Planning to rebuild a vulcan engine in the not too distant future. Are there any weaknesses that can be adressed, or any weird junk I should know over and above the normal engine rebuilding stuff?

 

Yeah, the engine doesn't flow, if you are rebuilding the engine anyway, get the head ported, and if possible run slightly larger valves. Keep your stock cam timing. All the real changes that can improve your performance and give you the best results are going to be in the head. I think you pretty much have the rest of it covered under normal engine rebuilding. Also make sure when you install the heads that you either use new head bolts (don't reuse the old ones) or use head studs.

 

Actually, I was thinking reliability/durability, not performance.

That being said, so noted if I change my mind.

 

As far as reliability and durability, the engine is already pretty solid. The performance gains had by opening up the head a little actually made the head run cooler, and decrease thermal stresses on the engine. This would decrease the likelihood of a failed head gasket, and makes the seals and gaskets last longer. So the performance gain is merely turning more of the engines potential into power. The stock castings are very rough and crude (not as bad as a small block chevy though), and the potential to more power and better efficiency is noteworthy. Your stock engine might produce as much as 145 hp all other things being in good shape without the porting. With just porting, you can get that up to 155 hp and better throttle response and torque across the range. If you step up to slightly larger stainless steel valves (if available) you could raise that to 165 hp. That is 4.0L territory (slightly less torque in the bottom end though, the 4.0L will still feel stronger off the line).

Its always your call, for myself, If I had a motor apart (which I do), I would finish all the little details that the factory decided wasn't important enough for fast production and low cost. I actually have two motors pulled apart right now, and both of them are being ported. One is already finished, and just needs to be assembled, the other is waiting. One is a Ford 2.3L engine destined to be turbocharged, the other is a 4.0L OHV from a '95 Aerostar. Both are also getting the entire intake ported, not just the heads. I am aiming for 185 hp from the 4.0L, and 320 hp from the 2.3L Turbo.

Now granted, I have my own tools to do my own porting, paying someone else to do it is expensive and a very poor return on investment. Since I do my own work, it costs me just my time and tools. I have a machine shop do my valve work.

 

Hey, I'm not knocking more power. I just wanted to make sure it didn't have a quirk like "drill out x water passage and watch out for the rocker arm studs, they like to pull out of the head" type things lol.

 

Nope, the 3.0L is a pretty solid engine. You will want to have a service manual handy as you work on any engine though. They have all the repair specs and step by step instructions. Even though I am very active on forums for all of my cars, I also have repair manuals on all my cars too.

I would just recommend you use PB Blaster on all nuts and bolts that are exposed to corrosion, and give it a chance to soak.

 

I am curious what gains could be expected from a properly engineered set of exhaust headers in addition to intake and head porting/polishing on a 3.0L or 4.0L. I plan on being ‘that guy with the Aerostar(s)’ for life and eventually will find myself considering things like this......

 

Ford vulcan v6...not vulcan outboard engines.

 

Well, I just ported a set of heads for a 4.0L, will let you know how it turns out. Both motors struggle for airflow. The 3.0L is a hard motor to significantly improve on however. The 4.0L responds quite nicely to many upgrades I've performed over the years, but the 3.0L doesn't seem to get any better when you run freer flowing exhaust or intake mods. I think the 3.0L would respond to porting work, as thats where the real restrictions are and why the motor doesn't respond to other mods.

To be honest, I wouldn't go through the trouble of rebuilding a 3.0L unless the heads were opened up and ported. If you are to skip that step, you might as well buy a reman or new engine and just drop it in and avoid the hassle of tearing the motor apart.

 

Sorry, but I can'tjustify spending what little money I have to pay for a reman or new engine when I have the ability to do that work myself. Whether the heads are serviced or not, it's still better to rebuild it yourself if you can, and besides, there is no advantage to a new or reman unit, since the heads still won't be ported etc.

 

If you already have all the needed tools (hoist, stand, torque wrenches, micrometers, manuals, experience, etc) and have enough time to do it, then yes, you can do it yourself and save money. But if you have to go out and buy all that stuff, and take time off work, or use your precious weekends that you should be spending with family (unless you can make it a family experience), then its debatable about whether its actually cheaper. Of course if you swap in a reman unit, you still have to have some type of hoist, or jacks to lift it in place. But all the other critical parts, like bearings, and still will already have been measured and replaced to make sure they are within specs.

I'm not saying you have to do porting work. The Vulcan is a pretty solid engine overall. And you can rebuild it pretty much as is. However the simple fact is the Vulcan is an underpowered dog of an engine. It has a low horsepower to displacement ratio, and is marginal for the Aerostar (don't care what people say about it being enough, I've had a 3.0L Aerostar, they are underpowered). If I were putting that amount of effort into rebuilding a 3.0L, I would at least try to overcome its performance deficiencies. Otherwise I would either swap a pre remained engine, or go get another Aerostar. For what you could spend on this, you could easily get a 4.0L model or another clean 3.0L

 

Hi, Khantyranitar... Just what is involved in porting an engine head and intake for some extra power? My engine was previously rebuilt by the PO and I gotta agree with you - the 3.0 is under powered for my extended EB. An extra 10 horses would be very welcome!!!

Cheers, Mike

 

go with a 4.0L Aero, especially if you do lots of family and loads hauling.
in town driving is much better also.
will be less than all the headaches of a full pull and rebuild of a 3L.

sell the 3L and use that for 4L buy.

the 3L 2wd in an easy to park shorty is a great 1 person commute rig only.

 

To do porting yourself, you for starters need a low speed straight grinder, and a good carbide cutting bit. You will also need some tapper rolled 80 grit sanding bits and for the exhaust side, some polishing bits. There are good videos on youtube for how to do it and what kind of results you are after. If you have a good air compressor, you can use an air powered straight grinder instead. If you try to use a high speed grinder the bit will overheat and dull. Truth be told, porting is time consuming work. Only you can be the judge for whether its worth it or not. I bought my straight grinder from a surplus warehouse, but I was also planning on doing more than one vehicle with it.

Personally, I would upgrade to the 4.0L. They have their issues too, but the added power is nice, and so long as you take care of them, they are very solid and reliable. In fact, the engine itself doesn't have to work as hard.