Bought this thing for next to nothing. Planned on working on it right away, but damn the pandemic really screwed up plans. It has been sitting in my driveway for over a year. I killed like 5 B.I.G. black widows that set up shop under it in the time since. I see another one under there that I still have to get to. That is how long it has been on my driveway.

Compression readings were found here in this thread: https://www.ranger-forums.com/2-9l-3...5/#post2183489. I plan to tear down to the lower engine by this weekend working on it an hour or two a day. I also plan on replacing the heads. But before I invest in those heads, I want to see what the lower engine status is. If it is kaput, I am just going to junk the truck.

Questions are:

• Aside from inspecting the cylinders for damage
• Touching the pistons to determine if there is significant play
• Checking the lower engine for warpage with a straight edge

Anything, else I should do specifically to determine if there is lower engine damage? If so, I won't proceed further and will just call up Pick 'n Pull. If the lower engine is good, I do notice there is significant I'll proceed with draining remnant fuel, tranny fluid, brake fluid, power streering, etc. Replacing filters, gaskets, water pump, radiator (has a hole in it). Maybe the heater core, but I am dreading that. FYI, fluid that came out of the petcock was brown. But of course, first assessment has to be the lower engine.

 

The 3.0l timing chain, cam, and crank never had issues
Same for pistons and rings
The 3.0l short block just ran and ran

Heads did burn valves in the 3.0ls, they run a high compression ratio, 9.3:1
Heads usually didn't crack like the 4.0l OHVs, but should be pressure tested if reusing

1999-2008 3.0ls use TTY head bolts, can't be reused

If you are doing some wrench work then front engine cover(timing chain cover) was a known issue, it has 2 water pump passages that leaked, so changing that gasket is never a bad idea, not required, just never a bad idea, lol

'Also there is a metal elbow on the top front of the engine that liked to rust out, you have to pull brackets off to spin it off or put new one on, and brackets will already be off with heads off..................so
Part number: f77z-18599-aa

 

That is good to know. I am just going to get a refurbed set of cylinder heads. Don't know of a good machine shop in my parts. I'll be at the lower engine in another day, so I'll order them this weekend.

Any recommended sources for both heads?
The HG gasket kit I got came with head bolts. So I am good there. Will oil the threads and under the bolt head before installing. Will clean out bolt holes best I can before installing them; compressed air, shop towels, vacuum. I don't have any thing to chase the threads though. Think I'll be ok without however.
Excellent idea. Question here, previous owner filled coolant system up with tap water and fluid out of the radiator was brown. I was thinking after the heads are replaced, not installing the new radiator right away and flushing the coolant system. I have a feeling previous owner used head gasket sealer, that is why and just want to get as much rust out and if possible as much of that sealant (if any/possible) out as possible before installing a new radiator and maybe heater core.

Any other thoughts on flushing?
Mine is definitely rusted up good.Thanks for the part number!

One other question. I noticed one of the exhaust manifold bolts was missing closest to the driver side. Someone definitely attempted a repair on this truck previously. There is oil coating all over the lower engine, from the crank position sensor to the oil pan in the back. Any other gasket I should be replacing while I am there besides the HG and timing chain gasket to remedy this?

Thanks again Mr. @RonD . Anyone want to see pics of this as I go?

 

Every one wants to see Pics, lol

If you can roll the vehicle outside or its in a spot where you can do a manual flush with the heads off that will help the future flushing
With water pump off, but front cover still on
Use a small hose(that fits down coolant passages in the block) connected to garden hose, and a long screw driver or ??
Cover the Valley with a towel
Put screwdriver down farthest back coolant passages in the block and feel if there is build up of debris between cylinders and block, break it up, you can't hurt the block or cylinders
Use the hose to flush it all out the water pump openings as you go
You may be surprised how much crud comes out
Do both sides of course
Most of it will be in the rear of the block because engine sits at an angle

With exhaust manifolds out of the way take a good look at the Core Plugs(freeze plugs) make sure there are no signs of rust, scrape centers with screwdriver to make sure, if in doubt replace it
You can use the rubber expansion plugs instead of the metal ones, car makers don't use these because they are too expensive, no other reason, they are much easier to install in tight places

Just as a heads up, you shouldn't drain the oil in the pan until you are done with most of the repairs
So when you do drain it most of the debris that fell down into the pan will be drained out
After heads are on but lower intake is still off I drain the oil
Then I will pour a quart of oil in the valley to wash out any remaining debris

 

Everyone is going to see pics then!


