how does your 2.9 run on the interstate

[59flatbedford]

Ok so i have a 89 ranger ext cab 4wd with the 5 speed and 2.9l and it has no power on the highway. Im trying to figure out if my motor is just wore out or if i have something wrong besides the little stuff. I know my motor is a little worn but it seems to run fine in town but anything over 45 is no power. On the interstate i have to have a good tail wind to even dream of hitting 75. Down hill i can sometimes hit 65 but it seems like at any sign of a hill or head wind its 55 tops. It does have a hiccup about 3000 rpm that i haven't figured out yet. So does anybody have a similar truck that can maybe give me an ideal if my motor is really that underpowered or if its just par for the course. I am at fairly high elevation about 7000 which im sure hurts it some but it just seems that i should have more power.

 

[ranger]

i think you have something wrong i don't know what that could be though. First i would check the compression. and do a normal tune up. I had 31's on my 2.9 4x4 and i could hit 90 in 3rd gear with 3.73 gears. even when i put 33's and still had 3.73s i could hit about 85 in 4th. now i re-geared so i have 33's and 4.10's and its about the same as it was with the 31's and 3.73's.

 

[Surrey]

Yeah, I can do 75+mph without any trouble, and I am in dire need of a throttle cable adjustment

edit - I am on my 2nd Bronco2 with a 2.9l, and they both had no problems attaining highway speeds, even when the first one had a blown clutch.

 

[88_Eddie]

i used to drive mine 400+ miles back and forth to school, it was sluggish at first, but after a few hundred miles, it would run great.

 

[Twister]

Its not a 2.9, but i am able to hit 60 fairly easy in my B2 with a 2.8

 

[trev23]

i have the 2.9 with 3.73s and 30's and it does very well even living in bc canada were you can't drive 2 mins without having to go up a steep hill

 

[Sultan]

Mine is best at 60.

 

[TH533]

Ya somethings wrong with yours. Mine tops out about 95 with 31's and 3.73 gearing. I have the 2.9 5speed and mines 4x4. Mine doesnt start loosing steam till about 75. and i can haul to 75 pretty fast in 3rd. Only mods are exhaust, air intake and distrubutor and wires. without all that it could still do 75 in 3rd.

 

[disciplerocks]

Mine got worse gas mileage on the highway than city. 60-65 max speed, until I had to go uphill. Then it drops quick. Having cruise is pretty much pointless.

 

[heptofite]

my b2 maxed out at 105 (or that's what the guy behind me in a dodge told me) , but i had lifter issues so i had to do it on a cold engine, once it got hot the oil thinned out and i couldn't keep up that kind of speed, but for a quick burst it worked.

that said, keeping it at 80 with cruise on worked fine.

 

[59flatbedford]

well im running 235-75 tires and im not sure of the gears but i assume they are probably 3.73s. I was going to check the compression once but the tester my dad had wouldn't fit down in the hole so i need to get a different end and do that. It also had a severely plugged fuel filter so not sure if there was a bunch of stuff in the tank that washed down the line and plugged it again. It also has that hicup about 3000 rpm that i haven't figured out yet, maybe an injector not working all the time or something. Im going to have to do some checking when it warms up and see if i can figure something out.

 

[jhammel85]

^ all that is probably tied in. This won't help fix those issues but it might still be a problem for you since it seems to be pretty common:

My truck has always been sooooo sloooowww. I always figured it was because it's an auto, 3.73's and 30 inch tires. After that it was awful trying to merge onto the highway or maintain anything.

This weekend I found that my cable was way stretched. Look up the Zip Tie Mod. I fit about 4 of those suckers down there and now it's way, way better all around. I was only opening at about 2/3 of my throttle with the pedal to the floor.

It even shifts better which I'm guessing is because the TV cable is now in sync with the throttle (just a guess). So check that too!

 

[robertc1024]

You definately have a problem. I'm in a bone-stock '88 with a 2.9 and just got back from hauling my kid to gym, easily cruising 75 both ways.

 

[59flatbedford]

ok well i just went out and looked and it seems like i have probably close to an inch of slack in the throttle cable. i will have to zip tie that as im sure thats not helping the situation any. I still need to figure out what is causing the hiccup at 3000 rpm tho.

 

[adsm08]

Well, I'm in for base engine wear. My truck (when she chooses to run) does the EXACT same thing you have described with 215/75/15 tires and 3.45 gears. I know that my engine is beat because I know what it's been put through in it's life. Don't really have to do a compression test. My dad used it for F-250 size duty for 12 years.