2019 Ranger 2.3L EcoBoost engine intro

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Here is a great primer/intro to the Ranger 2.3L EcoBoost motor, which is based on the Focus RS engine, by Road & Track.

Our first hint that it's based on the unit found in the Focus RS comes from the design of the block. That shows us that the Ranger motor employs a cross-drilled deck for cooling which is only found in the Focus RS at this time. The general idea is that coolant flows through the block below the bore bridge instead of across the top. Inside the block, the rotating assembly appears to be lifted straight from the Focus RS; it contains the forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods, and coated pistons found in the hot hatch.

Cross-Drilled Deck

ranger-engine-cross-drilled-block-jpg-1516635005.jpg


Ranger Engine rods and crank

ranger-engine-rods-and-crank-jpg-1516635047.jpg



Although the top is almost identical to the Focus RS block, the bottom has been modified and has a slightly different casting. The oil pump has been moved from its location beside the crank gear and now runs off the balance shafts in the oil pan. This move was likely done to make the front a little narrower in order to make space for the four-wheel drive components that will be used in the Ranger.

Ranger oil cooler

ranger-oil-cooler-jpg-1516635074.jpg



The oil cooling system has also been upgraded with the addition of a new housing that includes a larger oil cooler and a filter that now points to the side instead of down towards the oil pan. This housing is novel since it also appears to be where the motor mount will connect to the engine.

Ranger cylinder head and new fan mount

ranger-cylinder-head-and-new-fan-mount-1516635134.jpg



The oil pump move is not the only change to the front of the block as the harmonic balancer has also been changed. It now includes a provision for a wider front belt which will coincide with the belt-driven fan that will be installed on the Ranger. This is also apparent when you look a little higher up towards the cam gears where there is now a cast mount for the fan to attach to. The timing cover has been modified to allow for the fan mount and the removal of the oil pump below. The rest of the belt drive appears to be identical to the Focus with the water pump visible in the same 3 o’clock position on both engines.

Front of the Ranger's engine

ranger-engine-overview-front-1516635166.jpg



Moving up towards the cylinder head it is apparent that most of it was transferred over. The head casting and valvetrain components appear to be identical but a few external changes have been made. The valve cover shows some additional strengthening ribs on the front but is mostly the same. The direct injection pump is mounted in the same position on the left rear side of the head but the vacuum pump beside it on the Focus is gone. This pump is used to provide a vacuum backup for the brake booster on the other models and the unit may now be gone or relocated on the Ranger.

Ranger EGR and direct injection pump

ranger-egr-and-direct-injection-pump-jpg-1516635228.jpg



We now find an EGR cooler below the injection pump which has not been used on this size of EcoBoost motor in the past. The EGR system was likely implemented to assist with emissions by pumping hot air into the intake to richen up the fuel mixture as needed. The secondary benefit of EGR is that the warm air being pumped back in can also assist to prevent knock when the engine is under high load. The pipe that leads across the back of the head into the intake manifold appears to be the main change to the induction system there as the rest of the manifold appears to match what is found on the Mustang.

Ranger turbo

ranger-engine-turbocharger-1516635252.jpg



Moving around to the other side of the head, we find the familiar three-port integrated exhaust manifold that leads into a twin-scroll turbocharger. Although we do not have exact specs on the turbocharger just yet, the inducer wheel appears to be slightly larger than the Mustang unit.


Ranger's electronic active wastegate

ranger-electronic-active-wastegate-1516635286.jpg



We find another new piece in this area as this turbo is the first in the series to employ an electronic wastegate. The rest of the lineup uses a mechanical penumatic wastegate so this advancement should allow more granular control of boost pressure. This is important since the Ranger will likely be sold in high volume and small changes like this can help to improve fuel efficiency and emissions.

Focus RS engine and Ranger engine

focus-rs-engine-vs-ranger-engine-1516635326.jpg



There are likely other smaller parts that may have slight changes, but the Ranger motor appears to share most of its components with the Focus RS while adding a few new parts. Based on what was shown for the mock-up and the data released by Ford so far, it appears that they might be shooting for a torque monster. I would not be surprised to see it exceeding the torque ratings of its competitors.
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rduvall

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Looks like they might indeed be on track to take best in class horsepower and torque with a single engine. Can't wait to see actual specs!
 

JYC

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Looks like they might indeed be on track to take best in class horsepower and torque with a single engine. Can't wait to see actual specs!
+1. Despite being down two cylinders to the V6 Tacoma and Colorado, the 2.3l EcoBoost can easily out HP and TQ them if Ford wants. And the upcoming Jeep pickup probably won't be class leading in terms of engine specs either since it seems FCA has never really cared to give the Wrangler much power.
 

FordBlueHeart

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The Wrangler truck will probably be available with the pentastar V6, which is a great motor with plenty of power and decent fuel efficiency.
If the 2.3 EcoBoost can surpass my personal experience with fuel economy and provide more power (we know it's capable of it) than the pentastar V6, Ford will be able to put to rest any doubts about the 2.3 EcoBoost being the right choice for the Ranger.
 

