Just bought an '87 XLT.

[fxct]

Hi there,

Picked up an '87 XLT 4WD. Odo reads 81k, seller was uncertain about rollover, but of course we presume its 181k. Cologne V6 2.9L with the T-K trans.

Head gaskets were serviced prior to purchase. Visual inspection shows clear signs of this. I found yellow snot under the oil cap, cleaned it, and it hasn't re-appeared. Presume the snot was quite old... but I haven't driven it hard and won't yet.

Valve train noise. Gonna be investigating that. Slight background grind in neutral at idle. Mucho grinding engaging an accelerating in 1st, 2nd... less in 3rd... gone in 4th and OD. Anyone have input on this front for a Ranger newbie? Much appreciated.

Runs pretty smooth overall.

I've warmed it up and revved it to about 4k RPM. I'm driving it at 3k RPM max for now and limiting distance to 10-20 miles each way on any drive because I don't know if the heads were fluxed and I don't wanna f--k the engine up. I asked the last shop that serviced it if they fluxed; waiting to hear back. I presume "not" and that I need to replace the heads anyway for documented reasons re: Cologne V6 2.9L issues.

It seems to run a bit warm on a physical check (hands) but the temp sensor stays down low. Cranking the heat raises the sensor up a bit as expected, but nothing more. Drops right back down after turning heat off. I guess this means the thermostat is ok.

A LOT of oil covering the oil filter on initial inspection. Cleaned it. Checked the fit. It seemed tight. Uncranked it about 1/8th turn. Still some minor dripping after driving short distances, down the side of the filter. Gonna have to check the seal?

Anyway... that's long-winded enough. I bought this as a project truck and fully expect to have to put a lot of work and elbow grease into it. Disassembled the dash cover today and cleaned 25 years worth of dust and crud. Spent the last couple afternoons scraping and cleaning caked grease and oil from the underside too, so I can have a shot at detecting current/new leaks and such.

Always wanted a truck like this, and now.. uh oh, I've got one.

 

[straycat]

What did you pay for? Any photos? You got a project truck and this will take some time to sort out. Trans is grinding you say? Might never had service at the right maintenance milage. Noisy valve train? That is most common on a lot of high mileage vehicals. If it is really noisy it needs to be taken care of. But you said you bought it for a project so don't worry about it. Did you get any maintenance records on the truck?

 

[adsm08]

I would not worry about the heads being cracked at this time. If they were, chances are that you'd know about it by now. I would check the coolant level, turning the heater on should not make the needle go up.

Are you sure it has the TK trans? Most 4x4 trucks had the FM by 87. Either way, if it is grinding I'd just go ahead and put an M5OD in it. Don't mess with either of the factory87 transmissions.

IME 3K is about the max that a 2.9 will hit under load once you get past 2nd gear. I would avoid running it to 4K at all. That's a good way to float a valve.

Lifter tick is fairly common on 2.9s and will always eventually kill the engine. Problem is that there is no return from the lifters. Oil, dirt, air, they are all stuck in there. Lifters were probably serviced with the head gaskets, so I would just leave that one be for now. The fix for it is a 4.0L.

I have also had persistent issues with oil leakage from the filter adapter. Haven't come up with a good fix for it, although I am playing with the idea of swapping a 4.0 SOHC adapter onto a Cologne Engine to switch over to an FL-820 oil filter.

 

[robertc1024]

Listen to this man. The other things to watch out for is the front brake calipers can get stuck, the IAC (idle air control) valve gets weird and needs to be cleaned/replaced if your idle is funky, zip ties for your throttle cable's slack, ground wires and the ignition module on your distributor. Look in the tech section and welcome to TRS.

 

[fxct]

Thanks everyone.

adsm08 you are correct it is the FM trans. Got under there and scraped the gunk off the tag to confirm.

Its idling around 850/900 or so the tach says. Not seeing any engine lights, no codes, etc. Feels pretty good climbing short hills, isn't stalling out or changing idle speeds at stoplights, etc.

Putting in the M50D is going to have to wait but I'll take your advice and just plan on that instead of trying to rebuild or replace w/ factory trans.

Coolant res. was near empty but radiator was full. Filled res. 1/3rd and it drank it down. Just added about 1/4 and marked the level.

Leaving the country for a couple weeks and won't have time to drain / flush everything and change all the oil, but that'll be next.

Straycat, I paid (dealer) maybe a bit too much. There was a 2nd buyer waiting if I didn't take it, and I wanted the project, so that was that.

Carfax really didn't have a lot on it. It had two official prior "serviced" records back at 78k and 141k. The rest of the records are all CA smog checks. 3 owners, all in the same area. Passed smog check a month+ ago when the head gaskets were done. Along with some other things -- its got a new muffler, and various bits of wiring etc appear new.

Thanks again folks, I've been searching and reading through TRS off and on for awhile these past several days, and this forum has an impressive amount of info and knowledgeable people.

Here are some pics...

 

[87xlranger]

Mucho grinding engaging an accelerating in 1st, 2nd... less in 3rd... gone in 4th and OD. Anyone have input on this front for a Ranger newbie? Much appreciated.

My current 87 Ranger ext. cab 2wd is doing this EXACT thing, I found NO oil in the transmission. I filled it back up and the noise is quieter but still noisy, I was going to completely drain it and refill it again this weekend to see If the noise goes away.

My theory (and it could be wrong) but the gearset gets taller as you go up in gears 1st is smallest and 5th or OD is the biggest, if the fluid is low 4th and 5th are getting proper lubrication and 1,2 & 3 aren't in the oil. The gears can only take so much before they start to eat each other, I think I may have to put in another trans in mine or rebuild it if this second refill with a lucas addative doesn't fix it.

Troy.

 

[adsm08]

I would only worry about the coolant loss from the bottle if it persists much longer. There may be an air bubble still trapped at the top of the system.

My theory (and it could be wrong) but the gearset gets taller as you go up in gears 1st is smallest and 5th or OD is the biggest, if the fluid is low 4th and 5th are getting proper lubrication and 1,2 & 3 aren't in the oil. The gears can only take so much before they start to eat each other

Well the very last part is right. The rest is a bit towards left field. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears are actually bigger around. Normally the input and output shafts, which pass through the trans at the same level, can spin separately. In 4th gear the input and output shafts just get locked together by a shift collar. The mainshaft (the locked input and output unit) is at the highest internal point of the transmission, out of the oil completely except for the splashing.

Your lack of lube probably toasted the coating on the syncros.

 

[fxct]

robertc1024, thanks for the IAC tip. I just cleaned it (CNC electrical component cleaner & q-tips). It was quite dirty. Idle ran high after letting the IAC dry and re-installing, but I drove it around and its now sub-1k again. I think I read somewhere the computer needs time to re-adjust, presuming it notices when you pull the sensor plug on the IAC?

 

[adsm08]

It didn't "notice" that you unplugged the IAC, but when you cleaned all that crap out of the valve it started letting more air through with the same amount of power applied to it, so the computer has to play with it and find the right spot again.

 

[doorgunner]

Congrats.....you're another rescuer of ancient iron!!!!