2.9 exhuast questions

[88_Eddie]

sweet thanks for the pics man, i know exactly what i'm gonna do now

i bought a shitty harbor freight welder about a month back for $100 (on sale), it's a mig and it'll do 1/8" plate, works perfect for exhaust. meineke wanted over $400 to redo my exhaust from the y-pipe back, i'm doin it myslef for a little over $200 and $100 of that was the welder.

 

[spdcrazy]

no problem man! make sure to take some pictures when your done with it!!!

 

[ak.walker_ii]

I removed the cat on my Bronco II 2.9L and went with dual exhaust through 2 turbo mufflers. It sounded and ran great. Real deep rumble when you stomped it and I noticed a good bit more power across the band. My 1990 Ranger cat clogged and probably contributed to the blowing of my head gasket. The Bronco had 2.5 inch pipe installed from the manifolds back but I would stay closer to stock size to avoid the chance of burning the exhaust valves. I drove it for nearly 200K miles like that without a problem until I rolled it.

 

[Oranger]

I made duals for my 2.9, I built a flange to match the Y and took 2" pipe back to a set of blue bottles then out behind the pass wheel. I also port matched the intake, heads and exhaust and made a cold air intake from some 3" exhaust pipe.It has over 300k and still runs great. No idea what the mileage is, its really loud ,but you can feel the power gain.

 

[88_Eddie]

^
how about some pics?

 

[Z3CHYD]

If your really taking off the cats people will tell you to keep them and so will I, but hey it's your vehicle. Where the cats come off the y-pipe weld on a piece of 2.5 piping from there and weld on the muffler and another piece of 2.5 piping and have it exit to the front of the rear tire.

Thats exactly what I did to my 86 2.9, welded 2.5 pipe on the collector, no cat (rusted out) into a cherry bomb glasspack dumped out the side. Was ridiculously loud, sounded like a v8 at idle, and sounded like a v6 at anything other than idle. But I loved it and will most likely do the same exact setup if I ever buy another 2.9 Ranger, except I'll keep the cat's next time.

 

[gaz]

2.9 liter performance exhaust

Hello,

I have fabed two performance exhausts for the 2.9L.

1) JBA headers, 2 into 1 CAT, then 2.25" in/2.25 out Borla Turbo muffler with 2.25 Stainless Tubing to the Intercooled Borla tip. This system sounds very performance oriented. My 87 Ranger has a 4" body lift and 2" Ford Hi Rider Suspension Lift, 33x13.5x15 Mickey Thompson on 15x10's, Ford 4.10ls D28 + Ford 4.10ls 7.5", Hypertech chip, K+N, Accell 300+. It gets 28mpg on the highway and 25mpg in the city.

2) JBA header, 2 into 2 CAT, then 2x 2" to a Borla XR1 2x 2" in/ 1x 2.5" out, 2.5" Stainless to the Stainless Tip. This system is always receiving compliments from Hot Rodders, passerby's and anyone who hears it. This 87 BII has a 4" Trailmaster suspension with various James Duff add-ons, the engine was rebuilt using .03" over Pistons, crank weight reduced/polished/balanced, heads and Intake manifolds Ported/Polished by Dave Endrigo of Flowtechnic and Endrigo Racing, whole engine balanced, Hi lift rockers, MSD ignition, Jet Stage II, K+N, only gets 26mpg on the highway towing 1,600 lbs @ 52mph and 19 in town with it floored on the A4LD, with 32x11.5x15 Pirelli, D35 and 8.8".

My opinion is that the Headers were the cherry on the sunday, the 2 1/4" tubing was the correct balance between Power and Performance (mpg), the use of stainless has permitted its continued use today and the 2 1/2" tubing cost me driving around town but has benifitted the off-road prowness of the short wheel based 4x4 BII.

It took me too many years to figure out that the 89-91 2.9l and later 4.0l headers with the 2 into 1 "Y" pipe would work with my engine (I would have had to change the cat to 1in 1 out) or I would have used them. More companies make them and they go for less. I don't regret it, however as the performance increase was immediate and usefull. These are not Race horses and won't tow a 5th wheel but one is a work truck and the other is for fun. I highly recommened either the 2 1/4" or the 2 1/2" stainless steel exhaust for the 2.9l or the 4.0l (bored and stroked version of the same).

With the exception of the JBA headers and the Borla Mufflers, I picked the pieces, experimented with different types of stainless and put these exhausts together myself for hundreds less than prepackaged KIT. He who hessitates, grinds out rusted fused metal header bolts. AAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!

 

[spdcrazy]

amazing information.. very well put together

could you go into a bit more detail on the jba headers tho? 2.9 or 4.0L, y pipe. etc.

 

[broughton88]

ok this is how its done on a 2.9L get your self a pair of headers with y-pipe and punch out your cats there most likely to be clogged anyways and get a single in dual out glass pack and keep your exhaust size the same as stock to try to keep some back pressure and run the duals out the back with 3'' tips on it. youll love the sound for a little 2.9 v6.
or run it single off the cats out the side 45 with monster tip....

 

[gaz]

Comment on the jba header

Regarding the JBA Headers; they were for the 86-88 2.9l but I later learned that their 2.9l and 4.0l headers are the same except for the supplied "Y" pipe. For someone who wants a dual set up on a 2.9l or 4.0l they should purchase the JBA headers for a 86-88 2.9l (which has the 2in/2out "Y" pipe, then take the two all the way out.

The JBA Headers are triple Nickle plated, very well built and finished. I installed the set on my Ranger in 94 or 95, with Cool-tech exhaust jacketing and Stage 8 locking bolts. Not one problem ever, no retorque, loosening or cracking from the header wrap. I installed the JBA's on the BII in 2000, used all the same products, heat jacketing, stage 8 hardware and have experienced the same perfect to date results. In perfect condition with only the bronzing of the stainless to show for the wear.

I attempted several time to use Pacesetters since the budget was always a consideration. Each time I had a set in my hands, I found a reason that they wouldn't just bolt-on. With my current knowledge I probably would have bought the 89-91 2in/1out "Y" pipe style and saved some duckets. After having owned and used the JBA's for so long I can no longer in good conscience regret the extra couple dollars that they cost. They are a superior product, have stood the test of time and provided a marked improvement in torque and power. My greatest surprise and pleasure was that I actually achieved better gas mileage too.