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[MonzaGSE]

Hi. I recently bought an 84 Ford sierra 2,3 ghia as a donor car. I need the doors to replace the rusty ones on my 86 sierra 2,0l. Also thought to transfer all the toys from the ghia. (Electric Windows, central locking, graphic display and so on). But after starting up the ghia i fell on love with the v6 sound which sounds way better than the 2 litre pinto. So im thinking of doing an engine transplant as well. My issue is that the 2,3ghia smokes alot of white smoke and it didnt get better om the 15 minutes or so i left it idling. Water level is normal and no particular smell from the smoke. Brakes are sticking on so cant really take it for a drive. The car has not been on the road since 2008. Dont really want to transfer the engine into the 86 2,0l if IT requires new head gascets. The temperature here is around 0 celsius.

Should the white smoke have cleared in 15 min of idling if it was condensation? Engine runs/sound good. 2,3 cologne v6.

[ronnyd]

If it,s cold there in Norway at the moment, warm exhaust air hitting cold Arctic air might cause this persistent smoke?

[MonzaGSE]

Thought of that as a factor, but its not really that cold. And neither the 2,0l Ford or my 3,0 litre omega smokes that much. Just thinking it may be much watee/condensation in the 2,3v6's exhaust/fuel tank etc. Wet weather here and its not really been driven in years. But thought it should clear when the engine got up to temperature.

[Doctor Gollum]

Might just need a thorough service valve clearances on those are an annual/12k mile job. Also the autochoke on Solex carb fitted to those aren't the most reliable...

If you do swap it over, the carb from the 2.8 Granada gives it a useful performance boost, albeit at the expense of fuel economy

[MonzaGSE]

Thanks for the advice:) havent really checked anything yet. Both sierras is waiting for springtime. 2,8 carb could be worth considering if it gives more power. As for fuel consumption: my daily driver is a 3,0 auto omega wagon so not really that Concerned about it:)

[Nick W]

Swapping a 2.0l for a 2.3 V6 is a lot of work for a very disappointing engine. The most noticable difference is that the fuel economy will be worse.

[MonzaGSE]

Yeah i think the pinto 2,0 has 105hp and the cologne 2,3 has 114 hp. I am a bit in doubt since the power gain is so little. But the sound of the v6 is far superior to the pinto:) on the plus side i do have the whole car so hopefully wont need much parts. V6 exhaust seems to be in good shape. Also the v6 has power steering which i guess could be retrofitted to the pinto. Dont know much about fords however. I know the 2,0 pinto is a reliable engine. From what ive picked up the 2,3 cologne also seems to be pretty reliable but thirsty and somewhat lazy?

[Nick W]

Yeah i think the pinto 2,0 has 105hp and the cologne 2,3 has 114 hp. I am a bit in doubt since the power gain is so little. But the sound of the v6 is far superior to the pinto:) on the plus side i do have the whole car so hopefully wont need much parts. V6 exhaust seems to be in good shape. Also the v6 has power steering which i guess could be retrofitted to the pinto. Dont know much about fords however. I know the 2,0 pinto is a reliable engine. From what ive picked up the 2,3 cologne also seems to be pretty reliable but thirsty and somewhat lazy?

It's underpowered, thirsty, heavy, leaks oil like an Omega V6(although it is easier to fix!) and is prone to timing gear failure. It doesn't run on unleaded fuel without expensive hardened valve seats, which in my experience isn't a problem with Pintos.


I wouldn't use one as a swap.

[Andy B]

... and is prone to timing gear failure.  ...

even as late as when it was in a Sierra? I thought the fibre gear failure had been resolved ...... 

[Nick W]

... and is prone to timing gear failure.  ...

even as late as when it was in a Sierra? I thought the fibre gear failure had been resolved ...... 

They didn't resolve it until they swapped to a chain for the later 2.4/2.9 versions. Although the weak oil pump/distributor hex drive remained.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Have Ford every produced a really good engine - without sending it to Cosworth to be re engineered ?