Hello from Kentucky! New to the site and in need of advice. I have a 1991 ranger xlt 4x4. 2.9 liter. Love this truck. Looks awesome and all stock. I just blew a head gasket and plan on fixing it myself. Ive never done this before but am mechanically inclined and pretty handy.

1st question: any advice?

2: any special tools i may need?

i dont want to swap motors, would rather fix it while increasing my skill set.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum

2.9l was one of the first Ford engines to use TTY head bolts, these type of bolts can't be reused
TTY is torque to yield, which basically means the bolts are designed to stretch out when torque down, and then stretch and contract as engine heats up and cools down.
The older style could break after repeated stretching, and also required constant calibration of torque wrenches at assembly plants, lol, so TTY bolts cut assembly costs.

Anyway you will need a new set of head bolts along with gasket set, once TTY bolts are stretched they won't return to "normal" length when loosened, so will have less holding power if reused, or will simply break after a few heat ups and cool downs

Torque pattern is the same as most heads, center out crossing back and forth repeat same pattern each time.
Torque specs are: Torque in 3 steps, 1st (22ft-lbs), 2nd (51-55ft-lbs), 3rd (Turn 90 degrees)

The 90deg turn means its a TTY bolt, so no final torque spec
You can mark the bolt head or just point torque wrench handle at a "mark" in engine bay and turn wrench 1/4 turn, 90deg


Heads should be cleaned, pressure tested, and surfaced
Older 2.9l heads, 1988, and earlier, did have cracking issues, 1989 and up had newer design but...........any head can crack if overheated enough
And cracked head has same symptom as blown head gasket

Head gasket kit will come with new valve stem seals, if you have a valve spring compressor you can install these yourself, if not then take them to the machine shop that is testing the heads and they will usually install them for free or just a few dollars more

No special tools are needed, T55 torx socket is what you need for head bolts
Torque wrench of course

Good read here on the process: 2.9 Head Replacement


After spark plugs are removed, mark #1 spark plug wire on distributor cap and side of distributor, pull off the cap and wires, and rotate engine with socket wrench until rotor is pointed at #1, crank pulley should be at TDC, take a picture of distributor so you will remember it's exact position.
remove distributor.

As long as you don't rotate the engine a full turn you can re-time by putting crank at TDC and distributor back as it was

 

Great! Im about to pick up a chilton manual also. Awesome info! Ill send pics when im finished.

 

One heads up
Exhaust manifold bolts can be hard to remove
Try loosing these first, just to make sure they all can be turned
If some will not turn, do NOT round off the heads, remove the collector pipe, 2 or 3 nuts, and pull off the head with exhaust manifold attached.
You can spend hours trying get exhaust manifold bolts off, in the vehicle, so don't.

If collector nuts are also stuck cut the studs, they can be replaced after manifold is out.


If an vehicle/engine runs I will often take it to an exhaust shop and tell them what I am doing, pulling heads or engine.
They can remove all exhaust bolts, nuts or ?? then reinstall any broken or bad parts and "snug them on", no new gaskets or torque down to spec, lol.

They deal with exhaust bolts daily and know all the tricks and have all the replacement nuts and bolts on hand.
Most I ever paid was $60 I think, and worth EVERY penny


While it is not required, it is a good practice to keep push rods and rockers together and to put them back in the same position they came out of
So have a place you can put these in order and direction(push rod, top and bottom)

Lifters can be an issue with the 2.9l and 4.0l, good to replace these if budget permits, most can't be removed with heads on, so now or never, lol.

 

Great advice. I just called the shop that diagnosed it and they will break the exhaust manifold bolts loose for me, replace as needed and then tow it to me. Thanks!

 

I am in the middle of the process of replacing Head Gaskets in a 3.0.

Outside of a midsize Craftsman Mechanics Toolkit from Sears and 3/8 Torx Bits from T5-T60, the only tools I needed:

2 Crescent Wrenches. One of them Large.
8mm Deep and Shallow Sockets and Wrench.
Something Else... Cant remember of top of my head...

Fuel Line Removal Tool.
Note - If you are just sitting the fuel rails out of the way, you wont need this.
They are fairly cheap. And you will need this tool to replace your Fuel Filter.

Steering Pump Pulley Kit
Note - I am replacing my Power Steering Pump. Again if you are not replacing this part, you wont need the kit. Just remove the bracket holding the pump.

Pulley Kit for Harmonic Balancer
Note - same as above, except for Timing Chain.

