Brand new to the B2....is the Sven Pruett build real?

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Parts are indeed an issue with this one. And apparently so is machining. I'm going to have to look into that even more. I may not be able to stay local with that. Luckily for me, I drive through about 9 states regularly for work. So, dropping some stuff off and picking it up a month or two later would be pretty easy. But, after all the answers and things on this one, it looks like, for the most part we're going to stick with line honing, new bearings all around, polishing and and balancing the crank, indexing throw(and all the other technical mumbo jumbo I can throw at them) stock rods(They are forged after all) with the silly little pedestal weight and cast veins shaved, new rings, everything that can be ported and polished, new gaskets everywhere(gonna try out that gasket shellac too), new lifters, valve seal shims, stainless valves and just for giggles, I'm going to try out the morana rocker setup. I might go with the matching cam of his, I haven't decided. I'm going to do headers, Y pipe, eliminate the cats(we don't have emissions on anything older than 96) and single exhaust all the way out(someone put aluminized exhaust on it a while ago and it looks like crap now). I will have to put the O2 sensor back in somewhere. It's going to stay NA. Efficiency and longevity will be the goal. I didn't cover every little detail in that. I'm sure some power will be gained through this process. How much, I have no idea and it doesn't really matter. I just want to make it a smooth operator. It will be around October when I start. I have a lot of other projects around the house that need decent weather. I do appreciate everybody's input on this one. I have seen these little 2.9s go for over 250k. Which is why I wasn't scared of tackling it. It's at 159k now and running surprisingly smooth even with "The 2.9 tap". But, it'll be a good winter project. Once I get into it, I'll let everybody know how it works out. My only hope is that the stock ECU can deal with the changes. That's the only unknown at this point. If not, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. The rest of this thing is in such good shape that it should last for a very long time.

I kinda like your plan, should do well. I’d throw an aftermarket high flow cat on, if I remember correctly technically it’s a Federal thing that it’s supposed to have a cat if that’s how it came. Not that it’s overly likely anyone is going to really do anything about it, I really don’t have a problem with throwing a generic one on there. That’s how my choptop was done, headers, high flow cat, Flowmaster 10 series and out the back. I’m not huge on the 10 series, I liked the previous 40 series better, but that wasn’t stainless and rotted out. I didn’t think to make sure of what the shop had to put in and ended up with the 10 series they had, lol. I went with 2-1/2” pipe if I remember correctly, but it could have been 2-1/4”

I will say that you will have to prepare for adapting the exhaust though. What I mean is the standard headers and Y pipe comes down to an oval flange that mates to the factory cat. Nobody produces an adapter to round pipe for these that I know of, but some of the guys on here have talked about making their own. I should have done that or found someone to make me one. I asked my usual exhaust shop and they said no problem, but what they ended up doing was belling the end of a pipe and beating it to an oval and just weld the crap out of it. I wasn’t really pleased with that. But it’s about your only choice for anything not standard around here. If I had my own shop together, I’d probably get a bender and do it myself.

 

[Dhaile]

I kinda like your plan, should do well. I’d throw an aftermarket high flow cat on, if I remember correctly technically it’s a Federal thing that it’s supposed to have a cat if that’s how it came. Not that it’s overly likely anyone is going to really do anything about it, I really don’t have a problem with throwing a generic one on there. That’s how my choptop was done, headers, high flow cat, Flowmaster 10 series and out the back. I’m not huge on the 10 series, I liked the previous 40 series better, but that wasn’t stainless and rotted out. I didn’t think to make sure of what the shop had to put in and ended up with the 10 series they had, lol. I went with 2-1/2” pipe if I remember correctly, but it could have been 2-1/4”

I will say that you will have to prepare for adapting the exhaust though. What I mean is the standard headers and Y pipe comes down to an oval flange that mates to the factory cat. Nobody produces an adapter to round pipe for these that I know of, but some of the guys on here have talked about making their own. I should have done that or found someone to make me one. I asked my usual exhaust shop and they said no problem, but what they ended up doing was belling the end of a pipe and beating it to an oval and just weld the crap out of it. I wasn’t really pleased with that. But it’s about your only choice for anything not standard around here. If I had my own shop together, I’d probably get a bender and do it myself.

I believe you are correct. I think the cat thing might be a federal law. But, I've never been one to follow arbitrary rules from those people. I figured the exhaust would have to be pretty much all custom after the y pipe. I'll have to dive into the exhaust thing a bit more. I may throw one of those generic pypes high flow "cats" on it for ease. That might just be the best "adapter". I'm not dead set on the plan yet. I was kind of thinking about 2-1/2" all the way out through a decent thrush muffler. Something not obnoxiously loud. I'll scour youtube and google. Surely someone has tackled this issue on a similar enough situation. I tend to go way overboard when researching things. Which is how I ended up on this forum to begin with. It should be a fun project. Gonna finish up maintenance this weekend and finally start daily driving the thing myself. Almost time for a real world shakedown to see if anything else breaks in the meantime. It's kind of an exciting time at our house.

 

[kodogtwh]

My only hope is that the stock ECU can deal with the changes.