I've use a drain bladder before on my old Ranger. I'll use it again. Basically, it inflates and prevents water from backing up out of the hole it is inserted in and doesn't eject water until it inflates to a certain degree. Then once it ejects water, it does it in a powerful jet. Should work yeah?
I'll explore this further.
Now you tell me. LoL! Thanks again @RonD

 

Alright, at the urging of the venerable Mr. @RonD, here are some pics and a status report. Wanted to set goals for today:

1. Unfasten power steering from cylinder block
2. Remove exhaust manifold bolts
3. Remove cam covers
4. Remove LIM

Power Steering Assembly:

I got stuck right away with the power steering assembly. I got 3 bolts off the front. Got the one bolt & stud off the back. I can feel it wiggling a tiny bit, but could not get it off. Thinking maybe I needed to pry it off at this point, I couldn't find a suitable pry tool handy, so I moved to the other things. From the front, there are 2 bolts in a crevice under the AC pulley, then there is another to the left of the AC pulley, right? Any other bolt that has to be removed from the front? Darned if I could find it.

Exhaust Manifold:

I got 2 of the top driver side studs off from the engine bay. The 3rd one closest to the firewall was already snapped off. I could not reach the lower bolts with enough clearance for torque through the engine bay. Turns out it was easier to jack up the front of the truck, remove the front wheels and slide a long extension or two under the mud flap to get to the exhaust manifold bolts. The passenger side exhaust manifold bolts were all removed through the wheel well. Once done, the front wheels were put back on and the truck was lowered. I'll repeat that again to get them back on again. I will have to buy a new set of bolts for the driver side but the broken stud shouldn't prevent me from getting the driver side head off.

Cam covers and LIM:

Cam covers came off easy. Not a big deal, but I was surprised they are plastic. I got the LIM bolts off but not the LIM. There is a hose to near the thermostat that I have to remove. The AC line is in the way.

Tomorrow, I'll give the power steering assembly another whack. Then will remove the hose that is connected to the UIM. Then the LIM comes off, roller rockers, push rods, love tap the head bolts a bit with a small sledge, then finally get to removing the heads. Will do it slowly in 3 phases from outside in: 1. Break no more than 45 degrees 2. Loosen further 3. Loosen till free, then use an electric ratchet for the rest of the way. I should have pics of the lower engine by tomorrow.

This is where I started at today.



Next two pics show where I ended up for the day. In total, I think I spent 2 hours today. I work in tech, so I am not a mechanic. Hence the slow speed.





On a side note, all my injectors will need a good cleaning. They all look dirty AF. I have them all removed and in numbered ziplock bags. I bought this injector tester from Amazon to do the cleaning. I also have these solder hands that I use for electronics soldering. So will mount each injector using those soldering hands and clean them up good using carb cleaner before reinstalling them.

 

!@#$!@#$!#%$^!! The below pic says it all with how my day went. I was really careful getting the head bolts off. I used a sledge hammer and #13 socket and short extension to knock the threads loose before I attempted to unfasten them. But the furthest right bolt was just stuck somehow and it snapped like butter, and not like a quick snap. Notice all the rust on that head bolt.



I had issues with one other head bolt too. Looks like a ton of RTV got on the threads? Here is it in comparison to how one of the other bolts look. It came out, but after it was unfastened, I had to grab pliers to pull it out. No issues with the remaining head bolts. The remaining head bolts looked clean like the bottom head bolt shown in the pic below.



