Hello to all

I am an old man with a mission. This Ranger belonged to my daughter who passed 2 years ago. I am just getting over it enough to see if I can get her going. She let another drive it and they ran it hot and blew the head gasket. I got a gasket set and am in the process of rebuilding the top end of the 3.0 in the Ranger. Have some more work such as redoing the headliner and replacing the center and floor consoles.

If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know.

I live in Central Georgia and this is a 1999 Ranger XLT ext cab vin V flex fuel

John C. "Chuck" Hall

 

Sorry for your loss.

Welcome to the forum.

LMC Truck is a good place to get interior and body parts for older Fords: Truck Parts and Truck Accessories

1999 was transition year for the 3.0l, it used longer head bolts and had smaller valves, the 1998 and earlier.
The head bolts for all were Torque-to-yield(TTY) style, i.e. tighten bolt to XX ft/lb then turn 90degrees, these hold better but CAN NOT be reused, once they are stretched they are stronger than regular bolts, but after being loosened they loose strength.

Read here about the 3.0l Vulcan engine and changes over the years: Ford Ranger II 3.0 liter Engines

3.0l Vulcan engine was also used in the Ford Taurus car, transverse mounted, these used a different head gasket than the Ranger 3.0l, has to do with coolant flow thru the head and block, so make sure you got Ranger 3.0l gasket set.
Ranger 3.0l Head gaskets also have a left and right(they will be labelled), the heads themselves do not, it has to do with coolant flow.

 

Thanks for the info. Got a good proceedure for how to remove rust???lol brass brush.

 

I still use Naval Jelly, still works.

It WILL dissolve paint so be careful with it, and wear gloves, it isn't all that bad but over time it will sting.

Coat area using a stiff brush, work it in, wait 5 minutes then work it around again, wait 5 minutes and rinse with water, brush it while rinsing.

Repeat as you see fit.

Naval jelly will turn any remaining surface rust to an inert compound which can be painted, dry area, then let it dry 12 hours or so.
Paint with a primer first, let it dry then paint with exterior paint.

Just as a heads up about paint.
Primer will stick to metal better, but can not stand up to light(UV) and water
Exterior paint can take light and water but doesn't stick to metal very well, but does stick to primer.

 

Thanks for the excellent information