My 89 rangers 2.9 runs strong as ever but it is tired, at 220k it likes its oil and now started letting coolant into the oil so with that and the low oil psi it has I'm going to swap in a less used 2.9 from the parts b2.
The story with the b2 is seven years ago they spent spent a lot of money on tune up stuff (I believe this as I moved lots of it to the ranger) then drove they it for a few months and had lots of drive shaft problems and parked it (the CV drive shaft is bad).
I plan on all new gaskets and checking the heads but is there anything else I should look at or do for power while I'm at it?

 

I would at least pull the oil pan and check the lower end. If the rod bearings look OK then the mains will be to. Pull the valve covers and make sure it's clean there. Any more than that means pulling the heads and checking the cylinder bores for wear. Not sure you want to go that deep into the engine.
Although with the engine on a stand the only cost is the gaskets.

 

Put the donor 2.9 on the engine stand and took off the valve covers / oil pan. Way cleaner than my rangers 2.9 and is good and tight. The varnish smell is quite strong from sitting.

 

I can see cross hatching in the cylinder walls and is very clean for as old as it is, so I'm less worried about whether it's good and more what can keep it that way.
I am replacing all gaskets and seals, is there any mods that help with the oiling problems the 2.9 has other than the cam thrust bearing?

 

The only oiling mods I did to the 2.9 in my B2 was drill out the rocker shaft oil passage in the heads to match the diameter in the block. Update the cam bearings to the new style also.

 

I've got the donor engine apart and just started reassembling it and the old engine ready to lift out. I've been busy as all get out lately an now it's corn planting time so I'm not going to get much else done with it for a while.

 

How big of a job is replacing the cam bearings? Pulling the cam would be ez right now. On the other hand the original engine had 220k with lousy maintenance and ran fine with 15-40w and the b2 was babied to the point they couldn't afford it,

 

The cam bearings are about as deep into the block as you can go. They need to be driven in and out with a special installation tool. There are plenty of YouTube videos on how to do it.

If I'm at a point in a rebuild where I'm replacing main/rod bearings and piston rings, I always try to replace the cam bearings. They're about $30 for the set. Cheap insurance.

 

I've never changed the camshaft bearings in an engine, even if I rebored a high-miler. These bearings lead a very easy life, and since the rest of the engine appears to be in excellent shape, it's hard to imagine that the camshaft bearings aren't excellent as well.

 

To each his own I guess. IMHO $30 is cheap insurance on an engine that has a poor oiling design anyways.

When I pulled them out of my 2.9 with only 140,000 miles (regular oil changes) they were worn down to the copper.

 

Everything on the donor motor looked and measured like a new engine, I put all new gaskets and seals in the engine and it's worked out absolutely great! 3000 miles and 0 leaks, Oil pressure is perfect and runs considerably cooler than the old motor! I thought the cam bearings on my old engine would be shot but at 220k they looked very good, the main bearings and connecting rod bearings were completely shot.