Ford Ranger Engine Shop or Swap?

okay guys heres the deal, i got a "rin tin" '88 Ranger with a tiny 2.3L engine sittin out back, the head to block bolts and holes are totally stripped AFTER heli-coils, should i send that sucker down to a machine shop and have it fixed up? OR just go to a junkyard and find a half decent motor and fix it up and dump her in?  

go with a new motot definately  

Depends if you're more of a tinkerer and like a challenge, or you want to bolt it in & go. Doing a DIY rebuild is definitely more of a longer-term project, but if you want to get it up and running quickly, a crate rebuild would be a lot quicker.  

well the motor it has is no where near a widely popular motor and im sure most people have never even heard of it, so that leaves a new crate engine exact duplicate etc etc. not so much of a choice (unless you all know of a reliable vendor), and really, i'd much rather just dump in a 350 or smaller engine, so what should i now consider doing (I.E. wiring, custom driveshafts, mounts..)  

Go find a V6 and drop in you'll be alot happier.  

i have decided that i will choose that course, but now that leaves me with this, do i get a v6 from the brother models of my ranger or pull a GM v6 from an S10 or some other course of action?  

I think a 4.0L OHV V-6 would give you plenty of power. I don't think they're a whole lot different externally than the 2.9L "Cologne" V-6s.  

how about a v-8 swap in here is the link to one of the brackets at summit racing they have more then just this one there listed under chassis/ suspension then click bushing mounts and you should be able to find them. this was after the make and model was entered. i would go carb for easy of install  302 or 351w and i would build it before installation but that's just me. any ways good luck on it  


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ADD-713015A/  

One other option is the 2.3L DOHC Mazda 4-banger out of the current Ranger. It's got something like 143 hp and 154 lb./ft. of torque, and gets almost 30 on the highway. Don't know if you're looking for more power than that, but it'd give you decent power for around town and great mileage.  

actually that sounds like a really great idea, especially when its time to start "squeezing pennies"  

Only issue would be electronics. But it seems like things changed a lot less in the Ranger over the years than in other trucks, so there's a chance a lot of the stuff would swap over. Your best bet would be to find a totaled late-model Ranger with that engine, and just flat-bed the whole truck over to wherever you're doing the swap and just transfer all the stuff you need (wiring harness, computer, gauge cluster [if you can get it to fit] etc. Everyone I've heard that's done an engine swap says that's the easiest way to do it, rather than having to run to get this and that part every other day.  

what year range should i focus in on? from my research the newer models carry the Duratec 23  

Duratec 23 is the motor I'm talking about. From the info I can find online, it looks like that engine was first offered for the '02 model year.  

i know prices differ throughout the country and different places but what would you estimate the cost of a totaled ranger?  

Just a wild-@$$ guess here...but I'd say maybe $2,500-3,000. Maybe less. Thing is, if you're talking about salvage yard vehicles, a lot of times, they've been picked over pretty good, but sometimes, if it's a professional operation, they'll have some of the pieces like the ECU and wiring harness available separately. Depends on how the yard is run...if they pick over everything when the vehicle arrives, and catalog & stockpile it, or just bring it into the yard "as is" an let DIY-ers pick it apart.

If Wheat would jump in here, he'd probably know. He's a Ranger expert. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.