Definitely slow, but reliable for sure. I was able to restore the power on my 2001 Mazda B3000 by using high mileage fuel system cleaner pretty regularly for a year. Acceleration is pretty good now. It had gotten sluggish as hell.
Hell yeah! I've got one in my old '91 Ranger with 200 kilomiles. Have you had to do any major work on it in that time? I've not had to do anything crazy on my Vulcan yet and it's still running strong.
Just basic maintenance, coil, wires, plugs, oil change here and there. I use synthetic oil every time and the only thing that leaks is the rear main. Crossed 500,000 a few weeks ago and the only thing of of note is that the fuel mileage still sucks 😂.
@@LumpyFPV If you're asking me, yes, because the original owner neglected it terribly, new Transmission was the biggest expense..Alternator, other stuff.... Looks and runs great..
I have the last model of vehicle they came in a 2008 Ford Ranger. I picked the 3.0 over the 4.0 because of it being an old school pushrod design engine. I've got 237,000 miles on it, and the only engine work that has been done to it that i can see is the cylinder heads were rebuilt or replaced at one time. The valves have a tendency to recess in the seats. And I've stuck a bore scope in the cylinders, and I can see I have a few valves that are recessed, so I know they will need to be rebuilt or replaced again in the near future. Still runs great.
i am 69 years old...owned many vehicles...i own 4 vulcan Ford engines...and they have been the very best. engine i ever owned..no costly rubber timing belt to replace....got 2005 Ford Taurus with 268,000 on it now...uses hardly any oil...good fuel miliege...power is okay.,,i pay extra to get one in a new Ford today,.,,with the recall after recall era..with Ecoboost engines..and i have owned one as well.,,reliablity more important that hp..
My 04' Taurus just hit the 150,000 Mile mark and I tell you the engine runs smoooothe. You can hear valve noise when the hood is lifted, however I don't consider that a concerning sound.
The only thing that was unreliable... was the engine mounts! (lol) Tauruses had problems getting older and breaking engine mounts, making the reliable Vulcan flop around in the engine bay. That's about it. Oh, and those Ford automatic transmissions. AX4S, AXOD and slightly the AX4N were what made taurus fans weep as they had to toss their cars due to broken transmissions. Everyone online was trying to figure out an inexpensive way to get a manual transmission mated to the Vulcan.
I have a 99 ranger with a 3.0 v6 in it. And I will it is pretty good, it doesn’t have a lot of power (in the range 145 to 150 hp from what I have read online) but it still goes and does good for 25 year old engine. Would recommend it
Mine is very forgiving. Broke water hoses a few times over heated fixed hoses still going with over 200000 on it I don’t push it. It’s in 1990 Aerostar my adventure wagon. Me and the dogs . The oil filter fell off the other day drove two miles before I knew it. It was making a lot of bad noise running bad . Put another roil filter on it five quarts of oil it’s running fine. Wow hate to lose this fun wagon. It still has no leaks. This block was used in the Taurus sho with Yamaha heads and induction system running a red line of over 7000 rpm’s from the factory. I’d like to have one with roller cam . Good on gas. I’m sold.
One of the most reliable engines ive ever owned. Smooth, a bit slow, but ill take a long lasting engine over performance any day. Easy to work on too. Only thing I had to change was a camshaft synchronizer but it was a 30 min job.
Great simple engine the old push rod design and just two valves per cylinder but perfect mid range throttle position driving. Its the transmission on the 99-2005 Taurus models that you have to be careful about shearing the splines off the output shaft for the torque converter.
My 2003 3.0L ranger has 340000km on the dial running like a top so I'm gonna boost it in a year or 2 because why not. Also gonna bore our the block for modular pistons and as close to a full build motor as you can in these
I saw one 3.0 V6 back in 19999 that was out of a 1994 ford explorer, that my employer had two men remove and take apart while I was out on my route. When I saw those heads and connecting rods and crankshaft I was shocked, being I had a 350 chevy V8 I had taken apart for a rebuild in the same shop. That 3.0 was superior in strength than the 350 chevy engine. This really shocked me because I had always believed the 3.0 was just some piece of crap brittle engine before that. It was built way stronger than your 4.6 or 5.4 ford V8s
The gaskets on the 1999 engines were terrible. Water pump gasket, timing chain cover gasket, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, intake gasket....all replace before 120,000 miles. Other than that, the engine is great.
this is straight from the wikipedia article on this engine... why bother watching a video on it if it'll just be the same info from an untrustworthy source.
