Quick power out of a 2.9???

[jaymegriffiths]

Use the M5OD trans behind your 2.9L. It will bolt right up to a 4.0L. Its a good transmission, too. There are plenty of 4.0L rangers that have been totalled to the point where you could grab the drivetrain, electrical, and more for cheap. I have no first hand experience in turbocharging a 2.9L, but I do know a lot about the V8 Swap. How much would you be willing to spend? A 4.0L could be had and done for under $1000 with some time and research.

I've done the V8 swap. If you do choose that route, then be warned that there HAS to be a serious budget and a lot of research. There will be considerable downtime, also. If you go out and purchase a cheap car and switch everything over, you will be dissapointed. Most cheap cars ford built in the 80s and early 90s were less than 200hp (which is what you want out of your 2.9L). Say you pick up a 302 and C4 transmission. This combo would be the cheapest to run. Start with a seasoned block, inspect for trueness, no cracks, stress... You can get away with using the stock crank and connecting rods if you don't plan on major power or RPM. Keith Black makes some great entry level hypereutectic pistons for under $300. Take it to a machine shop, have them punch it 30 thousanths over and install new cam bearings, hot tank, blueprint, and the rest of the works. There's little use for the crappy E6 and E7 heads, so look for a used set of GT40 heads from a cobra mustang or Gen 1 Lightning (I've seen them for under $300). Do a nice street port and polish, then have a machine shop cut a 3 angle valve job. Find yourself a decent street cam to match the mild engine combo. Something from 1500-5500rpm should be enough. Go carbureted, since it is cheaper and easier. A nice edelbrock performer manifold will work smoothly with the cam and heads. Go with a nice reliable ignition system. Then, a 570-600cfm will be plenty to feed a 302 at 5500rpm. I would bet an easy 250rwhp from this combination (which is about double what your engine is throwing at the ground). A C4 is as common as a bic lighter, so use that. Find yourself an 8.8" rear out of a 4.0L ranger. This will be the cheapest and easiest to swap. I recommend long tube headers, but for budget shorties woud be okay. Find them for under $150. You will also need a radiator. A HD 4.0L will be fine for a mild 302, otherwise there are V8 rads. Honestly, I would say I have $8000 in my V8 ranger, but I also have an AOD 4speed auto with lentech's bells and whistles along with a pricey TCI torque converter. I think you could shave $1000 off if you went with a rebuilt C4.

Now, a 4.0L will be cheaper and easier. Look at the engine bay of the 4.0L donor vehicle. Take pictures, so you know where everything is located. Since you have a 2.9L already, the 4.0 will bolt into the chassis with 4.0L motor mounts. Use the 4.0s accessories and exhaust manifolds. Harvest the WHOLE harness from the donor vehicle. This will be a little tricky but with a haynes or chilton manual from both your truck and the donor vehicle, this shouldn't be too much work. The fun with a 4.0L is that you have the options of "go fast" parts where as their isn't a whole lot for the 2.9L. The 4.0L won't have as much power as a mild V8, but the price and difficulty will make for a better, easier, and more enjoyable swap.

You will learn a great deal from this. Then, a couple years down the road when you've had enough of the 4.0L and the truck isn't your daily driver anymore, go ahead and use the learning experience to drop in a 302. Hell, you get bored of that a couple years later and turn it to a high revving 331ci. Maybe you want a supercharged 351... the list goes on. We all dream, but you have to start somewhere. I built my first 302 when I was 14 with my father helping me via advice and plenty of books. Got it all together and it has low oil pressure. Well, it sounded great for the 15 seconds of break in before we tear it apart again only to find that I forgot the gasket that sits between the block and the oil pump.

Honestly bud, you have plenty of posts ranging from transmission trouble to extremes like turbocharging and V8 swaps. Start of easy and learn. There will be no fun in an engine swap if you don't know what you're up against. Not trying to argue with you, but you shot down the 4.0L idea. You show little knowledge of turbochargers and how they work (which is essential to doing a swap like that). You argue with the V8 swap because it will cost too much. Which leaves you with one more option, purchas a new vehicle with the powertrain you want. But, you won't do that because of sentimental value. To make it easier for you, I will just answer your question. Quick power from a 2.9??? Nitrous! Lots and lots of Nitrous. Make sure the race counts, because the 2.9L will only make it through a couple shots. (that is, at 200hp)

