I was given this truck today...

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 12/23/2019 at 20:28 • Filed to: None

4

26

89k original miles but the engine is toast from overheated. 2.9L. There are essentially none 2.9L engines available out there used. 31 years old, after all... Would anything else fit?

CB > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 20:35

4

Ranger? Ecoboost swap.

/terrible idea

blacktruck18 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 20:41

11

An old 5.0 / 302. I had a friend with a Fox Body 5.0 swapped RCSB 2wd Ranger in high-school, i t was a fun little truck.

Boxer_4 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 20:51

7

The Windsor V8 302/5.0 can be made to fit fairly easily.

The 4.0 Cologne V6 should fit with hardly any work, at least physically. It’s basically an updated 2.9, though some years have timing chain issues.

I think the SHO V6,  and by extension the SHO V8, can be made to fit. Ford did a one off into one of these Rangers back in the late 80s. 

RacinBob > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 20:52

3

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1134722-2-9l-swap-with-4-0l.html

pip bip - choose Corrour > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 21:00

2

LS swap



jimz > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 21:14

1

any Cologne V6 should fit, 2.8, 2.9, or 4.0. and the 3.0 Vulcan.

ranwhenparked > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 21:45

0

Sweet, my dad had a really base ‘83 when I was a kid, think the automatic transmission was the only option. Still remember the whistling wind noise at speed, due to the (lack of) aerodynamics. My Town Car from the same era had the same issue. 

Grindintosecond > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 22:16

0

A 3850! Cause why not, and it's probably a much better than 2.9.

Aremmes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 23:18

1

A 4.0 OHV from a 1990 -2000 Ranger/B-series should drop in with not much work outside of fuel management.

Wacko > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/23/2019 at 23:25

2

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/24/2019 at 00:38

0

Nice! And here I was all happy about getting a free Chinese dirt bike, and you get a rust free Ranger :)

Derpwagon > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/24/2019 at 00:51

0

K24

Long_Voyager94 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/24/2019 at 07:25

0

302, 4.0L as others have stated.

That looks like a hella nice truck!

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/24/2019 at 09:16

0

I have soft spot for these. My dad had a few until he switched to a Tacoma’s in like 2002.

Some one else suggested a second gen  SHO v6 swap. That would be wild, Altho I think for the amount of work you’d be better off with a 5.0. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > jimz 12/25/2019 at 18:04

0

What do you say regarding the 4.0 Duratec versus some V8 or other? What will bolt to the existing automatic transmission that came with the 2.9?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 12/25/2019 at 18:56

1

The transmission, AFAIK, is good. From the 2.9, would a 5.0 bolt up?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Long_Voyager94 12/25/2019 at 18:58

0

Would both of those bolt up? I bet the 302 is a well understood power plant with many aftermarket goodies available. If I had a torquey 250 HP from a 302 I could have a drift missile.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher 12/25/2019 at 18:59

1

This thing is too clean and straight not to make a drift missile out of it. And it could be a pleasant daily driver as well.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Aremmes 12/25/2019 at 18:59

0

I’ll look at this. Does it bolt up?

Aremmes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/25/2019 at 20:54

0

Certainly. The 4.0 is just a bored and stroked 2.9, and was mated to the same transmissions.

Aremmes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/25/2019 at 21:03

0

FWIW, the 4.0 lived on until 2010 in the Ranger, Explorer, and Mustang in SOHC form (same block, different heads) , making considerably more power than the OHV version, but in your case it would require replacing the engine management hardware. Just another option if you're up to it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Aremmes 12/26/2019 at 00:00

0

Engine management hardware ...?

What about the venerable 5.0 HO?

Aremmes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/26/2019 at 00:27

0

ECU, ignition bits, wiring harness, you know. The 4.0 SOHC in my Explorer has port fuel injection and distributor-less ignition, for example . With the OHV version you could keep those already on the truck, so you’d swap only the long block.

The 5.0 should fit, you might only need to swap the bell housing on the transmission and make or find appropriate engine mounts.

Long_Voyager94 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/26/2019 at 06:51

1

No idea, but there’s plenty of people who have already done it that would be able to tell you.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Aremmes 12/26/2019 at 13:42

0

I am thinking Crown Vic donor car and 4.6L. What do you think of that idea? How would the rear end fit?

Aremmes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 12/26/2019 at 14:58

0

That’d be an ideal setup, although IIRC the DOHC version is suuuuper wide and you might not find enough space under the hood fo r it; the SOHC version is more compact . I don’t know if the Crown Vic’s axle would fit; I would keep the diff you have at first and see how it goes before swapping it . If so, the drive shaft might need to be resized, but people do that all the time in similar situations.