What swap to do?

[ericbphoto]

Donor truck

 

[JohnnyO]

So I got the engine out and its now home. Problem is, I didn't know it before hand and my wire harness was cut by the previous owner when he took the top end of the engine apart. Guy was a real idiot. So, I found lots of the harness, maybe I can splice it back but man what a mess. I think a new harness would be better. Can a new one be ordered or do I need to find one from another donor truck?

Painless Wiring has harnesses for almost everything. I would look there first.

 

[gaz]

EasternNC,

The 2.9L rebuild was a fantastic choice. Since you are considering fuel economy you couldn't have chosen BETTER. Here are a couple suggestions to maximize your builds efficiency:

-loose the crank shaft driven fan/clutch for an electric fan/shroud
-use Ford 2.8L flat top pistons
-have your heads milled 0.03" to bump up the compression
-add an engine oil cooler
-build a new exhaust up 1 size from stock
-headers are very worth while investment on a 2.9; the stock manifolds are a know problem and can contribute to head failures

With all of those components in place your son's truck could easily pull 25 city/30 highway

There are more ways to improve efficiency, since you are rebuilding a complete bottom end balance will result in a an additional, permanent 10% increase in efficiency.

 

[EasternNC]

These replies are EXACTLY what I came here for. Thanks guys!

 

[EasternNC]

What is the difference between the 2.8 flat tops and what the 2.9 comes stock with? Is there a certain year I need to order, I assume I'd order them for a ranger but what year? What are the reasons for swapping them?

Is the .030 head mill to compensate for the new pistons? What will the compression ratio be after? With the higher compression, do I need to retard the timing a little? What are the performance gains I can expect?

I like the oil cooler idea and electric fan, and going up a size in exhaust is no problem.

Headers: any specific ones or style I should consider that aren't outrageous in price?

 

[adsm08]

Last time I looked Pace Setter was the only one still making reasonably priced headers for a 2.9. JBA sometimes has them, but they get pricey.

Being that your truck is an 87 you WILL run into issues with the headers. Nobody makes them for 86 and 87, only 88 up. In 88 the 2.9 ditched the EGR system and the flange to mate to the cat changed. To use the Pace Setters you will lose your EGR and you will have to change the cat to one for an 88 up. If you bought that donor 89 it should have the correct cat and non-EGR intake. Then you just have whatever local emissions laws you may be subject to to deal with.

I ran that setup for a few years, and was able to convince my emissions guy to pass me because my truck was correct to a newer model year with stricter standards, even though the missing EGR components should have failed me.

 

[gaz]

Eastern,

You can order any year Ford Colone 2.8L pistons, they are all the same (* correction, I believe that there are some 2.8 pistons that use an undesired compression height, but I can assist with that ), all flat top; just be sure to get the correct bore or over bore. The reason to use the 2.8 flat tops is they will increase the compression ratio approximately 1 full point over the stock dished pistons.

There are no clearencing issues using the 2.8L flat tops (bar the compression height, as mentioned above) just the improved performance firm the increased compression ratio. There are several reasons to consider milling your heads 0.03", the primary is having true flat Matting surfaced to work with but this can usually be achieved with much less material being removed. The benefit of removing 0.03 of an inch is it will also increase the compression ratio.

I did exactly this with my 1st 2.9L build. My machinist suggested 0.03" shave with those piston to result in approximately a 13:1 compression ratio from the stock 9:1 that is a useful performance increase. My rule of thumb formula for compression change is 4hp/complete compression ratio point increase; so that's +16 ponies with torque benifits too.

Adding 16hp to a stock 140hp engine in a pretty serious improvement. If you go the step further and have your heads and intakes flow bench port/polish you stand another gain another solid +20hp. The customer ground cam, +20hp and complementing it all with a good set of headers is +20hp more. All of these efficiency improvements mean that you will experience maximum fuel economy with quite a bit more SNOT ..)

 

[EasternNC]

Well, I guess I need to be certain the stock trans and rear end can handle all that.

 

[gaz]

Eastern,

I have used that exact build in front of a stock AL4D and FM 146, with both 7.5" and 8.8" rears, though I don't drive very aggressively in a truck and I'm not a serious wheeler. No issues so far.

What you need to be sure of is if you are ready to approach 30mpg on the highway!