85 ranger v6 2.8l 4×4 lifted

[Barbara]

I just bought a 85 ranger. It sat in a barn for years and has minimal rust. It runs good except I think I need to check the lifters because they are noisy. I put seafoam in the gas and it quieted them some but I can still hear them when I'm driving and accelerate. My question is the 2 barel that's on it is a motor craft c8072. Does anyone know if it's the original one? Also the choke doesnt work. I cant even operate it manually
It doesnt open or close just stays in the same position. Hard starting in the morning. I changed the choke pull off didnt help. This is my first ranger. Thanks

 

[Uncle Gump]

Congrats on the new truck... I'm sure I speak for several here... lets see this barn find.

There are a few folks on here that know these 2.8l's pretty well... I'm sure they will come along to help you out on some specifics.

Welcome to TRS...

 

[franklin2]

The worst thing with your engine, it has a computer on it. And it has those mess of sensors and wires and hoses. The best thing to do is convert it over and get rid of all that stuff. I converted my 84 and it runs so much better now.

On your choke, it's fully electric. And it had a module controlled by the computer that controlled it and sent voltage to the choke. These things go bad and you are not going to find a new one. What someone did to mine and it works great, is to intercept the white/black wire coming off the alternator, strip back some of the insulation, and tie a wire to that and run it to the choke. This is the way they ran the choke on the larger f150's and such. This wire has about 7 volts on it anytime the alternator is turning. If you turn the key on but do not start the engine, the choke will not activate because the alternator is not turning. Your choke is designed for 12v, but it seems to work just as well with the 7v from the alternator.

 

[Curious Hound]

Might be a good idea to do an oil change and make sure you have the right oil in it. That may help the noisy lifters.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If you put 12v to the choke it opens too fast... I learned that like 5 years after I swapped in a V8.

The 2.8 has old school mechanical lifters so you have to adjust the valve lash. The specs are in here:

Ford Ranger 2.8L V6 Engines - The Ranger Station

About The 2.8L V6: The Ford Cologne 2.8L V6 is a 60° cast iron block V6 engine built by the Ford Motor Company in Cologne, Germany. The 2.8L engine in the Ranger is the same design as the 2.8 V-6 … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

You can get them pretty good but they will never be as quiet as an engine with properly designed hydraulic lifters.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Before you go cutting and splicing choke wires might wanna soak it in some pb blaster or something and make sure it aint just stuck from sitting

 

[franklin2]

You can clean the linkage, but don't soak the round black plastic piece. It's easily ruined by solvents. It has the heating element inside it. If you want to see if it even works, run a temp wire from it and touch it to the battery + and see if the choke starts moving open.