More torque

[Rangerman87]

How much more torque will the colt cams cam give the 2 nine,just wonderin'.I don't want responses such as swap in a 4.0,just would like to know what kind of improvement the cam will make.

 

[Big Jim M]

Uh-huh!

How much more torque will the colt cams cam give the 2 nine,just wonderin'.I don't want responses such as swap in a 4.0,just would like to know what kind of improvement the cam will make.

In general aftermarket camshafts give more power at higher rpm's than the stock camshaft.
So your off-line performance will in most cases be worsened. If you have a stick-shift the clutch will be burnt and go away quicker as the engine won't have the pony's off idle that the stock camshaft provides.
In fact that is the VERY REASON that high rpm stall convertors were invented for automatics. They allow the engine to get into the power band before allowing the clutches to be closed.. But with a stick-shift this cannot happen.
Big Jim

 

[Psychopete]

All depends, they do custom grinds and can suggest a grind that will work good with what your goals with the truck are.

 

[Rangerman87]

I was just wonderin' due to the fact that one of the guys on here put a high torque colt cams cam in his b2,i think his has a 5 spd along with my truck.

 

[RustedRanger]

Changing the cam can be a really good thing....it can also be heartbreaking lol Spend the money on as good as cam as you can and be honest with the cam grinder and yourself as to how your going to use the truck. Cam tech has come a long ways since 88. There is more to it then just "bigger is better" but how it's ground. If you get a good quality cam it can appear to be very much the same size as stock yet still give an increase but you will see a greater gain in improving the exhaust and intake sides of the engine and they will all work together for a greater gain. No...the gain is not going to be huge because it's a small engine but if you pay attention to detail it will add up and pay off. That works on any engine as long as you chose what to do carefully and match parts and mods.

 

[Rangerman87]

I mainly just want to make it into a lil tow rig.Would it be beneficial to do a p&p along with installing a higher torque cam or would it be counter effective?the reanson I ask is isn't the p&p better for higher rpm's and not low rpm torque?
I'm not lookin' to make it anything extreme,just lookin' at options.I don't have the cash for a 4.0 swap and besides the 2 nine is a good lil engine.I put the throttle body off my 87 on it along with smoothing it out and opening it up a bit,what a mistake,opening it up a bit that is.What is the most amount of torque that can be had without killin' it?Probably a stupid question but oh well.

 

[Psychopete]

If you get a good quality cam it can appear to be very much the same size as stock

The lobes are already pretty close to the bearing diameter tho, I know for re-grinds, they remove metal from the base circle of the cam to get the extra lift. May require longer push rods also since the lifters will set slightly lower when the valve is closed. Custom push rods can be made by these guys - http://www.pushrods.net/ .

 

[RyanL]

Changing the gear ratios would be the best way to get more usable power out of the 2.9L (would be great for towing). It's not a larger motor and never will be. Unfortunately, a gear changeover would be a little expensive (might even exceed the price of a 4.0 swap) doing the front and rear. The front looks like it would be a real PITA. Maybe someone else can chime in, but ages ago when I was into 4wheeling, I remember there being gear reduction kits for transfer cases. Maybe there are some available for Bronco IIs but I don't think so? Someone else also with some details can tell you better, but swapping in 2.8L pistons might give you more power and possibly be cheaper than a cam (depending what's involved). Just throwing some ideas your way. I just think that you would be disappointed with a cam.

 

[RustedRanger]

Port and polish can help almost any engine. But leave the porting part out. Usually porting is done when they can check what they have done on a flow bench. Usually the best thing is to "clean" up the ports and the area under the valves without actually changing the shape of the ports. You can gasket match the intake and exhaust ports if you do the same on the intake and exhaust manifolds. The exhaust ports give an increase when polished but like I said before the increase is not huge. On a small block chevy just polishing the the exhaust ports adds 5 to 8 HP depending on the engine size so it would be less of a gain on a 2.9L. But like I said also,all these little things add up.

 

[holyford86]

Changing the gear ratios would be the best way to get more usable power out of the 2.9L (would be great for towing). It's not a larger motor and never will be. Unfortunately, a gear changeover would be a little expensive (might even exceed the price of a 4.0 swap) doing the front and rear. The front looks like it would be a real PITA. Maybe someone else can chime in, but ages ago when I was into 4wheeling, I remember there being gear reduction kits for transfer cases. Maybe there are some available for Bronco IIs but I don't think so? Someone else also with some details can tell you better, but swapping in 2.8L pistons might give you more power and possibly be cheaper than a cam (depending what's involved). Just throwing some ideas your way. I just think that you would be disappointed with a cam.