I am also replacing the Water Pump and Timing Chain. I figured since I was this deep in the engine, they were worth doing. The previous owner replace the clutch fan, and did full tune up. Before selling the vehicle (assuming they were chasing an overheating issue).

--

something odd so far. This has been one of the easiest teardowns Ive ever done. Bolts are fairly accessible and have been coming off as expected with minimal additional force. Only 1 stripped bolt (High Pressure Line for Power Steering, which is getting replaced anyway, so it was cut out). First project were I haven't shed any blood yet.. Hopefully I didnt jynx myself with this statement...

 

So, I've been working on this in my spare time. I got the engine tore down, heads off, heads shaved intake side was warped), heads back on, fuel injector back on, and intake back on (along with plugs and wires).

I'm going to try and get most of this finished Friday and Saturday (it's cold, so have to build a tent out of pvc pipe and plastic with a heater to keep warm).


Also, who in their right mind would put the darn bolt for the distributor cap all the way back there!?!?! What were they thinking. That sucks!

Only problem I ran into were seized exhaust manifold bolts. Had to detach at the flange and have them drilled out. Wasn't cheap. Also couldn't find bolts for the exhaust manifold, so had to pick up m8-1.25 of various sizes. Also had trouble loosening the bolt on the back side of the fuel injector (a bracket that secures a coolant hose for the ac i believe. This has been interesting. I hope I remember the correct placement for vacuum hoses ( I did take lots of pics)

Here's my question. Since the head on the intake was shaved, do the valves need to be adjusted? Or are they self adjusting? This is a 2.9liter.

Also, do i have to bleed the fuel line, or just secure it, turn the key for 10 seconds to prime the pump?

Thanks for the help!

Wes

 

No, rockers/push rods will be fine

No, you won't have to bled air from fuel system
Cycle key on, count to 3, then cycle key off, repeat 4 times
Fuel pump only runs for 2 seconds with key on, but runs for those 2 seconds EACH TIME key is turned on.

You still want to crank the engine over a few times in any case to get oil passages full before engine starts

So both heads were surfaced where intake manifold sits?
If so then pre-fit intake without gasket first to make sure there is no need to double gasket the intake runners

 

Good to hear! I did the pre-fit on the intake without the gasket and it looks like i won't need to double up. After going through everything, I think I may actually be close to finishing Friday or Saturday! I miss driving my truck and am going through withdraws of not fishing in my boat.

For those interested, the bolts I used on the manifolds were the m8x1.25 3" and 4" (takes 2 different sizes). I saw many people asking that question, but no answers that I could see. I just bought several sizes that were close.

Thanks for the info!

Wes

 

When setting timing,is there a shorting bar?

 

No, in 1991 2.9l there is a SPOUT(SPark OUT) connector near distributor on its wiring harness
There is a plastic tab that you pull out of this connector, this disables spark advance from computer so you can set base spark timing by rotating distributor.

Google: ford spout connector images

To see what you are looking for

 

Nice! Thanks for the help. I found it with no troubles. Engine is back together. Just need to set the timing

 

10deg BTDC is spec but some like 12deg better

 

All is done. Timing is set. Thank you all for the help. I certainly would be lost if it wasn't for all of your advice.

Truck is running, except it is running with a fast idle. It's fine when in gear. I double checked all my vacuum lines. Any thoughts?

 

Cold idle will be above 1,000RPM

Warm idle in Drive about 800rpm, in Park 750

After engine is fully warmed up, unplug the IAC valve's 2 wire connector
It will close and RPMs should drop to 500, or engine may even stall, either is GOOD, it means no vacuum leaks.

If idle stays high then there is a leak
Plug PCV Valve hose and see if idle drops, failing PCV Valve can cause high idle

 

Ok, I fee like an idiot, but I fixed it. Woke up this morning, went outside to work on it, and noticed that the wire for the IAC wasn't fully seated. As soon as I secured it, ran great.

Just took it out for a test drive. Felt great to drive it again! I watched the gauges, no idiot lights went off. Everything within tolerance.

I think I have a little air in my radiator, because the temp gauge will slightly move up and down. I'll work on it later this week. It feels good to be at this point! I'm glad I found this forum!!!

Merry Christmas and Thank you all :)

Wes

 

Happy Holidays

Glad it is fixed

 

 

i found the dorman kit bolts to be too short but mine is a 2.9 liter. So YRMV. The m8×1.25 worked for me. If the bolt is sheared off, you can always remove the heads and have them drilled out. Factory bolts are $20 each