WXman

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The Wrangler truck will probably be available with the pentastar V6, which is a great motor with plenty of power and decent fuel efficiency.
If the 2.3 EcoBoost can surpass my personal experience with fuel economy and provide more power (we know it's capable of it) than the pentastar V6, Ford will be able to put to rest any doubts about the 2.3 EcoBoost being the right choice for the Ranger.
The V6 in the JL/upcoming JT is the "PUG" version of the 3.6L and it's a sweet engine. 13% more torque in the low and mid section of the powerband. The torque curve on a dyno chart is as flat as a Kansas highway. I'm currently seeing 18.5 MPGs average in mine, running 34" tires on a 2.5" lift kit. When it was stock, it was in the low 20s easily on my weekly commute.

Having said that, the peak torque output is relatively low on this engine. It's not much better in terms of peak torque than the 1990s V6 engines were. I think that's where Ford's EcoBoost is going to shine. If Ford had wanted to, they could tune the 2.3L to make more torque than GM's gas OR diesel offering in the Colorado. That would have been a great marketing tool. Guess they didn't agree with me.

Having said all that, the Jeep JL/JT also has a 2.0L turbo engine already available for sale in the JL model and that will compete directly with the new Ranger next year. And, they are still advertising a 3.0L diesel that will make 442 lbs/ft. of torque which will totally crush the competition in the JT pickup for 2019.

Considering all this, I don't think Ford will leave the 2.3L at "only" 310 lbs/ft of torque for very long. They'll need to increase power significantly to keep fans from complaining about only having a single engine option while the competitors have many.
 


JeeperNRM

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And, they are still advertising a 3.0L diesel that will make 442 lbs/ft. of torque which will totally crush the competition in the JT pickup for 2019.
I'm hoping we see a Ford Ranger diesel at some point soon. Earlier this year there was a Ranger Wildtrak prototype spotted testing in US with a Diesel engine, so hope that's a sign of a diesel Ranger coming to North America.

Here's the link: and pics https://www.caranddriver.com/news/2019-ford-ranger-wildtrak-spied-in-the-us-news

2019-ford-ranger-wildtrak-spied-in-the-us-news-car-and-driver-photo-702891-s-original.jpg


Ford-Ranger-Wildtrak-spy-photos-Edit24.jpg


Ford-Ranger-Wildtrak-spy-photos-Edit14.jpg
 

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Having said all that, the Jeep JL/JT also has a 2.0L turbo engine already available for sale in the JL model and that will compete directly with the new Ranger next year.
On paper, the Ranger Ecoboost 2.3L outpowers the Jeep JL 2.0L turbo engine:

Ranger 2.3L Ecoboost: 270hp / 310 lb-ft vs
Jeep JL 2.0L turbo: 268hp / 295 lb-ft

Of course it'll be interesting to compare their dyno graphs and see how they each deliver their power. And I think the Ranger will also get better MPG numbers than the Jeep JL 2.0L once the EPA figures are published.
 

Tomsriv

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This sounds like the best engine in the segment!
 

Lonen

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Does anyone know if this engine has dual injection like the 3.5L version?
 

Andy

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Does anyone know if this engine has dual injection like the 3.5L version?
It does not. Same fuel delivery as the mustang and RS variants.
 

t4thfavor

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Necro thread revival, so my apologies...

If the turbo wheel is indeed larger than the Mustang variant, any idea why it's de-rated/de-tuned so much? Is it to support the towing capacity? I doubt the Mustang and the RS engines can/would be held at max output for very long, whereas the Ranger may need to be at peak performance for miles at a time.

Just a thought I had, and I see the thread isn't that old, so maybe it's only slightly a necro thread revival.
 

khyros

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Necro thread revival, so my apologies...

If the turbo wheel is indeed larger than the Mustang variant, any idea why it's de-rated/de-tuned so much? Is it to support the towing capacity? I doubt the Mustang and the RS engines can/would be held at max output for very long, whereas the Ranger may need to be at peak performance for miles at a time.

Just a thought I had, and I see the thread isn't that old, so maybe it's only slightly a necro thread revival.
Just spitballing here, but with the electronic wastegate and the potentially larger turbine, I would estimate that they work together to provide more low RPM torque that trucks like but turbos struggle with. When you're at low RPMs, you don't have a lot of exhaust air flow through the turbo to charge the intake air. Thus the larger prop blades, allowing the turbo to spin faster at lower RPMs, compressing the intake air, providing more torque (and technically HP) at the lower RPMs.

Enter the electronic wastegate, which can then dump more of the exhaust gases at higher RPMs to keep the turbo from overspeeding and damaging itself.


And all of that just points to how the 2.3L in the Ranger is purpose built for a trunk instead of a performance vehicle. The truck wants the low RPM torque to pull a boat out of a launch ramp. The RS wanted (RIP) the high RPM power for performance, and uses the gear train to keep it at 4k+ RPMs.
 

t4thfavor

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I would tend to agree with all you have said. I'm also interested on what they did on the intake side to prevent that "cracking" issue that was seen on mustangs and FoRS's. I've seen a 2.3L Mustang block cut in half, and that spot only had 1/4" or less of aluminum after the water jacket. If anyone sees anything related to that please pass it along.
 

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Why is no one asking if the right head gasket was installed...?

*glances at the RS*
 

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