2.9 dead, easiest/cheapest swap?

[Epic86]

According to Colorado law, it has to be fuel injected. All the engines at my local U-Pull and Pay are the same price, so whats my best bet?

The 2.9 has a lot of water in the exhaust, smokes white, and is low on coolant, so I'm expecting the worst.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

4.0

 

[crawlin91]

4.0 swap from early 90's Ranger or Explorer with same transmission (auto/manual) will be easiest. Later model 4.0's or a 302 swap can be done with more work. Get the entire engine, full harness and computer. Use the search bar and Tech Library tabs at the top to look for more info and writeups on these swaps.

 

[projectnitemare]

Cheapest and easiest swap would be put a 2.9 back in. You could do a 4.0 without too much more effort. Best advice I give is: cheap, fast and reliable pick 2 of the 3. Depending how CO is and how much you drive the truck look into exemptions. PA has an under 5000mi per year emission exemption meaning you can run whatever you want. A V8 swap will cost you more and need more than you always first think. The best bet is to buy a donor vehicle and swap in everything you need.

 

[Teddyzee]

...but since he's posting in the V8 section...
I would say Mustang EFI is the easiest ('87-'93) as there is a manual published by Harwood to tell you exactly how it's done.
As far as fitting the lump in place of your 2.9, keep reading this section.

 

[jhammel85]

Since the engines are the same price I'd say whatever you have time for. If not much time (and ultimately cheaper since you dont need anything else) I'd go for the 2.9.

If you have time and can set aside a few extra bucks for a computer and harness, go for the 4.0.