So with the head snapped off one bolt, you would think you can just lift the head straight up off the broken bolt. But nope. It would just not come off. I even tied a strap to cylinder head for leverage and though I could turn the head clock-wise, but it would not budge vertically. Frustration was setting in so I sprayed PB Blaster down the bolt hole a couple of times, left the cylinder head laying sideways on the engine block, and went off to grab dinner.



The PB Blaster worked! After grabbing dinner, I was able to wiggle the head off with not much effort. After the head came off, seems there is more RTV molded around the base of bolt. The following pic show what the broken bolt looks like now with the head off:



I sprayed more PB Blaster on the broken head bolt. Will spray some more PB Blaster tonight on the bolt before going to bed. Hopefully, that will help me tomorrow when I put some channel locks on that sucker to get it off.

Also of note, when I went to pry cylinder heads off, water came rushing out and spilled down to the pavement. That was unexpected since I drained the coolant. Some water got into the cylinders and pooled up. That is kind of good news. If the rings are bad on those suckers, then you would expect the water to just seep down the cylinder? Anyhow, the water didn't sit for too long in the cylinders and I used shop towels to soak and dry them out.

The below pic shows the bottom of the LIM. Whoever worked on this before put the gasket that lies in the valley in the front of the LIM, but didn't use the gasket in the back. Not only that, but there was a ton of RTV everywhere. Probably, why there is oil all over the lower engine.



Roller rockers and push rods shoved into slits I cut into a box with a pocket knife. I know someone might say that there is no need to keep them in order. But it doesn't hurt to either. Push rods all looked good. The ends were nice and spherical with no obvious signs of wear eating into the spherical shape. Will test them out later to straightness by just rolling them on top of my countertop.



Look at all that RTV at the manifold on furthest right! Whoever worked on this previously, have you no shame?



The interesting thing in the pic below is the rectangular port on the furthest right is blocked on the gasket. There is no hole in the gasket. But you can obviously see rust forming in the shape of that port. That definitely is not correct for the head gasket. I will check my new gasket set to see if an opening is there.



So the cylinder heads didn't look too bad. One valve looked like it was stuck open. I'll post pics of them tomorrow as I ran out of light. I had originally thought to get new heads, but now after seeing them, I think I can look around my area for a machine shop that can work on them. Save a little dough in the process. Also, the cylinders looked good and didn't budge as I touched them. No play whatsoever. As I was wiping away the water, I noticed how smooth the walls were. So tomorrow's goals are to find a head shop nearby that can work on them. Otherwise, I'll just buy a new set. Then of course, need to get that broken head bolt off before getting to cleaning smooth the mating surfaces on the engine block.

 

Question for @RonD or anyone else. I have no idea where the water came from after I pried the cylinder heads off. Did it come from water resting in the cylinders? If so, you would think rust would have built up after sitting for a year in the cylinder. Most of the water pooled up in the back cylinders on both sides and I was getting misfire codes on cylinder 1 and 5. But I don't see rust in the cylinders. Also, I was able to drive the truck home a good 10-12 miles after I bought it a year ago. With that much water, I would think I would have hydro-locked the pistons for sure, yeah?Or do you think the water was trapped in the heads themselves and spilled into the back cylinders as I pried the heads off from the front of the engine bay?

Should I check for cylinder height to ensure I don't have bent pistons? If so, how should approach manually turning the crank?

