2.9l durability

[krazykracker]

im considering buying a 89 BII 4x4 w/ 2.9l 5spd, ive heard and read on here bout the heads cracking,overheating.did they get any better in the later yars of the 2.9l?

 

[low_five]

up here 2.9s last forever because they stay so cool in the freezing ass air. one of mine has 200k on it and she drives like a bat out of hell. down south they get hot cause the radiators are small and heads crack left and right.

 

[ranger]

i have an 88 ranger and never had a problem with it it has 11400 on it and still runs like a champ just have to watch for over heating other than that you can send it to hell and back in a spiked box and it will drive forever

 

[nightshift]

Crapshoot

You roll the dice when you get a used 2.9. I bought mine at 81k. Ran great. At 106k, i started having oil pressure / ticking lifter / cracked head problems. I lived in NYC at the time. Fortunately, my head crack was between an intake port and a cooling passage. I was slowly losing coolant, but at least I could drive it.

At 116k, I put in a remanufactured engine with World heads from a good shop in Jersey along with a new Explorer radiator, a large header-type trans oil cooler separate from the radiator, a real engine oil cooler, and a 10 inch electric aux fan that comes on only with the AC on. That with a 180 Mr. Gasket t-stat, and mechanical temperature and oil gauges (DON'T EVER TRUST THE STOCK FORD GAUGES!!), and I'm good to go. BTW I now live in So.Fla..

I love my B2, and the 2.9 has the potential to be a great engine. Mine now runs great with 75k on the engine, and 191k on the rest of the truck.

If you keep it cool you may not have the usual problems. But it's no guarantee.

You pay your money and you take your chances.

 

[Killroy]

I've had two 2.9ls so far, and both though they tick... have been great. I replaced my engine on this second ranger (88) and haven't had any problems with it. I think that you should drive the truck all over the place when you test drive it and if you're so inclined to do such, have the oil changed while you're out to ensure there isn't saw-dust inside the engine or excessively heavy oil in the crank case quieting some worn bearings.

Other than that, a 2.9 will be a 2.9 and she'll break when she feels like it... but it's all corrected with those world heads and some aluminum spacers between the rocker arms.

have a good one.

 

[almostclueless]

I've owned 3 or 4, only one that made any noises or acted up happened after I DROWNED the thing.


They are getting old, but i've had no complaints.

 

[krazykracker]

thanks for all the info, i found a 92 exploder 4wd 2door 4.0 v6 5spd so im going to look at that b4 i make a choice.their almost the same thing anyways.

 

[Sdude2008]

I did a search on ticking and the first thread I see tells it all... I have an 88 Ranger 2.9 5 speed with 163k. The engine started ticking quite some time ago but has gotten much worse lately, probably because I have had to drive it to work daily on the freeway while my wife's car was in the shop... Anyway I have a terrible tick and I'm slowly losing coolant. I just changed the oil and don't see any signs of coolant but I just know it's getting into the engine somehow. After reading this thread I suspect a crack... When I try to find the source of the tick it seems to be coming from the drivers side near the rear of the intake. There is some sort of valve with two big vaccuum hoses right near the distributor... The tick seems to be coming from it or right under it... My question is am I dealing with the same issues addressed in this thread? Am I looking at changing heads? gasket. Engine?... So far the truck drives ok but I can feel a loss of power at times especially when going up hill... and I can feel a little misfiring as well... Also the ticking seems to quiet down at times and be loud as hell at other times... Suggestions? Thanks.

 

[hippychick]

What exactly did you do to fix your problem?

My problem is exactly what is described below, my engine runs fine till it gets hot, or driven a wile then its start to sound awful.

As soon as I can find out where this " half-moon camshaft thrust plate" is, then I will try doing that, if that don't work I'm off to the junk yard unless someone here wants my old truck.

let me know what you did and read the quote below and fallow the link to see more.

go to this link, it is a report on this trucks engine found on this web site we are on now.

