Hey all, I recently started a few different threads but am now consolidating it all into a build thread. There's going to be a lot involved here for the next several weeks. To summarize other threads, all I've done so far is install a new MAP sensor, inspect for / find / temporarily patch an...
Ah, this all sounds so familiar to my experience when I bought my 1990 Custom Super Cab 2WD w/2.9L & A4LD back in 2011. I've learned a lot along the way, and am planning to do a top end overhaul this winter to try to deal with worsening valve train noise and performance issues. But there is really no way to make them quiet. Even if you get the valve lash well adjusted, they are just noisy. And it typically varies, and comes and goes.
While the 2.9L Cologne motor does have a severe design flaw, people are correct that they are still tough motors. If you take care of it, it will serve you well. They actually produce more HP per unit of displacement than the 302/5.0L. But it will be a passion project, unless you decide to do the well-advised 4.0L swap. I'm stubborn, so I'll keep mine. At least until the day I do a V8 conversion. Take a look on Youtube for some, there are very impressive builds out there. But $$$$$
Hi all, So, I have a project 1990 Custom Super Cab Ranger with the infamous 2.9L hitched to the equally dubious A4LD. I've had this rig for almost 10 years now, and of course in retrospect I wish I had heeded the warnings about the 2.9L. The whole project got way more involved and expensive...
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PetroleumJunkie412 is correct that you should use a Zinc additive. I wish I had known this sooner, and I suspect that my cam and bearing wore prematurely due to not having this. That, and I probably caused damage by over tightening my valves to try to get the ticking quiet. At a certain point, you just have to accept that it can only get so good.
Because of the valve train lubricating flaw in the design, it's generally better to use 5w30 or even 5w20 oil. Most recommend not going above 10w30, and probably only in hotter climates. This is not like you're typical motor. Higher viscosity oil will probably just make it tick worse. And as long as your main bearings are good, you won't benefit from higher viscosity.
Many have written that the stock builds also have weak valve springs, which results in valve float under high load. I believe mine suffers from this, in addition to worsening valve train lubrication. When climbing mountain passes, for example, it will get very loud and struggle. For now, I just keep it under 65 and that does help. At higher speeds/RPM the lubrication issue gets worse, and the lifters heat up and expand, as well as lose their hydraulic pressure. And it will sound like it's going to fly apart.
These are old motors now, and performance parts are difficult to find. I know of one place, but man that stuff is spendy.
I'm currently trying to find other sources for parts other than OEM spec, and it's hard to find much.
I have also read about modified builds where they use solid lifters with a matched cam. That's probably more involved than I would choose, but since you're learning about this motor I mention it in case you want to research that. Also, the fuel injectors can be noisy and can be mistaken for lifter tick. But I think that's a minor consideration.
And finally, about the varying ticking symptoms, it's generally stated that if the cam bearings have worn you're likely to get worsening ticking after being at freeway speeds for a while. And I think that's most of my current problem.
Another design flaw is that the exhaust manifold bolts go through a sort of flange at each exhause port on the heads, and out the back side. This allows them to rust on the other side, much more so than with heads that are not threaded all the way though and have a bottom. And sometimes it can be so bad that they can't be removed, at least not easily, and you can damage the flanges on the heads as you try to drill them out, etc. One of my OEM heads was cracked, so I now have aftermarket MAHLE heads. I got all new exhaust bolts and coated them liberally with anti-seize paste.
And I just found a very interesting write-up from someone who did a rather unconventional solid lifter conversion on his 2.9. I've only just started digging into this topic in some detail, but this sounds like a great innovation.
And I just found a very interesting write-up from someone who did a rather unconventional solid lifter conversion on his 2.9. I've only just started digging into this topic in some detail, but this sounds like a great innovation.
Yeah, I'm not saying I would do this particular thing, or even decide to use solid lifters at all. But I found this write-up as I was searching for info and parts for optional builds. But now that you mention it, where would one find a solid lifter flat tappet camshaft for a 2.9L? Or for that matter, where would one find a roller cam setup?
I highly suspect that my cam bearings are shot, but other than a full tear down I don't know how to confirm that.
My understanding is that you can still have good oil pressure, despite having worn cam bearings that allow the valve train oil starvation. Or is that not correct?
My Ranger is generally only used in spring/summer months for camping road trips. So I have all winter to ponder my top end rebuild option and do the work. So I've been reading and rereading various posts and articles, some of which I've read years ago.
Odds are that if you have good oil pressure and no other sign of valvetrain issues such as a collapsed lifter, you have a worn cam.
Oil flow is easy to check by pulling the valve covers and letting the engine turn over without starting.
No idea on a roller cam. I went with a stock grind and FE block anti-pump up lifters, but I plan on running mine in excess of 7000 RPM, so this was done to avoid lifter collapse at high RPM.
Solid lifter cams exist. Talk to Burton Power in the UK. They have them available. FroFix racing in Norway is another source.
I've broke a lot of ground over the last few years with the 2.9, but it came from a lot of discussions with Euro builders. There are a few threads on here that detail the research I've done.
Also, I have a thread on here that has photos of a set of 86tm heads I cut apart for porting purposes. Should give a fairly good idea of where gains can be made, along with showing where the 2.9 head failure issue came from - p*ss poor block casting cleaning by coked-out Ford employees.
Thanks for that info, especially the Euro info sources. I haven't read much oustide the US as far as I remember. And also thanks for mentioning the anti-pump up lifters. I started reading some stuff about all these topics, so always nice to hear some first hand experiences.
As far as oil flow, from when I was lashing the valves/setting the pre-load, I certainly seemed to have plenty. It was a chore to try to prevent it from running down the block. I would raise whichever side with some bricks under a tire to get the head more level with the ground. I had read about another guy who got an extra set of valve covers and cut off the tops. That's a good idea, but I haven't done that yet.
Please guys, no replies unless to add link only. Sites I use to do homework on engine and euro stuff, and all cologne family. Welcome to the rabbit hole... http://forum.merkurclub.com/forum/index.php?sid=f02b0da0967e40619e73d24071700c26 https://www.rpmrons.com/index.html...
@Jim Oaks, trying to set this up as a info page on 2.9 area of tech section. Want to get some feedback here first. Now that we've let the 2.9 heads jokes run their course, I am moving on into figuring out how to port these things as part of my build. If I'm going to push the envelope on...
Had two European intake manifolds for the 2.9 shipped over from the UK. Just a photo thread showing differences in three different twin throttle body 2.9 upper manifolds - two generations of Euro manifolds versus the American version. Have a Merkur lower on the way (very different port shape)...
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Also, lots of info in between the normal sh*tposting:
Ok, so just a forewarning, this post is going to be heavily edited, re-written, and changed throughout its construction. This is being written as a post to document the restoration of a truck that was a terrible candidate for restoration, and to offer explanation to others that read my posts...
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