Yeah agreed. Kind of missing the important details on heads and head bolts and it only being acknowledged in 04-06... The factory torture testing on vulcan was neat, definitely worth mentioning in detail. Mine cracked heads but running strong at 310,000! I would kill for vulcan reliability and the ability to DIY maintenance in a newer vehicle! I don't feel comfortable doing some warranty recalled gamble on a new vehicle because the reliability of my 85 accord, 99 ranger, and 04 escalade far surpasses anything I could buy now. They all run great with 700,000 miles combined. I spend more time fixing new cars
The cooling system sucks ,the 4r44e transmission is junk ,the 8 inch rear end is junk ,the shift tube is junk ,on all fords , why fords makes things so complicated is beyond me . Even the oil filter is a pain to change .
One of the most reliable engines I've personally ever had. Slow as hell, but my 2004 ranger has been running for almost 20 years.
Same here. Been driving my 98 ranger 22 for years
Definitely slow, but reliable for sure. I was able to restore the power on my 2001 Mazda B3000 by using high mileage fuel system cleaner pretty regularly for a year. Acceleration is pretty good now. It had gotten sluggish as hell.
Have a 93 Ford aerostar 221k miles it's 2024 and still a daily driver
My rangers been driving with the 3.0 for 28 years so it is definitely reliable
Original 1994 Vulcan running strong at 492,391 miles
Still Driving my 1998 Ranger with the 3.0 Vulcan, but only 78,000 orig miles....lol
Hell yeah! I've got one in my old '91 Ranger with 200 kilomiles.
Have you had to do any major work on it in that time? I've not had to do anything crazy on my Vulcan yet and it's still running strong.
Just basic maintenance, coil, wires, plugs, oil change here and there. I use synthetic oil every time and the only thing that leaks is the rear main. Crossed 500,000 a few weeks ago and the only thing of of note is that the fuel mileage still sucks 😂.
@@LumpyFPV If you're asking me, yes, because the original owner neglected it terribly, new Transmission was the biggest expense..Alternator, other stuff....
Looks and runs great..
Proud owner of a 191200 miles 1994 vulcan engine, runs great! not fast... however not slow.
204000 for me
@@carstenfoster3474 216,000 here, on a factory, untouched engine.
I have the last model of vehicle they came in a 2008 Ford Ranger. I picked the 3.0 over the 4.0 because of it being an old school pushrod design engine. I've got 237,000 miles on it, and the only engine work that has been done to it that i can see is the cylinder heads were rebuilt or replaced at one time. The valves have a tendency to recess in the seats. And I've stuck a bore scope in the cylinders, and I can see I have a few valves that are recessed, so I know they will need to be rebuilt or replaced again in the near future. Still runs great.
Got a 1996 Aerostar with the 3.0. It's in Cherry condition with only 106k miles and is super reliable. I've owned several 93's. Love this van!!
People forget how much power the Vulcan is capable of making, mine makes over 300 with just a cam, fuel system, muffler and tune
Fr
No way
i am 69 years old...owned many vehicles...i own 4 vulcan Ford engines...and they have been the very best. engine i ever owned..no costly rubber timing belt to replace....got 2005 Ford Taurus with 268,000 on it now...uses hardly any oil...good fuel miliege...power is okay.,,i pay extra to get one in a new Ford today,.,,with the recall after recall era..with Ecoboost engines..and i have owned one as well.,,reliablity more important that hp..
Mine is a 1994 Taurus, still running fine at 109k miles... never opened, all original, including timing chain...
The Vulcan isn't fast, and redlines at 5500, but man does it sound good getting there.
Absolutely true lmfao. My 02 Taurus is just like that, I thought of doing a cold air intake and muffler swap
My 03 Taurus has a 3.0 in it. I'm quite impressed how much spunk it has
Maybe you have the DOHC engine they made 3 engines for the Taurus the SHO and OHV
Yeah they made a 3.0l dohc as well that had more power. But the Vulcan ohv is super reliable.
Cool, I bought one in a Ranger today
My 04' Taurus just hit the 150,000 Mile mark and I tell you the engine runs smoooothe. You can hear valve noise when the hood is lifted, however I don't consider that a concerning sound.
Right, mine is silent when the hood is up even, I have an 01.
The only thing that was unreliable... was the engine mounts! (lol) Tauruses had problems getting older and breaking engine mounts, making the reliable Vulcan flop around in the engine bay.
That's about it.
Oh, and those Ford automatic transmissions. AX4S, AXOD and slightly the AX4N were what made taurus fans weep as they had to toss their cars due to broken transmissions. Everyone online was trying to figure out an inexpensive way to get a manual transmission mated to the Vulcan.
I have a 99 ranger with a 3.0 v6 in it. And I will it is pretty good, it doesn’t have a lot of power (in the range 145 to 150 hp from what I have read online) but it still goes and does good for 25 year old engine. Would recommend it
99 Ranger 3.0 4x4. 120k miles.
Very reliable engine, in 4 low has all the power the truck needs. Not coyote fast on highway, but does ok.
