picking up a new truck,86 ranger 2.3 4cyl,some questions

[littledubber92]

the guy im buying it from ive known for a VERY long time,he has had at LEAST 15 rangers in the past 5 years,he's done v8 swaps in them as well,he was a ford mechanic for 35 years,so he knows his shit.
anyways,he said the motors shot in the truck,he let me start it up and hear it,it knocks on acceleration,i thought oil pump maybe,its an 86 BTW,around 116 thousand on the odo i think.
i know the usual problems(he's told me,and taught me how to do alot on these trucks).
he's also including a spare 2.3 4 cylinder motor with the truck(its currently sitting in the bed) that has 75k on it.
my question is,how long do you think the motor will last?
could i be right about the oil pump needing to be changed and that is whats causing the knock,it doesnt really sound like a knock,almost lifterish,but it does it with acceleration,i cant notice it at idle.
and if the motor dies,how hard is it to swap in the other motor?

Thanks
-Richy

[motocross]

i doubt it would be very hard as long as your swapping a 2.3 and 2.3 i dont no much about 4 bangers but 75k on it isnt that much it will last alot longer im gessing you should get 150 out of it depends how you drive.

[littledubber92]

so the motor swap, is relatively easy?

also will 205/75/15's fit under the stock 2wd ranger without any rubbing issues?
i've got a friend who said i can have a set that he has.

[Dave R]

so the motor swap, is relatively easy?

Yes, as long as your engines are of the same type (distributed, DIS or EDIS).

[TireIron]

could the issue just be bad detonation? does it only happen at certain rpms and under certain loads or is it a constant when you are on the gas throughout the RPMs?

[littledubber92]

it's constant through the RPM's.

[runtime]

75K or even 116K is not a lot of miles. My 87 2.3 has 290K with 3 timing belts changes (1 broke) and 2 starters. Currently uses like 1qt every 500 miles. If swap change the timing belt at least.

As a further note: Had a Mustang (80/81) with the same 2.3L that developed a knock. I believe only knocked under acceleration. Turned out to be one of the piston skirts broke off. Car had like 30K, just replaced piston/rings and ran to like 130K before selling car.

[baddis]

so the motor swap, is relatively easy?

also will 205/75/15's fit under the stock 2wd ranger without any rubbing issues?
i've got a friend who said i can have a set that he has.

yes i had an 86 xcab with 235/70/15 on it and they didn't rub

[Mark_88]

My 2.0 Ranger had almost 400,000 KM on it when it finally died...even with the hole in the piston it ran not bad...unless it was wet...finally swapped in a 2.3 block and did the head...but the head cracked (due to overheating...see other post about NOT blocking off the whole rad) and I had to have that rebuilt...haven't driven it with the new head...still putting it back together after the frame-off restore...

[runtime]

If I remember right the distance from the Earth to the Moon is approximately 400,000km

[tomw]

On the Lima, a collapsed lifter is LOUD. But. Generally it will rap all the time if not pumped up. A rap is probably rod bearing, wrist pin, or a collapsed piston skirt. Rod bearing raps get louder as you speed up. What is the oil pressure? If the pump is worn out, probably everything else is worn out also, as the pump is the first to get lubed, and bearings further down the pipeline would suffer the worst.
You could drop the pan and inspect the rod bearing inserts, or replace them for less than $50. Use plastigage to check the clearance. Sometimes you can get a lot more miles for a little time and money.
tom