- Joined
- Feb 28, 2001
- Messages
- 8,033
- Reaction score
- 4,368
- 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"
Yeah, it happened, #4 rod let go I believe as there's a hole in the block behind the starter... Don't know what happened, probably lost a rod bolt since I cheaped out and didn't get ARP or anything...
That said, my spare torn apart block will need boring, which means new pistons, what are my options? I don't want to spend a fortune but I don't want to screw with it for a long time either. My goals are ~225-250hp reliable with reasonable low end. If it's feasible I'd like to up the compression a little to get more bottom end...
Now might be the time to get my tachometer working, and switch over to the LA3 ECM I have... I'll probably hold out on intercooling for now though, I have a plan but it would be easy enough to implement after the engine is in and running...
So, are forged 8.5ish:1 pistons available in the under $500 range? If different compression ratios aren't feasible I'll stick with the stock 8:1, but if you have to go custom, might as well go big
I'm sure you're curious on what happened... took a drive on Saturday to the beach with my 3 wheeler in the bed of the ol Ranger to drive in the sand at Sand Lake, the sand wasn't pleasant with the trike in the bed so I parked the truck and took the 3 wheeler out... had fun for a while then headed home. My drive was over 150 miles long, the engine decided to go within 1/2 mile from my moms house while I was crossing an intersection, heard a ticking and lost all oil pressure so I coasted to a stop in a good spot and found a bunch of oil leaking. Towed it to my moms house on Saturday, then to my house on Sunday, while attempting to drive it on the trailer it locked up and a piece of engine block fell off so I found out the bad news, I thought I had just lost oil pressure somehow and it wouldn't be a big deal...
That said, my spare torn apart block will need boring, which means new pistons, what are my options? I don't want to spend a fortune but I don't want to screw with it for a long time either. My goals are ~225-250hp reliable with reasonable low end. If it's feasible I'd like to up the compression a little to get more bottom end...
Now might be the time to get my tachometer working, and switch over to the LA3 ECM I have... I'll probably hold out on intercooling for now though, I have a plan but it would be easy enough to implement after the engine is in and running...
So, are forged 8.5ish:1 pistons available in the under $500 range? If different compression ratios aren't feasible I'll stick with the stock 8:1, but if you have to go custom, might as well go big
I'm sure you're curious on what happened... took a drive on Saturday to the beach with my 3 wheeler in the bed of the ol Ranger to drive in the sand at Sand Lake, the sand wasn't pleasant with the trike in the bed so I parked the truck and took the 3 wheeler out... had fun for a while then headed home. My drive was over 150 miles long, the engine decided to go within 1/2 mile from my moms house while I was crossing an intersection, heard a ticking and lost all oil pressure so I coasted to a stop in a good spot and found a bunch of oil leaking. Towed it to my moms house on Saturday, then to my house on Sunday, while attempting to drive it on the trailer it locked up and a piece of engine block fell off so I found out the bad news, I thought I had just lost oil pressure somehow and it wouldn't be a big deal...