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Ford ranger engine in an LR3?

43K views 62 replies 15 participants last post by  Shookone 
#1 ·
Hi All, Newbie here.

So here's the scoop.

We bought a 2006 4.0 LR3 about a month ago. Spent money on new tires (Copper discoverer H/T Plus. Very good) and bought a whole set of controls arms front and back (sitting in the garden, waiting to go on)

Then the engine blew! In the middle of absolutely nowhere in BC Canada... at midnight... in the bear infested bit... on a long weekend.

After a $2000 towing bill to get it 14 hours home, it turns out the engine is toast. Limping it 160km to the nearest one horse town means the engine is full of the camchain cassette filings and done for.

Landrover Canada wants $11,500 for a new engine... plus tax... plus shipping FROM THE UK! :)
Ford wants $4400 for a new Ranger 4.0 engine

I can't find a second hand engine in Canada.

I can however, find a very lightly used 2007 Ford ranger 4.0 that is technically the same engine (except lower compression and different timing, the differences I've found so far) for $650. meaning the computer is going to give a big "Nope" if I put it in.
... saving a gazzillion dollars!

So, to the help part. :) I need a Guru. someone that can tell me what the differenced are between a Ford ranger 2007 4.0 V6 and an 2006 LR3 so we can canibalise the different buys into the new engine.

Has anyone ever attempted this? Did anyone find software issues and fixes? If its not possible, where do I find an engine in Canada nd any other useful information anyone has.

*Someone, *somewhere* must have the information of the differences between engine part code 300AABB (or 300AABC) with a ford part number of 6006 or 6007 and a Ranger engine part number 6006AARW

So, over to you guys :)...
 
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#30 ·
July 17 and new engine mount for Ranger Cologne 4.0L SOHC driver's side fabricated, picture shows homemade plumb bob line coming down to centre hole on new mount which is fabricated from a combination of the Ford Ranger driver's side mount and some 3/16" I beam steel my friend had in his steel supply.

As an aside, does anyone know what thread size the oil temperature sensor that is in the lattice support (upper oil pan) is? We are going to try to drill and tap rather than remove and replace, unless there is no easy other way...
 

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#32 ·
Thursday checked out the flex plate spacer and the LR3 one appears to have some fine cracks? or lines in it, will micrometer the Ford one this Monday and if they are the same will use it, the oil filter aluminum mount from the LR3 will have to be used on the Ford and the passenger side engine mount will have to be modified slightly for the Ford block casting. The oil dipstick and lower oil pan from the LR3 will have to be used on the Ford, and if you couldn't or wouldn't be able to drill and tap a hole in the aluminum engine girdle (upper oil pan) for the 4L3A-12A648-AB engine oil temperature sensor then you would have to change that as well. Ordered a Ford WPT-1231 (3U2Z-14S411-DVAB) pigtail repair assembly from the Ford dealer to replace the destroyed one for the engine oil temperature sensor and that's about it for now. will post some more pictures next week, just figuring out exactly how to reattach the flex plate so the commutator ring (for the CKP crankshaft position sensor) is in the correct position, not planning on removing this engine again soon...

The engine oil temperature sensor seems to be M19x1.5 but the only tap and die set we had that big was a 3/4" NPT fine so that's what we used, along with the blue Permatex sealant... :)
 
#34 · (Edited)
Kind of a crazy thing to do, I helped with several Volvo V8 conversions about 20 years ago using the fuel injected Ford 5.0L and Ford T5 tranny, lots of fun, and good luck to you! In this case (LR3 to Ranger V6) the block on the LR3 is tapped a bit differently, it would drop right into a Ford, but the Ford needs engine mount modifications/adapters to drop into the LR3. Any way, getting set to torque everything down and going to attempt to install on Wednesday, WPT-1231 Ford oil temp sensor pigtail kit fit and is perfect, figured out how to check number 1 cylinder TDC compression stroke for the flex plate install which is required for proper CKP crankshaft position sensor operation, there is only one keyway in this engine and that is on the front of the crankshaft, everything else is torqued into position, so instant destruction if anything is mis-timed. Testing fuel injectors and doing some soldering and shrink wrapping tomorrow, hopefully engine install is Wednesday. The photos are of the rough engine mount with left bank? knock sensor, and the LR3 oil filter mount and engine mount on the Ranger engine. Some modification of the engine mount is required...
 

