do any you have any pointers or "got ya's" that could help. The swap of the '86 worked well for 10 weeks before it gave out. Not completely sure what happended, I hope with the help of this site we can find out..

Hi Coldrain. We communicated back when I was putting my 2.6 in, replacing the 2.3. I have an 86 Pup. Sorry to hear there were problems. I had some too. Mine seems fine now, running with 2.3 carb and mostly 2.3 stuff on a 2.6 block and head.

Been ten months or so since I put mine in but I remember some things I did, that seemed crucial. Water-pump pulley issues. (Had to use 2.6 water pump, and had a machine shop press the pulley closer down the shaft, needed to match up with 2.3 crank pulley.) Fuel pump changed to electric. Broke a ring right off and had to do the whole job over again....maybe some other things. what is it acting like? I'd like to help if I can. I appreciate all the help I got from this site when mine was on blocks.

The engine does require a rebuild, I may even require a new block. I was comming back from my holidays and about 10 miles out of town there was clunck noise. I pushed the truck about 2 or 3 miles when it finally gave out. Had the truck towed home. The next day I pulled the valve cover and notice a fair bit of metal bits. I was looking over the engine, the cam gear has a extreme wobble. I suspect the timing belt slipped, not sure as to why. I am praying that block can overbored to remove any possible scratches. I will be pulling the engine out of the truck in mid november.

I would be very surprised if it required a new block. The head is the weak point on these engines.......... the block is unbelievably beefy. They'll put up with a lot more than you would imagine (trust me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" /> )

Not much to say except yikes. Was this a rebuild 10 weeks ago, or a swap of another used engine?

I feel your pain. Like I said though, mine runs great now. there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Please keep updating this chain. I'm curious what you find. Also I'd like to say I admire a person who sticks with a broken thing and fixes it. Why? I haven't a clue.

With a lot of metal bits up in the head I would suspect spun bearings. In that case, I wouldn't even bother with a rebuild- find a used motor, and rebuild that if you really want. The bottom ends of these trucks are rock-solid if there is oil kept in them and they are maintained, you should be able to find a decent used motor and just roll with it. I would inspect it but it shouldn't need rebuilding.