In my case a 4.0 swap was quite a bit cheaper than a gear swap. 4.0 swap cost me right around 800 bucks and that's with changing every gasket and seal in the engine and using a brand new 4.0 clutch and flywheel. When I did a gear change, I also swapped to a D35 and put a Detroit locker in the rear and when it was all said and done I was into it for about 1600 bucks.
I did a 4.0 swap about two weeks ago and so far it's been the best money I've spent on the truck. The 4.0 effortlessly does what the 2.9 can barely do, is smoother, quieter, and has netted me about 4ish mpg and the ability to run regular unleaded without pinging. I was a big proponent of getting power out of a 2.9 for the longest time but as far as bang for your buck the 4.0 cannot be beat.
Once you get into a cam swap and get your custom length pushrods made up, convert to maf (you're going to have to or it's going to run like crap) you're probably into it for at least 6-700 bucks and you're still not going to get the torque out of it. You may be able to get the 4.0 horsepower numbers out of a decently built 2.9 but you will never get the torque that it provides, and that's what makes all the difference.

 

[RyanL]

In my case a 4.0 swap was quite a bit cheaper than a gear swap. 4.0 swap cost me right around 800 bucks and that's with changing every gasket and seal in the engine and using a brand new 4.0 clutch and flywheel. When I did a gear change, I also swapped to a D35 and put a Detroit locker in the rear and when it was all said and done I was into it for about 1600 bucks.
I did a 4.0 swap about two weeks ago and so far it's been the best money I've spent on the truck. The 4.0 effortlessly does what the 2.9 can barely do, is smoother, quieter, and has netted me about 4ish mpg and the ability to run regular unleaded without pinging. I was a big proponent of getting power out of a 2.9 for the longest time but as far as bang for your buck the 4.0 cannot be beat.
Once you get into a cam swap and get your custom length pushrods made up, convert to maf (you're going to have to or it's going to run like crap) you're probably into it for at least 6-700 bucks and you're still not going to get the torque out of it. You may be able to get the 4.0 horsepower numbers out of a decently built 2.9 but you will never get the torque that it provides, and that's what makes all the difference.

Are you saying that you gained 4 MPG by swapping in the 4.0? If that's the case then your 2.9 must've been in terrible shape because most people say that the loose mileage after swapping in the 4.0. Also if your timing and everything else is right, the 2.9 should run fine on 87 octane. The type of cam that the OP is talking about sounds like he wants more torque, not horse power. I doubt that it would warrant a MAF conversion. I'm not a big fan of MAF sensors anyway because they don't seem to be as reliable as MAP sensors. If you get them wet or get oil from an air filter on them they seem to be wasted. I'm not too sure about the pushrod thing being necessary either because the 2.9 has adjustable valve lash. Are you saying that there wouldn't be enough adjustment? It would have to be one hell of a cam. I'm not going to argue that a 4.0 swap is the biggest bang for the buck though because it is. I would say if it was something like a Jeep Cherokee with the typical front and rear where a matching ring and pinion set would run about $300, do a gear changeover rather than an engine swap. But like I mentioned before, the front end on these trucks looks like a monster to take all apart.

 

[ronclark]

I dont know anything about cams, what i can tell you in my 2.9 5speed 4x4 came with 3.45 it was a dog for towing. for less than 300 i swapped in 4.10 from a auto ranger i picked up for 300. i found out that most autos have 4.10L.
pretty easy to do, and a huge improvement.
so i would vote gear change before a cam.

 

[RyanL]

I dont know anything about cams, what i can tell you in my 2.9 5speed 4x4 came with 3.45 it was a dog for towing. for less than 300 i swapped in 4.10 from a auto ranger i picked up for 300. i found out that most autos have 4.10L.
pretty easy to do, and a huge improvement.
so i would vote gear change before a cam.

That's the same gearing that I have too (seems like I hardly ever use 5th gear). I would like to do some towing with mine also, but I think that it would be a major failure the way that it is now. Did you just swap out the entire front and rear or just the ring and pinions from the donor?

 

[ronclark]

That's the same gearing that I have too (seems like I hardly ever use 5th gear). I would like to do some towing with mine also, but I think that it would be a major failure the way that it is now. Did you just swap out the entire front and rear or just the ring and pinions from the donor?

For the front I just swaped the gear housing and did I C-clip mod.
For the back I just swaped the whole axle, since it had 9inch drums, I replaced seals and upgraded to 10inch drums and got the fined ones. If your towing 10inch makes a big differance.
4.10 with 235/75/15 seemed like a good match, but I would not go bigger.

You could always put smaller tires on when you tow, a cheap way to lower your gearing.

 

[Rangerman87]

That is correct Ryan,I want more TORQUE not horsepower,I gives a damn about the horsepower and agree with you about the pushrod deal,don't see needing custom pushrods but who knows.I sent an email to colt cams and they said they don't have any dyno numbers but have alot of happy customers with 2 nines.Great thing is I still have the complete top end including the beefier heads from my 87,yes I lucked out with the heads.I want to keep the stock 3.73's due to workin' an hour and a half from home.I asked the question due to someone on here with a b2 who installed a colt cam and loved it and just wanted to know if anyone else has expierence with it.