Bronco Ii

[CURSED BRONCO]

how well do these things hold up in trails?

any power out of that v-6 or whatever it gots in it?

 

[davids78bronco]

You'd need to head over to www.therangerstation.com to really know how well they do, and how well they can do

 

[shaun94]

douters shame shame. [-(

 

[CSMGJ]

I've owned two Bronco II's. Even un modified they seem to do quite well on the trails, but that isn't saying much sense the folks who ride with me say I'm a wimp when it comes to off roading. My biggest complaint it I can't seem to keep 'em running. I recently junked my '86 and my '90 quit running a year ago. I think it's a computer problem. Another problem with my '90 and my brother in laws '90 is problems with the stupid automatic hubs. If I get my '90 running again and cannot find a sucker to sell it to, I want to replace the automatic with manual.

To see my '86 in action during the short time it ran for me, go to http://marty.100freemb.com/BroncoII.html. I've been on much rougher trails with Bronco II's, but didn't get any pictures.

Basically, my next 4X4 WON'T be a Bronco II!

 

[kikenhorse]

I have a B2 that holds up fairly well BUT lets fact it they are smaller and lighter than most. The whole truck is just not as rugged as one twice its size. With much heavier running gear,especilly axles and transfer case.

You can enjoy them knowing there short commings or tear them to peices.

I got 160,000 Km on mine about 100,00 miles and I am happy with it.

I guess as they say " If ya wanna play.... ya gutta pay!" [-X

Good Luck

 

[Ktomek06]

Bronco II's just dont hold up as well as Bronco's do.

 

[Manimal]

Bronco IIs are excellent trucks, in my opinion. There are a few things to avoid, though:

- A4LD auto transmission. You've probably heard of this tranny; it's junk. Through good maintenance, and a large tranny cooler, it will be somewhat reliable, but nowhere near what a C3/C4/C5 would be.

- Dana 28 TTB. If you like to snap axle shafts, get the D28. It's an OK axle if you don't abuse it, but if you want to run a locker, forget about it. The Dana 35 is infinetely tougher, but is only available on late 89/90 B2s.

- 2.9 V6. I'm a bit biased here, because I love this engine. It will run for 300K miles if you treat it right, and maintain it, BUT.. Watch out for cracked heads, and valvetrain oiling problems on abused engines. IF you're checking out a used truck, make sure that you run the engine to operating temp. This is where the valvetrain noise will start to show up if the engine is abused, and if the heads are cracked, white exhaust from burning coolant will be present. Another check for cracked heads is the dipstick or oil filler cap. The oil will look like any water contaminated oil: light brown. 2.9s with cracked heads typically have a vaseline "milkshake" substance at the bottom of the oil filler cap, although sometimes this can also be caused by excess condensation due to a bad PCV, or short driving trips

- 2.8 V6. Another good engine, but a terrible feedback carburetor system and TFI ignition were used, where a traditional carb and Duraspark should have been. Duraspark conversion is easy to do, and this engine is rock solid.

- 3.45 gears. Useless, avoid at all cost. 3.73, 4.10, and even 4.56 were available stock. There were also L/S axles, but they're rare.

The advantage of a B2 as a trail rig is that they're so damn small. I can't count the number of times that I've hung with full size, lifted and locked rigs on the trail, simply because I could drive around or through most of the stuff that they had to drive over.

Hope this info helps

 

[Nate]

my buddy james has a b2 and it keeps up in most spots on trails ... and its stock! ... does hill climbs really easy too.

theyre not bad atall in my opinion.

the only gripe being how fawking slow it is ... he cant keep up atall on the highway stupid v6 ... hes swapping either a 4.0 Ex engine or a 5.0 302

 

[kikenhorse]

/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /><' /> Like I said " If You wana play --- ya gatta pay! "

/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /><' />

These replies tell it all.

I still think I will enjoy mine though.. [-X Not really too bad.. )

Having fun.. ?You ? )

 

[Manimal]

Your friends B2 probably needs lower gears. Sounds like he's got 3.45s, which really limits your tire options. I run 215s and 3.45s, and I have no problem ******* the speedo on the highway with the 2.9 v6.

 

[scoarch]

throw a 4 liter and the axels out of a ford explorer , early 90's i believe, into it

ls front and locked back with bigger tires and it would have potential. some flexy suspension , gears, and a few other odds and ends would do really well on the trail.

 

[billybroncojr]

I had a 87 BII with a 2.9/5speed. I put 2"body lift, 30x9.50's, and 3.73 gears in it. I LOVED this truck period. I ran out of traction and ground clearance before I ran out of power. I could keep up with my buddies Cherokee on 31's except for the deep stuff. I broke a few axle shafts, but a D35 swap looked real easy and was on the list when I got rid of it. It had over 200k on it and even with the Mud Terrains and a roof rack it got 16-18 mpg. The gear change was necessary when I put the bigger tires on it. The 3.45 weren't cutting it!

Go for it, they are great trucks!

