Ford Explorer 2.3L Turbo Engine Repair Information
Here you can find information regarding the assembly of the Ford 2.3L Turbo engine. In this guide we will
start from the inside of the engine including the
crankshaft, connecting rods, and piston ring installation and then move outwards all the way to the pulley belt
system. Along the way correct procedures and torque specs
will be given to aid in the assembly of the engine. Feel free to start from the beggining and work your way
outwards or skip ahead to your current position in the engine for what you may need.
Crankshaft Main Caps Installation
The 2.3L engine block main bearing caps should be inspected for any defects or flaws before installation.
Be sure to lubricate the bearing surfaces prior to installation. Once prepared you can place the caps onto the crankshaft
and begin tightening the bolts down in a multi stage process. The first being 10 ft-lbs starting from the middle and going outwards.
The second time around you can go to 20 ft-lbs and then for the third time you do an additional 90 degree turn for each bolt.
Once finished you should be good to continue with the rest of the engine.
Explorer 2.3L Turbo Main Cap Torque Specs : 20 ft-lbs + 90°
Piston and Connecting Rod Installation
To install the pistons and connecting rods you must first install the piston rings into each piston. Be careful
not to stretch the rings or break them during installation. Make sure to put the correct rings in the correct
positions, this can be determined by looking at
the instructions given with the new rings. Each ring manufacturer is different so be sure to check for your
specific rings. Once the rings have been installed you can now fit the connecting rod bearings into the end caps
and lube them up with oil or lithium grease. The piston can now be lowered into the cylinder, make sure the dot
or mark is facing the front of the engine and that you don't scratch the cylinder.
Once installed you can match the connecting rod caps with the correct rods and start to torque the connecting
rod bolts to 21 ft-lbs and then an additional 90 degree turn for each bolt. After all are done rotate the crank
to ensure all pistons move smoothly in and out of their cylinders and nothing binds.
Explorer 2.3L Turbo Connecting Rod Torque Specs : 21 ft-lbs + 90°
Oil Pump Installation
When installing the oil pump be sure to use the proper sealant around the pump base if neccessary to ensure that oil pressure
doesn't drop due to leakage. After preparing the contact surfaces carefully
install the oil pump onton the crankshaft by aligning the crankshaft end with the hole on the center of the pump. Once
installed install the bolts and torque them to 8 ft-lbs. The oil pump pickup tube can be installed onto the pump itself and torqued
down to 8 ft-lbs. After torqueing the bolts be
sure to prime the pump with the proper engine oil, this ensures that when the engine is initially started that
oil is already present in the pump and that the engine doesn't start without any oil flowing
inside of it.
The first thing you must do when installing cylinder heads is to ensure both the block and head surfaces are
completely clean from dust, oil, and any debris. The next thing you must to is
to set the camshafts to their correct positions to prevent any valves from hitting pistons during installation
and torquing of the head bolts. Much the same you have to set the pistons to their correct
locations, typically this means putting the #1 piston to TDC or Top Dead Center. Once everything is ready you
can install the head gasket onto the engine block by aligning the alignment dowels.
Something I usually do is spray down the head gasket with some engine copper spray from permatex which you can
find here, this ensures that any gaps that could be present between the 2 surfaces gets filled with the
spray. It
also helps to transfer heat between the 2 metals. With the gasket in place you can set the cylinder head onto
the gasket and block, if needed have someone assist with this process as the head can be heavy
and you don't want to scratch anything or drop it! Once the head has been placed you will want to start
installing the head bolts to make sure it doesn't move. Be sure to buy new head bolts as many manufacturers
use TTY or Torque to Yield head bolts meaning they stretch during torqueing and cannot be used twice. Also make
sure to lubricate the bolts in clean engine oil before installing them into the head.
Once all the head bolts have been installed and finger tightened you can start the torqueing process, almost all
head bolts have a multi-step process for torqueing. The 2.3L Turbo starts off with 15 ft-lbs and
then requires you to back them off a full turn. Then you must again torque them to
15 ft-lbs and then 41 ft-lbs and finally add 90 degrees and then another 90 degrees by going through each bolt with each step.
After torquing the heads are completely installed and you can now move to intalling the timing.
