2.9l Ford Suggestions?

[Fordguy77]

i have really considered doing a 302 or a 4.0l swap already. However my :princess:'s funds are rather low especially at this time of year. I know they run a MAP set up, so to my knowledge even adding headers and a better cam and such will not have a significant impact because the computer is not set up for these changes. I have done some reading on them and it is possible to switch over to a MAF system. I was wondering if any one has any personal experience with these motors, or any input on them. I have an extra 87 Bronco II laying around for parts, so if there is a way to get good useful power out of the 2.9l i was considering rebuilding the parts truck motor for hers so it would not interfere with her ability to get to work. So any suggestions or personal experiences with the 2.9L would be greatly appreciated.

[Warrlord]

Honestly, it's a waste of money on a 2.9 just to get a few more ponies out of it that the "butt dyno" will barely notice & draining your wallet at the same time. The easiest & least expensive swap would be the 4.0. After owning 2.9's & 4.0's, there's a huge difference in torque between the two. The 4.0 responds much better to bolt-ons than the 2.9 does for the same amount of "bolt-on" money.

You could do a, "do-it-yourself" turbo install for the 2.9 buying used parts off of ebay to juice up the 2.9. But there's other things to consider like, replacing the injectors to deliver more fuel, limiting the boost so you don't break pistons, buying premium fuel at every fill-up, mounting it in a suitable place for oil drain-back or making it a "remote" turbo setup with electric oil pump (dependable pumps are pricey), finding an intercooler that fits the vehicle, installing a "MAF" system so computer fuel delivery works optimum & it doesn't run lean causing piston problems, etc.

Or..............you could just drive the B2 as it is.

[Brody]

Honestly, it's a waste of money on a 2.9 just to get a few more ponies out of it that the "butt dyno" will barely notice & draining your wallet at the same time.

What Larry said and just what Sean is running into on his. You can add an after market air intake and better exhaust on the 2.9L, but that is about it. I would check Advance Adapters for conversion info to the 4.0L and availability of a 4.0L on craigslist or E Bay. I would also check to see if there are any other things you would have to deal with on the swap as far as mating the existing tranny and T case. Keep in mind, too, the fact that you can throw $5K into the 4 banger and get decent horsepower, much like a Yota 4 banger, but you still are left with a 4 banger. Most of the people who have gone this route have realized after the fact that they could have done a small block EFI Chevy or Ford for a lot less and much more substantial gains.

[Warrlord]

The 2.9 is a 6 cyl. It is essentially a puny pistoned, destroked, 4.0. The 4.0 is a direct swap with the ECU & wire harness from the donor vehicle. There are subtle differences though like the exhaust manifolds, not a problem if they come with the 4.0, The 2.9 is "V" belts & the 4.0 is all serp belt, bracketry is not an issue if they come from the donor vehicle. They share the same bellhousing bolt pattern. it'd be a good idea to obtain the transmission from the donor vehicle (if it's an auto) so the ECU will operate it properly.

[Brody]

The 2.9 is a 6 cyl. It is essentially a puny pistoned, destroked, 4.0.

I stand corrected...I realized it was a pune engine, but assumed from everyone complaining about the lack of power that it was a 4 banger...

[Warrlord]

I stand corrected...I realized it was a pune engine, but assumed from everyone complaining about the lack of power that it was a 4 banger...

That's cause it runs like one :lmao:

[brian pleasant]

4.0 is a good engine, i used to have aerostar van and use it for work with all those tools and even pulled 6 by 12 trailer, the drawbacks was the unibody frame broke off cuz weight on the traiiler but to my amazement that 4.0 runs strong. ditto 4.0! wish i still have it in garage! great engine.

[Fordguy77]

Honestly, it's a waste of money on a 2.9 just to get a few more ponies out of it that the "butt dyno" will barely notice & draining your wallet at the same time. The easiest & least expensive swap would be the 4.0. After owning 2.9's & 4.0's, there's a huge difference in torque between the two. The 4.0 responds much better to bolt-ons than the 2.9 does for the same amount of "bolt-on" money.

