Rebuild VS Bigger Engine

[cp2295]

I rebuilt my 3.0. Died within 10k (rod bearing spun). So I decided screw the 3.0 ill swap a 4.0 in. What you'll need is a new tranny, wire harness, PCM, and of course engine. Make sure you keep tranny type (auto vs manual) for ease of swap and keep it within the gen range. The swap was bolt in, and I love the 4.0.

 

[RangerNielsen]

Make sure you keep tranny type (auto vs manual) for ease of swap

I vowed to myself that I would never buy an auto, I hate them. So I would stay with a manual, because manuals are better than automatics.

 

[cp2295]

Yes definitely I did the same! In that case I had to rewire my 3.0s harness to work with the 4.0 computer and it's sensors but it really isn't that hard. If you decide to go that route pm me and ill tell you how to do it. Saved me $450 from ford, since I could not find any manual 4.0s at the junkyard to get a harness from, but the computers are not too hard to find on the web or at the JY.

A 4.0 auto harness will not work. Didn't for me at least, maybe it may for you though since your in a different gen, but you must get a manual PCM. The auto will work but you won't be able to go past 3k rpms because it'll think you are in park and you'll have a bunch of cels because of it

 

[RangerNielsen]

I would probably end finding a wrecked donor. My only concern is that I have never seen a 4.0 with an oem manual t case.

 

[RangerNielsen]

After doing some research and talking with RonD, it sounds like the truck has had a blown head gasket since before I bought it, and it sounds like it was an over heating issue, which I am concerned about warpage now. I believe that one of the previous owners put head gasket repair in it to stop the cylinder leaking into the coolant, and with me flushing the cooling system multiple times, I washed out the head gasket sealer. The coolant valley under the thermostat is also orange, which leads me to think head gasket sealer was involved. The tune up may have played a role in the reblowing, too.
Any who, due to financial restrictions and the need/want for a truck again, I think I am just going to swap in a junk yard engine, with new clutch, flywheel, and slave. I don't have the time, money, or space to do a full rebuild, I may hold onto my 3.0 and rebuild it then swap again.

 

[RangerNielsen]

I'm probably going to end up doing this in a more complicated and more expensive manner than needed, but I have a couple questions.

Could I use the 2.9 out of my '88 ranger for the time being? That truck passed emissions on its last go so I should be able to pass if it's in the '94.
If I did that route, would I need to use fm146 and the bw1350 out of it, too? Would my drive shafts work with the m5od and bw1354m? If the front won't work at all without modifying it, I can just run without it since we're getting into summer, I shouldn't need 4 wheel drive, and I don't have the shift linkage for the '88 anyway haha.
How hard would it be to use the '94 wiring harness or would I have to use the 2.9's?
If I get a "junkyard" used engine, would it matter if it came from an auto or manual?

I'm not going to be running a/c on either the junk yard engine or the rebuilt, would this be a major PITA or is it as simple as removing the compressor and lines? I think I would leave all the dodads so if I want to go back to a/c, I could.

If I buy a junkyard engine (probably only if I can't use my 2.9), would I need to buy engine parts for that car or could I just keep saying a '94 ranger 3.slow 4x4?

 

[bobbywalter]

it...the 1988 engine, will never pass emissions in a newer vehicle.



you need the same year or newer powertrains and emissions equipment to be compliant. but if there is a veci you can stick on from the same year 2.9 ranger you can get by on a visual, and pcm upgrade. if yours is a 94, thats not gonna happen. iirc 92 was the last year for the 2.9.


apart from that, yeah running the 2.9 powertrain is easily doable for any experienced mechanically inclined person.

Pistons are hard-parts, not really subject to wear or damage unless something else is wrong. Melting a piston is the result of extremely high combustion temps rather than years or miles on the piston itself.

About 95% of the melted pistons I have ever seen were on diesels, almost always on a cylinder that had an injector hang open. Those ones don't slag the piston, but burn a small hole in the middle.