Explorer 2.3L Turbo Cylinder Head Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs | 41 ft-lbs + 90° + 90°
Timing Chain and Tensioner Installation
On the Ford 2.3L ecoboost engine the timing system consists of 2 camshaft gears or phasers and then one crankshaft timing gear.
To start installing the timing system you must place the crankshaft gear onto the crankshaft by aligning the woodruff key with the gears slot.
With the crank gear in place you can then install the camshaft gears. This step requires a camshaft and timing tool set for this specific engine.
Within the set you will have a camshaft holder, a crankshaft holder, and an aligner for the camshaft gear phasers. With the set in place
and everything aligned you can tighten down the camshaft gear bolts to 30 ft-lbs and then a 60 degree turn. With the gears in place you can take the timing chain
and run it around all three gears using the timing marks to align them with the proper spot on the gears as shown in the picture.
Next we can install the chain tensioner and torque its bolts down to 8 ft-lbs. On the opposite side of the tensioner is the timing chain
guide which can also be tightened down to 8 ft-lbs. With both the tensioner and guide in place you can release the tensioner which will tighten the
chain. The timing should now be set and good to go. If desired you can double check the timing marks and turn the engine over a few times
to ensure nothing inside the engine interferes with another part.
Explorer Camshaft Sprocket Bolt Torque Spec: 30 ft-lbs + 60°
Explorer Crankshaft Position Sensor Torque Spec: 10 ft-lbs
Explorer Camshaft Bearing Caps Torque Spec : 15 ft-lbs
Explorer Timing Belt Tensioner Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs
Explorer Timing Belt Guide Pulley Torque Spec : 8 ft-lbs
Timing Cover Installation
The timing cover on the 2.3L is used primarily to cover up the timing belt to ensure it doesn't get wet or aged by weather and debris. This cover can be installed once
the timing components are on and correctly in place. On the cover itself are 3 different sets of bolts, there is the upper and lower bolts which get tightened to 8 ft-lbs and then
the middle bolts which get tightened to 37 ft-lbs. You can distinguish between the bolt types by the sizes of the bolts. The larger diameter bolts get tightened down to the higher
torque value.
Explorer Timing Belt Cover Torque Specs (Upper/Lower): 8 ft-lbs
Explorer Timing Belt Cover Torque Specs (Larger Middle): 35 ft-lbs
Oil Pan Installation
Much like the timing cover on the 2.3L the oil pan plays an important role in keeping the engine oil inside the
engine. For this reason I recommend using a new gasket as well as some silicone sealant
during installation. Using the same technique as before with the cover you clean the surfaces of both the oil
pan and the engine block and then install the new gasket onto the block and then follow
it up with some silicone sealant. Be sure to follow your sealants instructions to ensure you get the best seal
from your application. The oil pan bolts torque to 18 ft-lbs in a cross
pattern design.
Along with the pan is the oil pan drain plug, this gets removed and reinstalled quite frequently and can be
torqued down to 20 ft-lbs.
Explorer Oil Pan Torque Specs : 18 ft-lbs
Explorer Oil Drain Plug Torque Specs : 20 ft-lbs
Valve Cover Installation
The valve cover installation is rather simple, there are rubber seals for each bolt hole and a silicone gasket
that prevents oil from leaking out of the engine. It is recommended to replace both the seals
and the gaskets although if they are in good condition you can reuse them. If you do choose to reuse them I
would use some silicone sealant along with the silicon gasket to ensure it does not leak.
The valve cover bolts torque down to 106 in-lbs or about 9 ft-lbs in a criss cross order. Be sure not to miss
any bolts to avoid having oil leak out onto the exhaust pipes and cause a lot of smoking.
Explorer Valve Cover Torque Specs : 9 ft-lbs
Intake Manifold and Fuel Rail Installation
When installing the intake manifold you want to make sure you have all the surfaces as well as intake holes
cleaned out before placing the manifold into position. Once cleaned you can then place
the intake manifold gaskets onto the alignment pins. If you want you can also use a little bit of sealant on the
gaskets to help ensure there are no leaks. With the gaskets in place you can now put
the manifold down onto the gaskets and begin to install the bolts. The intake manifold bolts torque to 15 ft-lbs
and can be tightened starting from the inside and going outwards. The COPs or the coils
for the spark plugs get torqued down to 60 in-lbs or about 5 ft-lbs and the spark plugs themselves can be
torqued down to 12 ft-lbs, be careful not to overtorque these as they can snap and cause big problems.
