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2.0l to 2.3l head swap

20K views 42 replies 12 participants last post by  felixthecat 
#1 ·
Ive done a lot of reading up on this. and i see its possible. its just no one shows the build and what complications they came into. Ive also called around to local scrap yards to see if they have and 2.3l in there yard. they all pretty much said to me is the ford ranger doesnt have a 2.3l. i asked for the ford focus 2.3 and they dont have them in there yards :( im pretty sure the mazda speed and a few others have the 2.3l engine in them. ford owns mazda? but im not sure if it would be the same design or if it would bolt on. Has anyone done this swap? the honda kids in my town are constantly doing this. its like they have a grave yard of vtec's in there garage because there always swapping something. to me it seems like a good idea to gain a couple extra tq and hp, for not that expensive of a build, and a good project :)
 
#2 ·
The 2.3 head in the 2002+ ranger is the same as your current one

The mazda heads have VCT, which your car doesnt. This is the same for Escape, Fusion, Mazda 3,5,6 etc.

The right 2.3 can be found in 03-04 cars with a Z in the vin, and the 05-07 ST.

Try car-part.com to locate a yard instead of calling. Might save a lot of time
 
#13 ·
If you can't use your garage, maybe you could use your v-tec buddies garages. Hit up the search button. What are you trying to do? A 23 swap or a 23 head swap or what? A few people have done this already. You can swap in a set of mild cams/ header/ tune to get some hp & torque out of your 20. Or just do a 23 swap to get more torque, which is great for a DD. Just to throw into the mix= How 'bout a 23 powered foci to start w/? '03-'04 hatch or a '05-'07 st sedan? How have know idea how many miles or condition of your car= something to think 'bout.
 
#16 ·
i want to do the 2.3l head swap, ive probably spent 3 hours last night trying to search for someone that has done this on the focus. theres just people saying theres no gain, theres no difference in heads. but no one has done it. im buying toms sct tuner next week, should be able to afford the rest of the bolt ons in the next few weeks.. i/e cai, header, already got the catback. then i want to get the 2.3 head and see what kind of gains ill get from that. Just dont want to waste my money to not see benefits.
132,000km on the engine and still feels strong.
 
#20 ·
i just pm'd him thanks :)

You can swap out the head for a 23 one which is a better flowing head. Or you can swap out for a 23 which is knowing you can have more hp & alot more grunt= Hence the longer stroke. You have some miles on the bottom end & seal it up w/ a new head= a reconditioned one, more pressure on your rings. Maybe it'll be ok & work. Have you priced out 23 motors?
I've looked on kijiji and i found a 2005 2.3 with a 140,000km on it with a blown auto tranny for 800$, he wants the full car gone. im pretty sure i can bolt a manual tanny to it? i thought the bottom ends of the 2.0 are quite strong, but i could be wrong. i kinda like the high revs on my car where i produce the hp. but i could just change the rings while the heads off?
 
#22 ·
I'm with you on this head swap mod for N/A apps. Ford did not install a smaller port head on the 2.0L to make it inferior. It was done to better match the head flow to the cam, to optimize powerband, output and efficiency. The bigger head belongs on the 2.3 or on a 2.0 with cam swap to raise the powerband. It's wrong to assume that a head swap will lead to 2.3L powerband or similar peak horsepower. The 2.3L is about 15% larger displacement and this is what makes it about 15% more powerful. It's not the head flow doing it.
 
#25 ·
So correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way to take advantage of the 2.3 head swap would be to get a set of cams and a tune?
 
#26 ·
If your installing a 23 head, I'd add a set of basic DD cams, a header & a tune. You'll have the head off anyhow, so whats a 1/2hr to swap cams?
 
#27 ·
after reading all this it makes sense now. i just bought my obx header, typhoon cai, and the sct from tom. should be coming in this week or next :) i figure if i can find a 2.3 for cheap ill be able to buy cams in a month possibly, then im going to try this out. but by putting the 2.3 head its going to lower my compression?
 
#31 ·
I dont agree , I have had both heads on a flow bench and the 2.0 is a restricted head on the 2.0 and its done this way for many reasons one to make more low end tq and another for emmisions
I am a firm beleiver that adding the 2.3 head AND intake manifold or the cosi knock off , surfacing the 2.3 head for better compression would be a great addition to the 2.3 , adding cams , header and tune in my opinion sense you have the head off would be a very good idea

Added flow and slightly higher compression is going to gain some nice midrange and upper end with out loosing much if any lower end

In most cases larger ports do not mean more HP or TQ , in my opinion this is not one of those cases

Tom
 
#32 ·
That is a great comment, Tom. What cams would be appropriate for that setup on a DD? (D20 bottom end with a D23 head/Cossie IM) Someone should put together an affordable package with the parts ready to bolt on! Might be a viable option for those looking to get some power without a full engine swap or turbo expense.
 
#33 ·
Cams are a little harder , it takes a combination of thins to make an engine perform best for what your doing , so

What compression
what other mods will be on the engine
what is the car going to be used for mostly

This will help when choosing a cam , I would also plan on changing out the valve springs

Tom
 
#34 ·
i just got all my bolt ons today and the tuner from tom. i got intake and the catback and header. there's those stage 1 crane cams that seem to be appropriate for this swap.
So if i bought a 2.3 head i should get it shaved down, polish it, throw the stage 1 cams in. im sure i can find a 2.3 intake manifold from a local scrap yard. if not theres some decent priced intake manifolds off ebay.
In my head this seems like it will work, it only makes sense that will the increased flow and cams the engine should preform better. maybe not a massive amount of gain. but im sure theres some power to be made from this. and its a wicked project to pursue.
 
#35 ·
For a intake manifold get the 23 escape one= doesn't have the imrc aka tumble flaps. A 23 head w/ a set of crane stage 1's work great for a DD.
 
#40 ·
Im gonna start looking into finding a head now that the bolt ons are are out of the way. should be able to buy cams before the end of the month as long as nothing major happens. Should i get the head shaved down? i read somewhere that the 23 head is a higher than the 20? which would decrees my compression which would lower power gains?
Sorry for asking alot of questions guys, i just need some knowledgeable people to let me know what i should do for it to be rite the first time. :)
 
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