Critical Failure

[Brownie Mobile]

Well today after pulling in at lunch my buddy and i smelled burning coolant, shit i thought something else.... More bullshit in the B2. Upon inspection we couldnt find anything except for about 30 tons of coolant everywhere no ruptured hose was apparent. I decided it was safe to take home because i filled the reservoir up to the top. Got it home and of course it was leaking but i still couldnt see where. So i took some engine degreaser and cleaned that puppy up ( i didnt know there was so much non rusted metal ). So i went and turned the truck back on and waited for it to begin leaking about 30 seconds later i spotted its area of origin but i still wasnt so sure so i shut it off and got on the creeper and slid under there hmmmm i thought looks like its coming from around the oil pan ( it still hadnt occured to me at this point). So i started it up again and got right back on the creeper to observe) to my surprise it was coming right from the oil pan and in about that same epiphonal second i realized its not coolant but oil, and just then the engine turns off. was about the look i had on my face. Now i realized what was going on the reason it had coolant in it was because well its a ford and i was actually leaking massive amounts of oil straight from the oil pan. Well thats as far as ive gotten ive taken it upon my self to now remove the oil pan but thats tomorrow( requires engine hoist and alot of b2 bullshit) and im hoping beyond hope that it hasnt seized up on me if it has : will ensue but if i replace the gasket and all is fine and dandy then . I want to hear other Catastrophic failure stories, long winded preferred

 

[adsm08]

I have lots, just not on my own stuff. Except that one time....

I went out to Greensburg to pick up a car from my uncle for one of my friends. He had checked and topped off all the fluids and didn't get the coolant bottle cap back on right. I took off for home down the turnpike and got half way there. Then the engine overheats, seizes, and dies.

Got it off the pike and into an abandoned parking lot, called my dad to come get me, and hunkered down. It was about 12:30 AM a week before Christmas. Not warm.

Dad got there about 2, we head home, get the big truck that we just bought from the widow of a friend, go grab another friend's car trailer, and go get the car. Didn't want to pay the extra toll on the turnpike so we went up over Kittatiny mountain in a 1990 F250 5.8 5-speed with a car trailer. She wasn't happy about it but seemed to be ok. Took the car back over the mountain, now something is def not right, but she is still going. Get them both to the shop I was working at, drop the car, take the trailer back, and then take the truck to the shop too.

14 PSI oil pressure cold. Tried to take it to the church to chill until we could get an engine for it. Made it half way there and THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP. There goes the thrust bearing. Engine won't run now.

Fast forward two years and we are trying to push the still-dead truck onto the same trailer that we blew it's engine up with. The trailer is sized just right for an 8N. Not so good for an F250, a bit narrow. I am trying to hold the wheel steady and not go flying off as my buddy holds the trailer still with my grandpa's truck while my dad is off to the side in his truck towing the dead-head up OVER the wheel wells of the trailer.

I think I got you beat.

 

[Shran]

Dude, take it as a blessing in disguise that you killed a 2.8. What a garbage engine, IMO one of Ford's very worst. By the way, you also have a GREAT truck to swap a carbureted 302 into, which you should start doing immediately.

I am biased, I have owned way more than my fair share of 2.8s. They have always been a quirky, underpowered, unreliable, crappy little engine. I hope I never see another one, let alone work on or own one.

Anyway, my catastrophic failures? I've destroyed a 5 speed manual trans in a Probe, a 3 speed auto in a Corolla/Nova, a HO 302 in a FS Bronco (lack of oil), a 2.8 in a Ranger (lack of all fluids, did a bunch of high RPM donuts in the snow with two cracked heads until it stopped running) and maybe a couple others. Usually my vehicles don't get beat on because I'm pretty strict about maintenance and I need resale value most of the time.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I never did kill my 2.8.

Back when I was in high school (probably somehwere around summertime of '01) I was coming back from my summertime job of trimming Christmas trees. It ran like a raped ape going out there, coming back home about halfway I started losing power. Eventually on a long fairly steep hill it downright died. So I pulls over and since I didn't have a cellphone yet I start checking things. Dipstick was dry... crud. I had two quarts in the toolbox so I dumped it in, got about 1/4" on the dipstick. Tried it and it took off and ran. Crept into town real slow and easy, changed the oil, took it easy for awhile because it was really gutless... the rings seated back in and away it went.

