4WD 3.0 Engine Swap

hello everyone and thank you for your time. I am in the middle of a 3.0 engine swap on my 99 4wd ranger and stuck. already have all electrical unplugged and out of the way, pulled the intake to gain more access to unplug stuff, and now just trying to figure out what next I should do.

have a mechanic friend who has never worked on pulling a ranger engine, and actually surprised him to look at the transmission to find no bell housing. here is the problem he brought up when he looked under (and I am pulling engine alone, not with trans), he started going into description on how we might have to start loosening bolts and great detail in everything that would have to be done one at a time to drop the front torsion or stress bars located lengthwise on either side of the front behind the tires. is that really what needs to be done?

looking down while on the engine without the intake in the way it looks like I can access the transmission to engine bolts mostly from on top the engine. is that possible or recommended?

I am stuck right now cause I find no info on the internet about this and the Hayes manual describes the 3.0 engine but does not describe how to remove it (stupid book). I am asking for any advice from anyone who has done this, who has replaced the clutch cause that might shed some light into what to be done, or anyone with knowledge about what I am trying to do, thank you

while I have not (yet) pulled the 3.0 from my 2000, I anticipate using some very long extensions and flex sockets when that time comes.

good luck, now its time for the experts to post.

well I do understand and hope this thread helps you with your project. still working on mine however. kind of at a stand still right now just trying to look up information anywhere which is proving to be pointless. anyway still here still looking for an answer

No you don't have to remove suspension parts to pull the engine.

Drop drive lines and remove shifter, you will be lowering and moving the trans/transfer case back, same as doing the clutch.
Remove exhaust from manifolds and remove x-over out of the way
You may want to remove cam synchro as it can hit the firewall if things shift around.
Yes the bell housing bolts are hard to get to, but it can be done.

You can try to remove engine with trans in place.
Unbolt exhaust
Strap engine to hoist
loosen and remove pressure plate bolts(clutch)
Lift engine(take weight off the frame) and remove motor mounts

One thing people forget it that the weight of the engine compresses the front suspension, so when the weight is lifted the front of the vehicle goes up.....alot.
And the engine hoist often can not raise the engine up enough to clear the body.
Make sure hoist arm is as close to the engine as practical, so you get the most lift.
And have a jack and blocks available so, if needed, you can jack up the front end, remove the tires and then lower the body down on to blocks so engine can clear body for removal.

After weight is lifted and motor mounts removed lower the engine and remove top 2 bell housing bolts, engine should go down an inch or 2 more with motor mounts out of the way.
After the bolts are out raise engine back up and put a jack under transmission, to take the stress of of bell housing, you just have to feel for this.
Start removing the rest of the bell housing bolts, if there is stress you will notice it, re-adjust engine or trans height.


In either case put a piece of plywood in front of the AC condenser, engine can shift and punch a hole in it.

Thanks

thank you, greatly appreciated. now back to the pull/install. later since I haven't found a thread about this engine I might post the steps with pictures I took to help others.

heres an off topic question, why does it seem the 99 rangers pre 7-26-99 build have such rusty bodies while the 7-27-99 and on builds do not? or at least from what I have seen from other rangers they don't.

also I don't think I will have a problem with the hoist height

I didn't drop any driveshafts, but mine did have 3" body lift (not real important as my 11yr old daughter and I did the clutch in my 4x2 with same procedure and no issue). With 3" lift, we had issues with crane hitting garage door if it was open/couldn't move crane if door was closed; your garage appears to be slightly deeper. Removing wheels solved my issue.

As smart @$$ I bought my dad (farmer, we constantly were working on something) 24" long - 3/8" extension (I worked across street from Grey tools and when they had their annual sale always could add something to kit). Socket on end of wobble joint at end of that extension makes child's play of removing/reinstalling the bell housing bolts. (Was a whole lot faster than my son trying to reach them from top).

With bell housing bolts removed, I lifted engine with crane/transmission with floor jack to maintain alignment until the engine mounts cleared the studs, pulled engine forward off transmission dowel/clutch clear of input shaft, and then lifted up until clear of engine compartment.

I put ratchet strap under transmission/around frame rails to keep transmission in place until engine when back in. IMHO, it made lining clutch/pilot bearing/transmission input up when time came a lot easier.

don4331 said:

I didn't drop any driveshafts, but mine did have 3" body lift (not real important as my 11yr old daughter and I did the clutch in my 4x2 with same procedure and no issue). With 3" lift, we had issues with crane hitting garage door if it was open/couldn't move crane if door was closed; your garage appears to be slightly deeper. Removing wheels solved my issue.

As smart @$$ I bought my dad (farmer, we constantly were working on something) 24" long - 3/8" extension (I worked across street from Grey tools and when they had their annual sale always could add something to kit). Socket on end of wobble joint at end of that extension makes child's play of removing/reinstalling the bell housing bolts. (Was a whole lot faster than my son trying to reach them from top).

With bell housing bolts removed, I lifted engine with crane/transmission with floor jack to maintain alignment until the engine mounts cleared the studs, pulled engine forward off transmission dowel/clutch clear of input shaft, and then lifted up until clear of engine compartment.

I put ratchet strap under transmission/around frame rails to keep transmission in place until engine when back in. IMHO, it made lining clutch/pilot bearing/transmission input up when time came a lot easier.

