New to me

[mrxlh]

I would be inclined to agree with you, however I am not like 15 beers in, so unless I have glaucoma, it only has 4 plugs.

 

[m78]

my b2 only has 6 plugs. and i'm in 9 and a few shots

 

[john112deere]

The old Lima SOHH 2.3 was an 8-plug head by the end. Then they stroked it out to a 2.5 for a couple years (also 8-plugs), and then replaced it with a completely unrelated DOHC 2.3L.

Yours appears to be the DOHC motor- I think it came out in mid-'01 or maybe for '02.

 

[Fordzilla80]

You should only have 4 plugs.

I helped a fellow local Ranger owner replace his valve cover gasket one time. With two guys, it was a good two hour job. The hardest part for us was wrestling that intake plenum out. If I remember correctly, there was some metal pipe for EGR or some function like that, and it inserted into the intake plenum. You have to remove that pipe to get the intake plenum off, and removing that pipe is plenty of fun.

Oh yea, here's a picture of what lies underneath the valve cover, in case you haven't seen it yet. As you can see, it's a timing chain, instead of a belt. This 2.3 is from a 2005, but it's not much different from yours, if at all. You can see the metal tube I was speaking of right behind the #1 cylinder's injector plug.

 

[mrxlh]

Thanks Shaun.

 

[racsan]

cute little truck! theyve really made the 4 cyl complicated now! my '88 2.3 was loads easier to work on compared to what im looking at there. like the timing chain over the belt though.

 

[polarbear]

Disconnect the battery ground cable. For additional information, refer to Section 414-01.
Remove the intake manifold assembly. For additional information, refer to Intake Manifold in this section.
Position aside the cylinder head temperature (CHT) sensor boot.

Disconnect the CHT sensor electrical connector.

Disconnect the engine wiring harness from the valve cover studs.

Remove the spark plug wires. For additional information, refer to Section 303-07A.
Disconnect the ignition coil electrical connector.

Remove the bolts and the ignition coil.

Disconnect the camshaft position sensor.

Remove the camshaft position sensor.

Remove the crankcase ventilation tube.

Remove the bolts and the valve cover.

Remove the valve cover gaskets, if necessary.

CAUTION: Do not use metal scrapers, wire brushes, power abrasive discs or other abrasive means to clean the sealing surfaces. These tools cause scratches and gouges which make leak paths.

Clean and inspect the sealing surfaces.
Installation

Install new valve cover gaskets, if removed.

Install the valve cover and bolts. Tighten the bolts in the sequence shown to 10 Nm (89 lb-in).

Install the crankcase ventilation tube.

NOTE: Apply clean engine oil to the O-ring to aid in installation.

Install the camshaft position sensor.

Connect the camshaft position sensor.

Install the ignition coil and the bolts.

Connect the ignition coil electrical connector.

Install the spark plug wires. For additional information, refer to Section 303-07A.
Install the engine wiring harness onto the valve cover studs.

Connect the cylinder head temperature (CHT) sensor electrical connector.

Position back the CHT sensor boot.

Install the intake manifold. For additional information, refer to Intake Manifold in this section.
Connect the battery ground cable. For additional information, refer to Section 414-01.

 

[mrxlh]

Damn Ern, you could have probably flew down here and showed me how to do it quicker than it took you to write that post.