OK thanks for your opinion. if forgot to mention my dad is a mechinc, same as my uncle and i have a body shop owning uncle too. engine swap would not be realistic as i dont have time or money for that. nor did i say i was going to turbo swap. i simply stated how can i improve my 2.9 period. instantly im flooded with everybody tellin me to 4 liter swap 5 liter swap... on and on and on... its not the technical side im interested in as i would have no problem 4 or 5 liter swapping it, just was not looking to get too extreme. forced induction is always a possibility, maybe not easy or budget freindly but an option. in fact its basically the only option thats a real challenge, therefore tempting to try! now,i noticed you said i dissmissed the idea of a 5 liter swap in which way i believe you are incorrect, and i dont believe you are correct. i am in fact more interested in 5.0 swap than you would believe. been talking about it for months. even looked at cars a while ago. now being i live in canada, the whole having to buy a winter vehicle because a v8 ranger would be useless on ice, is the only real obstacle. and down time during the swap. (which may only take a weekend.) also, although i am an inexperience mechanic i am gonna tackle some stupid project that i have no clue how to do but im gonna try. SO WHAT plus, this isn't a engine swap forum, its a 2.9 forum.
To address your comment on my tranny trouble, i recieved notice today that i am purchasing a 1991 Ranger, with a blown starter for 300 bucks. cheap as dirt. gonna fix the starter(free from friend of dads also a ranger fan) and if the engine is toast probably gonna swap the 4 liter outta it (assuming im correct and the 1991's have a 4 liter.)
and i think you said something about putting a m50d R1 in the truck? it already has one.
If you wanna be helpful for real just tell me if the 91's have a 4 liter. thats it.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

I put a cone air filter on the stock intake tube on my 2.9L, it added some torque and some top-end speed Also I cut off the entire original exhaust from the collector back and put on 2-1/2 inch exhaust with a cherry bomb, and it added more power and sounds pretty good once it got "broken in" also things like fuel injector cleaner help to on these older 2.9's, as i have found out. So yea just food for thought

THANK YOU!!! finally someone who isn't trying to convince me to do a swap. i will probably try doing something with the exhaust and see whats available as far as a cone filter. some suggested a regear but the thing is revving pretty good at 110 KM/H already, so i dont know.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

Re-gear, swap the engine or feed it boost, anything else and you're wasting your time.

any lower in gears would be too low. it's in its sweet spot now. i was kinda hoping someone would know someone with a bolt on turbo or small supercharger, but i may be outta luck. thanks anyway.

 

[fastpakr]

What gears do you have in it now?

Aside from butt dyno claims, you aren't going to hear much around here on true performance gains from chopping exhaust apart or adding in cone filters, etc. There's a reason for it - most cone air filters, cold air kits, etc, are scam products. Most exhaust chop jobs by themselves produce noise, and many people equate noise with power. They are NOT the same thing.

Also - please make an attempt to proof read your posts. The grammar is nearly incomprehensible on many of them. There are a lot of people here that would be happy to help each other out, but it's a lot more difficult when posts are hard to understand.

 

[BlackBII]

The reason everyone is suggesting a swap is beacuse modding a 2.9 isn't going to net you any gains without forced induction and or $$$$$ on internal mods.

Aftermarket filters, new exhaust etc isn't going to increase power on a noticeable level.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

What gears do you have in it now?

Aside from butt dyno claims, you aren't going to hear much around here on true performance gains from chopping exhaust apart or adding in cone filters, etc. There's a reason for it - most cone air filters, cold air kits, etc, are scam products. Most exhaust chop jobs by themselves produce noise, and many people equate noise with power. They are NOT the same thing.

Also - please make an attempt to proof read your posts. The grammar is nearly incomprehensible on many of them. There are a lot of people here that would be happy to help each other out, but it's a lot more difficult when posts are hard to understand.

Alright I will definetly consider Cleaning up my grammer. Spellcheck and MSN are ruining me...

 

[jaymegriffiths]

also, maybe your right as far as noise not equaling power and internal mods being the only way to (or forced induction.) Oh well, I won't bother trying then...

 

[Gotta_gofast]

That would be a record to do a quality V8 swap in a weekend.

The 4.0L was new for the 1990 model Ford Ranger

I mentioned that you already have the M5OD-R1 and that the transmission would bolt right up to a 4.0L V6, eliminating the need to hunt down a seperate transmission.

In previous threads you wanted to turbo your 2.9L and perform a V8 swap. You said your dad wouldn't help you and you would be doing this yourself. If I remember right, you were grasping at straws when it came to wiring and carb adjustment.

So, we've ruled out engine swaps. Thats fine. I think you will see the biggest performance gain (and MPG) if you ran through the truck and gave it a COMPLETE tune-up. Go through everything. Synthetic fluids in your trans, rear, engine. Exhaust will give you 1-2hp (thats it, not joking either) but it will give it a nice sound. Putting a cone on the end of your intake will only take away that 1-2hp you got from the exhaust. Put your hand by the factory airbox when the engine is warm. You will feel a lot of warm air being blown toward it. A better idea would be a high flow replacement filter. You will still draw cool air in and the engine can breathe easier, not to mention cleaner.

And one last note that has to do with both performance and the M5OD-R1. Your current M5OD-R1 has a low first gear of 3.72:1, second is 2.2:1, and third is 1.5:1. If the new transmission that you are swapping in lived behind a 4.0L the first three gears would be 3.4:1, 2.05:1, and 1.31:1. The taller gears might have a negative impact on off-the-line acceleration.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

Some other wacky ideas that might help you are

1)lower the vehicle
2)build a true Ram Air intake to boost the top end a little
3)Reduce weight
4)If you can, advance the ignition (you will have to run premium fuel)
5)step up to the next numerically higher ring and pinion ratio.

I cannot stress this enough, doing these things will not make a huge improvement or neck snapping increase.

