Hi y'al!! My name is Mike, I live in Greeneville, new daily drive I bought 16 days ago is the 98 Ranger in my signiture. Had to buy it to get back and forth to work...Morristown,TN which is 30 miles one way. I'm a Registered Nurse in the Critical Care Unit. Been in the medical field sence highschool. I started out as an EMT worked for the local Ambulance Co., then 6 years in the USAF as a corpsman mostly in the ER, went to Nursing school after that, Critical Care class in 1988, worked in ICU/CCU, was a flight nurse, moved to Greeneville, TN in 1997. Worked in Johnson City Medical Center's Level 1 Trauma Center for 4 years, and now back in CCU. I mostly check and post in the Ranger & B-Series Forum as I'm still working on my 87 Ranger, which I bought it brand new in Sac, CA. I love it more than my 98.....and I will never part with it. Now that I have another Ford to drive daily, I need to dig into the little 2.9 and find out why I'm getting exhaust bubbling into my radiator's overflow tank. I hope it is only a blown head gasket. I also need to repaint my whole truck...the poor thing started loosing it's paint 2 years after I bought it. Love to bass fish!!!!

 

I smell project!!!!


Since you have a new daily driver.......

A 302 5.0L V8 will move your little 87 Ranger like nothing else you have seen. The swap is very simple.

 

Nah - go with a 3.8 and FI, now that fuel is a critical issue.

It'll hustle....

 

And the big bull said to the little bull, no lets not run down into the vally and get a cow, lets walk down and get them all!
I love my 87 Ranger just as it is. The little 2.9 has served well...I got almost 500,000 miles out of the original engine...mobil 1 filters, castrol 10W40, Duralube, and changed every 3,000 miles.

 

My Poppa was an aircraft engineer - and he LOVED 4 cylinder engines....

I can't argue with you, he knew his stuff.

Exhaust in the water jacket is a sign of a bad head gasket though.

CHECK THE OIL! PLEASE!

If its got water in it - you have trouble...

 

Oil has been ok. no water mixed with it as far as I can tell. I had been running just water and no antifreeze, because I was having trouble with the water pump.

 

Try retorqueing the head - it might work.

But I personally would lift it off and check the head and block for straightness, not to mention cracks.

If it's all okay - replace the gasket and don't short yourself on the quality of the gasket! Follow all instructions that come with it exactly.

 

Hi1 My name is Howard. I live in Collierville. I drive a 97 F150 with a 5.4 . I've modded it a little. It has several performance mods plus some suspension & stereo mods too. I enjoy modding trucks,shooting sports, hunting & fishing. I hope to meet as many of the Tn chapter members as I can. I don't mind driving to Nashville for a meet or even farther. Heck I'd enjoy a small meet around the Memphis area. I just like meeting people with common interest as myself