A couple years after that I go out to check out a farm sale with my dad in the Ranger. Coming back into town down coming up a hill the engine cuts out, comes back, cuts out backfires really really hard and promptly died. Dad sounding rather impressed informs me a bunch of black debris blew out of the exhaust with the backfire. I am thinking crap, that oil episode caught up with me. We crest the hill and coast down, at the base of the hill you turn right going up another hill and there is my dad's shop a ways up the hill on the left. So we coast down the hill gathering all the speed possible, take that turn with as much speed as I dare and coast to a stop even with the driveway. We get a tractor out and push it in the shop with a towbar. Start checking things over, discover that one of the rotor screws backed out completly and the other was halfway loose... which caused the rotor to jam against the cap and destroy itself. A new cap, rotor and muffler (which was swelled to the point it rattled on the frame and the source of the debris out the exhaust)

The 2.8 is a tad on the gutless side for a lifted truck, for the stock config it was probably ok... IMO they are a pretty tough engine though. I put mine through through the mill and it kept coming back for more. It was still running halfway decent with 50lbs of oil pressure abit with considerable blowby when I pulled it out in 2011.

 

[Brownie Mobile]

no real updates on my b2 yet but i got the motor mounts off and discovered i realllyyyyy need an engine hoist no jack tricks here and yeah the 302 would be bad ass and thats whats gonna happen if the engine is toast what does the carbed 302 come out of i know the efi comes out of an explorer. yeah you probaly do got me beat lol. 85 ive had the exact opposite oppinion of this engine lol nothing about it has seemed tough to me hehe

 

[Shran]

no real updates on my b2 yet but i got the motor mounts off and discovered i realllyyyyy need an engine hoist no jack tricks here and yeah the 302 would be bad ass and thats whats gonna happen if the engine is toast what does the carbed 302 come out of i know the efi comes out of an explorer. yeah you probaly do got me beat lol. 85 ive had the exact opposite oppinion of this engine lol nothing about it has seemed tough to me hehe

Carbed - multiple Ford vehicles from the mid 60's to the mid 80's.
EFI - multiple Ford vehicles from mid 80's to the mid 90's.

Do a lot of research before you even think about a V8 swap.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Do a lot of research before you even think about a V8 swap.

+1

You will get a lot of time and money wrapped up into it...

 

[Brownie Mobile]

+1

You will get a lot of time and money wrapped up into it...

just curious how much money would it at all be possible to buy just a parts car that has the right motor and tranny and wiring etc. in it and basically pay nothing besides for the car itself? or do some things have to be brand new no matter what? how much was your swap costing and roughly how long?

 

[Shran]

just curious how much money would it at all be possible to buy just a parts car that has the right motor and tranny and wiring etc. in it and basically pay nothing besides for the car itself? or do some things have to be brand new no matter what? how much was your swap costing and roughly how long?

To do a V8 swap with a carbureted engine, you'd want to look for a mid-late 70's F150/Bronco with a 302. Then just use the entire drivetrain.

Cost wise, assuming you got the engine/trans/tcase for free, you'd have at least $1500 into everything else. Possibly less, just depends, but probably that or more. I was just thinking about doing a 2wd V8 swap last night and came came up with that number after everything I had to buy for my 4x4 V8 swap.

Time? Couple days to a few years, just depends how fast you work!

 

[Brownie Mobile]

To do a V8 swap with a carbureted engine, you'd want to look for a mid-late 70's F150/Bronco with a 302. Then just use the entire drivetrain.

Cost wise, assuming you got the engine/trans/tcase for free, you'd have at least $1500 into everything else. Possibly less, just depends, but probably that or more. I was just thinking about doing a 2wd V8 swap last night and came came up with that number after everything I had to buy for my 4x4 V8 swap.

Time? Couple days to a few years, just depends how fast you work!

On craiglist right now where i live theres a ranger with a 302 carbed v8, lift, sas, plus its an aftermarket edelbrock carb. 800 bucks for the truck no tranny. I think if i get the money before it goes im definitely gonna buy it and transfer it all over to my b2 this ranger definitely could fulfill all of the dreams i have for my b2. I will get links up but im at school and they dont let you go on craigslist here.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

just curious how much money would it at all be possible to buy just a parts car that has the right motor and tranny and wiring etc. in it and basically pay nothing besides for the car itself? or do some things have to be brand new no matter what? how much was your swap costing and roughly how long?