Not gonna happen. If there were info on chipping ranger ECUs, then you could get away with a quarter horse, or similar, but with how much you're going to change (cam, valves, rocker ratio, porting) the Volumetric Efficiency table in the stock ECM will be completely out of whack. It'll run, but poorly. Converting to a standalone, tunable ecu is very easy, for these trucks, when compared to doing it on anything newer. Don't slouch on that, either. It would suck if you put all this effort, time, and money into some really hard to get parts and then the engine just pings until the heads, valves, and pistons are pitted/melted through.

 

[kodogtwh]

I will say that you will have to prepare for adapting the exhaust though. What I mean is the standard headers and Y pipe comes down to an oval flange that mates to the factory cat. Nobody produces an adapter to round pipe for these that I know of, but some of the guys on here have talked about making their own. I should have done that or found someone to make me one. I asked my usual exhaust shop and they said no problem, but what they ended up doing was belling the end of a pipe and beating it to an oval and just weld the crap out of it. I wasn’t really pleased with that. But it’s about your only choice for anything not standard around here. If I had my own shop together, I’d probably get a bender and do it myself.

It's easy, I did it to my turbo setup. Took all of 30min to get a basic adapter that didn't leak.

 

[Dhaile]

Not gonna happen. If there were info on chipping ranger ECUs, then you could get away with a quarter horse, or similar, but with how much you're going to change (cam, valves, rocker ratio, porting) the Volumetric Efficiency table in the stock ECM will be completely out of whack. It'll run, but poorly. Converting to a standalone, tunable ecu is very easy, for these trucks, when compared to doing it on anything newer. Don't slouch on that, either. It would suck if you put all this effort, time, and money into some really hard to get parts and then the engine just pings until the heads, valves, and pistons are pitted/melted through.

I figured that might be the case. It’ll be my first time with a stand alone ECU. So, yippee for me. I’ve only ever visited a tuner, or there was no computer involved at all. So this will be brand new territory. Could be a lot fun. Could be a nightmare.

 

[kodogtwh]

I figured that might be the case. It’ll be my first time with a stand alone ECU. So, yippee for me. I’ve only ever visited a tuner, or there was no computer involved at all. So this will be brand new territory. Could be a lot fun. Could be a nightmare.

i'd be glad to help you with it, it's pretty easy once you understand it. All you really need is the ecu itself, a jumper harness, and the right setup of resistors to get it up and running with tfi. You can also delete TFI.

 

[Dhaile]

i'd be glad to help you with it, it's pretty easy once you understand it. All you really need is the ecu itself, a jumper harness, and the right setup of resistors to get it up and running with tfi. You can also delete TFI.

I appreciate it. I may shoot you a PM. I’ve always figured if other people can do it, so can I. So, I’m not scared to tackle it. I can see some googling and talking to some companies in my future.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I know Megasquirt and Microsquirt have been used with good success by a bunch of people on here. I haven’t gone down that road yet, but there’s a good case being made here for that sort of thing…

 

[kodogtwh]

I know Megasquirt and Microsquirt have been used with good success by a bunch of people on here. I haven’t gone down that road yet, but there’s a good case being made here for that sort of thing…

My truck's on a microsquirt, although I did it a bit differently.

 

[Dhaile]

My truck's on a microsquirt, although I did it a bit differently.View attachment 88895

Sir…did you use the oem case to put in a standalone ecm? I am nothing short of thoroughly impressed.

 

[kodogtwh]

Sir…did you use the oem case to put in a standalone ecm? I am nothing short of thoroughly impressed.

Yes, I did. And then decided to rewire the engine, pretty much nullifying my reasons to use the factory case & connector.

 

[Dhaile]

Yes, I did. And then decided to rewire the engine, pretty much nullifying my reasons to use the factory case & connector.

That’s quite the accomplishment. Here I am riding the struggle bus just a bit putting in a phone charger and led headlights. Also replacing all the dash lights with led.

 

[kodogtwh]

That’s quite the accomplishment. Here I am riding the struggle bus just a bit putting in a phone charger and led headlights. Also replacing all the dash lights with led.

That tan interior is absolutely fantastic.

 

[gaz]

@Dhaile ,

I didn't read your entire thread, allergy's are killing me; I may not have caught it but good ole @Uncle Gump tagged me