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#35 ·
Well today we buttoned up the Ranger engine with LR3 outside parts and opened up the LR3 engine. We got a surprise! WE were bemoaning the fact that it looked like we could have repaired it from the front with the engine in, but we see now that although the front cassette had broken, it was the rear cassette that had really done its bit, the exhaust valves were all bent on the passenger side head and had obviously hit the pistons pretty hard.
 

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#37 ·
Actually would have been impossible, we would have fixed the front cassette only to find that the rear needed fixing, which you cannot do without pulling the engine, so a lot of time wasted when the engine should just have been pulled in the first place. You were definitely lucky, this engine was a bear to pull, lots of unexpected hard to get to bolts and one forgotten electrical connector. Heading out to my friend's shop for the trial install right now...
 
#38 ·
Mr. Ranger met Mr. LR3 today and the meeting was pretty amicable considering the custom motor mount on the drivers side and the 3/16" shorter thickness of the driver side engine/transmission alignment pin casting, causing us to grind about 1/8" off the attaching bolt. Good thing we had short tempers and had to take a coffee break earlier because the other side alignment pin had stuck in the transmission and was needing a friendly whack to get it on track again. Will post photos tomorrow...
 
#39 ·
Sorry all, only took 1 photo and posted on another site but not here. Got the torque converter, transmission mount bolts, starter motor and engine mounts all sorted out, now just getting the Moroso accumulator (pre-oiler) pieces arranged, photo of Mr. Ranger sitting in Mr. LR3's engine bay, we'll resume next Monday or Tuesday...
 

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#40 ·
Good Luck! Looking forward to seeing this work out!
Dave
 
#45 ·
Ben... thanks and hi back...
Rockauto seem to have M19x1.5, guess we'll have to order a sensor and see what size the threads in the girdle are, we only tapped for 3/4 NPT Fine and used a die like that to resize the original, but would like the correct size for the proposed LR3 block rebuild (supercharger version)...
Eric...
 
#47 ·
Radiator is fixed, straightening out a huge pile of bent rad fins and going out to the shop in the morning, taking my GAP IIDTool BT because I didn't realize you had to plug it in to the vehicle to get an access code before you can register the tool. Then come back home and register/update firmware, then back out to the shop Tuesday to delete the zillion error codes before trying to start the machine, then likely many glasses of refreshing beverages to celebrate. We are nearly home, I would not recommend you neglect oil changes with this engine, I am using a Moroso accumulator to pre-oil the engine always before starts, and likely going ahead with the original plan on rebuilding the LR3 engine with a supercharger, but we'll wait and see how this experiment turns out...
 
#48 ·
We got it running today! It cranked but would not start and then I remembered that we pulled the power fuse and the relay for the suspension, put them in and started first crack, idles at about 1200 rpm for about 2 minutes and then drops to about 800 rpm, thermostat opens after about 10 minutes, then suspension shoots up to the top of its range, did not know how to stop it, so shut engine off and will read the owners manual tonight. Attached photo with suspension extended...
 

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#49 ·
PHP:
Awesome!
 
#51 ·
Test drove Mr. Ranger Rover today for 200 KM and need a new low beam H7 bulb, but all the rest of this vehicle seems to be in excellent condition, can understand why the previous owner was upset but didn't want it hanging around by parting it out. I'll be picking up wifey at the Calgary airport as a surprise later today as long as long as I don't screw up the headlight bulb replacement. Otherwise, the Nissan X-Trail will be her ride... :)
 
#52 ·
good to hear!
 
#53 ·
Another surprise! Pulled the headlight assembly and discovered HID aftermarket, so my fix was to remove both and replace with Sylvania mid range H7 bulbs, much easier and no more worries. Picked up wife at airport, have put about 800 Km on this and only 1 minor engine check came on (O2 sensor) at 300 Km but I reset it and all OK now. Likely changing the oil and filter on Monday, figuring out easiest way to change tranny fluid...
 
#54 ·
Trans fluid change is a pain in the butt.

