2.9 ECM and Cam...need info

[fordwheelinman]

Ok, so now that i finally feel like working on my projects again (the new job has done wonders for me) i have a few questions.

FIRST: Where can i find a decent cam to match a .060 over bore, ported heads, and port matched intakes? I realize im still restricted by the throttle body bore, so i guess that is part two of my first question, what else can i do for a bigger throttle body to go with the "performance" cam? Is it possible to run say a 5.0 throttle body with an adapter/reducer to "force" the air down to the 2.9 intake bore, or do i need to chop and weld a spare intake to make something like a 5.4 or 6.8 throttle body fit?

Ok, SECOND: After i find a cam and a throttle body, im gonna add bigger injectors, like say 19 lb prolly. Would 91-94 explorer 4.0 injectors offer any increase without being ridiculous? Or are they a different impedance? Once i get Cam, TB, and injectors, what will i have to do to control everything? Will i have to go with Mega Squirt and find a tuner, or could i send off my factory computer to have it redone?

I know most anyone reading this is thinking turd polishing....but i had machine work on the block done for free, i had a former nascar and nhra engine builder port my heads for free, i got the engine kit at a heck of a deal, and i have extra parts everywhere so its cheaper than swapping a 4.0 or a V8. I could really use some help on these quandaries.

 

[Big Jim M]

First things first.. TURD POLISHING!
Then to the TB.. Ype it'll be too small when you get above five grand.. Up till then there will be no gain by swapping in a larger one.
You are gonna wind up with a lot of time and effort put into a gain of poerhaps 15 horses at WOT.
Big JIm

 

[low_five]

I agree, that TB is adequate.

 

[fordwheelinman]

First things first.. TURD POLISHING!

i was hoping to avoid that with the last section of my post but i guess not. But at least there isnt thousands of dollars sunk into it. so far the cost of the engine kit which was around 300.

 

[Psychopete]

Is it possible to run say a 5.0 throttle body with an adapter/reducer to "force" the air down to the 2.9 intake bore

I have an adapter kit as shown in the tech library that I want to get rid of for a 5.0L TB swap. Only way you'll be forcing air in there is with forced induction.. That was my plan before I ditched it and went with a 5.0L.

Call a cam manufacturer and have them grind one that matches what you want to do. Probably would work out on a MAF setup. Stock injectors should be fine. Boring doesn't offer much displacement, it's mainly to get new cylinder walls.

Also have a '90 MAF computer for an auto trans.

Pete

 

[fordwheelinman]

just so you all know, im not really THAT stupid. i know what forced induction is and how it works, thats why i used the quotations. I also understand what boring does, once again not that supid. But having more surface area on the piston, and the slight increase in displacement offers more room for increased airflow in and out of the engine. You could also say that having the head work done isnt going to increase the amount of airflow per say, but with a smoother track, the airflow will be quicker allowing increase volume in the same given time then before correct? I was kind of hoping to avoid having to go through all the work and expense of a custom grind cam aso, just hoping for something to give me the extra that id like to have

 

[Psychopete]

LOL, goal is not to make you seem like you don't know, just throwing that out there, sorry if it was taken the wrong way, just trying to help you out with this because I have done a similar build...

You could also say that having the head work done isnt going to increase the amount of airflow per say, but with a smoother track, the airflow will be quicker allowing increase volume in the same given time then before correct?

You can actually get a lot out of heads. The powermax heads on cramcrafts site are ported worlds, I'd be interested to see how they perform. But I would suspect that you could get some worth while gains there.. I'd just be afraid to take off too much in the wrong place LOL.

Pete

 

[Lead Head]

I think the biggest issue with the 2.9 is lack of air flow. The european 2.9 makes 160HP with just a different intake and slightly different heads (you can find euro intakes on ebay from time to time, but their dual throttle bodies face the wrong direction).

Headwork, intake work coupled with the overbore should yield more then a 20HP gain, throw in a cam and you can expect a lot more. As far as cams go, you'll probably have to have yours welded up and ground down to new specs. I don't believe 4.0 cams will work (they might though, not sure). A couple of places over in the UK sell 2.9 cams, but how much would you be willing to spend on shipping?

edit: Did some googlin', and at least in the US, http://www.coltcams.com/html/camshaft/index.cfm and http://www.camcraft-cams.com/ have some 2.9 cams

The 2.9s are alot more potent then people think. Just nobody seems to really bother with them. According to this UK site: http://www.burtonpower.com/technical_1/taunus_cologne_v6.aspx you can fairly easily get 210HP+ out of a 2.9

 

[chazzone]

I have a couple of the Merkur intakes, as well as an ecm from when I was considering doing the swap when I did the rebuild a few years back.

The reason that I never followed through is that the Merkur intake is designed for more hp, but it is in the upper rpm range.

One reason for this is because the runners on the Merkur intake are a lot shorter than the American 2.9.

This can be remedied by adding a spacer between the upper and lower intake sections, but I just never got around to doing it, and the spacer that I was supposed to have won never arrived. (Oh well...)

If you're interested in doing this, I would be willing to let them go, since I have a 331 in my future plans.

PM me and we can discuss price.

 

[AllanD]

That Merkur intake is good for all of 4hp and that is
at the cost of raising the torque peak by 200rpm.

Or I suppose I should say that the engine was originally designed
with the scorpio intake and that the redesigned intake for US market
Rangers had the fortunate benefit of lowering the torque peak
by 200rpm.

AD

 

[fordwheelinman]

Never found a cam manufacturer that would respond to me. That kinda blows, but I digress. My dad wound up putting it together, I got it running, but it seems to have a fueling issue. It's at my former employer now to get checked out as I don't have an obd1 scanner.

 

[19Walt93]

Never found a cam manufacturer that would respond to me. That kinda blows, but I digress. My dad wound up putting it together, I got it running, but it seems to have a fueling issue. It's at my former employer now to get checked out as I don't have an obd1 scanner.

I built a 2.9 for a friend and got a mild, RV type cam from Camcraft that worked great and didn't destroy what little low end torque he had. Check the tech library, you can get EEC IV to flash out codes on the MIL( malfunction indicator lamp- Ford speak for check engine light) by jumping the signal and signal return wires in the test connector if my memory is correct.

 

[fordwheelinman]

I built a 2.9 for a friend and got a mild, RV type cam from Camcraft that worked great and didn't destroy what little low end torque he had. Check the tech library, you can get EEC IV to flash out codes on the MIL( malfunction indicator lamp- Ford speak for check engine light) by jumping the signal and signal return wires in the test connector if my memory is correct.

As a mechanic for 15 yrs professionally, what I need to know isn't solved by flashing the MIL/CEL for a code number, which isn't there as it hasn't had enough warm up cycles to set any hard codes (tech speak for codes that have happened on more than one drive cycle and have gone from the industry standard "pending" to the industry standard "stored") What I need to know can only be found by access to live data as the vehicle is running. The flash method, in my experience, doesn't ALWAYS tell you ALL the codes.

Yes, I have actually flashed the MIL/CEL, and then gone behind it with a scan tool, and gotten more codes, and a more complete story. Not sure how many members remember me from a decade ago, but I am a Ford Certified Tech, not a backyards parts changer.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Megasquirt.

 

[bobbywalter]

. Holy dust devil threads.



Megasquirt. Only easy way to make that polished turd run like the lil tasmanian devil you turned it into. Might even be cheaper.

A megasquirt in a stock engine is a big improvement.