More than I want to know...

1987 5.0 - $200
C5 trans set up for V8 and RBV t-case - $250
1403 500cfm Edelbrock 4bbl - $400
Wieand Stealth intake - $150
Radiator and efan - $300
True dual glasspack exhaust - $350
Hedmann 88400 headers - $160
Rear driveshaft - $180, front driveshaft - $50 (and I learned it is better to run out and buy a longer driveshaft at a junkyard and have it shortened than to have your stock one lengthened)

And a ton of little crap, that is where it gets scary. Fuel pump/lines, hoses, mounts, wiring/wires... it just goes on and on.

If your 2.8 was Durasparked, a 5.0 Duraspark dizzy will plug right in.

Trans was ready to go, engine took about a month of nights prepping, actual swap was a month and a half working 2-3 hours a night when I could (often) and weekends in a fully set up ag repair shop.

It is all in the build thread link in my siggy.

I do highly recommend you go with an overdrive transmission while you are at it. At some point I wouldn't mind putting an M5OD in mine.

To do a V8 swap with a carbureted engine, you'd want to look for a mid-late 70's F150/Bronco with a 302. Then just use the entire drivetrain.

IMO the newer the better, all you need is a dizzy and intake to convert to carburation. If you are boring stock intakes grow on trees and a dizzy is $50... and a 70's engine could probably use a new one anyway. I have two stock 2bbl intakes, they are virtually worth nothing but scrap. I see them sitting at swap meets with $25 written on them but I don't think I have ever seen one walking around.

I paid $50 more for my '87 roller that is just broke in than my '78 weezer that was shot... both came with the same "ran great when I pulled it" sob story. The '87 has much more performance potential. $110 just gave it another 75hp on paper as a matter of fact... that is almost like a whole 'nuther 2.8 being thrown on top of what I had before.

 

[Shran]

On craiglist right now where i live theres a ranger with a 302 carbed v8, lift, sas, plus its an aftermarket edelbrock carb. 800 bucks for the truck no tranny. I think if i get the money before it goes im definitely gonna buy it and transfer it all over to my b2 this ranger definitely could fulfill all of the dreams i have for my b2. I will get links up but im at school and they dont let you go on craigslist here.

I'd definitely look over it REALLY well... a few V8 swapped, SAS'd Rangers have shown up on craigslist in my area and they were all cobbled together garbage. Almost exactly like what you're describing. For $800, if it's got a decent lift, D44 or larger, and assuming the engine is in good shape, get it!

IMO the newer the better, all you need is a dizzy and intake to convert to carburation. If you are boring stock intakes grow on trees and a dizzy is $50... and a 70's engine could probably use a new one anyway. I have two stock 2bbl intakes, they are virtually worth nothing but scrap. I see them sitting at swap meets with $25 written on them but I don't think I have ever seen one walking around.

Yup, I'd agree 100%. Just comes down to how good you are at hunting down parts.

 

[Brownie Mobile]

http://olympic.craigslist.org/cto/2952632672.html heres the truck in question give me your thoughts, unfortunately i wont have any money for a long while so hopefully it doesnt go.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

http://olympic.craigslist.org/cto/2952632672.html heres the truck in question give me your thoughts, unfortunately i wont have any money for a long while so hopefully it doesnt go.

400M?

Run fast and hard.

They are a good engine but they are the size of a big block... 99% sure the thing will be a hack. The whole truck from the 6"BL to the cutdown fullsize rollbar, the whole thing screams hack to me... $800 for a rolling carcass is high IMO. You could get a street legal '150 with a 5.0 for that around here and you would be a whole lot closer to your goal... basically the "Ranger" you posted is a Ranger body on a fullsize frame... so there isn't much there for your swap. No engine, no trans, no t-case...

Something like this would make a much better donar:
http://omaha.craigslist.org/cto/2962096119.html

Edit: I checked the "Olympic Pen" Craigslist and wherever you are at has the most pathetic F-150 selection I think I have ever seen...

 

[Shran]

Yeah, hell no. No title, box full of garbage, missing pieces, high price. No way.