up, as they are "heated" sensors if plugged in, so I would just unplug them, you will get CEL, unhook battery for 5 minutes to clear it after O2s are reinstalled
But make sure wires are out of the way of the exhaust coming out the holes, it can melt wiring.
 
  #45  
Old 03-04-2015
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Well i just got the tools and i made a try with the brake booster hose. At 2k rpm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4F4Q...ature=youtu.be
Doesnt seems to be a problem here...

What the hell is wrong with my truck...
 
  #46  
Old 03-04-2015
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Originally Posted by RonD
Won't matter, you should be doing this with cold engine, and O2 sensors are not used until engine warms up, the O2 sensors will heat up, as they are "heated" sensors if plugged in, so I would just unplug them, you will get CEL, unhook battery for 5 minutes to clear it after O2s are reinstalled
But make sure wires are out of the way of the exhaust coming out the holes, it can melt wiring.
^^ Did you do this?
 
  #47  
Old 03-06-2015
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Yeah didnt help
 
  #48  
Old 03-06-2015
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20" with steady needle is OK.

Didn't hear/see you blip the throttle wide open then closed to see if you could get 0" then fast recovery to 20", slow recovery is clogged exhaust
 
  #49  
Old 03-06-2015
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Ah gonna try that, thanks. Is it better to do so on a cold engine?
 

Last edited by insistent; 03-06-2015 at 02:24 PM.
  #50  
Old 03-06-2015
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It won't matter when testing vacuum, it doesn't change hot or cold
 


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