264,000 miles on the 2005 Ford ranger 3.0 litre vulcan. 3000 mile oil changes and it keeps going.
I had a 91 and 92 Taurus the engine was great but the transmissions both failed.
Mine is very forgiving. Broke water hoses a few times over heated fixed hoses still going with over 200000 on it I don’t push it. It’s in 1990 Aerostar my adventure wagon. Me and the dogs . The oil filter fell off the other day drove two miles before I knew it. It was making a lot of bad noise running bad . Put another roil filter on it five quarts of oil it’s running fine. Wow hate to lose this fun wagon. It still has no leaks. This block was used in the Taurus sho with Yamaha heads and induction system running a red line of over 7000 rpm’s from the factory. I’d like to have one with roller cam . Good on gas. I’m sold.
One of the most reliable engines ive ever owned. Smooth, a bit slow, but ill take a long lasting engine over performance any day. Easy to work on too. Only thing I had to change was a camshaft synchronizer but it was a 30 min job.
Great simple engine the old push rod design and just two valves per cylinder but perfect mid range throttle position driving.
Its the transmission on the 99-2005 Taurus models that you have to be careful about shearing the splines off the output shaft for the torque converter.
My 2003 3.0L ranger has 340000km on the dial running like a top so I'm gonna boost it in a year or 2 because why not. Also gonna bore our the block for modular pistons and as close to a full build motor as you can in these
My 06 has 250000 miles and it's still out there.... slow as hell. But reliable
How bout 3.0 duratek 04 sable?
I see them everywhere and i have a 2005 taurus with 164k miles wnd pers like a kitten. But i change the oil every 4k miles so no wonder
2006 Ford Taurus. 207,000 miles and still going.
My '93 ranger was bulletproof.
I saw one 3.0 V6 back in 19999 that was out of a 1994 ford explorer, that my employer had two men remove and take apart while I was out on my route. When I saw those heads and connecting rods and crankshaft I was shocked, being I had a 350 chevy V8 I had taken apart for a rebuild in the same shop. That 3.0 was superior in strength than the 350 chevy engine. This really shocked me because I had always believed the 3.0 was just some piece of crap brittle engine before that. It was built way stronger than your 4.6 or 5.4 ford V8s
@@California-Rottweiler They did come with a 3.0 V6. I knew of two 1994 models that had that engine
@@California-Rottweiler MUTED
I very much agree with this American Female on The Ford Vulcan engine
We have a 2007 Ford Taurus that has 196.000 miles
The gaskets on the 1999 engines were terrible. Water pump gasket, timing chain cover gasket, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, intake gasket....all replace before 120,000 miles. Other than that, the engine is great.
1999 Vulcan 3.0L has a timing belt, not a timing chain.
The 3.0 and 4.0 have timing chains. The 4 cylinder engines has a timing belt. @@drumyogi9281
Is it true the Vulcan 3.0L block is made in Munich Germany by Mercedes for Ford?
No, the 3.0 was made in America from 1986 to 2008. The 2.9, 4.0 is a German design.
Coyotes
277k miles on my 07 ranger and the head gasket blew.
Mine has 355k km
Everyone says it runs WAY too nice for being that old.
Agreed.
They were in rangers until 2011. That little tid bit that they were in production from 86-08 is false.
2008 was the last year of the 3.0 in the ranger, 2009 the ranger only had the 2.3 and 4.0.
08 was the last year
A shame the axod and ax4n transmissions weren't up to the task of being reliable.
Это так не работает
My original, untouched, AX4N with trans cooler, has 215,000k miles, with fluid changes every 50,000 miles.
this is straight from the wikipedia article on this engine... why bother watching a video on it if it'll just be the same info from an untrustworthy source.
Yeah agreed. Kind of missing the important details on heads and head bolts and it only being acknowledged in 04-06...
The factory torture testing on vulcan was neat, definitely worth mentioning in detail. Mine cracked heads but running strong at 310,000!
I would kill for vulcan reliability and the ability to DIY maintenance in a newer vehicle! I don't feel comfortable doing some warranty recalled gamble on a new vehicle because the reliability of my 85 accord, 99 ranger, and 04 escalade far surpasses anything I could buy now. They all run great with 700,000 miles combined. I spend more time fixing new cars
My ford Taurus will rot out before the engine blows on it
The cooling system sucks ,the 4r44e transmission is junk ,the 8 inch rear end is junk ,the shift tube is junk ,on all fords , why fords makes things so complicated is beyond me . Even the oil filter is a pain to change .
Sounds like a decent engine, is the Vulcan 3.0L the same engine that came in the German 76 Mercury Capri?
Probably not. These didn't come out until 1986