Ford 2.3L ecoboost crate engine

[medguy]

This might be a dumb question, so don't flame me too much.

I have a 2.7L bronco, if I was to mod my bronco and blow up the engine or put a ton of miles on it, would the ford 2.3L crate engine be plug and play? It says it's for rear wheel drive applications. I'm assuming it should mate up to the transmission with no issues. It is a great price for the crate engine and would make me feel a lot better about putting a lot of miles on the bronco. I plan on keeping this thing forever.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-23TA

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[Laminar]

No.

The 2.7 and 2.3 do not share a bellhousing pattern. Each iteration of OEM engines has a different configuration of drive accessories, sensors, and wiring harnesses that are specific to the vehicle it originally came in. To run a 2.3 crate in a 2.7 Bronco, you'd need the engine mounts, wiring harness, transmission, probably all of the accessories from a 2.3 Bronco (AC, alternator, etc.), the Ford Controls Pack to actually run the engine, and then none of your gauges or OEM controls or drive modes would work.

 

[Brnzbronc]

This might be a dumb question, so don't flame me too much.

I have a 2.7L bronco, if I was to mod my bronco and blow up the engine or put a ton of miles on it, would the ford 2.3L crate engine be plug and play? It says it's for rear wheel drive applications. I'm assuming it should mate up to the transmission with no issues. It is a great price for the crate engine and would make me feel a lot better about putting a lot of miles on the bronco. I plan on keeping this thing forever.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-23TA

If you’re wanting to go the distance and build a motor the 2.3 platform is better. Just do the 2.0 short block with forged rods and pistons and 2.3 head. Check out TunePlus website. Nothing much out there for the 2.7. If you already have the 2.7 then nothing you can do, probably be better to do a full engine tranny swap like a Barra inline 6 from Australia.

 

[medguy]

Thats not what I wanted to hear. Hopefully ford will release some new crate engines soon. If I have to go through all that trouble I would rather drop 3.0 TT or 5.0 in the bronco.

 

[HBTFD]

To clarify do you want your engine to last 300,000 miles, modify it to be raptor fast or both?

 

[Laminar]

If you’re wanting to go the distance and build a motor the 2.3 platform is better. Just do the 2.0 short block with forged rods and pistons and 2.3 head. Check out TunePlus website. Nothing much out there for the 2.7. If you already have the 2.7 then nothing you can do, probably be better to do a full engine tranny swap like a Barra inline 6 from Australia.

What? You only have to "build" a motor if the stock setup can't take the power you want to make. A 2.7 with upgraded turbos on E30 can make an easy 540hp/550tq to the wheels of an F150, which is well over 600hp/tq at the crank.

Show me a built 2.0/2.3 making 600+hp that's fully spooled by 3500rpm.

 

[medguy]

I was considering trying to squeeze some more power out of it if swapping something else in like the 2.3L would be easy. However I'll probably leave the engine alone and just swap something else in once it starts having problems. From what I read the 2.7 lasts about 170k which would be about 5 years for me. I don't feel like the 2.3L is worth the effort to swap in vs something else. I would probably consider an LS in the future.

I had three 5.0 mustangs so I was never really worried about breaking anything because swapping in another engine was so easy.

 

[Brnzbronc]

What? You only have to "build" a motor if the stock setup can't take the power you want to make. A 2.7 with upgraded turbos on E30 can make an easy 540hp/550tq to the wheels of an F150, which is well over 600hp/tq at the crank.

Show me a built 2.0/2.3 making 600+hp that's fully spooled by 3500rpm.

I don’t disagree that 2.7 can make that kind of hp I had it in my f150, problem is how long can you reliably run those numbers before it blows. Check out https://mountuneusa.com/ or https://www.tuneplusinc.com/ these guys build 2.3’s to handle 600 HP

 

[Brnzbronc]

I was considering trying to squeeze some more power out of it if swapping something else in like the 2.3L would be easy. However I'll probably leave the engine alone and just swap something else in once it starts having problems. From what I read the 2.7 lasts about 170k which would be about 5 years for me. I don't feel like the 2.3L is worth the effort to swap in vs something else. I would probably consider an LS in the future.

I had three 5.0 mustangs so I was never really worried about breaking anything because swapping in another engine was so easy.

V8 from what I’m seeing requires heavily modifing the frame, spring perch’s and cross frame.

 

[medguy]

V8 from what I’m seeing requires heavily modifing the frame, spring perch’s and cross frame.

Even for a LS? Its quite a bit smaller than a coyote.

 

[Laminar]

I don’t disagree that 2.7 can make that kind of hp I had it in my f150, problem is how long can you reliably run those numbers before it blows.

What's the answer? How much can a 2.7 take reliably? And for how long? People know those things about the 2.0/2.3 because they blow so early. Nobody's even thrown a rod on a 2.7/3.0 yet.

This 3.0 is making more than 800 to the crank on a completely stock bottom end, just upgraded turbos and injectors.

https://www.motor1.com/news/572268/ford-explorer-st-657-horsepower-supercar-killer/

 

[Big Boss]

Even for a LS? Its quite a bit smaller than a coyote.

Like others said, it's not so much getting stuff to fit. It's getting everything to work the way it's supposed to. Swapping an engine in a modern car is way more advanced now than it used to be. Figuring out all the electronic BS is where the trouble is.

I mentioned this in the V-8 swap thread, guy on one of the mustang forums I frequent is in the process of swapping a 3.7 from a 2012 into a 2007 that had a 4.0. Last update he joked that it would have been easier to swap the bodies than the engines

 

[Brnzbronc]

Even for a LS? Its quite a bit smaller than a coyote.

I believe there’s a guy on the forum making a YouTube video about coyote swapping a bronco. They got it in but it’s been extensive work to fit it in. Granted the coyote motor is taller but the spring perches pretty much sit 1” away from the exhaust port which you won’t be able to run a manifold unless you reposition the perches which then interfere with the upper control arms which changes the geometry of the tire alignment yadda yadda yadda. Everything is doable but how deep are your pockets.

 

[Brnzbronc]

What? You only have to "build" a motor if the stock setup can't take the power you want to make. A 2.7 with upgraded turbos on E30 can make an easy 540hp/550tq to the wheels of an F150, which is well over 600hp/tq at the crank.

Show me a built 2.0/2.3 making 600+hp that's fully spooled by 3500rpm.

 

[Laminar]

Yeah, that was my point of reference - it's not fully spooled until 4500rpm and doesn't make peak power until 7000rpm. And that requires a $15,000 long block.

Or you could spend $800 on upgrading the 2.7 turbos, throw in a set of injectors, and you're good for over 600whp all day on a 2.7. I'm not seeing the advantage to the 2.3 - you're paying way more and getting way less.

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