 

Yes, the water came from the head on that side, could have been a blocked passage, not all passages are used, some are blocked by head gasket to create a flow pattern thru the head and block, but also could have been debris blocking it so, yes have the heads cleaned

I would suspect some one has had the heads off before and re-used the head bolts, which you shouldn't do on the 1999 and up 3.0ls since they use the longer TTY bolts
They added RTV to the threads for whatever reason???, and the bolt broke because that's what TTY bolts can do if you re-use them, usually when you re-tighten them but can break on removal as well
The 3.0l block and head bolts were changed in 1999, also the valve stem size

Use a socket on the crank pulley bolt to turn engine manually, you can turn it either way, no harm done

 

Clamping vise grips down on the remnant head bolt shaft and rocking it back and forth in a 45 degree arc broke the threads loose. Eventually, I was able to remove it the rest of the way with my finger tips. What a relief. I did spray tons of PB Blaster on the bolt. But after removing it, I didn't see any of it penetrate down to the threads. The collar that aligns the cylinder head to the block came off as well. Will have to un-gum that bolt to retrieve the collar.



I had mentioned that I didn't plan on using thread chaser on the cylinder bolt holes, but after seeing the condition of the head bolts I think I will have to. My neighbor also suggested that I pull the engine out and offered to loan the hoist, an engine mount, and helping hands to do the job. My hesitation is that I've never done it before and my truck is on my driveway facing into an incline. But then again, I have never done head work on a Ranger before either. Up until this job, I have been an fluids & filter change/tire rotation guy only. Virtually everything is out and if such a decision is to be made, it has to be made soon. Contemplating it because of what else I am now seeing. Pulling the engine will allow me to get the oil pan and I know I will have to do that job eventually. Also, I'll be able to get to the tranny fluid that is in the torque convertor.

These pics show how there is oil all over the lower engine below the crank shaft pulley and RTV was liberally used to seal up the water pump and timing cover. Shall I pull the engine just so I can undo what the previous owner did and perform a more thorough job? More work, not exactly necessary, but might be fun :).




As promised here is what the heads look like after pulling them.

Driver side.




And passenger side.




I opened my new gasket kit. There is no opening on the front side (right side of pic) for the rectangular coolant passage. I am looking at most of the kits that are out there and that is the case for just about all of them. There is definitely a coolant port there on the block and on the heads. There is at least one kit on the market that has a opening for that port on the gasket. What gives? EDIT: Nevermind. RonD commented on this already.

Another thing is that there are no markings that say what side is up and front. The orange rubber around the coolant ports are on one side of the gasket, but not the other. Should the side with the orange rubber be facing up or down into the block?



Good news is I can start to clean the block smooth now. Also, good news in that I have a full can of denatured alcohol left to do the cleaning. Good old California banned the stuff recently. I'll clean the other components that came out too. Will make an order for new heads tomorrow after calling up the retailer. Closer pics of what the mating surfaces look like now before the cleaning in the next post.

 

Glad that bolt came out

Just buy more head alignment dowels/sleeves, they are not expensive

Orange side up, but there is a left and right side

For the head gaskets go here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec..._0-build.shtml
Scroll down towards the bottom

 

Nearby head shop told me he had to move out of his location. Was hoping to give a local business some cash, but it wasn't in the stars. Anyway found an online retailer. After the core return, new refurbed heads are going to cost me $386 total. I think that is a good deal!

 

This is what the mating surfaces on the engine block look like. I put in a good hour into doing what everyone else does when cleaning the engine mating surfaces: scrape with a razor blade, carb cleaner, scotch pads, shop towels, etc. I didn't get very far with traditional tried and true methods.That turned out to be a good thing.





I had picked up on the idea of using 3M roloc discs (the white 120 grit one) from FordTechMakuloco's Youtube channel to polish the mating surface of engine block. The only problem with that is that I don't have any air tools, so had to find another solution. I do have a Ridgid cordless 1/4" impact driver that produces high RPM's and torque. Since that is not right angled, using it for this purpose would have made life miserable. I ran off to Home Depot and bought a flexible right angle extension to facilitate the job.



The result was nothing short of BBQ Chicken! The pic below doesn't show how good this looks. The carb cleaner I used to lubricate the roloc disc had dried and crusted over by the time I took this photo. But you can see that the orange rubber from the gasket that melted/fused to the engine block is virtually gone. As is the felt gasket material. The best part of this was I spent 3-5 minutes to get here from the earlier pics. The roloc discs certain makes quick work of the effort. And I do have some wool polishing discs that I'll use in the same way to polish things even further.

