@Brain75
The Ford OHV 4.0l's up to 1994 did not require tuning with bolt ons as they are OBD1. The OHV 4.0l 1995 and after do require tunning/recalibrating for major and some minor performance component changes @ $150+ per visit and $100 (ish, +/-) per pull on the dyno.
The OHV 2.9l OBD1 PCM will run nearly any bolt on without complaint, it is what makes it a gem to polish, verses a turd. Even a bone stock 2.9l benefits from a quality set of headers.
Also, during the late 80's and early 90's EVERYONE that could afford it, installed a set of headers on their 2.9l because the return was worth it. If you ask me, Obama's "cash for clunkers" consumed more of the, once available 2.9 headers than people can believe!!
@Kenobi77 has a fully built 2.9l which will realise an additional 20 horse power from a quality set of headers backed by a free flow exhaust, that is why he is asking for help
. A 2.9l putting out 200+ at the crank is worth the moderate expense of chasing down an old used part or two.
JFYI
Unless you have swapped from a 2.9 to a 4.0, you are arguably benevolent to the real world expense required to complete the transformation. It is cheaper to perform a complete rebuild on a 2.9 than to simply swap in an unknown condition JunkYard OHV 4.0l engine, harness and PCM!!
the cologne is like the 302 windsor of europe... there are a few different setups at speedway for the 4.0 that are likely adaptable. the three piece y style might be the ticket.
obviously he has spent the money on a 2.9 build so this is moot...
it costs more to lift the heads on a 2.9 or 4.0 and do lifters then to replace a bad 2.9 or 4.0 with a running junkyard one. i wont even work on them because of that. dont take that wrong....i have worked on way too many of them head cracking fawkers in the late 80s to mid 90s and its how i came to see it as a waste of time. soo much cheaper and easier to swap in a 4.0 or a v8 or these days or turbo charge a 4.0.
a decent rebuild kit to junkyard shadetree build a 2.9 is 600 bux for parts...and over 600 for fresh heads. to do it "right" is at least 2500 to 3 grand. i wont pay more then 400 for a good running 4.0 with acceccories. usually aiming for 250-300.
to buy a long block is the same price essentially between the 2.9 and 4.0 depending on year.. so starting fresh really only makes sense to use a 4.0.
that and they offer no appreciable power when no expense is spared n/a. the maximum amount of cost and work for the least amount of power.....just like a 3.0, 4.0 or lima...n/a
at least with a small block you can double the hp with bolt ons.
confined to a spec class in competition or just an excercise in elbow grease results is the only reason to do it to a stock ranger engine.....with a 2wd reg cab 200 hp is doing well for sure. and will be fun. but locating and buying a cam for maybe 20 hp and a drop in low rpm tq is 3-500 bux.... not including headbolts and gaskets...
wiring it up is a variance with the 4.0 ...and gets complicated sometimes....getting a good pcm for either engine is a crap shoot these days. to get over 180 hp with a 2.9 your at the limit of whats left in the ecm....so you need to run a different ecm either way and at 300 ft pounds the drivetrain is the fuse...no matter what if you are boosting.
problem with the 2.9 is no torque N/A. the complaint in the oem application is lack of power...the hp is ok...the lack of tq is the misery..
building a 6000 rpm screamer isnt helping that in regards to drivability. adding 4.0 headers wont do much either.
when everyone was putting on headers and replacing the valvetrain/cracked heads it was not uncommon to see et drop a point or stay the same and mph to pick up a few depending on how the exhaust was executed.. like mid 17 to high 17 after mods. though most were 18-20.....but iirc faster trucks were ranging from 78 ish mph to like 83ish out the back. guys in low 16s or high 15s had supertrucks. those were 4.0 trucks. i dont recall seeing and 2.9s bust 15. even with nitrous. there were a bunch of 14 second pintos with 2.8s that did that though....dont even see shit like that anymore..
there is a ton of stuff overseas for the 2.9 so maybe there are headers over there specific to it..... i like rally stuff and kept up with some merkur guys in the 80,s to mid 90's from the detroit area...which goes thru canada to ny.
no fast guys had a a N/A 2.9 in my area...only turbo 4. there were some v8 swaps but they dont count.
but, one thing i did learn, a turbo 2.9 makes a ton of torque down low. they had pre ignition issues but were definitely a threat. i watched one on the rollers at dyno daves in the late 90s put out some big power for a 2.9 through a t5 that it had broken already. it was calculated to the same as my h-e cammed gt40 engine at the crank at 2k or a bit less. 26x wtq and like 22x whp which was crazy huge.. it ran a maf/b2 taurus setup and a dodge turbo. i know the cam was from a rally place overseas along with the intake and injectors and it had worked world heads on it which was the thing for the time...and it always broke and never stayed together..i remember hearing it getting swapped to a lima but moved out of the area.
i suspect a ms3 would easily keep one alive with knock capacity today..
i had a set of worlds on my black truck and didnt notice any power....but they were box stock. the cam in the 4.0 in the bronco was noticable though. i was thinking of boosting the bronco a few pounds. just to see. not including fmu....figuring it could happen cheaper then jba,s
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