 

[turbo cat]

you could easily turbocharge that 2.9L for around 300$-800$ if you shop around. I turbocharged my 4.0L for 150$. Find a T3 from a turbocoupe or fwd turbododge (skip on the mitsu turbos that some of them have look for airesearch or garret on the housing thats the ticket). They already have a wastegate equipt. Get a cheap ebay bov there actually pretty good o nthe quality. Either obtain free pipe out of a scrap bin at an exhaust shop (some shops will let you) or purchase mandrel bent pipe from someone like http://store.racing-solutions.org/. The manifolds can be flipped forward and bolt up nice. There has been a guy to also flipp the manifolds on a 2.9L. you will need a chop saw or sawzall to cut and fit the pipe. And you can pick up a cheap little gasless welder for under 200$ if you look around or borrow/rent a welder. Learn how to tack the pipes together and then take it to a fabrication shop to have them weld it all up. If you want to learn about turbocharing this is the best site to check out http://www.theturboforums.com Just don't go askingf a bunch of newb/already answered questions or you will be flamed. Use the search button and take your time to learn. Also read the turbo bible its listed under knowledge base after you click on that link.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

THANK YOU!!! finally someone who isn't trying to convince me to do a swap. i will probably try doing something with the exhaust and see whats available as far as a cone filter. some suggested a regear but the thing is revving pretty good at 110 KM/H already, so i dont know.

its becoming appearant that you are only going to argue untill we tell you what you want to hear. several people have already informed you that an aftermarket intake and exhaust will NOT improve power output AT ALL (theres such a thing as the placebo effect to explain why some people think it does).

i was not trying to convince you of a swap....if you want to stay with the 2.9 thats fine. but the ONLY cost effectiove way to increase the power output from it is with forced induction or nitrous. any kind of internal engine mods are going to be very expensive, and have a very low return.

and im not sure why you think you cant drive a v-8 in the snow. theres a reason vehicles are equipped with gas pedals and dont run wide-open all the time. to keep the tires from spinning on ice, you let off the gas. simple.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

Sure, you can install a turbo for under $1000. But what about proper tuning and engine management? Maybe prices are high here in Wisconsin but a dyno tune is about $100 an hour. Not to mention the factory computer isn't adjustable so you will most likely have to drop another $400 to get an SCT multi program switch chip or equivelant. I'm not sure if the 2.9L is speed density or MAF. The speed density isn't good for much. Im pretty sure the MAF sensor will be maxed out. Maybe I'm overlooking the turbo set up, but there just seems to be more involved than cramming air down its throat.

 

[BlackBII]

Sure, you can install a turbo for under $1000. But what about proper tuning and engine management? Maybe prices are high here in Wisconsin but a dyno tune is about $100 an hour. Not to mention the factory computer isn't adjustable so you will most likely have to drop another $400 to get an SCT multi program switch chip or equivelant. I'm not sure if the 2.9L is speed density or MAF. The speed density isn't good for much. Im pretty sure the MAF sensor will be maxed out. Maybe I'm overlooking the turbo set up, but there just seems to be more involved than cramming air down its throat.

It is a Speed Density, there are some '90 MAF 2.9's from Cali, and you could swap in a MAF if one were so inclined.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

That is true. I just think that if I could add 75+hp from a turbo setup for under a grand, I would have already done this to my 3.0L. Not trying to be a jerk, but this would be way more popular if it is that cheap. On the contray, I'm a little intrigued and interested as to how turbocat managed it. I might have a project on my hands soon if it really is that cheap! lol

 

[turbo cat]

Sure, you can install a turbo for under $1000. But what about proper tuning and engine management? Maybe prices are high here in Wisconsin but a dyno tune is about $100 an hour. Not to mention the factory computer isn't adjustable so you will most likely have to drop another $400 to get an SCT multi program switch chip or equivelant. I'm not sure if the 2.9L is speed density or MAF. The speed density isn't good for much. Im pretty sure the MAF sensor will be maxed out. Maybe I'm overlooking the turbo set up, but there just seems to be more involved than cramming air down its throat.

Keep the boost under 10 psi and it should be fine with a FMU/wideband. Keep the oem injectors and FPR. Add a step bigger fuel pump to make sure you dont run out of flow. Out of boost the truck will drive as it would normally with the oem ecu and injectors. Once into boost the fmu will raise fuel pressure to trick the injectors into adding more fuel. There are adjustable FMUs that can adjust the increase rate. Like a 10:1 ratio will increase the fuel pressure 10 psi per 1 lb or air pressure. Use a wideband liek the AEM uego (found all over for 200-250$) to dial in the AFRs which should be 11-1 to 12-1 AFR under boost. leave the timing alone. If it knocks back the timing off until it dosen't. if he converts to a MAf setup i doubt the MAF will peg under 8-10 somehwere. Thats where my setup didnt want to add anymore fuel. I keep the boost at a steady 5psi that comes on a 2000 and stays until redline. I draw thru the oem MAF with an oem ecu with only an increase in injector size from 19# to 21#ers. Also no 02 feedback

So out of boost the truck will be just as it is now and drivability will be the same and fuel economy.