You could do a, "do-it-yourself" turbo install for the 2.9 buying used parts off of ebay to juice up the 2.9. But there's other things to consider like, replacing the injectors to deliver more fuel, limiting the boost so you don't break pistons, buying premium fuel at every fill-up, mounting it in a suitable place for oil drain-back or making it a "remote" turbo setup with electric oil pump (dependable pumps are pricey), finding an intercooler that fits the vehicle, installing a "MAF" system so computer fuel delivery works optimum & it doesn't run lean causing piston problems, etc.

Or..............you could just drive the B2 as it is.

After reading this i am gonna just go and do the 4.0 swap. i am really happy with my 91 ranger with the 4.0l in it. So i am sure i would be happy with the same kinda of performance in the B2. I would let her drive it the way it is, but it really scares me how little power there is to be had, granted i am 19 i have grown up driving 390's 400's and 460's, i don't see how anyone can stand no throttle response! Would it be a good idea to look for some cheap early year explorers to pull the motor out of? i believe those still had the a4ld trani like her b2, and have the 31 spline 8.8 and the better dana 35 up front right? which from what i have heard are basically bolt in swaps almost?

[Warrlord]

Yup, an early Exploder would make a perfect donor vehicle. The 91's to 94's can usually be had for pennies on the dollar. Too bad too many of those went away during the cash for clunkers fiasco.

[Fordguy77]

Yup, an early Exploder would make a perfect donor vehicle. The 91's to 94's can usually be had for pennies on the dollar. Too bad too many of those went away during the cash for clunkers fiasco.

I read somewhere they were one of the most traded in vehicles, but hey its gotta mean something if there were that many left on the road. Well sounds like i better get looking. hell even if it barely runs and is cheap sounds like a good deal to me, because i am a firm believer in rebuilding everything before you put it back into something. So you believe this is a good way to go? i considered a 302 but it seems like a lot more work and to worry about. What are your thoughts?

[Warrlord]

I read somewhere they were one of the most traded in vehicles, but hey its gotta mean something if there were that many left on the road. Well sounds like i better get looking. hell even if it barely runs and is cheap sounds like a good deal to me, because i am a firm believer in rebuilding everything before you put it back into something. So you believe this is a good way to go? i considered a 302 but it seems like a lot more work and to worry about. What are your thoughts?

If you have your heart set on swapping in an engine for more power, then yes, this is the easiest route. Please know that I'm only suggesting a 4.0 swap. Not pressuring you to go that route. Ultimately, the decision is yours. While a V8 swap is another great way to go, it won't be anywhere near as close to "bolt-in" as the 4.0 would be.

If you do get a complete Sploder for a donor, you'll get the rear 31 spline 8.8" & the high pinion D35 up front. Also, the wire harness, ECU, transmission, better t/case. Heck, if you wanted to, you could swap out the dashboard so it'd look like a 2nd gen B2 inside.

Your B2 fuel pump & tank will work with the swap, the sploder radiator will bolt directly in the B2, engine mounts are the same between the two, you can use the front part of the exhaust from the sploder. Lots of the little things will be easier less money spent with the 4.0 swap than it would with a V8 swap.

What happens if you get a great deal on a pretty decent sploder? Would you sell the B2 & lift the sploder? Just to tease ya, I'll show you some pics of my friend's sploder.

Here's what he started out with

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/ja1.jpg

Here's after a few hours in my driveway, those are 37's

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/ja2.jpg

Here's a couple on the trails

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/fc1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/Wheeling/hc27.jpg

[Fordguy77]

If you have your heart set on swapping in an engine for more power, then yes, this is the easiest route. Please know that I'm only suggesting a 4.0 swap. Not pressuring you to go that route. Ultimately, the decision is yours. While a V8 swap is another great way to go, it won't be anywhere near as close to "bolt-in" as the 4.0 would be.

If you do get a complete Sploder for a donor, you'll get the rear 31 spline 8.8" & the high pinion D35 up front. Also, the wire harness, ECU, transmission, better t/case. Heck, if you wanted to, you could swap out the dashboard so it'd look like a 2nd gen B2 inside.

Your B2 fuel pump & tank will work with the swap, the sploder radiator will bolt directly in the B2, engine mounts are the same between the two, you can use the front part of the exhaust from the sploder. Lots of the little things will be easier less money spent with the 4.0 swap than it would with a V8 swap.

