Ok here it goes. I have a 87 ranger, i drove it and it started to lose power. water then began to shoot out tail pipe. I did some reading and asked some friends and im sure it's the head gasket or cracked head seeming as how this engine is notorious for craking the heads. i checked the oil and drained the oil to find it not milky but chocolate brown...possibley rusty raidiator fluid seeping into intake. what i am wondering is does anyone have any good pointers on on dismantaling or guides on sequence. I have removed the a/c compressior the alternater the power steering pump. the intake manifold upper. and am getting ready to delve into the lower intake. would i be better off to buy a used motor ..? found one for 350..but hence them being prone to cracking i may drive it 15000 miles after getting and crack them too....any advice?

 

Hi and welcome!

The main thing that causes 2.9s to crack the heads is overheating them. If you make sure your cooling system is up to par you shouldn't have a problem in the future, whatever you decide to do. In my '89, I swapped in a later (1991 I think it was) radiator from a Ranger with a 4.0 that I found in the wrecking yard for 50 bucks. Never ran hot after that.

If you want to tackle the job of replacing the heads, it's certainly do-able. Here's an article on 2.9 head replacement from our tech articles section:

2.9 Ranger Head Replacement .: Articles

Note that there's mention in the article of the World Products 2.9 replacements heads, a worthwhile investment if you plan on keeping the truck. They have more material in the areas that are prone to cracking and add a whole bunch of extra insurance.

For me, the determining factor in whether to replace the heads or the whole engine would be in how the engine ran otherwise. Good power, good oil pressure, none of the dreaded 2.9 lifter tick? If that were the case, I'd certainly just do the heads. If you decide to replace the engine, be sure to get one that you can hear run first, and listen for ticking lifters. It can come and go...mine did, but it came more often than it went...

Good luck with it, and be sure to drop back by for any other questions, comments advice, whatever, and keep us posted on your repairs.

 

Hey, for my 2cents... I would spend the time to switch to a 4.0 before i started to put in another 2.9. i have one laying in the weeds that ran fine but the ticking and lack of power and economy just sucked too bad.

I put a 4.0 in my b2 and got better power, mileage, the whole sha-bang.

Just a wiring harness and some fuel line jackin' around and done...

Good luck!

 

Check the difference between the European 2.9 version and the US version.
Wikepedia has an excellent "tell all" article on it.

 

Just a side bar note: We are in the middle of doing a change out of our heads on our '89 BII with the 2.9 V6.

If all things are in good shape, because this can be a crap-shoot!! Currently World Products has the "Bare" replacement heads on a discount due to being severely overstocked. The pain in the rear end part? Changing over all the valves/springs/new seal install/etc.... And keeping the fingers crossed everything seats and seals up correctly.

I'm just floating it out there as an option! Due to severe budget problems, We are rolling the dice and doing it this way with ours. (took a couple of hours labor to swap everything over) Considering the cost per new bare head was only about $76 +tax & shipping? It's a $150ish gamble for a pair of 'em. However you CAN tell the difference by looking at them.

And please? All car makers have stupid moments from time to time--Ford included. Granted this one was a biggie--But thankfully there are methods and means to correct their mistake. If you want to talk about ford screw-ups? Their issue with 1st generation/1st run Escorts/Lynx's tops my list. Some slipped past with porous transmission castings...Major Recall on their hands.

S-