Front of engine passenger side front to rear. 1-2-3-4
Front of engine driver's side front to rear. 5-6-7-8
The Ford 2.3 liter is a 4 cylinder engine
Cylinder # 3 is on the passenger side of the engine , back cylinder (on your 4.2 L V6 engine the cylinders are numbered 1 , 2 , 3 from front to rear on the passenger side of the engine and 4 , 5 , 6 from front to rear on the drivers side of the engine)
On inline engines such as the Mercedes 5 cylinder engine, the number one cylinder is at the front of the engine (where the pulleys and belts are), and the cylinders are then numbered sequentially toward the rear of the engine, i.e. 1 2 3 4 5. The number 5 cylinder on your MB 2.4 liter 5 cylinder would be the one at the engine's rear.
On a 1999 Ford F-150 : The 4.6 ( and 5.4 ) liter V8 engine cylinder locations are numbered : firewall 4 - 8 3 - 7 2 - 6 1 - 5 front of vehicle
I'm not a mechanic / technician but I ASSUME the engine cylinder locations are numbered on the Ford 6.0 liter Diesel engine the same as the 7.3 Diesel firewall 7 - 8 5 - 6 3 - 4 1 - 2 front of vehicle
The engine cylinders are numbered : 1---2---3---4 front of Car ( according to about.com )
In a Ford F-150 , 4.6 liter V8 : The engine cylinder locations are numbered : firewall 4 - 8 3 - 7 2 - 6 1 - 5 front of vehicle
On a 2002 Ford E-150 , 4.2 liter V6 engine : The engine cylinder locations are numbered : 3 - 6 2 - 5 1 - 4 front of vehicle
On a 2000 Ford Taurus : The engine cylinder locations are numbered ( for the 3.0 liter " Vulcan " V6, the flex fuel version engine , and the 3.0 liter DOHC " Duratec " engine ) firewall 1-----2-----3 4-----5-----6 front of vehicle > driver
The # 2 engine cylinder is on the passenger side of the engine and is the 2nd cylinder from the front. The engine cylinders are numbered 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 from front to back on the passenger side of the engine and 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 from front to back on the drivers side of the engine
The # 8 engine cylinder is on the drivers side of the engine , it is the rear cylinder The engine cylinders / spark plugs are numbered : passenger side of engine , front to rear , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 -----drivers side of engine , front to rear , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8
# 3 cylinder is on the passenger side of the engine , it is the rear cylinder next to the firewall The engine cylinders / spark plugs are numbered : passenger side of engine , front to rear , 1 , 2 , 3 and drivers side of engine , front to rear , 4 , 5 , 6