Will a carbed 2.8 intake bolt on a EFI 2.9 ?

mccutcheon4 · Post by **mccutcheon4** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:32 pm

My 15 year old son and I purchased an 84 Bronco 2 last Sunday at a local auction. It was suppose to need a clutch. In reality the starter was bad !
We installed a spare starter out of parts Ranger I have. It fired right up and the clutch was fine.
The bad news is, the 2.8 motor has many strange sounds coming out of it. Which brings me to this question: Can I install the carberated intake, fuel pump & associated hardware from the 2.8 on a good running 2.9 I have, and swap it in the 84 with the existing transmission ?

Thanks
Gregg & Brooke

ranger5.0 · Post by **ranger5.0** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 8:16 am

No, it will not work, the ports are in all the wrong places. Plus the cam shafts run in opposite directions of each other. A whole lot of factors are invovled.

mccutcheon4 · Post by **mccutcheon4** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:17 am

Thanks Ranger5.0

I had not really looked at them closely yet. I checked the engine dimensions last night in a manual, and figured the 2.9 was just a 2.8 with
a little more stroke, similar to the 289-302 V8s.

I didn't even know the 2.8 had solid lifters ! Maybe a valve adjustment
will quiet some of the the noise.

Ford changed the cam rotation ? WTF !

Post by **Nobody** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 9:28 am

2.8L's need constant valve adjustments. They don't oil the top end very well. This is probably the source of most the noise.

2.8L use timing gears, and the 2.9L uses a timing chain. That's why the cam spins the opposite way.

mccutcheon4 · Post by **mccutcheon4** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:08 am

Thanks Nobody. The 2.8 and the 2.9 sound like they are completely unique from each other. I read in one of the posts that the bellhousing pattern is the same though.

Is the 2.8 in the Bronco the same motor as the Capri and Pinto 2.8 ?

Gregg

ranger5.0 · Post by **ranger5.0** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 9:38 am

Yes it is the same motor as the pinto and mudstains and crapi's. They do have the same bolt pattern though. the Blocks are similar in size with minor variances that make them diferent enough not to interchange.

Michael99 · Post by **Michael99** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:47 am

All the strange noises you are hearing are from the noisy solid lifters. Once you get them adjusted just right they arent so bad. You will never though copletley get rid of the noise but you will almost eliminate it. The only sure way to get rid of the noise would be to switch to a roller cam and lifters.

mccutcheon4 · Post by **mccutcheon4** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 12:55 pm

A roller cam and lifters, in a 2.8 ? Is that an aftermarket type of conversion ?

Michael99 · Post by **Michael99** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 1:13 pm

Yes it is an aftermarket mod. I dont know the exact cost but it will eliminate the need to adjust valves and will get rid of that tapping sound.

mccutcheon4 · Post by **mccutcheon4** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:04 pm

I see, I thought maybe it was an oem deal similar to some of the 2.3s in Rangers that had a roller cam follower versus the old, non roller type that tended to wipe out cams.

I am new to 2.8s, I did own a 73 Capri in 1977 that had a 2.6 V6 and 4-speed and that little bugger ripped for what it was.

Its my sons 1984 B2 so cheap will be the route we take.
We bought two Broncos Sunday before last, at an auction, an 1985 for $100.00 and my sons, which is a 1984 for $150.00.

They both run !

Michael99 · Post by **Michael99** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:23 am

I have a 1984 BII with the 2.8. I said in another post to avoid doing any major work to the engine because it really isnt that great of an engine. People say that they arent that powerful but I will say that I have been offroad with mine a few times now and have gone through some pretty thick stuff and had plenty of power. If you are planning to make either one of these trucks a project truck I would suggest doing a 302 v8 swap. For the 84 and 85 models they are the easiest swap of all. But if your gonna rebuild the 2.8 and when you get to the point of putting the valve covers on use rubber gaskets and apply black rtv sealent to the top and bottom of the gasket or else they will leak. Also forget about the torgue wrench on the covers and the bolts. Just make them tight and maybe use a little thread locker to hold the bolts in because they seem to work loose and with the combination of all three of what I just said I have never seen a drop of oil leak out of my covers. Hell I even took the covers off after 400 or 500 miles to readjust the valves and used the same gaskets and new sealent and never had a problem. Also if you rebuild the engine make sure when you put the manifold on that the manifold gasket has the cork pieces on each end for in between the heads and use PLENTY of sealent there because you really cant use to much and that is a weak spot. If the gasket doesnt have the cork or you dont use sealent you will think the distributor is leaking oil around it. I have spent a lot of time myself going back over a few things after the rebuild and I have gotten my bronco to stop leaking oil. With a little time and patience these trucks almost seem indestructible and are great offroad!