the 3.5 was never the torqueiest engine but it is adequate. have you checked the obvious bits like a partially blocked fuel or air filter? if you do a compression test and it is a long way below 160psi then it is probably tired and in need of a rebuild. if compression is good then it will probably be something daft holding it back like one of the filters or the timing being too far retarded.
questions about the gutless wonder of a motor i have!
so i have an 87 rrc with 3.5L in it and it has really no power... so the question is/are is there a possibility that my motor is tried? so should i get a rebuild or try and find a motor? or what about a swap? any ideas? thanks in advance! 
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yea i think its just tired i was thinkin maybe a 350 swap but who knows california emissions are gnarly
Honestly as appealing as the 350 swap intially sounds, there is a lot to consider. The biggest thing is that even a mildly tuned 350 is going to break trannies. You could adapter a 700r4 in there, but that means adapating that to the trasnfer case, etc (it goes on). Also, the electronic side of it could be ugly, and CA get's nasty about emissions... actually CA get's nasty about engine swaps too (as in illegal). Last I had heard you had to get the CARB inspection for the swap to get approved, and the budget for that had gotten slashed, so it was on indefinate hold. Getting that approved would be a giant hassle if it's possible at all.
I'm actually increasingly ok with my 3.9. Not really happy, but ok. Make sure you've got good compression and tune it up. That made a world of difference with mine (my timing was all sort of messed up). After that I would go 4.2 or 4.6 for the sake of simplicity with the People's Republic of California DEQ. Just remember it's a RRC, not a sports car. It's ok if it's not all that fast.
I'm actually increasingly ok with my 3.9. Not really happy, but ok. Make sure you've got good compression and tune it up. That made a world of difference with mine (my timing was all sort of messed up). After that I would go 4.2 or 4.6 for the sake of simplicity with the People's Republic of California DEQ. Just remember it's a RRC, not a sports car. It's ok if it's not all that fast.
im not worried about going fast i like to get on the freeway at 60 instead of 30 lol and im scared to trailer my drift car behind the RR because i dunno if its gonna pull it! what is the 4.2 or 4.6 out of? disco? is there a write up on this???Pancake said:Honestly as appealing as the 350 swap intially sounds, there is a lot to consider. The biggest thing is that even a mildly tuned 350 is going to break trannies. You could adapter a 700r4 in there, but that means adapating that to the trasnfer case, etc (it goes on). Also, the electronic side of it could be ugly, and CA get's nasty about emissions... actually CA get's nasty about engine swaps too (as in illegal). Last I had heard you had to get the CARB inspection for the swap to get approved, and the budget for that had gotten slashed, so it was on indefinate hold. Getting that approved would be a giant hassle if it's possible at all.
I'm actually increasingly ok with my 3.9. Not really happy, but ok. Make sure you've got good compression and tune it up. That made a world of difference with mine (my timing was all sort of messed up). After that I would go 4.2 or 4.6 for the sake of simplicity with the People's Republic of California DEQ. Just remember it's a RRC, not a sports car. It's ok if it's not all that fast.
I was pretty offended by my 3.9 in the 90 RRC. Enough so that I let it sit for several years before I was willing to touch it. Tearing down two motors I found the cams wiped out in both of them. Likely the same in yours.
I rebuilt one of the 3.9's and put it in and now I loved the bleedin thing. Good off the line, perfectly content at 90 MPH on the freeway (twice daily here in the Nevada desert) and it's still doing the 10 to the gallon it always has. :crybaby2:
I'd look at your motor and see about rebuilding it. I looked at the swaps and I'll agree a 350 has some charm but by the time you got it sorted you'd have had two stock rebuilds....
I rebuilt one of the 3.9's and put it in and now I loved the bleedin thing. Good off the line, perfectly content at 90 MPH on the freeway (twice daily here in the Nevada desert) and it's still doing the 10 to the gallon it always has. :crybaby2:
I'd look at your motor and see about rebuilding it. I looked at the swaps and I'll agree a 350 has some charm but by the time you got it sorted you'd have had two stock rebuilds....
did you do a full rebuild? by full i mean top and bottom end? i ask only because the motors i have had rebuilt in the past the only did the bottom end....GT6Steve said:I was pretty offended by my 3.9 in the 90 RRC. Enough so that I let it sit for several years before I was willing to touch it. Tearing down two motors I found the cams wiped out in both of them. Likely the same in yours.
I rebuilt one of the 3.9's and put it in and now I loved the bleedin thing. Good off the line, perfectly content at 90 MPH on the freeway (twice daily here in the Nevada desert) and it's still doing the 10 to the gallon it always has. :crybaby2:
I'd look at your motor and see about rebuilding it. I looked at the swaps and I'll agree a 350 has some charm but by the time you got it sorted you'd have had two stock rebuilds....
ok now i gotta hustle up the moola... **** range has been a money pit lol but i love it so
Money pit, yes. Mine has been just that so far. But "gutless" is unfair given the enormity of this truck. You have got to use momentum to your advantage on the street with these tanks. Mine gives up a squirt of torque when pressed, but you gotta drive this thing like you are playing Tetris.
Good Grief that has to be one of the most accurate descriptions I have ever heard! LMAOMFND said:...you gotta drive this thing like you are playing Tetris.
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