What happens if you get a great deal on a pretty decent sploder? Would you sell the B2 & lift the sploder? Just to tease ya, I'll show you some pics of my friend's sploder.

Here's what he started out with

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/ja1.jpg

Here's after a few hours in my driveway, those are 37's

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/ja2.jpg

Here's a couple on the trails

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/fc1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/Warrlord/Wheeling/hc27.jpg

Well it was originally bought for a mild off road project as it was already lifted 6 inches when i got it with a skyjacker lift kit. My girlfriend was in need of a daily driver, so i bit the bullet and let her use it. Its currently running around on 31's even thou it is set up for 33's. I myself was gonna put in a 302 out of a mercury capri i bought. But long story short that motor is now in my friends 72 bronco. It just lacks the power i would like to have, and with it lacking the power on 31's i don't even want to get it up on the 33's yet. She wants more power so the idea of a engine swap has come back up. I totally understand that your only giving me your opinion, i just agree with it! haha. As far as getting a decent explorer and lifting it, it would have to be 2 door. I like the 4 doors but i am just a 2 door fan. Thank you for all your input it has really helped me. And at this point in time if i do end up doing a swap it will be a 4.0l just because of the fact it is easier, and they have great torque from my experience. I hauled 3 ton of hay on a trailer with my lil ranger with the back loaded down with 35 bails, and she pulled the whole way, just couldnt hit bumps :lmao: If you don't mind me asking, what all did you guys do to that explorer?

[Warrlord]

It had a 3" body lift when he bought it. We found a used 3" James Duff suspension lift for the front that came with 4" coils & extended radius arms with all the goodies. So we installed that up front. On the rear I cut off the leaf spring pads because Sploders are SUA. I welded them back on to make it SOA, that yielded about 5". We retained the stock leaf springs, it worked out good cause Sploder leafs are known for being flexy. I made some shock brackets & welded them to the factory sway bar brackets for the shocks & it worked out good once we got 6" lift shocks.

Yeah, the 4.0's aren't a powerhouse by any means but they do the job way better than a 2.9. In my youth, I was always used to driving cars such as my 351 Pinto, 289 Pinto w/NOS, 350 Camaro, 454 Monte Carlo SS, '62 Galaxie factory 406 tri-power, 429 CJ in a 72 F100, etc, so I had to get used to "lack-of-power" in these little V6's by comparison. I'm old now so it's not such an issue anymore even though the thought of building me another hot rod won't leave my brain. I just enjoy wheeling more now instead of going to the track every weekend & every Friday night.

When you start the swap, I hope it all goes good for ya.

[Mporter]

i swear ive seen that explorer around lakewood

[Fordguy77]

It had a 3" body lift when he bought it. We found a used 3" James Duff suspension lift for the front that came with 4" coils & extended radius arms with all the goodies. So we installed that up front. On the rear I cut off the leaf spring pads because Sploders are SUA. I welded them back on to make it SOA, that yielded about 5". We retained the stock leaf springs, it worked out good cause Sploder leafs are known for being flexy. I made some shock brackets & welded them to the factory sway bar brackets for the shocks & it worked out good once we got 6" lift shocks.

Yeah, the 4.0's aren't a powerhouse by any means but they do the job way better than a 2.9. In my youth, I was always used to driving cars such as my 351 Pinto, 289 Pinto w/NOS, 350 Camaro, 454 Monte Carlo SS, '62 Galaxie factory 406 tri-power, 429 CJ in a 72 F100, etc, so I had to get used to "lack-of-power" in these little V6's by comparison. I'm old now so it's not such an issue anymore even though the thought of building me another hot rod won't leave my brain. I just enjoy wheeling more now instead of going to the track every weekend & every Friday night.

When you start the swap, I hope it all goes good for ya.

Yeah i went from a 64 falcon sprint 289 to a 70 f100 with a 390 to the 77 with the 400, and a plymouth with a 440, and a 79 bronco with a 460. Now my daily driver is a 91 ranger 4.0l 5spd. the lack of power and size just makes it kinda suckish but it does great for what it is