2.9 rebuild

[myonlyford]

im gonna have rebuild my broncos 2.9l(needs piston rings)wondering if anybody has any suggestions on some upgrades to do while im in there or stuff to look for.

[Ruffinit]

Before you get too far into it, make sure you have the heads magnafluxed to see if you'll have to replace them and while you have it off, double check the passenger side exhaust manifold, they're famous for cracking and producing a lot of noise.

Instead of rebuilding the 2.9 ($), you should look around and see if you can find a 4.0 to replace it with. You could be far ahead to find one of these to swap in.

[clem]

There are two throttle bodies a small one and a larger one (the big one can fit a tennis ball) get the big one if you don't already have it, also I heard 5.0l injectors are a direct replacement. However the 4.0L as a swap sounds like a cheaper way to go. Better yet rebuild a 4.0L as you run the last bit of guts out of that 2.9L.

[myonlyford]

ya i liked the idea of the 4.0 but the money issue comes up.im a full time student and im geting less and less hours at work.and the junk yards around me dont give up there stuff for cheap.its gonna be alot cheaper just to do the little things to the 2.9L and flog the hell out of that and then go from there when i start breaking stuff.what did the bigger throttle body come off of???

[clem]

The cost of rebuilding vs 4.0L my just be something to look into. The larger throttle bodies were off the early 2.9L's mine was an '87 it was a larger one, my buddy's was a '90 and his was smaller

[myonlyford]

ok ill check into it.what years explorers can i take it out of?or is there anything else it comes out of???

[WaPaul]

There are a few other heads that can be bought after market to fix the head problem on your 2.9 but it all about the money. If you have a cracked head look into the 4.0 swap. Do not go into the 4.0 thinking its a fast cheap fix. You need all the stuff under the hood including the rad. Research it be for you let people tell you its cheap. The other part that is needed is a tranny if you have the Bronco 2 stock automatic.