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Radiator upgrade questions


xtremeRanger

xtremeRanger

15+ Year Member

Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
210
Points
3,101
City
Manitoba, Canada
Vehicle Year
1989
Transmission
Manual
i have a 1989 ranger with the 2.9L engine, but my current rad is rotted and im looking for a better upgrade. Is there any vehicles that have rads that work in my ranger? if you have any ideas let me know because im looking for a better engine cooling system.
 
4.0 radiator swap. You should find quite a bit about it in the forums if you search.
 
Specifically you are looking for the Radiator for an
automatic trans 4.0 Ranger ('90-92) or Explorer '91-94

You'll need a lower hose for the 4.0
and an upper hose for a 2.9.

the hose from a Car Quest autoparts
is easier to keep from rubbing against the alternator belt.

AD
 
i swapped in a 4.0 rad from my 94 ranger in my 88 and both hoses worked good direct bolt in and it took 5 mins
 
sweet thanks guys! hopefully its a good upgrade, its just gonna be temporary until i get my 4.0 swap done.
 
What is the difference between the 2.9L radiator and the 4.0L radiator ?

.
 
kena said:
What is the difference between the 2.9L radiator and the 4.0L radiator ?

.
Click to expand...

The one is question is twice as thick, and the lower radiator hose outlet points downward instead of strait out. Other than that, it fits right in there. I think I had to trim both of my hoses if I remember right (new upper/lower 2.9L hoses), but either way it's pretty strait forward to figure it out. I believe the fan shroud will need transfered over, but I used a 16" electric, so I don't know how well that works out.

It must be from an auto Explorer - Max Cooling w/ A/C. I bought one new and went by the dimensions they listed. All was the same as the 1 row in front of my 2.9L, except for the thickness was greater.

Pete
 
RadiatorBarn will have one out the door to you for $116.20.
 
Later 2.9 radiators particularly the A/T Gen2's have the angled lower neck

There are two basic 2.9 radiators, the "thin" one which has a single
core that's about 5/8" wide and the "Heavy duty" radiator used on
A/T and "supercooling" 2.9's (part of the trailer towing package)
that is often INCORRECTLY refered to as a "two core" radiator

It is NOT a "Two-core" what it is infact is a single core, but the cores
are ~1-1/8" wide so theoretically it's an 80% improvement over the
"thin" radiator.

The Manual trans 4.0 radiator is the same single 1-1/8" core.

the 4.0 auto trans radiator OTOH is an entirely different animal.
It is TWO 1-1/8" cores, bqcically it is TWO 2.9 "HD" radiators
stacked together.

This doubles again the capacity of the radiator or around 3-1/2times
the capacity of the original "thin" 2.9 radiator.

If you overheat a 2.9 with one of these something is really wrong.

AD
 
alright, so if i take the fan off the 2.9 and install an electric one, is that a good idea? any ups and downs? how do you wire it to work with the temperature. Im just wondering i don't think i want to. So i should find a radiator from a explorer with the auto trans?
 
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