Hello everyone ,great site! I have scanned through past discussions and realize my problem is a coommon one. I have an 89 B2/2.9/5spd/4x4 which was recently given to me from a good friend.It is in pretty good condition ,but needs to be pampered a little,due to his neglect of basic maintenance.I want to make this my new woods runner and think this is a good little truck. I have had a Jeep CJ and an Isuzu Trooper and ran them in thier stock form and they were good trail riders also. My problem is with the oil pressure/tapping. From the few forums I read,it appears this is common. My gauge will initially show pressure in the normal range-motor quiet-at idle,then the gauge will drop down a little,then back up then it may stay up for awile or it will drop down to nothing, and after a minute or two , the tapping starts. Obviously the oil is not getting to the top end. I have changed the oil and filter ,along with the basics(plugs/wires/cap/rotor/fuel filter)and if I did not know better , I'd swear they were three years old.Do I have a bad oil pump or bad ciculation? I saw the tip about Sea Foam/Deep Creep and I am trying this tommorro.I've also been asking around to some mechanics,and one suggested oil,kerosene and tranny fluid for a good enema for the engine. What do you think I have going on here.

 

I think your bottom end is warn out there is to much of a gap in the crank and the rod bearings. once it warms up and every thing expands and the gap increases and u lose oil preassure i have seen it lots in older vehicles hope this helps

 

Thanks for input,although I am hoping it is not that bad.The motor sounds fairly healthy ,no bottom end knocking or smoke.When it has pressure,the motor sounds pretty good and quiet,acceleration is peppy.

 

the keroseen/tranny fluid works as a good flusher. I've done the Kerossen trick..but to find out i had a bad pump and heads..after tearing it down..cleaning the block and all the ports, installing new heads and oil pump..thing runs llike new..no tapping.

 

Thanks ,I guess I'm trying to eliminate all the simple approaches first before I start breaking the motor down.You said the Kero solution worked-did it help for any length of time?

 

it helped to start opening up the ports..the broncoII i bought didnt look like the guy ever changed the oil..only added to..that's why i did all that work to it. The ports the oil flow thru were clogged.

 

OK,it looks like I may have another one of those.I hope I can clean it up enough to drive,because right now I'm not leaving the driveway until I see decent pressure. This little truck is my neww project and I'll be here often for help.Thanks again.

 

ok so i may have a similar problem, wanna share that info on the keroseen/tranny mix....like how much of what all do i need to put in it, how long do i run it, you know, stuff like that....



thanx
psycocrazy

 

Cam bearing wear is also a contributer to the ticking noise also.

 

I guess I am hearing that the clean out method is not going to be the fix I need. Does anyone have any more step by step procedures to try and eliminate my no oil pressure problem,without pulling the motor?

 

Most likely you have the classic combo of problems the 2.9 offers. This pile of crap made in Cologne Germany is prone to early bottom end wear, clogged passages and weak oil pumps. It's in my nature to find the solution by means of tune-up, engine flushing and oil weight changes too. All of these things helped but was a far cry from the answer. The best thing I did was change the oil pump and lifters. Although this made it a LOT better it still left me investing way too much time and money into an engine I should have just swapped out for a 4.0 ohv. I don't have the BII anymore but it's driven daily by a friend.

If you're looking to get rid of the tick just swap the engine out. If you're looking to just make it a little better just thicken up the oil and add an oil cooler. Once this engine has taken a turn for the worse it's simply not worth making right again unless you have some fond attachment to it. Sorry and good luck.

 

Thank you for the experience you have had with the 2.9.I think I was waiting for that answer .Is this motor worth rebuilding, or are the swaps more cost efficient and productive. I would love to drop a more powerful motor in this truck,but my budget and availability are limited.I have seen the info in regards to swaps,and I think these "bolt -in" swaps are more complicated than described. I am a back yard mechanic,and have taken on some serious projects,but I am trying to determine if this is worth my efforts!

 

While I am at it,I"ve been doing the " motor flushing" and I"ve seen all kinds of results.Pressure-no pressure-pressure- no-pressure.Does this sound like a bad oil pump,or the bad drainage situation that I keep reading about.When an oil pump goes bad, does it go intermitently,or just take a s---!

 

LOL, I thought some die-hard 2.9 guys would have pounced on me by now but since they haven't...........

If the truck is nice enough to spend money into I'd seriously look into the 4.0 swap. The hardest thing for me was finding a 4.0 that was worth swapping. In my area all the junk yard motors were pretty ragged out like 300K miles. Since the hunt my neighbor picked up a 91 explorer for $800 that would be a perfect donor. You'll need a fair share of parts so a donor is the way to go. One thing you have on your side is the year of your BII, 89 is a fairly easy electrical swap. If I remember correctly a 91-92 explorer harness will plug right into your factory firewall plug. You'll need the ECU, harness, and of course the engine. The more complete of an engine the better! This is another reason a donor is the way to go. If you can just swap in accessories and all this will be the easiest conversion you've ever heard of.

Do the research! Pay attention to the year of the BII and the year of the explorer the engine is coming from. You'll find out that most of your nightmare stories come from not matching up the right years like putting a 94 4.0 into an 87 BII. Check out the tech page at TRS. There's some decent write-ups on the swap.

To answer the question to build or not build the 2.9.................. run and run fast from that idea. First of all make sure this rig is worth spending money on. If it is look into the price of 2.9 heads that aren't prone to cracking, engine reman kits and the lack of aftermarket. The answer should be real clear then.

The 2.9 oil pump...... you might be stirring up enough crap to be blocking up the pick-up screen. This is a very common problem too. A lot of 2.9's have plugged up screens but as much of a pain in the *** it is to get to you might as well install a new pump once you're there. I think a melling pump is like $65. Set aside $120 (gaskets and parts) and 5-6 hours of cursing to change it out. I wrote up my experience on this job here in the BII forum if you're interested.

Be smart with the amount you're going to spend on it. I'm glad I didn't do the swap myself because I picked up a real nice 98 explorer sport for a little more then I would have spent rebuilding my BII. If I still had the BII it would have had a 2.3 by now and 4.10 gears. Why the 4 cylinder you might ask...... I like being a little different and I sure the hell have a lot more faith in a 2.3 then a 2.9 (not to mention a 2.3 is an extremely easy swap and you don't have to worry about how strong the rest of the drive line is). Good Luck!

 

You obviously are the person I wanted to hear from.Thanks for your advice.At first,I thought this truck was worth a little time and money,since it was free. But now I'm not sure.I think I'll pull the valve covers , look at what is going on in there,then drain the flushing mixure,and fill it with a heavier weight oil to see if it is a serious wear situation,as you have described.My goal with this truck was to have a little no frills four wheeler to tool around back in the woods ,and give my little kids some of the fun I've had .In New Jersey,we really don't have serious hills and rocks to climb,but we do have the area called the "Pine Barrens",which is mostly sandy trails and streams for great canoeing.If I cant squeak a little more life out of this truck,I'll be happyThanks again for your opinion,and I'll let you know what the verdict will be.