Put up some Picks of what the engine looks like in the LR3 now.
Dave
 
#56 · (Edited)
Well another big surprise here in Alberta! My key FOB/blank arrived, my IIDTool is here to program it, but I can't get the key cut by anyone locally (city of 100K people). I will have to drive to Calgary or Edmonton to get this "sidewinder" or "laser" key cut properly, what a pain! Oh well, guess wifey is going to be happily shopping at West Edmonton Mall!.. :)
 
#57 ·
Greetings from Maple Ridge BC!. What an awesome project you have going!. I wish I had 1/10 of the skills and equipment. We have the same model LR3. I bought mine used back in 2015 from a retired couple who used the truck to shuttle grand kids to and from their cottage in Vernon 1-2 times a month. I had 67K on it, was immaculate "but" hunter green with beige leather interior. I paid full asking as the deal was almost too good to be true. Last year I invested $2K and had it vinyl wrapped in a Matte Gun Metal Grey, which made it look like a new vehicle. The downside of my ownership are the growing list of repairs and replacement of parts I deal with constantly. It is a rather spendy affair paying for parts living in Canada. I am not proud to admit that my total investment so far, including new tires and colour change is about $10.2K Cad. No point turning back now by selling and facing car payments, despite my wife now talking about having me mentally accessed :)

Fun eh?.
 
#58 ·
I am also in need of an assessment for sanity, but the challenge was to see IF the engine transplant could be done successfully. Of course, as you are discovering, that is only the beginning of the Land Rover ownership game, we will finalize our ownership decision later this month. We are going to take a trip to Kelowna next week to test it all out in the mountains, and only if we are satisfied will we carry on, otherwise a new Ford Explorer or Nissan Pathfinder may be in our future, luckily for now I have friends with shop facilities who owe me favours. Lotsa fun...!
 
#59 ·
Successfully drove to Kelowna and back, no problems even at 80mph, but looks like the infamous leaking sunroof drain is happening on the passenger side after a high pressure car wash so will be investigating that after doing an oil change on the "Lone Ranger"...
 
#60 ·
Hi All, Newbie here.

So here's the scoop.

We bought a 2006 4.0 LR3 about a month ago. Spent money on new tires (Copper discoverer H/T Plus. Very good) and bought a whole set of controls arms front and back (sitting in the garden, waiting to go on)

Then the engine blew! In the middle of absolutely nowhere in BC Canada... at midnight... in the bear infested bit... on a long weekend.

After a $2000 towing bill to get it 14 hours home, it turns out the engine is toast. Limping it 160km to the nearest one horse town means the engine is full of the camchain cassette filings and done for.

Landrover Canada wants $11,500 for a new engine... plus tax... plus shipping FROM THE UK! :)
Ford wants $4400 for a new Ranger 4.0 engine

I can't find a second hand engine in Canada.

I can however, find a very lightly used 2007 Ford ranger 4.0 that is technically the same engine (except lower compression and different timing, the differences I've found so far) for $650. meaning the computer is going to give a big "Nope" if I put it in.
... saving a gazzillion dollars!

So, to the help part. :) I need a Guru. someone that can tell me what the differenced are between a Ford ranger 2007 4.0 V6 and an 2006 LR3 so we can canibalise the different buys into the new engine.

Has anyone ever attempted this? Did anyone find software issues and fixes? If its not possible, where do I find an engine in Canada nd any other useful information anyone has.

Someone, *somewhere must have the information of the differences between engine part code 300AABB (or 300AABC) with a ford part number of 6006 or 6007 and a Ranger engine part number 6006AARW

So, over to you guys :)...
Hi, there is a difference in the Ford motor mount mount on the drivers side( USA cars), the top bolt hole at the rear of the motor hasn’t been taped out.
 
#62 ·
Hi all, a quick update, have put on nearly 50,000 Km and the Ford Ranger V6 is performing very well in the LR3. I'd definitely do it again, there is no difference in the short block between the Land Rover and Ford versions of the Cologne V6 SOHC except for the engine mounting bracket holes, which require you to fabricate a driver's side (left hand drive) bracket. If you have one of these LR3/D3 with a blown Cologne V6 this is a terrific repair option...
 
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