Is a 2002 Ford Ranger 2.3l an interference motor?

No. You can break the timing belt and not have any problems from valves getting bent. The caveat is that you don't have after market high compression pistons installed. If it is an unmolested factory motor, just change the timing belt and forget about it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The 2.3 L in a 2002 Ford Ranger is a DOHC engine ( DURATEC ? ) that uses a timing CHAIN . I don't know if it is an interference motor or not