The other 5% were on engines that had been built and boosted and never had the injectors upgraded to keep up with full-boost.

i dont work with engines as extensively as i did at one time, but i strongly(and its rare i disagree with this guy) disagree about the pistons once they are over a certain age or have been in a overheat or headgasket pop situation..... they bust all the time and in all sorts of ways. i have seen the 2.9 in particular lose the crowns and skirts on reman engines. several drivability issues with them turned out to be cracked ring lands on fresh longblocks.....be close on the compression tests but catch it on the leakdowns.

So I have a different idea that I may regret. Could I just do gaskets and probably piston rings? If I go that route, what else would be wise to replace while the engine is torn down that much? I wouldn't be pulling the engine if I went this route. Or I should so I can replace the clutch and such as I would originally? Pulling the engine itself is not an issue, I have all the tools and such to pull the engine, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.


If you guys have seen my other posts, in your opinion, should I just pull the whole engine and transmission and transfer case (be it one unit or separating them)? I was going to take the trans and t case to a shop and see if they need work. They're both manuals though. 178k miles.

yeah, used engine time.....the 2.9 setup till you have money or need to smog if need be...

 

[RangerNielsen]

it...the 1988 engine, will never pass emissions in a newer vehicle.

you need the same year or newer powertrains and emissions equipment to be compliant. but if there is a veci you can stick on from the same year 2.9 ranger you can get by on a visual, and pcm upgrade. if yours is a 94, thats not gonna happen. iirc 92 was the last year for the 2.9.

So essentially it would be pointless to throw the 2.9 in from my '88? I bought the '94 almost a year ago and still haven't put it in my name due to its inability to pass emissions; It came from a county where they didn't do emission testing. My state doesn't do visual inspections, thankfully. My state is also dumb and won't let me get the truck in my name and just not have it registered until it will pass emissions. So if the 2.9 has a snowballs chance in He'll of passing emissions in the '94, I may not go down that road. I would use the 2.9 while I rebuild my 3.0 or found a bigger engine to drop in there.

apart from that, yeah running the 2.9 powertrain is easily doable for any experienced mechanically inclined person.

How "easily doable" for said experienced mechanically inclined person. This is my first time pulling a fuel injected engine and will be my first engine swap.

yeah, used engine time.....the 2.9 setup till you have money or need to smog if need be...

I'll use the 2.9 if I can and get the '94 to pass emissions and registered, but it's sounding like that would be a waste of time...

 

[stmitch]

Way more trouble than it's worth to try and put your 2.9 in there. It's almost certain that the older engine wouldn't be able to pass emissions tests in your newer truck. If the 2.9 won't pass emissions in the 88, then it definitely won't pass in the 94. Even if it would pass the sniff test, they might fail you because a 94 ranger wasn't offered with a 2.9.

Seems to me like you have 2 realistic options here. You can either attempt to fix the 2.9 up so that it passes emission and drive the 88 around, or you can swap the 3.0 out with a donor in a weekend and have your 94 back on the road.

Without knowing the history of the 88/2.9 truck, I think it might be cheaper and easier to try and track down a used 3.0 and swap it in, especially since the 88 isn't in your name.

Edit: there's a Taurus with a 3.0 and a blown trans in the Seattle CL for $500. Buy it, pull the engine, swap the necessary parts and part it out or scrap the rest along with what's left of your current 3.0 to make some of the money back. You might even be able to make an overall profit on the deal if you get lucky.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/pts/4429873605.html

 

[RangerNielsen]

The 88 did pass emissions on its last round. The 94 can not. The 88 is a solid running engine, transmission is getting tired, but oh well. We don't do visual inspections, only sniff testing, so if I could get the 2.9 to easily work in the 94, that would be awesome, but it sounds like it won't work. We only test the how many chemicals the engines are putting out and it has to be under 400 what ever measurement they use for "cruising" and idling. The 94 passed the cruise at about 315/400 and failed the idle at 1800/400... I think they sabotaged my test a little as well...

I'm not too keen on driving the '88 around for it's ugly, Lincoln locked rear diff, and has like no luxuries, even the heater barely works.

