2.9 Reliability Assurance

[ty.forestcom]

Good Evening everyone.

I’ve got a 1988 2.9 2wd long bed. Frame blasted, painted, rear axle flipped and c notch. Front has dream beams & 2” drop coils. Bell tech nitro drop shocks. Fairly Recently ditched the A4LD for a 5 speed.

I haven’t done a whole lot to the engine… New FPR, spark plugs, 2 or 3 injectors, valve cover gaskets. Air filter, IAC, TPS. Fuel pump relay and eec relay. It’s got a new gas tank and low pressure pump. High pressure one on the frame is oem. Probably a few other small things I can’t recall at this moment…

I am planning to take a trip from Louisiana to Arkansas , CO, UT, NorCal and end in SoCal. Then come back home when the time is right. I’ve got a camper top and am building a drawer system in the bed with a kitchen and garage for the trip. I am planning to replace all rubber on the vehicle, as well as the water pump and re adjusting the lifters.

What is some suggestions or wisdom y’all can give me for the reliability of the truck whilst on the trip? I would like to keep the stock heads but if you think it’s necessary to put the improved ones let me know. Also need an entirely new A/C system. The wallet will love that one .

Thank you in advance,
Tyler

 

[bobbywalter]

hot idle oil psi is the king factor.


if the compression is decent and it is fairly well maintained and not consuming more than a quart or two in 3k miles then its gonna run like a 2.9. just peachy.....and clicky clacky...cause thats what they do.

belts, hoses, pullies, alternator, powersteering, ac, and water pumps and fuel pumps can fail right out of the box or in short order.

past 120 k. when you get a bad injector it is ideal to just replace injectors as a set. preferably a matched set. not necessary just ideal for drivability issues later.

i assume its a non maf bank fire engine so its as dumb as it gets.

spare ignition module or even a whole distributor from a junkyard that you test for proper function and hp fuel pump might be something to put in a box that rides with the truck.

if it runs decent i wouldnt be afraid to do a 5 k road trip with it.

the only way to upgrade it for reliability is to megasquirt it and have a back up system.