Still boggles my mind that Ridgid EOL'ed the Octane line. They are fantastic tools. The good news is that when they did that, everything was heavily discounted and I entered the market for cordless power tools at the right time. I remember picking up that impact driver, a 1/2" impact wrench, a hammer drill, 3 batteries, and a charger for $179! Everything has a lifetime warranty, even batteries.



I believe my lower engine is good, so I'll go on with the repair instead of junking this truck. I have some more parts on order and it will be another week or two before they get here. I'll finish out cleaning the engine block mating surfaces tonight, then move onto the following:

• Clean carbon from piston heads
• Clean exhaust manifold mating surfaces
• Remove water pump
• Flush lower engine
• Flush heater core
• Remove timing cover
• Remove oil pan using Bruce Allen's method from Youtube
  • I'll try to make a video of this for posterity and post to Youtube as it seems to be a troublesome proposition

 

I am mostly done with cleaning both sides of the cylinder block. I am also done with removing carbon build up from the top of the pistons. The process used a white 120 grit 3M roloc disc, along with this impact roloc spindle, and carb cleaner for a lubricant/degreaser. Then a razor to knock down left over high spots, followed by more application of the roloc disc. Finally, I used these wool roloc discs to polish things up. Though, there wasn't much effect from the wool roloc discs, as expected. Here is how everything looks.





I applied a coating of oil (not seen in these pics) to prevent rust as I await parts, then will move onto other things. When the parts arrive, I'll do the final cleaning. Chase the cylinder head bolt threads. Blow and vacuum them out. Additionally, I manually rotated the crank to clean the top of the pistons. Every piston topped and bottomed out evenly in the appropriate pairs. The crank was buttery smooth. So as far as I can tell, no bent rods from hydrolocking. The cylinder walls also cleaned up very well. Not much effort was put into that. Just carb cleaner and shop towels. More evidence that I am good with moving forward with this repair

Total time spent cleaning the engine block and top of the piston heads was ~2 hours. I am about 6-7 hours into this repair. I am not a mechanic and am in no rush. I want to get this right.

Question(s):

1. The bracket in the engine valley that holds the lifters in place. That is called the lifter retaining bracket? I want to remove that to clean debri. What is the torque spec on that bracket?
2. Should I remove the lifters and clean them while I am there? I am sure some debris got to them as I was cleaning the engine block. What's a good process for cleaning the lifters?
   

 

Hey, look what I found lurking in one of my storage bins....


Big decision this week shall be to pull the engine, or not to pull the engine. This is all contingent upon whether or not I can get the oil pan off. In reviewing the Hayes manual instructions, it definitely calls for the engine to be removed. Goals for this week are the following:

• Remove harmonic balancer
• Remove timing cover
• Remove starter, engine mounts, tranny cross member mounts, possibly oil sensor (as the manual calls for that), then give the oil pan the good old college try
• Look for a single new bolt with M10-1.50 to make a thread chaser with a Dremel or wheel grinder. I really don't want to use a die. Worse case scenario, I will use one of the old head bolts,but I know those have been TTY'ed already.

The other decision with pulling the engine is it will also make getting to the rear main seal easier. But I also know getting to the rear main seal doesn't require pulling the engine. I am hoping that I have no issues leaking issues with the rear main seal. I really don't want to touch the tranny. My plan is to fix the top end only., then evaluate. Hopefully, the above can be finished by the middle of the week. By the latter half of the week, I should have all the parts that I ordered. Will take a look at the lifters and assess if they need a good cleaning. Then everything starts to go back in. Only thing I am going to do today is PB Blast the engine mount bolts, front differential bolt that Bruce Allen referenced (?), and tranny cross member bolts a couple of times. Get those ready for the oil pan job. Its Mother's Day afterall. So Happy Mother's Day everyone!

