Hey i own a 1989 ford ranger XLT it has a 6inch lift give or take. My engine seems to have a leaking head or plug. But if i wanted to swap my engine to something new what engine should i put in besides another 2.9? preferably one that won't need too much work with like changing axles or anything I'm kinda short on money and a new engine is pretty much the only thing i can afford. Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum

Any different size engine will need different computer and engine wiring harness for that computer.

But the 4.0l OHV engine used the same Block as the 2.9l, so motor mounts and transmissions were interchangeable, making it a fairly simple swap, fairly.

You would want to use 1994 or earlier 4.0l OHV and computer and wiring harness, because it is the older OBD1 system so matches up better to your OBD1 wiring

Computer needs to match transmission, so if you have a manual trans you need a 4.0l manual computer, and if automatic then a 4.0l automatic computer, they are different.
2WD or 4WD don't matter to computers in 1994 and earlier Rangers

Good FAQ and links here: Ford Ranger 4.0L Engine Swap FAQs

And, of course, swapping in a fresh 2.9l would be the simplest

Harder swap would be to put in a V8 5.0l from explorer, 1996 and up, need engine and transmission/transfer case(if 4x4), computer and wiring harness plus extra wiring, also drive shafts
But you could for go computer stuff altogether, Fords 5.0l(302) was used for many years with carb and distributor, that simplifies things quite a bit, just engine, trans, and drive lines