I bought the B2 (pulling the 2.9 tips and tricks ?)

[vpcoded]

Well i got the bronco that showed no Oil pressure. I put a gauge on it and it is reading very low. I drove it home around a hr trip. The test drives that i took were mostly back roads at around 45-50. I pulled the trigger and said hell with it if the motor is failing ill throw the other one in and see if it is any better. I did take the code reader and it threw 11's before and after the test drive other than the brake light short code and me not goosing the throttle during the running test.

On the drive home roughly 30-40 miles i found that up hill on the high way at any thing over 45 is close to impossible. My wife was behind me and said she smelt gas. I was thinking mabey i had a plug fouled and running on 4-5 cyls. I also noticed after the drive at 3k revving there is a lower knock that i hear.

I only have 2 options. A just say fk trouble shooting the issue and try the other motor. (after trouble shooting my ranger for close to a year and it never being able to do any thing more that off road for lack of higher speeds I dont want to put alot of energy / parts trying to fix another broken project.) <-----I will take any input in reguards to option A ha ha.

Option B I have a cherry picker at my disposal ATM and that other complete motor. (i dont know what condition that one is in.) the extra dose seem to be a salvage pull and not another one out of this truck. All sensors are on the motor and the ends of the harnes were cut and left on the sensors. The best check i can do to that motor would be pull the oil pan check pump pick up and see if there is any play in the bearings ? I can also do plugs ect while it is out of the truck and power wash it for a little cleaner install? mabey a can of black spray paint and clean up the firewall ect.

Thanks for reading all of that. I am looking for the most dirrect way of pulling the 2.9 any tips tricks any of you have found or employed when pulling.

600 bucks if that other motor is in ok shape ill be happy with it

The orignal 500 dollar night mare that put close to 600 in trying to fix it. who knows where she is now

 

[rcwc28]

well yes i pulled mine it was not a whole lot of fun but do it from underneath so i hope you have a lot of extentions for the top bellhousing bolts and scince the other engine is out replace the oil pump in it thats always a good invesment cause they have weak pumps thats what kills the motors

 

[RyanL]

How low was low with the oil pressure? It might be worn out cam bearings, it might be clogged up oil passages, pick up screen for oil pump, or oil filter. I don't have any recommendations for pulling the motor, but I would at least change the oil while it's nice and hot to see what comes out and if it changes anything. I would also dump a quart of ATF into the crankcase and let it run for a while to help clean the gunk out. If it was lacking power and running on the rich side my #1 guess would be the fuel pressure regulator. Pull the vacuum hose off of the rear of it and see if it's dripping any fuel while running. Does the knock get louder as you rev it past 3K? I can't say for sure, but all the motors which I've ever had develop a bearing knock you could slightly hear it at idle and the higher you revved, the louder it would get. Maybe you're hearing spark knock around 3K. If I was to throw the other motor in, I would at the very least replace all the gaskets/seals along with the valve stem seals and piston rings. Those things are very cheap and almost impossible to change once the motor is in (it would suck to find out the front seal or oil pan gasket is leaking once the motor is in). Sorry if this Bronco II is turning into a turd - I was one of the guys saying go for it.
EDIT: Here's a master gasket set: autozone
Piston rings: autozone
Head bolts: autozone (if you plan to pull the heads, hone the cylinders and replace the piston rings)
Oil Pump: autozone
All of that junk will set you back about $300, but you'll practically have a fresh motor as long as your bearings check out and everything.

 

[RyanL]

well yes i pulled mine it was not a whole lot of fun but do it from underneath so i hope you have a lot of extentions for the top bellhousing bolts and scince the other engine is out replace the oil pump in it thats always a good invesment cause they have weak pumps thats what kills the motors

From underneath would be harder in my opinion on a 4x4, plus it sounds like he's going to be doing it without a lift.

 

[rcwc28]

From underneath would be harder in my opinion on a 4x4, plus it sounds like he's going to be doing it without a lift.

actually on my bronco i couldnt get to my bolts any other way so i did it from underneath and my b2 was 4wd and ive done it on my 4wd ranger as well 2.9 they both were autos though so no stick shift in the way
regardless of how he dose it i would still replace the oilpump as good insurance

 

[vpcoded]

I really appreciate all of the reply's. Don't worry about being one of the ones saying go for it. I was pretty sure i was going to get it regardless.

I Was actually going to pull the Shoot my self in the foot on the swap. Check bearings, plugs, cap, rotor, and oil pump, and the upper gaskets. I dont really have the extra for the head bolts, master gaskets, and rings or even the time to get that deep. I figured i could plan for a 4.0 swap in the near future if i can get by until income taxes. It is almost drive able now other than the lack of power on the highway. If not for a 3 hr move at the end of this month i would run that motor in the ground but i have to drive it to my new residence.

Oil pressure was around 5 and would increase to around 12 with throttle. The Knock dose not get worse nor is it noticeable while driving only reeving in neutral.

I dont have a lift. I will be using a picker and think i have enough ext should i have to reach from the bottom. I figured i would try the tops from the top first tho. Best lift i could do would be 4 ramps up next to a concrete slap that sits higher than the ground so i could still pick.

I did check the FPR it was the first thing i went after. and pulled other sensors to try to make the symptom worse or better.