And does anyone have any idea where this half moon shape camshaft thrust plate is?

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech.../2_9_Page.html


Ok for quick quote read below:

Additionally, oiling problems were common, and added to the poor reputation of the North American 2.9. Many poorly maintained or high mileage engines exhibit serious valve train noise. This problem is due to a number of design faults. Valve train oil pressure was entirely dependent upon a supply fed through the two center cam bearings. Even slight bearing wear could cause complete loss of oil pressure to the hydraulic valve lifters, rocker shaft, and rockers. Excessive internal "bleeding" through the half-moon camshaft thrust plate also contributed to this, though this can be remedied by reinstalling the thrust plate in an upside-down position. This condition is sometimes mistaken for ticking fuel injectors. This condition isn't a cause for alarm unless it does it very loudly or after long freeway trips. If it does have the oil pressure checked, it could be low.

 

[hippychick]

My problem is my engine runs fine till it gets hot, or driven a wile then its start to sound awful.

As soon as I can find out where this " half-moon camshaft thrust plate" is, then I will try doing that, if that don't work I'm off to the junk yard unless someone here wants my old truck.

let me know what you did and read the quote below and fallow the link to see more.

go to this link, it is a report on this trucks engine found on this web site we are on now.

And does anyone have any idea where this half moon shape camshaft thrust plate is?

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech.../2_9_Page.html


Ok for quick quote read below:

Additionally, oiling problems were common, and added to the poor reputation of the North American 2.9. Many poorly maintained or high mileage engines exhibit serious valve train noise. This problem is due to a number of design faults. Valve train oil pressure was entirely dependent upon a supply fed through the two center cam bearings. Even slight bearing wear could cause complete loss of oil pressure to the hydraulic valve lifters, rocker shaft, and rockers. Excessive internal "bleeding" through the half-moon camshaft thrust plate also contributed to this, though this can be remedied by reinstalling the thrust plate in an upside-down position. This condition is sometimes mistaken for ticking fuel injectors. This condition isn't a cause for alarm unless it does it very loudly or after long freeway trips. If it does have the oil pressure checked, it could be low.

 

[nightshift]

Camshaft Thrust Plate

The half-moon camshaft thrust plate is located at the front of the engine under the timing chain cover. You would need to remove the radiator & pretty much everything off the front of the engine to remove the timing chain cover. Then you would need to remove the timing chain & gears (on a 2.9). It's a fair bit of work. If you've never done it before, a Haynes manual should be very helpful. As long as you have it apart, you might as well install a new chain & gears, unless you're getting rid of the vehicle (blasphemy!).

One word of caution...before you pull the timing chain & gears, check to make sure the marks line up. I have twice come across engines where (for whatever crazy reason) they would not run with the new gears & chain installed & the marks lined up. I've never seen it on a Ford, but since going through that nonsense, I have always checked to make sure the marks line up (allowing for wear) before I take it apart.

 

[hippychick]

Thank you

I think I will keep the truck and try this repair, strange thing is the oil pressure is just fine, but they do get real loud after driving for so long.

I am just worried perhaps I will do all this work and that does not fix the problem.

But thank you for the info, believe it or not I am a trained mechanic but like I graduated from Lincoln in 1995 Long long time ago. I only worked in the field for a couple of years till I discovered computers!

So I can do the work and I have the tools, im just lazy!

And I still cant see what turning the thing around or upside down will do to fix it, from the quote I found it says the issue is the oil is bleeding through, well bleeding through to where? The inside of the timing chain cover?

I guess I wont know till I have it apart.

thanks again

 

[88rangr]

2.9L durability

My 88 Ranger 4x4 is still running and at 197,000, oil changes and no overheating are really good things to keep them running. I am in Arizona, so the heating thing is something I watch closely.

im considering buying a 89 BII 4x4 w/ 2.9l 5spd, ive heard and read on here bout the heads cracking,overheating.did they get any better in the later yars of the 2.9l?