Fords4Us
Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2012
- Messages
- 51
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 8
- Location
- Snohomish, WA
- Vehicle Year
- 1983
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Engine Size
- 2.8L
- Transmission
- Manual
Greetings everyone, it's been awhile. It was almost exactly three years ago when I started the Duraspark conversion on our '83 Ranger, and that project was successful thanks to the advice and encouragement I got from this forum.
The old truck has been running reasonably well since then, but lately she's been showing more signs of her age (don't we all!) We've concluded that it's probably time for an engine rebuild, at least in terms of gaskets, valve seals, etc. We may also replace the carburator, since we've been working with the original Motorcraft 2150 this whole time. We're hoping to get started on this project within a few weeks. We've been looking for tech manuals for the Cologne engine and coming up empty. Are there any shop manuals or books out there which we could use as reference materials during our rebuild? Along those same lines, are there any detailed references for a 2.8L rebuild either on TRS or other websites that we could reference? I looked around the site awhile and didn't really find anything. I was hoping for something roughly as detailed as the Duraspark conversion information I relied on for that project.
Finally, I'd also be curious to hear any words of wisdom, suggestions for additional repairs/upgrades to make "while the top is off", or anything else from folks who have "been there done that." I'm not looking to make race-type changes to the performance, but I do wish I had more muscle in the low to medium RPM range for things like getting up hills while fully loaded. I'd hate to finish the project only to have regrets about steps not taken, work not done, or opportunities missed to make related improvements.
Thanks in advance all. Maybe after this is all done and the old truck has a renewed engine, I'll finally post some pictures. I'll probably need to give her a bath first!
The old truck has been running reasonably well since then, but lately she's been showing more signs of her age (don't we all!) We've concluded that it's probably time for an engine rebuild, at least in terms of gaskets, valve seals, etc. We may also replace the carburator, since we've been working with the original Motorcraft 2150 this whole time. We're hoping to get started on this project within a few weeks. We've been looking for tech manuals for the Cologne engine and coming up empty. Are there any shop manuals or books out there which we could use as reference materials during our rebuild? Along those same lines, are there any detailed references for a 2.8L rebuild either on TRS or other websites that we could reference? I looked around the site awhile and didn't really find anything. I was hoping for something roughly as detailed as the Duraspark conversion information I relied on for that project.
Finally, I'd also be curious to hear any words of wisdom, suggestions for additional repairs/upgrades to make "while the top is off", or anything else from folks who have "been there done that." I'm not looking to make race-type changes to the performance, but I do wish I had more muscle in the low to medium RPM range for things like getting up hills while fully loaded. I'd hate to finish the project only to have regrets about steps not taken, work not done, or opportunities missed to make related improvements.
Thanks in advance all. Maybe after this is all done and the old truck has a renewed engine, I'll finally post some pictures. I'll probably need to give her a bath first!