Would a Taurus engine work? Aren't the front wheel drive? Or could I magically make the FWD work in a RWD/4WD manner while I rebuild my current 3.slow? Research is showing that it is a front wheel drive, will it work for my needs, or easily made to work for my needs?

And I would need to find someone who can tow a trailer for me since my diesel and trailer are out of commission...

 

[RangerNielsen]

I'm at a major dilemma and I apologize if it seems like I am being ignorant or not reading the feedback, I don't mean to sound ignorant and I am reading all the feedback but I want to make sure I am making a good choice.
Possibility 1) get the Taurus, drag it home, put new ranger head gaskets on it (will need to be done), swap over a couple other parts from my ranger and drop it in the truck and rebuild my 3.0 and swap again.

Or

Possibility 2, since I have the Rangers engine torn down to the block, still in the truck (I got bored and grabbed my tools and got busy), could I clean the top of the pistons and slap some gaskets on it and put it back together and run it until I can get a full rebuild bought? I'm pulling what's left of the engine during the weekend anyway for the fun of it.

So, keeping in mind that either of those two possibilities are only temporary and will only see a few miles and wheeling trips, what is the absolute bare minimum I could get away with? I do not have the available funds to do the full rebuild right now. Essentially, can I get new gaskets and slap it all back together for the time being, re using the head bolts and similar? And would it be an issue that I did not note which rocker arms and push rods went where? If I end up using the Taurus engine (which my parents roll their eyes at), I will keep track of that.

 

[stmitch]

A Vulcan 3.0 is basically the same in FWD and RWD applications. You'd need to use your Ranger head gaskets and intake/exhaust manifolds, but the short block (block and heads) is interchangeable. It's probably a good idea to put the Ranger oil pan on the new engine too. I know the Taurus pan will work on a 98+ 2WD Rangers but it may be different on an I beam 4WD truck. This means a Vulcan 3.0 from a Tempo/Topaz, Aerostar, Probe, Taurus/Sable, or Mazda B3000 will work as a donor engine. If you're looking at an engine from a Taurus/Sable, just make sure it's the Vulcan OHV 3.0 and not the Duratec DOHC 3.0 since they used both (I believe the Vulcan was the only 3.0 offered in 97, so the car in the add should have the right engine but double check).

Now, on to your possibilities. If blown head gaskets are all that was wrong with your 3.0, then it's a relatively cheap, easy fix. You'd need new head gaskets and head bolts. The head bolts on the 3.0 are 'torque to yield' bolts which means they stretch when installed. This makes them hold stronger, but it also means they can't be reused, because they can only be stretched once. So, if you're confident that head gaskets are the only issue, you can clean off the mating surface for the heads, slap new gaskets on, and put it all back together with new head bolts.

The order of the pushrods and rocker arms shouldn't be critical. Just make sure you don't end up having extra parts when you're done, and tighten everything down to the correct specs.

 

[RangerNielsen]

I believe that is all, but I'm not sure why it burned oil...I'm just gonna slap gaskets and head studs on it and put it all together and hope I can pass a sniffing. Pulling the test of the engine out today.

 

[RangerNielsen]

Well. After much thinking, and a few acts of boredom, I am going to start on the bottom of the engine and rebuild it up to the intake. All new parts aside from the block casting, head casting, and intake manifolds.

Brand new clutch will be obtained, if I can get my old flywheel off... I should of pulled my fan clutch off when the engine was still in the truck and everything was still attatched...

Brand new header back exhaust will be installed, at some point. Thinking a out utilizing that hole in the bed for a stack

Pictures will be to come since this will now become my rebuild thread.

 

[RangerNielsen]

And also, 4 of my head bolts, 3 bell housing bolts, and a motor mount nut were not torqued down. The motor mount I got off with out using a socket. And the 2 motor mount nuts were different sizes. I really hope whoever worked on this truck before me doesn't want to make a career in auto mechanics, especially after the fiasco with my wheel bearings.