2.3 to 2.9

[Lifted2x]

I just bought another ranger from a friend of mine its a 86 reg cab 4x4 and it has a 2.9 in it. I was looking it over and noticed the core support emissions sticker shows it came with a 2.3 so I checked the vin and it is showing 2.3 originally my question is what all did someone have to change to put a 2.9 in it? I noticed some of the wiring has been cut and spliced together. Also the fuel lines are not correct( I think the 2.3 this year was carbed).

 

[Lifted2x]

Her is a few pics

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

looks like a bit of a hack job

engine, transmission, engine wiring harness, PCM, high pressure fuel pump and lines to the engine...probably a dozen other little details.

howz it run?

 

[Lifted2x]

It runs, but very rich ( the guy I got it from said its so bad that its washing past the rings) I don't know what it is but the but connectors on the o2 sensor look like they could be part of the problem. I am wondering if someone swapped a cab onto this frame??? I didn't really check it over that well because it was parked in a foot of snow. All the fuel hard lines, fuel tank and stock fuel filters look like they where done right but i don't get why they added another in line filter and just left it sitting on the fender apron.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

with a truck that old, its going to be pretty hard to determine what all has been swapped (cab, engine, axles, etc etc).

the engine appears to be pretty clean...which would indicate its been out of the truck fairly recently...

 

[Lifted2x]

It just had the heads done but its been sitting for the last 5 or so years. I am trying to figure out whats causing it to run rich. Any ideas?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

start by checking fuel pressure and the regulator.

 

[Lifted2x]

The person i got it from said he had check that and that's about as far as he got with it. He said that it had a steady 45 psi.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

thats on the high end of acceptable.

still, pull the vacuum line off the regulator and make sure its not full of gas. aside from that, could be a stuck injector, or a PCM grounding issue.

i would locate the OBD connector and run a KOER test to see if all the sensors are performing as they should.

 

[rickcdewitt]

i used to live near you in butte falls
is that your dune truck in your avatar?there are some awesome dunes near the oregon coast!

do you just want to get it running good or are you going to build up the truck?its not smog legal it sounds like so it might as well have a v8 or at least a 4.0.

anyway have you pulled codes? checked the sensors? i noticed the map sensor sitting by a valve cover instead of up on the firewal lol.there are two temp sensors,the two wire one is for the cpu,if it is off the motor might run rich

 

[Lifted2x]

i used to live near you in butte falls
is that your dune truck in your avatar?there are some awesome dunes near the oregon coast!

do you just want to get it running good or are you going to build up the truck?its not smog legal it sounds like so it might as well have a v8 or at least a 4.0.

anyway have you pulled codes? checked the sensors? i noticed the map sensor sitting by a valve cover instead of up on the firewal lol.there are two temp sensors,the two wire one is for the cpu,if it is off the motor might run rich

The truck in my avatar is one that I sold a while ago and regret everyday.

I am not sure what im going to do with it yet, If I can get it running good It might be a DD but it looks like it might be more work than its worth. It should be smog legal as its got to run cleaner than the carbed 4 banger that was in there. But here after a vehicle is 20 years old they don't get tested.

Is the map sensor the one hanging under the Throttle body?

 

[Lifted2x]

Well When i started going over a few things I found that the map wasn't even plugged in, pluged it in and it ran better for about two minutes then it started to have a strong miss so i think I am going to pull the plugs next and check out what they look like

 

[Lifted2x]

thats on the high end of acceptable.

still, pull the vacuum line off the regulator and make sure its not full of gas. aside from that, could be a stuck injector, or a PCM grounding issue.

i would locate the OBD connector and run a KOER test to see if all the sensors are performing as they should.

No fuel in the regulatore and I think the map sensor is going to solve the rich problem, can you use a jumper with the connector or does it require a scan tool?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ya the map sensor is a little important.

codes can be pulled with just a jumper and a test light (the check engine light probably isnt hooked up, if any of the rest of the itnall is anything to go by). more details in the tech library.

 

[rickcdewitt]

the map sensor is on top of tinfoil? over the left valve cover.black with a vacuum hose and grey plug in.it goes in the firewall to the pass. side of the metal inspection plate behind the upper intake.looks like theres no hole for it though.good luck and start with the codes!

by the way it would be easy to swap the later dash and front clip on this truck to make it look like a second gen ranger.if you want the 4.0 find a donor truck and swap in the engine bay stuff with the dash to make it pretty much a plug it in swap.