Crate engine or rebuild?

[RangerJ]

1989 2.9 4x4 xlt auto. Well no oil pressure when hot, engine ticking loud.Mechanic says rebuild or crate. Need some opinions ,what is a good price range for both options?And what do yall suggest? Let me see your ideas. Thanks

 

[Cyberbeer]

My old motor blew so I went to the local junkyard and found a 2.9 with 100k on it for 500. Resealed it just to be safe and dropped it in. I would find the actual cause of this problem before making a decision.

If its a cracked head and coolant is in the oil then you will have to replace the head and prolly crank bearings.

Personally I would try to find a junkyard motor thats in good condition. But thats because I dont have the time to sit and rebuild my old motor, its a daily driver. If you have the time and will to learn go for it. If you go junkyard make sure you get some kind of warranty on it, atleast 30 days AFTER install. Crate motors will have better warranties but those are just factory/proffesionally rebuilt motors...not new ones. Might also consider finding a good 4.0 and dropping that bad boy in.

 

[2manyfords]

I second the 4.0L swap but if that is not an option for you I'd look for a junkyard engine or even another truck with a decent 2.9L with a poor body or some sort of mechanical failure other than the engine for an engine donor.

 

[sjr53]

Add a quart of Lucas oil additive with each oil change. Mine only clatters for the first 2 minutes now. And I also have very low oil pressure when warm and at idle. It has a little better pressure with the thick Lucas additive in there. Running with a little extra oil may help when the pressure is low because the flow is probably higher, leaving less oil in the pan when it is running.

 

[AllanD]

anyone who can't replace a 2.9 in an '89-92 with a 4.0 shoudl have his wrenches taken away from him.

the swap is as EASY as a "different engine" swap can be.

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[Syko]

Dont believe everything a Mechanic says some are complete idiots

 

[Beanmachine7000]

Add a quart of Lucas oil additive with each oil change. Mine only clatters for the first 2 minutes now. And I also have very low oil pressure when warm and at idle. It has a little better pressure with the thick Lucas additive in there. Running with a little extra oil may help when the pressure is low because the flow is probably higher, leaving less oil in the pan when it is running.

This is kinda like putting a band-aid on a broken arm... Yeah, it might look like it helps, but you are only doing damage in the long run... Can you imagine how long it takes oil that has Lucas stabilizer in it to run through those tiny passages to get to where it needs to do it's job? Ford specified a certain viscosity oil for a reason... Changing that only does bad things... You really need to fix the problem instead of covering it up...