hey fellas , i just bought an 87 ranger ext cab, 2wd 5 speed, well the clutch is shot so im in the middle of replacing that, well i didnt know the head gasket was blown till i got it home, i heard it run and it ran fine, so i had it towed home, and found the oil to be full of water while checking it out, well getting back to the clutch for a while, i needed to drop the pipes in order to make clearance for the tranny, so i soake the two pipe bolts on each manifold with p.b., and ran it for a moment to heat, the bolts didnt budge, i didnt want to break them, so i knew i had to pull the heads, i soake the manifold bolts and figured they would come out easier, well the were severly deteriorated fomr heat and rust, they just wrung off with out resistance, i do have clearance for th tranny now, but i was wanting to know if anyone knew where to get NEW exhaust manifold bolts, advance, autozone, has no applications, and i can only find B.S, links when i tried to search for them online, any ideas?
also, just out of being curious, can 2.9 liter components ( distrbutor, intake, etc.) be fitted to a ohv 4.0 long block? i know these two engine are identical.
i may call the dealer, i never conisdered i might give it a try, its just every time i had to see the ford parts department for vehicle parts 20 years and older they say they have been discontinued, my 87 t- bird as an example, i was hoping to avoid the dealer's pricey bolts (if availible) i might get if thats the only place to get them. i have to buy new head bolts, (why dont you have to on a 2.8?) thats $40, and the gasket set thats $100, aint no tellin what dry rotted plastic lines and connectors will break while doin this, and what kinda machine work the heads may need, i got money tied up in ths truck, i didnt expect to spend.
I don't have any better suggestions for finding the bolts, though maybe you could find used ones at a wrecking yard.I don't recall them being anything special so you may be able to use a readily available bolt from a parts or hardware store.
What concerns me more is the water in the oil. Be sure to check the heads carefully for cracks. 2.9s are very prone to cracking the heads when they get overheated. Read this for more info:
thats a nice article about the 2.9 head replacement, i am aware of the reputation of the 2.9 liter heads cracking, im just crossing my fingers that mine havent cracked, im not for sure if this motor has been run hot, it stays at normal temps when i ran, do the heads crack naturally just from faulty castings? im gonna print the aricle, thanks.
wow, summit racing wants 330.00 dollars each for the world product's 2.9 liter heads, they are said to be an improvement over the factory design, if i have to go that far i may just overhaul the whole engine, the odometer reads 91,xxx im not sure if thats 091,xxx or 191,xxx, the previous owner doesnt know. i would go with 191,xxx.
The blocks on these are pretty decent, it's just the heads that are the weak link. As far as I know the heads don't just crack on their own, it takes some overheating to cause it. The castings are pretty thin in places, and the WP heads have extra material in those spots to beef them up.
Mine was running fine when I got it but had the water in the oil and the previous owner told me that it had gotten hot hauling a load of firewood on a hot day.
The earlier Rangers had undersized radiators and it often didn't take much to get them hot. After I redid mine I bought a bigger radiator out of a later ('91) Ranger with a 4.0 from the wrecking yard and never saw the temp gauge go above normal after that.
i pulled the heads off today, they look ok, no cracks, i looked in all the areas that were thin, im gonna give them a thourogh cleaning to further examine for cracks, the head gaskets look as if water leaked past gasket into oil, im confident the heads arent cracked, the thin design has me al little concerned, i broke all but two exhasut manifold bolts, and i tried every thing to avoid breaking them, im just gonna have to easy out them.
It's worth the few bucks it would cost to have a machine shop Magnaflux them, there may be cracks that aren't apparent to the naked eye. I was looking all over the combustion chabers on mine, it wasn't till someone told me to check the top of the heads around the valves on #1 and #6 cylinders that I found them. I sprayed them with carb cleaner and that soaked down into the cracks and made them show up better.
is around the 1st and 6th cylinder valves where cracks usually form?
im getting ready to remove all valves for a complete cleaning then inspection, if i dont see anything then i will see a machine shop.
well, i found the crack, after cleaning the passenger side head good i found a crack from along side the #4 spark plug hole up across the valve cover gasket surface, and on under the valve spring, i was asking earlier in this thread, could i bolt my 2.9 components to a 4.0 ohv block? would it run? these are identical motors, i have access to a fairly fresh 4.0, or atleast would a set of 4.0 heads work with a 2.9?
Bummer...I was afraid of that, but I can't say I'm surprised.
I can't answer your other question from personal experience, but as far as I know most parts will not work as there were subtle differences (and some not-so-subtle!) between the two engines. The bore centerline, deck height and main and rod bearing sizes are the same between them, but the 4.0 has a longer stroke as well as a larger bore.
People have talked about using 4.0 heads on a 2.9 in the past, but there are differences in the water passages. Check out this thread:
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2.9 exhaust manifold bolts
