i need common answers to common problems

[cutlassranger]

hey guys hows it goin ?? im new to the site and new with ford, yesterday i bought a 1986 ford ranger 4wd,5 speed,2.9 with 87,128 original mile for $600

I was searchign the internet to find out what kind of transmission fluid to use and i can across sites telling about commen problems "snot" no oil pressure and low compression , i didnt know anything ab out these things untill now the truck run GREAT everythigg works good , i seen that it had no oil pressure , i thought the gauge could be broke untill i found these sites ( now im worried) and i added some oil and then put some seafoam in . i seen it had the so called SNOT (not much ) on the oil cap.

do i have anythign to worry about ?? should i do a compression test ?? if so what should each cylander be at ??

i plan on letting the seafoam run throught for about 500 miles that changing it and pit new with soem engine restore , does any one have any tips ??

how can i check oil pressure to see if the gauge is broke

should i be worried bout anything
thanks in advance
tom

 

[Ozwynn]

the snot means either a blown head gasket, cracked head (common on 2.9L), or a cracked block. if the truck is straight with no rust then you made a score. look for a 4.0L or a 2.3L turbo to swap in.

or tell me where you are at and sell it to me (if its straight with no rust)

 

[cutlassranger]

lol i dont plan on selling but i mean it runs GREAT and good on gas there wasnt much snot and the kid who i got it from dint give it an oil change for about a yr so who knows maybe its condinsation (i hope) but most likly not

 

[Ozwynn]

could be condensation in the pan that caused it but I doubt it. find a 4.0L and assoc. parts and bring it down here....... we will get the 4.0L swapped in a week end.

 

[cutlassranger]

what yr 4.0 will work i would mind a 4 banger there for milage, what kinda cash do thay go for , im currently in howard city, how fare is that from you

 

[Ozwynn]

not exactly sure where howard city is but I live 90 miles (give or take) south of grand rapids, down here you got me and pocket-rocket. I would find a wrecked 91 -94 explorer and strip it. use it axles, wiring, engine, trans, computer, dash, seats ....... basically put the explorer stuff into your 86 truck ..... the trick is finding an explorer with a manual T-case. if I have the wiring harness in advance then the hardest part will be done before you get here. in my expierience the wiring is the hardest part of any swap like that.


you could use 4.0 ranger parts but the explorer rear axle is better and with an explorer you have no chance of getting a D28/35 hybrid.

 

[cutlassranger]

ill keep an eye out ,i did find a 91 ranger 2.2 and 5 speed for $75 he sayd that have 175XXX

gonna be hard to do an engine swap since this is my only transportation


im think for now ill run it till the egine craps on me , how long wit it last do you think

 

[Ozwynn]

hard to say, my Bronco 2 died in days, but I drive hard.

 

[cutlassranger]

there isnt anything i can do to get oil pressure up is there ?
is it nessasry tp change the rear end fluid

 

[kunar]

well if the inside of the oil cap doesnt look bad, i wouldnt worry... atleast not till it starts showing worse symptoms. i have had a little gunk inside my oil cap and never had any issues. drain the oil and see how it looks. does it knock? how bad? if you dont have oil pressure, it will knock. dont go trying to swap an engine without even knowing if theres something wrong with yours... if you wanna throw cash away, you can send it to me

 

[Ozwynn]

yeah, first thing with any used 4x4 is change the oil in the engine, the transmission, T-case, and both axles.

 

[pacodiablo]

If it's running good, I wouldn't go pulling the engine yet. Don't bother with additives. The Sea Foam is probably okay if you make sure to dump it before 500 miles. After you do that, get some cheap Super Tech 5W30 or 10W30 at Wal-Mart and a Super Tech filter and do a short oil change interval on it, maybe 1000 miles, and see how the oil looks.

If the engine doesn't have oil pressure, you will know. Does the valvetrain tick loudly? If so, no oil pressure. A little valvetrain noise is pretty much normal on OHV Cologne engines though.

It would probably be a good idea to do some general maintenance if you plan on keeping the truck. Try to find some green antifreeze if you can and change the coolant. Avoid using the all makes all models stuff unless you have to - it is essentially Dex Cool, and you don't want Dex Cool unless you like cleaning up Dex Cool disasters (the mud-like sludge that can result). May as well take care of the spark plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, etc... too. Your transmission uses gear oil...80W90 or 75W90 will be fine. Use the same in the rear axle.

 

[cutlassranger]

well if the inside of the oil cap doesnt look bad, i wouldnt worry... atleast not till it starts showing worse symptoms. i have had a little gunk inside my oil cap and never had any issues. drain the oil and see how it looks. does it knock? how bad? if you dont have oil pressure, it will knock. dont go trying to swap an engine without even knowing if theres something wrong with yours... if you wanna throw cash away, you can send it to me

nope doesnt knock at all not even a lttle bit ... im goin to hood up a after market oil gauge i got see wutit does
trust i know about throwing money awayi got a a 86 olds cutlass with a bbc with 700r4 trand and 8.5 rear i got over 15 grand it to it but its my baby ( my g/f gets jelous)

 

[Ozwynn]

wait till you start dumping time and money into the ranger.....

 

[cutlassranger]

If it's running good, I wouldn't go pulling the engine yet. Don't bother with additives. The Sea Foam is probably okay if you make sure to dump it before 500 miles. After you do that, get some cheap Super Tech 5W30 or 10W30 at Wal-Mart and a Super Tech filter and do a short oil change interval on it, maybe 1000 miles, and see how the oil looks.

If the engine doesn't have oil pressure, you will know. Does the valvetrain tick loudly? If so, no oil pressure. A little valvetrain noise is pretty much normal on OHV Cologne engines though.

It would probably be a good idea to do some general maintenance if you plan on keeping the truck. Try to find some green antifreeze if you can and change the coolant. Avoid using the all makes all models stuff unless you have to - it is essentially Dex Cool, and you don't want Dex Cool unless you like cleaning up Dex Cool disasters (the mud-like sludge that can result). May as well take care of the spark plugs, fuel filter, PCV valve, etc... too. Your transmission uses gear oil...80W90 or 75W90 will be fine. Use the same in the rear axle.

i got plugs waiting im going to change after this 1str full tank of gas runs out( i put seafoam in that to)
i already changed the air filter ill fet a, how hard is it ot changes the fuel filter and what do i got to do to change trans and axle fluids

thanks alot guy all great info

also around how many miles should the typical 86 ranger get to a whole full gas tank