Click to expand...

that reminds me... one of the many 'ol guy tricks when pulling an engine or tranny is to get some extra bell-housing bolts,,a bit longer than stock and cut the heads off them. remove a couple bolts from each side and put the long studs in. those act as guide rails for separating and assembling the engine/tranny. replace with bolts when finished.

All-thread works too.

I used to be a big fan of the seat belt/ratchet strap system for pulling engines. This fall when I moved I lost about a foot of head space in the garage, so I went and an engine lift plate. $12 at Advance, I got it during a sale and paid about $5. I am never ever looking back. Just my 2 cents.


Also, no Ron is right, no need to screw with the torsion bars. The center piece of the cross member drops alone.

don4331 said:

I didn't drop any driveshafts, but mine did have 3" body lift (not real important as my 11yr old daughter and I did the clutch in my 4x2 with same procedure and no issue). With 3" lift, we had issues with crane hitting garage door if it was open/couldn't move crane if door was closed; your garage appears to be slightly deeper. Removing wheels solved my issue.

As smart @$$ I bought my dad (farmer, we constantly were working on something) 24" long - 3/8" extension (I worked across street from Grey tools and when they had their annual sale always could add something to kit). Socket on end of wobble joint at end of that extension makes child's play of removing/reinstalling the bell housing bolts. (Was a whole lot faster than my son trying to reach them from top).

With bell housing bolts removed, I lifted engine with crane/transmission with floor jack to maintain alignment until the engine mounts cleared the studs, pulled engine forward off transmission dowel/clutch clear of input shaft, and then lifted up until clear of engine compartment.

I put ratchet strap under transmission/around frame rails to keep transmission in place until engine when back in. IMHO, it made lining clutch/pilot bearing/transmission input up when time came a lot easier.

Click to expand...

thanks for the story, I liked reading that and good information. I have some slight differences with my truck though, as it has heavy duty suspension and 5 leafs in the back I do not have problems with getting under it. I am 5ft 3in, and I like sitting high so now I can look over cars at 3way stops. the one thing I did when I pulled it to give room to remove was take out the radiator and clutch fan which allowed enough room to get it out. and garage is 28ft long...I ordered it that way cause I hate not having room to maneuver. pic I am showing is old when I got new tires, but just to show lift and actually winter was right around the corner so I had 420lbs in the back so its lowered a little. thanks though, I live in farming country to and although my body looks like crap I always keep the engine brakes and drivetrain maintained.

lifter noise from salvage engine

so as a follow up of the original post I wanted to say that salvage engine with lesser miles is working out pretty good. there is only one slight issue and I need some advice or help with it.

this newer engine has a slight noise you can only hear in low gears (I have a manual trans), which to me sounds like lifter noise. problem is you can only hear it when driving. so I took truck in to place I got the engine, still with the warranty on it, and said it had a tick. started it up and under hood he gassed it a few times and said there was no noise. then I told him you can only hear it when driving and he thought I was nuts. trust me, not nuts.

in idle engine sounds fine, getting up to normal speed (55) engine sounds fine, between 1rst and just barely 4th there is a knock so that is my question. am I looking at lifter knock or is this something else? read somewhere it could be frame oil filter but I am not using anything different that I did in the replaced engine which had no noise. so anyone care to help narrow down what I am looking at for repair?

help with knock??

so any helpers out there? been a few days since posted, just need to know what this could be. first instinct is bad liters but would appreciate more insight into this issue. found a lot of posts about noise in idle but mine is kind of opposite

Ranger_lover:

Do the tick speed up with increased engine speed? Or with increased road speed? (I want to rule out other drive train issues.)

Is it there when engine is cold (oil thick) or does it get worse when engine gets warm?

5'3", my daughter was that tall at 11. My son is 6'6" which is why he was undoing the transmission bolts from above - he could reach them while standing on ground. 'Course, we all have issues with seats not going back far enough, not rear seat leg room, etc.

don4331 said:

Ranger_lover:

Do the tick speed up with increased engine speed? Or with increased road speed? (I want to rule out other drive train issues.)

Is it there when engine is cold (oil thick) or does it get worse when engine gets warm?

5'3", my daughter was that tall at 11. My son is 6'6" which is why he was undoing the transmission bolts from above - he could reach them while standing on ground. 'Course, we all have issues with seats not going back far enough, not rear seat leg room, etc.

Click to expand...

hi don4331, thanks for getting back with me. so here is as detailed as I can describe the issue: reving engine while not going anywhere you don't really hear a noise. in cold it is less and it does increase as engine warms up although can mainly only be heard in low gears (first, second, and somewhat third) but it is quite noticeable. in higher gears either because the engine is circulating more or is just smooths out the noise goes away and sounds normal (40 on up). other than that I can think of nothing more I can help with

now reading some other posts something came to mind and I didn't know it you or anyone else could shed some light on something. what is the different sounds an engine will make between a bad lifter and a bent rod? for those of you who have dealt with a push rod engine. I don't suspect a bad lifter, I think the noise would be different and more constant, but if its a bent rod would the noise or tick the engine makes sound any different? that is what I think it might be, but between bad lifter and bent rod I am stuck trying to figure it out before tearing it all apart so I can have a better idea of what I should be looking for.

thanks again for responding, hope you or someone can help me narrow this down a bit.