2.9l ranger vs 2.9l bii towing
I have out of necessity chosen to tow a couple of things that I probably shouldn't have. I was moving to Orange County from the greater Seattle area and my wife's 86 Ranger (single cab, long bed I) gave up the fight just north of Bakersfield. We all jammed in the 87 Ranger, finished the trip and I went back the next day with a tow dolly. I didn't know not to use 5 gear (which later reared it's ugly head) but had no trouble maintaining highway speeds until the Grapevine. I did my best getting over that and then rolled the rest of the trip to Irvine without a hitch. I later had problems with 5 gear, which were directly contributed to this tow.
I tow a 750 lbs, over axle flat trailer routinely with the 87 BII with two, 500 pound ORV's loaded with tools and gear. Before I tried it I installed the big Explorer Radiator, dual James Duff shocks all around, ECU chip, and a fresh rebuild on the 2.9l with performance and specifically torque in mind (port/polished heads and intakes, delta cam, increased ratio rockers, rocker spacers, balanced debured and polished crank, balanced .03" over with MSD ignition, new injectors, rebuilt A4LD, with an extra large second tranny cooler and a larger main cooler and new torque converter). This was uneventful but I kept it at 2,500 RPM the whole time and still do. It doesn't get hotter than normal and transmission fliud burnt in minimal. I have since incorporated an Explorer 8.8" rear and D35 front and Explorer rear leaf packs. The stability alone from the wider axle is worth it but those axles are very solid feeling from the drivers seat feel. By the book it should be able to handle an extra 800 pounds if memory serves (the 8.8 and the Explorer springs). The BII was rated at towing 2750 or something incredibly low, so even with all the changes to the engine, transmission and suspension I do this at my own risk. I was able to make it from Seattle Wa to Medford Or and back without a hitch. Like I mentioned I don't use Overdrive and keep the engine RPM @ 2,500 to maximise the usable torque. The positive side was I managed 24 mpg and had no problems other than a couple of highwayers (who may have never towed anything before) wanting me to drive faster, occassionally.
Overall, I need a full sized diesel for my towing needs; until someone makes me buy one, I will continue to keep the RPM @ 2,500, keep the weight to a minimal and prudently tow with my BII and Ranger, sucking up the occasional transmission failure and subsiquent rebuild.