Got to rebuild

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Jun 17, 2005 | 09:31 AM

Latroca1

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Joined: Jun 2005

Posts: 4

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From: Martinsburg

Got to rebuild

Hey all I aquired a 84' Ranger SB4wd w/a 2.8 for free. I have been out of work taken care of my son while my Fiance' works she gets full benefits and alright money.
But anyways I was thinking of starting a landscaping company and wanted to put the ranger to work. I have been messing with it now for little over a week and finally got it running.

The cylinders were loaded with fuel along with the 9 qrts of gas I drained from the oil pan.
I gave it a major tune up plugs,wires,cap,rotor button,pvc,battery,rewired the engine bay,adjusted the valve train and rebuilt the notoriuos feedback carb.
Well after I got rid of all the racket I have a new problem I heard a knock that I was thinking it might be the wrist pin or a lifter slapping around. So I pulled wires and narrowed it down to #4 cylinder so it's either a rod or wrsit pin.

So Now I have no option but to rebuild. I been searching four different sites and just can't seem to answer any of my own q's Wanted to get some oppinions on what to do and what would be the most beneficial and economical way but yet still have a little fun with it.

I also wanted to know what sort of options I may have as to rebuilding this motor.
Can I stroke it out with a 4.0 internals? I don't have alot of money and didn't want to be at this thing forever the sooner I get it done the better.

I was going to port the heads some while I have it torn down and open up some water passages. I have a durasparkII box from my SVO I am going to use with the stock carb capped off and buy a dizzy from advance. I just don't have 266.00 for a carb at this time.

My Ranger is 4wd with a 4 speed trans it doesn't have to scream but it would be nice to make it fun to play with but when it's time to work it will be there.

I already have my turbo stangs so getting from one stop light to the other in 2 secs. I am not worried about with this truck just want reliability.

Thanks for any info you all can give me.

Larry

Jun 17, 2005 | 07:33 PM

TigerDan

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Joined: May 2004

Posts: 12,170

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From: The hills of No. Calif.

I don't think any 4.0 parts will interchange with the old 2.8. Offenhauser sells, or used to sell an intake for that engine that will take a small (like 390 or 465 CFM) Holley 4 barrel. Add some headers, do the porting you mentioned, maybe change the cam, and balancing isn't a bad idea for a 60 degree V6. Those changes should be enough to wake it up a bit without breaking the bank. Have fun with it. -TD

Jun 17, 2005 | 09:28 PM

guessrow

Tuned

Joined: Jan 2005

Posts: 266

Likes: 0

how about a used longblock??

The problem with rebuilding is knowing where to stop. Doing it the "right" way can get time consuming and expensive; and you have to look at the value of the truck with and without a rebuild. If you just fix the major problems, you may have an engine the is still not mechanically sound. I gotta think the cheapest way would be to find a donor motor(from a junkyard??) and install all your new parts on there. You could probably get a whole motor for the price of new rings. The biggest problem I see would be finding one in fair condition. Then again, If the block was the same for a few years, it may not be that hard.

good luck, Jim

Last edited by guessrow; Jun 17, 2005 at 09:47 PM.