How Is This Possible - 6 Cylinder Gasoline - Ranger Engine Tech

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Posted: Tue Dec 14th, 2021 01:34 pm

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Angelscry2
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I'm needing serious answers. I took my 2001, 3.0, 4x4, no turbo ford ranger truck to a dealership for repair because it was running to lean on bank 1 and bank 2. Even after I replaced mass air sensors, and a couple others. They've had my truck a month because master tech works at sheriffs office and can only show 1 or 2 days a week. I called today to find out what was up. Now they are telling me it has low or no compression. How can it go from to lean to low or no compression? Can the running to lean have been caused by the low or no compression or vice versa? I just don't see it. If I had low or no compression I would have had other problems or more codes showing than running to lean right? I know it has 274k miles on it but it's been well cared for. Now they say I need a new motor cause they can't find the problem or they've done things to try and fix it and still low or no compression. OMGOSH HELP

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Posted: Tue Dec 14th, 2021 06:08 pm

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Tsquare
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A lean on bank 1 and bank 2 could have been the pre-courser to head gasket or cracked head. With 274k on the clock my best guess would be cracked head or head gasket that is causing the low compression.

Low budget solution: I would look for a junk yard replacement 3.0L and put a new oil pump, water pump, and thermostat housing with thermostat on it before I swapped it out. With your engine out I would also pull the transmission and transfer case to do a full service to make sure no problems were on the horizon.

Deep pocket solution: Find a 5.0L out of a 2000/2001 Explorer with 4wd. Go through the engine and replace any worn parts and all gaskets you can get to. Rebuild transmission and transfer case. A 5.0 swap with fresh tranny and x-fer case with new driveshaft solves any power issues.

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Semi retirement

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Posted: Tue Dec 14th, 2021 10:56 pm

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Angelscry2
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Well if I go that route I would not have to worry about the transmission seeming it was just worked on 8 or 9 months ago. The overdrive light was coming on when ever it wanted to. Repair shop found metal particles deep inside. Anyway I'm waiting for the tech to call me maybe tomorrow, I hope. Someone said sticking rings or valves, may correct itself. Dad says get truck back and just drive it the way it is. But I can come out of drs office and it may not start up period. I read it can kill the computer board if I don't get the o2 thing fixed. I for one can't afford that nor a huge repair bill. SS is my only income, so I basically need a fix that will last hopefully a few more years. Is it possible to get rings or valves to work freely?

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Posted: Tue Dec 14th, 2021 11:54 pm

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Welcome to FR! The lowest budget peace of mind thing you could do is get another opinion or get a cheap compression gauge and check it yourself.

The actual compression isn't as important than a balance between cylinders. It has been argued to no end but I personally like to see no more than 5% between the highest and lowest cylinder with the engine warm. Then you can diagnose the lean condition if the compression is good.

Low compression at that mileage I would bet money on valves but it could be a number of things. Some people believe in using sea foam but I personally do not.
Oil change with synthetic 5W20 helps, you can do that yourself for about 40 bucks if you have the wrench.

You will not fry the computer with a bad O2 sensor. You have 4 on that one, 2 upstream and 2 downstream. The upstream ones are important, the downstreams are fluff. Funny thing they are the exact same sensor with different length cords.

Plenty you can do for under 100, but there does come a time when you have to let go, even with that wimpy but indestructible 3.0.

Tony is correct on his opinions, some extreme cases you can get 350 or 400K but it is usually an extreme case in a state with perfect weather, garage kept, driving daily for over a half hour each trip, more frequent than needed oil changes. Short trips actually wear an engine not giving it time to evaporate the natural condensation in the crankcase.

We wish you the best of fortune and luck with your cool little truck!

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Posted: Wed Dec 15th, 2021 06:17 pm

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Tsquare
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Angelscry2 wrote:

Is it possible to get rings or valves to work freely?

The short answer is yes. For a high mileage motor the process to flush the engine will create other problems like oil leaks. You might get away with top cylinder lubricant (Marvel Mystery oil) squirted in each of the spark plug holes. Let it sit for about and hour and then spin the engine over to get it to spit out the spark plug holes. The Accelerator needs to be held to the floor to disable the fuel system. After you have soaked the engine compartment with Marvel Mystery oil put the plugs back in and see if it helped.

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Posted: Fri Dec 17th, 2021 10:18 am

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Tsquare
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FYI: If you tell a junkyard you need a 3.0 Vulcan engine for a Ranger it is going to be $1400-$1600. If you tell them you need a 3.0L v-6 for a 2007 Mercury Sable it will run $800-$1000. It is the same engine but the Sable one has different engine mounts bolted to it. Everything will swap over from your engine to the Sable engine.

I have a neighbor do this with his 2000 Ranger. He had about 300k on his when it started running rough and overheating. The oil looked like a chocolate milkshake. He found a 2007 Sable 3.0 that had only 80k on it and swapped it out over a weekend. He did put a new water pump, thermostat, radiator, heater coil, oil pump, related gaskets, and hoses. That was 2 years ago. He had less than $1200 tied up in the swap.

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Semi retirement

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