1988 Ford Ranger 2.9 won't start after cylinder head replacment

[RangerBob]

I had a cracked cylinder head replaced it with a used head, this year has hydrolic lifters. I have fuel at fuel rail, have placed a plug in the end of a wire & have spark there. adjusted the valve lash as chiltons manual said to do when parts were not put back as they were origionally having been replaced, I haven't been able to find out if these heads are interchangable from side to side, I really need to get this vehicle running any help would be greatly appreciated. It seems like everyone knows the answer after the fact, maybe you can break the mold. Thanks in advance

[wilfie27]

Was the replacement head from the same year? I know of at least 10 differen't 2.9 heads that look similar but are not, so the cam could be different. For example, some have AIR underneath the ex ports and if your "new" head has these and your old one did not, that could cause some problems.

[Psychopete]

Originally Posted by RangerBob

I had a cracked cylinder head replaced it with a used head, this year has hydrolic lifters. I have fuel at fuel rail, have placed a plug in the end of a wire & have spark there. adjusted the valve lash as chiltons manual said to do when parts were not put back as they were origionally having been replaced, I haven't been able to find out if these heads are interchangable from side to side, I really need to get this vehicle running any help would be greatly appreciated. It seems like everyone knows the answer after the fact, maybe you can break the mold. Thanks in advance

Double check that everything was re-connected (Grounds specifically). I was only aware of Ford having a newer head for the 2.9L 89+, I've never heard otherwise. (Besides aftermarket) I am running aftermarket heads, non specific to my 88, and have had no problems with them. They were only '2.9L Heads'. The heads are interchangeable, left and right were identical.

My first instinct would be that perhaps the timing might be off, was it set on the compression stroke? Run codes, make sure that the ECC is sane. Check for fuel in the cylinders as well. A good test might be to spary starter fuild into the intake. Also, check compression if you have a compression tester.

http://www.troublecodes.net

Pete

[wilfie27]

Sorry about that I was thinking of the 2.3 OHC, but yes they are interchangeable. The only differences is either an 8MM or a 10MM acc. bolt hole in the end of the head, and some have a large square rocker pad vs. a smaller oval one.