PlumCrazy's Beater DD 4x4 SAS Build

[scotts90ranger]

Sweet in all respects!

If you're feeling froggy I'd probably port the head "while you're there", even just taking off the sharp spots should help... I lost 2psi of boost on my turbo engine years ago...

 

[PlumCrazy]

Sweet in all respects!

If you're feeling froggy I'd probably port the head "while you're there", even just taking off the sharp spots should help... I lost 2psi of boost on my turbo engine years ago...

I am in fact not feeling froggy. Lol.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Sweet in all respects!

If you're feeling froggy I'd probably port the head "while you're there", even just taking off the sharp spots should help... I lost 2psi of boost on my turbo engine years ago...

The bottom end has over 325,000 mi on it. I'm just hoping to sneak past 80 psi per cylinder. Lol

 

[scotts90ranger]

That's fair, with how my '97 is running at 250k right now I suspect sunk valves which sucks but hey it still squeaks at 24ish mpg so can't complain... I think it wants a turbo though...

 

[PlumCrazy]

Here we go again...should be able to swap the head and put it back together again tomorrow after work. Got as far as I could last night....I'm getting pretty efficient at this job now lol

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Been a few years since I have posted on TRS regularly, but figured I would try to document this build.

Most of the OGs probably remember this truck:
View attachment 122748

Then I kind of stopped posting updates when life got busy.
Sold all my Ranger stuff besides the truck itself.....fast forward a few years.

Got back into a 2.3 Ranger as a DD, lowered it, and racked up a few hundred thousand miles before V8 swapping it:
View attachment 122747

Then snagged an 88 2.3 truck in need of TLC for a beater daily, but decided it was going to a get turbo motor and got back burner'd:
View attachment 122746

Then ended up with this 97 XL 2.3 truck with over 300K on the Odometer. Threw some Alcoas and fresh rubber on it ASAP.
View attachment 122749

Been using it as my winter beater and decided I wanted to do a low buck 4x4 conversion with parts out of the stash, a D30, and some leaf springs.
View attachment 122750
View attachment 122751

Plan is SAS and keep it as low as possible on 31s. Planning to use for DD activities and the occasional adventure into the woods. Open diffs and 2.3 should keep carnage to a minimum.

You should sell me the 1988....

 

[PlumCrazy]

You should sell me the 1988....

Not sure what it's worth these days... It has a hole in the hood now https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/threads/plumcrazys-88-supercab-2-3t-build.212230/page-6

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Not sure what it's worth these days... It has a hole in the hood now

Thread 'PlumCrazy's 88 SuperCab 2.3T Build'

Mar 9, 2025

Probably time I start a thread for this 88 SuperCab I have been tinkering on.

Bought it cheap running on 3 cylinders and super gross inside.

Tore it down and found a broken piston, transmission full of milky oil, and an ECU full of corrosion....safe to say I think it was flooded and likely hydro locked at some point.

Picked up a low mileage Mustang 2.3 for it and swapped over the 4 plug head and roller cam setup.

Scored a long tube header on Summit's clearance rack..so I ditched the FUBARed...

• PlumCrazy
• Replies: 98
• Forum: Members Street Trucks & Builds [1983-2011]

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I'd be hunting it for body parts for my 1988 tbh. Not too worried about anything else.

 

[PlumCrazy]

I'd be hunting it for body parts for my 1988 tbh. Not too worried about anything else.

I have a few half decent doors if you are looking for any

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I have a few half decent doors if you are looking for any

Bed, frame, and cab crossmembers are the ones on my list. Have fenders, doors, and hood.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Bed, frame, and cab crossmembers are the ones on my list. Have fenders, doors, and hood.

I have a pretty nice 92 long bed frame here. I stole the crossmember that goes over the tank and a few cab mounts already. If you need anything from it I am willing to let more bits go. There actually isnt a single good panel on my 88 lol. everything is either rusted or beat lol

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

I have a pretty nice 92 long bed frame here. I stole the crossmember that goes over the tank and a few cab mounts already. If you need anything from it I am willing to let more bits go. There actually isnt a single good panel on my 88 lol. everything is either rusted or beat lol

Ah, mine is x cab short bed.

And mine is a rust princess filled with spray foam insulation.

It's great to weld on.

 

[PlumCrazy]

Well...this all the further I made it over the last two evenings...

Turns out when using an 89 - 94 head on a 95+ truck you will have some modifications to do.

Step one...add holes on both sides of the head for the accessory drive brackets. The one M10 on the DR side could probably be left out and be ok since there is an M8 bolt that still braces the top of the PS/AC bracket...but on the PASS side the Alt/coil bracket only has two bolts down low and would not be very well mounted without the top bolt.

DR side: (scribe mark is where the hole needs added)

PASS side: (made a mess since it was thru hole so i had to remove the valve springs for cyl one to clean up the debris after)

Adding the holes isnt too difficult, but now I just have to remember to put sealer on that top bolt.

The much larger issue with the older head and 95+ lower intake is here: (the older lower intake had a coolant passage and the 95+ lower doesnt block it off)

I considered switching to the older two to four 89-94 intake setup, but then the EGR, EVAP, dipstick, harness, and fuel rails dont all jive well. So here is what I cam up with:

Milled a recess into the lower intake that included two mounting bolts and covered the coolant passage

Then made a filler plate with .25" stock and added a little countersunk 6-32 bolt to hold it in place for ease of install.

And viola...we are back to our regular scheduled programming

Should be smooth sailing from here, just upper intake, plug wires, and put the cooling system back together.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I was wondering how you might deal with that coolant passage, pretty elegant actually... On the one bolt that now needs sealant, I would be tempted to just make a stud to go there...

 

[PlumCrazy]

Should be smooth sailing from here, just upper intake, plug wires, and put the cooling system back together

Well that last line came back to bite me.

The fuel rail feed line disconnect was seized together, so I pulled the rail and lines from the filter on up with the lower intake. I figured I could work it apart in the vice easier than under the truck....I was successful...but didn't notice I had slightly distorted the female side of the disconnect until I had the entire truck back together and crawled under to pop the lines together and fought for over an hour with no victory.

Not a huge deal...I pulled the upper intake back off and snagged the rail off of my old 2.3 from my V8 swap truck and threw it all back together again. Primed the pump and tried to start it....immediately smelled gas and saw a steady drip from the 3rd injector area. Figured i probably didn't seat and o-ring or something so I pulled the intake again and had my wife prime the key while I watched.

Found this:

This rail didn't leak when I pulled that motor 3ish years ago....but I guess sitting the corner of the shop or maybe tweaking it when disconnecting the lines during removal broke the rust loose.

So back to parts pile I went. I had already scavenged my only other 95-97 rail, but I was able to snip off enough usable length from an 89-92 rail and heat it up and slip it onto the original rail from this truck.

Back in business!

I did make a trip to the local pull a part, but the only Lima truck they had was a 2.5 with the return-less style rail....but I did find a small block van to harvest a full Saginaw pump/serpentine setup from as well as a remote mount TFI setup I can use on my 86 F-200 truck.

Went for a test drive and all went well. Lifters are dead quiet after the oil got warmed up and it runs better than ever. I can actually use 5th gear now

Not sure if the Mustang cam or just having more than 90psi compression made the difference, but its a way more spunky truck than it was with the the previous two Ranger heads (both had severely sunken exhaust valve seats).

Drove to work today and it runs so smooth now. No shaking shifter and not a peep from under the hood at idle like the last head