I have built the 2.9l using Sven Pruett's guide, it is worth doing, and it is worth taking your time. Here are the points I recommend:
A. all of his cooling ideas work great
• 16" electric fan
• remote engine oil cooler and filter
• increased airflow to underhood, aft cowl works very well.
• melling oil pump
• replace all fluids with synthetic, even the axles
B. His top end suggestions should be REQUIREMENTS for any 2.9l user
• get a performance valve job by a qualified machinist
• disassemble, clean and inspect the rocker arm assemblies. Replace work parts. Use hi lift rockers if possible. Use free float spacers. Drill all oil ports 1 drill bit size larger, chamfer and debur. Match the weight of the rockers and polish.
• have a custom cam ground from your donor to your engines specs (in accordance with your machinist).
• I used a pro rebuilt set of stock rated injectors
• new water pump is prudent.
C. Heads and Pistons
• I reused stock valves as they were within specifications, if they had not been, I would have bought new stock valves.
• multi angle flow bench port/polish heads to intakes
• if you mill the heads 0.03" and use the 2.8l Flat Top Pistons, you can manage between 11.5:1 and 12.0:1 on pump premium
D. Crank
• I followed his instructions to the letter on the crank, EI, reduced weight, debured, chamfered.
• polished, knife edged
E. Piston Rods
• debured, chamfered, peened then use ARP stud kit 154-6002
F. Bottom End
• a complete bottom end balance was absolutely worth the expense. It added +10% hp/tq on top of everything, really tied it all together.
G. Exhaust
• use 2½" ss mandrel bent tubing for it's new exhaust
• JBA, Edelbrock and Borla all made high quality headers specifically for this engine, I used JBA
H. Ignition
• Accell 2000+ digital multispark, though there are other good systems.
• NGK copper plugs two (2) heat ranges low, have given reliable economy and performance
*NO LETTER I*
J. CPU Fuel management
• use an 86-87 stock T/B, though it can be bored out +6mm to offer +2-3hp across the RPM band.
• stock Ford EECV
• Hypertech stage II CPU chip. Made a noticeable improvement in overall smoothness.
K. Air
• I tried his recommendations but experienced better fuel economy with the stock air intake system, except for the grill block at the head of it.
• drop in K&N air filter
NOTES:
Stock it could handle any highway pass but would lose some speed at WOT, for example, ½ up the Grapevine, Siscaues or the passes on highway5 through Oregon, from 65 mph down approaching 50 mph.
After changing to the electric fan, doing the rocker arm job, adding the cooling changes and the exhaust with headers, it no longer struggled to maintain posted speed on any Highway incline. Once the Sven rebuild was incorporated it rolls over passes at partial throttle, can easily accelerate even with a full load and yielded a +6½ mpg improvement in fuel economy. These results were made using a 4" suspension lift, 32" rubber on stock Ford Dana35/8.8 with 4:10LS gearsl at posted highway speeds

 

[Dhaile]

@Dhaile ,

I didn't read your entire thread, allergy's are killing me; I may not have caught it but good ole @Uncle Gump tagged me

I have built the 2.9l using Sven Pruett's guide, it is worth doing, and it is worth taking your time. Here are the points I recommend:
A. all of his cooling ideas work great
• 16" electric fan
• remote engine oil cooler and filter
• increased airflow to underhood, aft cowl works very well.
• melling oil pump
• replace all fluids with synthetic, even the axles
B. His top end suggestions should be REQUIREMENTS for any 2.9l user
• get a performance valve job by a qualified machinist
• disassemble, clean and inspect the rocker arm assemblies. Replace work parts. Use hi lift rockers if possible. Use free float spacers. Drill all oil ports 1 drill bit size larger, chamfer and debur. Match the weight of the rockers and polish.
• have a custom cam ground from your donor to your engines specs (in accordance with your machinist).
• I used a pro rebuilt set of stock rated injectors
• new water pump is prudent.
C. Heads and Pistons
• I reused stock valves as they were within specifications, if they had not been, I would have bought new stock valves.
• multi angle flow bench port/polish heads to intakes
• if you mill the heads 0.03" and use the 2.8l Flat Top Pistons, you can manage between 11.5:1 and 12.0:1 on pump premium
D. Crank
• I followed his instructions to the letter on the crank, EI, reduced weight, debured, chamfered.
• polished, knife edged
E. Piston Rods
• debured, chamfered, peened then use ARP stud kit 154-6002
F. Bottom End
• a complete bottom end balance was absolutely worth the expense. It added +10% hp/tq on top of everything, really tied it all together.
G. Exhaust
• use 2½" ss mandrel bent tubing for it's new exhaust
• JBA, Edelbrock and Borla all made high quality headers specifically for this engine, I used JBA
H. Ignition
• Accell 2000+ digital multispark, though there are other good systems.
• NGK copper plugs two (2) heat ranges low, have given reliable economy and performance
*NO LETTER I*
J. CPU Fuel management
• use an 86-87 stock T/B, though it can be bored out +6mm to offer +2-3hp across the RPM band.
• stock Ford EECV
• Hypertech stage II CPU chip. Made a noticeable improvement in overall smoothness.
K. Air
• I tried his recommendations but experienced better fuel economy with the stock air intake system, except for the grill block at the head of it.
• drop in K&N air filter
NOTES:
Stock it could handle any highway pass but would lose some speed at WOT, for example, ½ up the Grapevine, Siscaues or the passes on highway5 through Oregon, from 65 mph down approaching 50 mph.
After changing to the electric fan, doing the rocker arm job, adding the cooling changes and the exhaust with headers, it no longer struggled to maintain posted speed on any Highway incline. Once the Sven rebuild was incorporated it rolls over passes at partial throttle, can easily accelerate even with a full load and yielded a +6½ mpg improvement in fuel economy. These results were made using a 4" suspension lift, 32" rubber on stock Ford Dana35/8.8 with 4:10LS gearsl at posted highway speeds

I am genuinely excited to hear all that. I’m looking forward to this build. When it’s ready to happen I’ll let everybody know how it goes.