Hi Scotty,
My name is Justin. I own a 1996 Ford Ranger with the 3.0 liter engine, automatic transmission.
The engine has 247,000 miles on it. Check engine light came on. The whole truck was shaking.
Mechanic said there was coolant in the 1st cylinder and no fire, a possible crack in the engine and a head gasket problem.
Mechanic is recommending replacing the engine. I wondered what your thoughts might be? Go ahead with a new engine or a rebuilt engine with low mileage?
I like the truck and finding another used truck at this time is expensive too. Praying replacing engine is cheaper than another used truck.
Thank you for your time,
Justin
The big question in terms of what's the best thing to do is what the condition of the rest of the truck is in.
Rust, trans slipping, worn suspension, sketchy electrics all would tend to make it a bad idea to sink a lot of money into the truck.
On the other hand, if the truck is solid and serviceable, if not as pretty, a rebuilt engine would probably be cheaper than getting a comparable truck. If you have a strong stomach, look online, like at autotrader.com at what a comparable truck would cost.
Your mechanic seemed pretty vague about the "possible crack in the engine." If there's coolant in a cylinder, it's definitely a blown head gasket. But it may not be more than that. If so, you can get the head rebuilt and a new head gasket installed for far less than a reman engine which you may not need anyway. If you decide on a reman engine, look at places like Powertrain Products and ATK that have engines with warranties.
The 3.0 Vulcan was a pretty solid engine from Ford, providing the cooling system was maintained. They were designed to run for 5 minutes while overheating without catastrophic failure, but that doesn't make up for previous owners' neglect. It doesn't sound like yours was treated too well if the head gaskets went at 248k. My 1999 Ranger has its original engine and I'll be going over 280k in a couple weeks. I put 250 miles a week on it.
The 3.0 Vulcan is a pretty basic engine. It's an overhead valve engine with pushrods, rocker arms and a central cam. Disassembling it is pretty straightforward and doesn't involve messing with engine timing (overhead cams aren't in the way, nor is there variable valve timing). It will be much cheaper to replace the head gaskets and inspect/ machine the heads on that engine than anything more modern.
Pull your spark plugs, put a borescope in the holes and look for coolant in the cylinders. Check the oil dipstick as well.
Before diving into any rebuilding or replacing, give the truck a good once-over and check it for rust. Rangers can have rust problems, particularly the rear frame. My '99 has some relatively minor frame rust issues, but I'm working them out. The 4R44E automatic transmission is likely on the verge of having issues if yours wasn't maintained. Mine would get stuck in overdrive sometimes at 251k. I had it rebuilt. Pull the dipstick and look at it. It should be a reddish color, preferably clear-red. If it looks like wood varnish or smells burned, it's worn out too.
