• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

just got an 88 from my ma


cody93

Well-Known Member
V8 Engine Swap
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
1,890
City
Duluth GA
Vehicle Year
1987
Engine
Transmission
Manual
heres the situation, my mom just gave me her old 88 ranger thats been in the family since she got it new, for the past few years, it hasn't been driven much since it was involved in a hit an run acident back on chrismas eve of 04(danm iligal imigrants cant drive and dont have insurence) and was fixed up from other ranger parts we got from a friend, spent most its time in the driveway, just wasting insurence money. now, i got it, altho i dont got a drivers license yet(CA licenses are a pain in the arse to get, gona get an arkansas one instead) i wana fix it up. my dad and i are moving to arkansas soon and i want to take this truck, as i hate all new cars, and have lots of sentimental value on this truck. over the years, ive kept together, sanding priming rust spots, changing fluids, maintaining the battery, moving it around so it wont rot or get stuck in place, bought the parts thate were missing from pick n pull and kept it complete, etc. being in cali, server rust aint a problem, the frame,body aint badly rusted, just minor surfuce rust on the roof/tailgate.
its got a 2.9 wich are know for cracking cylinder heads, and im worried if its got cracked heads, as it makes steam in the exhaust until it warms up and blue smoke(oil burn) when it acelerates. a few years ago, it had a smog issue, as driving with cracked heads makes exhaust thats not catlyc coverter friendly. ontop of that, some nub who did work on it advanced the timing on it so it burned hotter and made hydrocarbons, wich usually mean hotter temps, and the 2.9s got aluminum heads. and aluminum has a lower temperture were it starts to warp, so that may have messed it up, some how, we got the truck to pass smog and drove it a bit for hauling loads when my dads construction company was doing good(resecsion messed it up cause no one has money for remoding homes), since november, its been un registered and hasn't been ran much. now that ive given u back ground info, heres is my questions

1- is this truck worth taking to arkansas( large acerage farm)
2- how would i take it? i (drive it? tralier it?)
3- what are the chances of cracked heads?
4- should i replace the cylinder heads and gaskets?
5- will the cylinder heads of an 89-91 2.9 be better than pre 89 heads? or is there a better option thats not to expensive and will 89-91 heads even fit for that matter?
 
2.9 doesn't have aluminum heads, it just has badly designed iron ones.

you'll know if the heads are cracked if there's oil in the water and/or water in the oil.

if not, you're not cracked.

the newer heads will fit fine, and in fact people will replace them with the newer heads to avoid cracking.

if you're going to have the heads off anyway, replace all the lifters while you're at it, since the heads have to come off to replace them anyway.
 
well, update,

oil/coolent arn't contaminated, no "snot" like stuff under the oilcap/radcap/dipstick, the steam turns out to be condensation left in the exhaust, and its gone now. now for the bad news, its got an oil burning issue, suspect bad piston rings, will check for blow back with oil cap off next time im at my ma's
 
trailer it to arkansas. you can throw whatever motor you want in it once you get here.

what part of arkansas?
 
norther AR/southern missouri area, looking at yellville area in north west AR area. guess i'll go ahead an get the last few body panels since i live so close to pick n pull and rebuild the engine with new parts once its moved there. i'll get some new pics, i only got 1 and its a few years old,

2j34m4k.jpg
 
we thought about moving to northwestern arkansas but its cheaper to live in northeast arkansas.
 
nice looking truck at least.
 
we thought about moving to northwestern arkansas but its cheaper to live in northeast arkansas.

depends, but overall, the whole state is a pretty cheap place to live. of course, i don't make as much as i could in another state, so it all evens out.
 
last time i was in the area, i saw gas at 2.19$ eveything was cheaper, altho all the locals complained about the unemployment issues, guess thats what happens when we tax the heck out of companies who then outsource, or we import our stuff from china, only thing this country makes is porn,retards and bs laws




oh btw, i dont think the oil burning is too bad, only a small puff at idle, a small blue cloud when first accelerating and then it dont smoke once the rpms go up, altho u can smell it burning something 100 ft away..is it true there no smog laws in arkansas, out in the rural areas
 
Last edited:
nope no smog. there isnt even a safety inspection where i live. they check for insurance and check your property taxes and send you on your way when you title a vehicle

And i was talking about when you get towards the bigger cities in the west the price of housing, insurance, gas, some foods, goes up as compared to the eastern side. Its mainly due to the increased population over there as compared to here. plus theres a lot of reitrement places and colleges. But i think i would rather live here than california.
 
basically, no one sees your vehicle before you can drive it on the road. no smog checks anywhere. i've registered my vehicles in a town of 500, and a city of 60,000+

pay your personal property tax, registration, insurance, and you are good to go. and after 25 years your rig is an antique, and things get really cheap.


heres a fun fact: I keep my bronco 2 registered and insured, even though it has been sitting in my back yard since '07, and doesn't even have a motor in it.
 
Get a newer image of your Ranger cody, I've had that image on my old laptop for 2 years now!

Tow it using either a U-haul car trailer, or buy one. Its worth keeping to you dude, and remember, its only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it, so are you willing to pay for it? (with dad's help maybe).
 
Last edited:
wow, thats recent...... get a camera!!! (whil your at it, a webcam =P). Yeah, its worth haulin.
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

TRS Events

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Latest posts

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Ranger Adventure Video

TRS Merchandise

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Sponsors


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Sponsored Ad

Back
Top