And in the end im going for it on this truck. I have another car that kinda fell into my lap. I want to make the B2 the best street legal trail / crawler i can. I loved that ranger and it had alot of say in the purchase ha ha 2.9 kicked my ass first round. I plan to win this one ha ha with the experience from every ones help here on my ranger i am pretty comfy under the hood with the 2.9 now.

 

[RyanL]

I would not bother with swapping in the scrapped 2.9 if you have plans for a 4.0 within the next year or so. It just seems like a waste of time and energy to me even if it doesn't cost a dime. Who's to say that the extra motor isn't in real bad shape, maybe even worse than what's in there now. I just have a feeling that the motor that's in it now isn't as bad as you may think it is. Running rich, loss of power, low oil pressure, etc, etc, sounds like the typical thread around here and is often caused by a bad sensor or two. Did you try to pull codes at all? Of course you have to reset it first since you said that you unplugged a few sensors (you'll get trouble codes for those). And like I said, an oil change with a quart of ATF might help your oil pressure issue. You don't have a Fram oil filter on it, do you?

 

[vpcoded]

Yeah I have pulled codes before and since i bought it. i have a ob tester and its easy as pie i actualy do it almost every time i drive it ha ha. the old lady just took it to the store it runs and drives just not HWY speeds at all. I understand the sensors issues as it was the main thing with my last 2.9. I still to this day think that was a solid motor and a sensor or ecu was acting up. Im all for any input and can take critisim great so feel free to give me ample of it ha ha. the only time it threw codes other then a straight 11 it was i believe 77? not goosing the throttle and 74 brake short in my case i am sure it is. I dont feel drag on the truck but my brake light is on. The main reason i am thinking of the other motor is the low/belly knock and 10 or less oil pressure at all times. I will have a compression test for you all tom as well as Fuel pressure test. Any info on how to use my auto ranger will help ample on checking sensors ect.

 

[Psychopete]

It's strait forward to remove, hard part is the exhaust bolts, doesn't matter where - manifold to head or manifolds to y-pipe, all usually nice and rusty and hard to get out. Mark where things went that are confusing, or not obvious.

Honest opinion, easy to take a freshly installed engine back out. If I would replace anything, it would be the oil pump pick up screen and clean out of the bottom of the pan, but if oil is getting to the head on a prime, I would put it in and see what happens. Can see some of the lobes on the cam from the bottom, too, so just looking would give some idea of how well that aspect is getting oiled - and especially if some rod or main caps appear to have gotten a little warmer than normal (eg turning purple), that would raise some suspicion.

 

[vpcoded]

Man that is exactly what im worried about. Those e bolts look rough. I think im going to start soaking them in the morn and keep doing it for a day or so.

Im going to check the other out tom and see if any of the other info ______>
I would put it in and see what happens. Can see some of the lobes on the cam from the bottom, too, so just looking would give some idea of how well that aspect is getting oiled - and especially if some rod or main caps appear to have gotten a little warmer than normal (eg turning purple), that would raise some suspicion. ---------------> IM a noob for real if you wouldnt mind checking this thread this weekend Im going to up alot of pics. Im deff more worried about getting it out than i am getting one back in.

Am i going to need to pull the rad ect to be able to disengage the torqC. It seems ive read that before.

 

[BillupsOMally]

With respect to the transmission, I pulled mine before and after a 2" body lift and it was much much easier to get to all the bellhousing bolts with the body lift. If you plan on doing a body lift in the future I'd just do it now. Body lift took me 20 mins.

 

[vpcoded]

Still running with the same motor

Well I know it has been a while since i have been on here. I moved and there is not internet service provider in the area. I ended up trailering it to the new house for the move instead of the 5 hr drive. I went ahead and tagged it and have been driving it around locally. No highways with hills ect so it hasnt been a big issue. I have found some good wheeling area about a hr from here and decided to give it a go in the bronco. It is a hilly back road so the lack of power made it a long embarrassing trip ha ha. It did make it there and back. the 4x4 worked well and i showed up servral full size trucks with there long wheel bases.

I chose to trouble shoot the lack of power and started with the fuel system. I feel the problem is the FPR tho it dose not leak fuel while running and pulling the vac line.

#1 I pulled the inertia switch cable and rolled the engine over to relieve pressure.

#2 Hooked the fuel pressure gauge up reconnected the inertia switch and turned the key over. result was 25 psi slowly climed to 30.

#3 Turned the truck on. gauge hit 38-40 psi.

#4 I shut the truck off and again relived the pressure with the gauge pulled the vac line turned the key over with it off and stairght to 40 psi. then turned on the truck and about a 3-5 psi drop which the haynes states is how the pressure should react.

Is this a indacation that the fpr is failing. I would think that the filter is working as it should since it can maintain the 38-40 psi while running. and the pump is working as it should as well. the haynes states to pinch the fuel return line to see if the pressure increases. do i do this with pliers as it seems to stiff to do by hand. any info and thanks in advance for all the help over the last yr in a half or two from every one.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Another possibility is the cat. You can test for that with a vacuum gauge. Hook up the vacuum to manifold and run at 2500 rpm. If the vacuum slowly falls that means there is a restriction in the exhaust.
I am reading a book on diagnostic scanners and that was one of the subjects covered that I recently read... hopefully I remembered correctly.
Good luck,

Richard

Edit; Also check the air filter and housing and tubes.

 

[dave2575]

Don't pinch the return line, inside the rubber hose there is a hard plastic fuel line and it could crack or remain restricted after pinching it.