When installing the fuel rail make sure that all the fuel injectors are in good condition and that all the
o-rings are in place and
are in good condition. If everything is good you can place the fuel rail into position and push the injectors
into their holes and start to torque the rail bolts to 90 in-lbs or about 8 ft-lbs.
Explorer Intake Manifold Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs
Explorer Ignition Coil Torque Specs : 5 ft-lbs
Explorer Spark Plug Torque Specs : 12 ft-lbs
Explorer Fuel Rail Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs
Exhaust Manifold and Turbocharger Installation
The exhaust manifold on the 2.3L ecoboost engine has 2 different designs depending on the year and car model.
The first design was a manifold build into the cylinder head. On this version there is simply 4 bolts which are used to bolt the turbo onto the head
and from there the turbo works as normal. On the other design the manifold bolts onto the head like a traditional engine does. For the
first version where the turbo will bolt to the head the torque specs for the 4 nuts are 35 ft-lbs. AS for the other
version the exhaust manifold nuts torque down to 23 ft-lbs. From here the turbo has an oil supply tube, a coolant inlet tube, and
mounting bolts. The turbochargers oil supply tube banjo bolt can be tightened down to 18 ft-lbs and the bracket bolts to 8 ft-lbs.
The coolant supply banjo bolt gets tightened to 27 ft-lbs and its support brackets get tightened to 8 ft-lbs. The mounting bolts for the turbo
itself get tightened to 35 ft-lbs. The rest of the turbo system torques are hand tight or 8 ft-lbs max. The exhuast system
has a downpipe that connects to the turbo midpipe. This pipe along with its support brackets gets tightened to 18 ft-lbs.
Explorer Turbocharger Nuts Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs
Explorer Turbo Oil Supply Torque Spec : 18 ft-lbs
Explorer Coolant Supply Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs
Explorer Turbo Mounting Brackets Torque Spec : 35 ft-lbs
Explorer Coolant Supply Torque Spec : 27 ft-lbs
Explorer Exhaust Downpipe to Midpipe Torque Spec : 18 ft-lbs
Water Pump and Thermostat Installation
The water pump on the Ford 2.3L Zetec engine is located between the engine camshaft and crankshaft sprocket. The pump can be installed by using
a new gasket and if desired some silicone sealant to help prevent leaks. Be sure to clean both metal surfaces prior to installing the pump. Once
prepared the pump can be moved into placed and the bolts should be torqued to 8 ft-lbs.
The water pump pulley can be torqued to the water pump itself with 15 ft-lbs as well.
Explorer Water Pump Torque Specs : 8 ft-lbs
Explorer Water Pump Pulley Torque Specs : 15 ft-lbs
Front Dress and Pulley belt Installation
Most of what is left on the engine is just place and tighten objects such as the belt pulleys, belt tensioner,
throttle body, oil filter neck, crankshaft pulley, and motor mounts. If the items have a gasket and hold either
oil or coolant inside the engine then feel free to add some sealant along with the gasket. Always be sure to
inspect your gaskets and replace them if there is any deteriation or flaws with them. For the
belt system the crank shaft pulley gets torqued to 74 ft-lbsand then a 180 degree turn or half a turn. The belt
tensioner can be tightened to 18 ft-lbs and the idler pulley can be torqued down to 30 ft-lbs. When installing be sure they
both turn smoothly and if they do not then replace them with new ones as the bearings can go bad. The engine
motor mount can be installed onto the engine block if it hasn't been already, the torques for
the mount to the block is 59 ft-lbs and then when installing the mount to the vehicle or frame it can be torqued to
35 ft-lbs. Finally the throttle body can be installed on top of the intake manifold
with a good gasket and some added sealant using 7 ft-lbs in a criss cross pattern. For installing the belt you
can use a tool to move the tensioner into its springed state and install the belt as shown in the
picture.