 

Got stopped in my tracks this week because every auto parts store in my area only rented larger sized harmonic balancer pullers and those just didn't work for a Ranger (I want life back, all 30 minutes worth). I bought a puller off Amazon. But while I was down there, the amount of oil leakage was quite significant. Rear main seal, crankshaft seal, timing cover, oil pan, all those seals have to be replaced. Might as well do the tranny seals while I am at it. So I've made the decision to pull the engine and tranny out all at once. Will pressure wash all the grease off the engine, tranny, engine bay, and under carriage so it all looks nice. I will do that on Sunday. Today will get everything disconnected to prep for the job. I am going to have to put the old heads back on I think. Otherwise, what else am I going to latch the engine hoist to?

But..........I will go so far as to experiment with Bruce Allen's method for puling the oil pan without hoisting out the motor. Once the motor and tranny mounts come out, will jack the engine up by the tranny. See how much clearance can be obtained. Will report back what I find so that it can help someone else later down the line.

 

My neighbor and I decided to pull the engine and tranny today, a day earlier than planned. Since I was on his time, didn't get a chance to experiment with Bruce Allen's method for removing the oil pan. While I was down under the car however, everything he mentions seems sound. The only question is how much space you'll be able to achieve between the bottom of the oil pan and the cross member. Hopefully, someone else can pick up the mantle later.

But yeah, engine and tranny came out! I think it took is a good 2.5-3 hours. There is oil all over the components so every seal is going to get redone. Will spend tomorrow degreasing as much as I can and await more parts to arrive. I am thinking the truck is road worthy in the next two weeks. Pics below:

 

The problem with removing the oil pan with engine in the vehicle is the oil pickup tube inside the pan

It sits at the bottom of the pan usually 5 to 6" below lower block
You can usually only raise the engine, with transmission attached, maybe 3" before it hits the firewall tunnel

 

I went ahead and pulled the ECM out to get the values on the capacitors for some preventative maintenance.

Sadly, the aluminum electrolytic capacitors that are in my ECM are of the SMD variety, not the through-hole radial variety. They are still pretty easy to replace, but I'd have to get the lead spacing measured to get it right, or they won't fit. Too much effort for me after all the cleaning work I put in today. I will just put it away and tackle it another day as the ECM is easy to get to. I did get the values on the caps though:

Larger cap = 47 uf 50v
Smaller cap = 47uf 16v

 

Pulled of the flywheel and rear main seal and looks like I found the source of all that oil leaking! The rear of the oil pan gasket looks like it is being squeezed through a pasta extruder. Either the pan gasket was installed incorrectly by the last guy or it is wayyyyyy over-torqued. With the oil pan gasket squeezing out like that it is blocking my ability to cleanly install a new rear main seal (towards the bottom of the rear main seal). I am just going to get some flush cutters and snip away at the oil pan gasket so I can get the new rear main seal in cleanly. I certainly don't want to manipulate/squeeze/deform the new rear main seal trying to get it in. After that, the engine goes on a mount so I can tackle the oil pan->heads->LIM->cam covers->timing cover->crankshaft seal. Then will pressure wash the engine.

Anything else I should do while I am here? FYI: freeze plugs all look good.

 

Found this pipe fitting at Home Depot and it should work perfectly for tapping in the rear main seal flush. Just remove the plug. It fits over the crank perfectly and the flange is wide and flat. It will bottom out on the engine and not into the crevice where the rear main seal is to fit into. Should be perfect for the job as soon as the part gets here on Sunday. Once done, I'll just return it to Home Depot :D.

 

The rear Cam plug can leak but never seen that on a 3.0l, looks like a "freeze" plug but that hole is there to machine the cam journals, rear cam bearing is right there so it can leak oil if it starts to rust out, but since there is no coolant on the other side and its in a very protected location thats not likely