- Joined
- Feb 28, 2001
- Messages
- 8,062
- Reaction score
- 4,410
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Dayton Oregon
- Vehicle Year
- 1990, 1997
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- 2.3 (4 Cylinder)
- Engine Size
- 2.3 Turbo
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- Total Lift
- 6
- Tire Size
- 35"
I'm finally prepping the short block, this weekend I got it mostly cleaned, it was sitting as a shortblock without oil pan in a guys garage for a while apparently as there's sawdust in some strange places... just when I thought I got it all I found more...
Anyway, I'm noticing some small differences in the blocks when they changed to the one piece pan gasket from the 3 piece gasket, this is when they switched from 8mm bolts in the back by the main bearing cap to 6mm. These blocks still don't have the 4th bolt hole just over the cover where the fuel pump would go that's needed for the newer style power steering bracket...
That said, I just drilled and tapped 4 holes in my block, one for the power steering bracket that is 10mm by 1.5 pitch, and as I was drilling the hole in the block I noticed it is in line with the forward oil pump mounting hole, not really useful information but hey... This hole isn't optimal as it's probably .005" lower than the forward hole, you are drilling through an angle, and the material is only about 1/4" thick. From my experience it is apparently plenty sufficient since both bolts were plenty tight and I have had no issues since 2009. I think I'm skipping a bolt in that bracket, if memory serves there's a lower hole that goes horizontally into the side of the block that's near impossible to get to... I skipped that one and still am not having issues. The other 3 holes are for the crank sensor, one for the stud, the other two for the sensor bracket. All 3 are 6mm by 1 pitch, it's best to use a drill stop set at just shy of 3/4" as 2 of the holes are fairly close to important stuff, the other is just a through hole with about 1/4" of material.
That's it for now For those complaining about drilling the crank sensor holes to keep DIS, if you have the engine apart I think it's worth the time, the time you spend doing this will probably equal that of changing the wiring harness from the Ranger to match the distributor wiring... the hardest part for me is finding my tools when I need them, I had to do a bit of digging to find my 6mm tap...
Anyway, I'm noticing some small differences in the blocks when they changed to the one piece pan gasket from the 3 piece gasket, this is when they switched from 8mm bolts in the back by the main bearing cap to 6mm. These blocks still don't have the 4th bolt hole just over the cover where the fuel pump would go that's needed for the newer style power steering bracket...
That said, I just drilled and tapped 4 holes in my block, one for the power steering bracket that is 10mm by 1.5 pitch, and as I was drilling the hole in the block I noticed it is in line with the forward oil pump mounting hole, not really useful information but hey... This hole isn't optimal as it's probably .005" lower than the forward hole, you are drilling through an angle, and the material is only about 1/4" thick. From my experience it is apparently plenty sufficient since both bolts were plenty tight and I have had no issues since 2009. I think I'm skipping a bolt in that bracket, if memory serves there's a lower hole that goes horizontally into the side of the block that's near impossible to get to... I skipped that one and still am not having issues. The other 3 holes are for the crank sensor, one for the stud, the other two for the sensor bracket. All 3 are 6mm by 1 pitch, it's best to use a drill stop set at just shy of 3/4" as 2 of the holes are fairly close to important stuff, the other is just a through hole with about 1/4" of material.
That's it for now For those complaining about drilling the crank sensor holes to keep DIS, if you have the engine apart I think it's worth the time, the time you spend doing this will probably equal that of changing the wiring harness from the Ranger to match the distributor wiring... the hardest part for me is finding my tools when I need them, I had to do a bit of digging to find my 6mm tap...