THE UPGRADED 2.9s

[mdaddymoney19]

I have been reading around and I have learned that the 2.9s were notorious for cracking their blocks. i read on to find that ford upgraded the engine to fix these problems in 89. anybody know roughly how much life an upgraded 2.9 might have if well maintained??

 

[holyford86]

the blocks on 2.9s do not crack, the heads do, I know the unimproved 2.9s are capable of atleast 280k without a head replacement, I have one in my garage if you would like to see it. the newer ones its hard to say, I'm working on 130k on a '90 2.9 right now.

 

[tanbuddy]

I think i just cracked my head at 210,000 but i wont know for sure until i rip it apart. I know the heads were off by the origional owner, but i dont know if he replaced them or just did a valve job on them.
I think there was another head made in the 91 rangers that was better yet, but i dont know for sure. There was also a better head for european versions of the engine, i think they were called world heads.

 

[jaymegriffiths]

i have an 88 with 275k, runs perfect. well maintained, but needed valve cover gaskets. thats pretty much it for motor. sept for a douse of injector cleaner and a water pump about a month ago do to an unfortunate snow pile destroying mission.

 

[UnderMedikated]

141k cracked head?

I was not aware of 2.9 head issues untill I found this web site. My truck makes plenty of unusual ticks/knocks/clatters both when you start it and when you drive it. It's gotten worse so now it's parked. I'm 99 percent sure one of the heads has a good size crack in it. My Ranger SC is in good shape for an 88 with the exception of the driveline vibration that I can't seem to fix so I'll drop 1500.00 in it to keep it going for a couple of years. It needs some paint work so will try to do that this spring. You never know what to do in this situation as it's nothing but a crap shoot at this point. New trucks are cheaper now that we are in a global depression but still way too much and the taxes and registration alone would be 1500.00 where I live.

 

[UnderMedikated]

You don't know what the mileage is on an 80's Ranger if you bought it used as the odometers roll over. Mine was bought in December 1998 with 88k on it. I'm almost certain I was screwed and it had 188k on it. 2.9's can go for alot of miles with intensive care but 225k is pushing it big time. If you have had a Ranger that long you have dumped $$ into it. If you say you haven't-well?

 

[UnderMedikated]

Lets not forget the starters, alternators, A/C compressors and all the other bolt on items that have been replaced. I'm on my 3rd starter (Motorcraft), my third alternator and waterpump (both Motorcraft) and my 2nd radiator. Let's not forget my third TF ignition module. It's also been towed 4 times due to catastrophic failure. This is within 50k and I only drive 5k a year easy on the road. I rarely ever pull a trailer. Despite all this I'll keep it as it's paid for and alot less than a replacement. Did I get a lemon?
Judging from the forums I don't think so.

 

[holyford86]

mine has rolled over... twice... I bought it from the original owner with roughly (2)34,000 miles, it now has 282k but I changed the motor at 280k because it was consuming too much oil and was starting to make some lower end noise, Ironically the 280k motor had no lifter tick but the 130k one does, the replacement has the 89tm heads too, which adds to the piece of mind a little. The world products cylinder heads are an aftermarket replacement for the 2.9 and they are far superior to the ford castings in durability.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Ive got well over 300,000 hard miles on my 2.9.

C marshall had a BII he delivered papers with....almost 700,000.

2.9s either die painfully young...or live well beyond there years.

later,
Dustin

 

[Jspafford]

I have 158K on my 2.9 in the B2. I've had it out and replaced the oil pan gasket, but otherwise it's untouched.

Still runs like hell and pulls strong.

 

[MagnaV30]

375,000km or 233,000mi and still purring along just fine here.

 

[UnderMedikated]

My 88 2.9 is not using any oil but I think due to the possible head issue I may have jacked the cam bearings etc. Am I jumping the gun with a new (rebuilt) engine? Maybe? The truck isn't as bad as I make it sound (except for the ignition module issue). I make alot of short trips and do not drive it much (50k in 10 years) and that is much harder on it than alot of highway miles. I use my truck within it's limitations. I properly maintain it but it is not what I consider a reliable vehicle compared to others I own(ed) such as my old Camry. Also, why did the Ford idiots not use the Cologne 2.9 in the U.S.?
It's a far superior motor.

 

[holyford86]

the 2.9 used in the US is a cologne motor, so are the 4.0 and the 2.8

 

[ranger]

i think you just have a lot of problems the only thing i have had to do is replace the alternator and the clutch