My 5 speed Ranger with the 3.0 Vulcan in question. It was making some noise cruising at 70 mph(determined to be tires) so I had my friend(who is an excellent mechanic) drive it while I rode in the passenger seat. I normally shift each gear between 2500-2800 rpm. He ran it hard while driving it, revved it to almost 4k rpm in 1st gear before shifting to second and then anywhere from 3k to 4500 rpm in the following gears and I could have sworn he hit 5k rpm once. While I did not say anything, I instantly began to worry as I never run the engine that hard. The truck did move pretty quick though, much quicker than I though the 3.0 could push it., never really seemed powerful as it only has 155 hp. So did he possibly hurt the engine by revving that high? It never bounced off the rev limiter, or so it seemed.
any harm done to Ranger?
- Thread starter mobilaltima
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It's no Cummins, the power doesn't even start until 2,800rpm in a regular old school V6. Let her hit 5k once in a while.
You could hit redline daily & it won't hurt it as long as the engine is up to operating temp. No worries.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2025
Revving your engine every now and then to 5k ain't gonna hurt it.
My neighbor's son had a 2001 Ranger Reg cab with the 3.0V6 and a 5 speed.
He drove it like he stole it everywhere he went.
Minimum maintenance was done to the vehicle and it never skipped a beat. He had over 160k on it when he sold it a few years back.
Still going strong.
My neighbor's son had a 2001 Ranger Reg cab with the 3.0V6 and a 5 speed.
He drove it like he stole it everywhere he went.
Minimum maintenance was done to the vehicle and it never skipped a beat. He had over 160k on it when he sold it a few years back.
Still going strong.
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WOT redline RPM daily here.
I do that in my old Taurus Vulcan every day, for 15 years. That's a ride in the park for a Vulcan or any engine (unless if it was a played parts 1200 aircooled vw). He was helping to clean up your valves and show you how much an engine in good health endures. Now if you're running in a old, dirty, oxidized and diluted 5w20 conventional, I could see your worries... but its maxlife 5w30 didn't even get near hot in 1 pull like that.
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Without boost, is it even possible to snap/crack the crankshaft?
I've actually heard its good for the engine to do some WOT runs a few times a week. Keeps everything running right and cleans the injectors and valves. I've always done it in all my vehicles a few times a week. Hasn't hurt a thing and don't think it ever will. I just make sure to drive it about 10 minutes first (probably overkill) just to make sure everything is fully warmed up.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
It didn't even remotely hurt it.
I redline my Camry EVERY day. I have to, it's slow as heck. Last Thursday I drove out of town and it was all hills, I pushed it as hard as I possibly could, it was foot to the floor as fast as it could up all the hills, redlining too.
Still runs like a champ.
I redline my Camry EVERY day. I have to, it's slow as heck. Last Thursday I drove out of town and it was all hills, I pushed it as hard as I possibly could, it was foot to the floor as fast as it could up all the hills, redlining too.
Still runs like a champ.
if i have to merge somewhere quick i push my Malibu 4-5k rpm easily.
I run my 4.2 V8 up to 6,500rpm frequently just because I like the way it sounds.
Not sure why you think the engine would be hurt. Most modern engines can bang against the rev limiter all day and be fine. An over-rev is a very different story. We call that the "money shift."
Not sure why you think the engine would be hurt. Most modern engines can bang against the rev limiter all day and be fine. An over-rev is a very different story. We call that the "money shift."
He did not harm the engine, if anything he did a good thing as doing that can clean out some carbon from the engine, as long as the engine was hot he did no harm, i often do that since my Capri is carbed and driving around town it will accumulate some carbon , after revving the engine out to around 4500 a few times and driving aggressively for about an hour the engine idles better , starts from cold better and feels more responsive
Shifting an engine at high rpms is OK while the engine oil is at operating temperature. So if the oil was at normal operating temperature, no worries. OTOH winding up a cold engine is not so good. Just read through all the threads about warming up an engine and driving nice and easy while the engine is warming up, and you'll see what I mean. Bottom line I doubt he did any damage, but I wouldn't make a habit of shifting at 4K rpms while the engine is still cold.
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Without boost, is it even possible to snap/crack the crankshaft?
Yes. My neighbor ran his Plymouth Acclaim almost completely out of oil. I don't think he was ever too diligent about keeping it topped up after I found the sump dry that time. One day his crank broke
Without boost, is it even possible to snap/crack the crankshaft?
Yes. My neighbor ran his Plymouth Acclaim almost completely out of oil. I don't think he was ever too diligent about keeping it topped up after I found the sump dry that time. One day his crank broke
None done whatsoever. You paid for all those horses, may as well use them. As long as you don't over rev it you will be fine.
I'd even go so far as to say cold or hot it's nothing to worry about as long as you give it about 30 seconds to get oil flowing. People around here tend to worry way too much.
I'd even go so far as to say cold or hot it's nothing to worry about as long as you give it about 30 seconds to get oil flowing. People around here tend to worry way too much.
Those Vulcan engines sound nice when wound up. My Jeep 4.0L (high output) - which is often seen as a low speed engine, doesn't start to wake up until 2500RPM. With factory fuel economy gearing and larger tires, it's not uncommon for it to not make it out of second gear on onramps and it hits 4000, 4500 a lot to get up to speed on the highway in time. It loves it!
You are worrying for nothing. If your car did not get into redline or hit the rev limiter, then it is designed to run at this RPM with no ill effects whatsoever other than using a little extra gas and causing you to smile. I run all of my cars up to 5k rpm every time I drive them. It sounds good and they it is fun. All of them are running perfectly fine.
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