Later,

Jeff

WBWinterRun

 

[CSMGJ]

Even unmodified they seem to do pretty well on the trails. I've recently bought another Bronco II and only got it stuck twice. A winch would have been nice, but the motor crapped the bed before I could add that. That now makes 3 Bronco II's I've owned. The first I had to junk, the second made it to NY after replacing the computer, then the second transmission crapped the bed, so I bought another Bronco II up there and brought it back to SC after replacing the engine and it also died. Seems if you want a good Bronco you need to get one of the old ones, before the II was added.

P.S. My next 4x4 should be a Chevy. Not that I think it'll be any better, but then when the pile of crap breaks down, I won't hear my neighbor tell me "typical Ford".

Picture included is from my last ride, which was in NC. Thank God from AAA. The engine just stalled. After some diagnostics I noticed that the timing was off in the distributor. I don't know how that would happen. Checked timing chain and it was fine. Fixed that and it ran for a short while, but wouldn't develope enough power to get itself back on the road. Now it'll only run for less than a min if you keep your foot on the gas. Then you have to wait a while or it won't restart. Checked timing, timing seems perfect. Checked spark plugs, they are black, but also checked fuel pressure and it's at 40psi. I wonder if one of the injectors is stuck open. If so, what would be the easiest way to find out. Sooner or later neighbors will complain about that dilapitated truck that's been sitting there over 6 months.

 

[BII Baby Monster]

I got an 88 BII 6" lift w/33's mine was top end in its day with stock 4.10 gears and a limited slip in the 7.5 rear. the D28 does have axle snaping problems but a D35 is cake to swap and its cheap to change to manual hubs. You can also swap a 8.8 from an explorer but you need the newer one with disk and 31 spline axles. The 2.9L isn't bad they have Problems with the distrutor and Ignition modual and typical ford oil leaks if the seals are OEM. They will crack heads if you cook them. I have only put about $200 dollars into the engine in the 5 years i have owned it. The manual is better than the auto, but with regular services and a good cooler and fan mounted inside with the ac kicking, I haven't had any problems with it running hot. V8 swaps are common as iv'e seen a few 302's and 351's. I love my truck and won't ever get rid of it. It gets the snot beat out of it too. The worse thing that ever happened on a road trip was the stock CV style driveshaft broke, but i just locked the front hubs and finished the 800 miles back to Florida on the D28 doing 80 on the highway. Plan on lifting it more and making a snorkel along with custom fabed winch bumpers and a V8 swap later.

 

[66broncoman]

ehhh.... well some friends of my(i use the term "friends" loosey have a 88 brocno 2. it gets the crap beat out of it all the time. we have gotten air in it.... they go through mud puddles like idiots and it still runs. we recently replaced the ujoint on the 4wheel drive axle. and a bunch of other stuff happens to it. so i was just letting you no.

 

[Toby]

Well i have a 90 Bronco 2 and its got some power to it

 

[yusuebronko2_86]

hey all, haven't posted in a while due to me being busy busy busy.

a good-kept b2 will get you miles of fun both on and off road. ****, i've gone places jeeps struggle to go off road and out handled a civic and grand am in the on road twisties (with out flipping over) all in all, if you want to get a b2, the only things you will need are a gear swap (3.45 will shread easily) some bigger tires (31's will do fine) and if you want, find you some headers and a custom exhaust for a little kick.

they will get mighty ugly before they crap out on you, as long as you maintain the electrical and mechanical parts.

if someone would send me details of how to load videos or pictures onto the forums, I will gladly demonstrate for you.

>-

 

[Ralphdb]

The reason I have mine is so I can pull my Jeep Wrangler Friends out of the Mud and water.. I had 29" tires on my wrangler and followed the boys with the 35's everyplace they went.. So I know this 90 Bronco II can do as well. but I want 33's remember the bigger the tire , the more broken axels . Bigger Tire Bigger strain on the drivetrain...

 

[CSMGJ]

I've owned 3 Ford Bronco II's personally, and after having swapped an engine, transmission, and now I just junked one because it needed yet another engine and I have another one in NY that needs yet another transmission I finally gave up and bought a JEEP Cherokee. I must say that I am plesantly amazed at this vehicle. First off to be fair, I paid more for the Cherokee than all three Bronco II's. The Cherokee has a home made lift and 31 inch tires. It has gone places I was afraid to take my last Bronco II(wish I could find where I last got my BII stuck). It has taken a beating and keeps going. And it handles MUCH better on road than ANY Bronco II I have ever driven. 4 doors is much handier for bringing friends wheeling, and I like the storage compartment under the back seat for storing my ball hitch and chain(My video removing unwanted parts from my house).

As for Bronco II's, I guess if you replace that crappy Japanese drive train with a Ford small block and transmission you might have something. For now, I'll stick with the JEEP(although I've seen a BII for sale near Gaffney, SC, Hmmmm)

P.S. I still have pics of my BII fleet still on the web at http://marty.100freemb.com/4x4/myrides.html