New member with a '89 Bronco

[BigWrenn]

I recently purchased a 1989 Bronco that's in good shape in every aspect but the motor. Please excuse me as I'm a noob when it comes to Fords. Now my question is should I rebuild the 302 that's in it or get a replacement of some sort. I'm proficient with wrenching and have all necessary tools for doing either. It's not my daily driver but I don't want it to take several months getting it back up to *****. Any help will be greatly appreciated and links, if possible, would be great too.

Thanks,

BigWrenn

 

[Justshootme84]

Welcome to Bronco Zone!!! I usualy recommend you rebuild your current engine if possible, and talk to a local machine shop about donig the work on the block. They are better able to do boring of the cylinders, decking the mating surface of the block and heads, changing camshaft bearings, etc. to rebuild the "core" or block and heads. Then you or your garage can replace the intake, exhaust, install the motor and hook up all the wiring. a good source for Bronco info including engine overhaul and swaps can be found at our good friend Miesk5's Homepage. Here's a link to his website with hundreds of links about Ford and Broncos:

http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3824

JSM84

 

[BigWrenn]

Cool, thanks! I'll be reading up on his site as it looks good.

The main problem with this motor is a horrific oil leak that seems to just let all the oil out. I have checked all the usual suspects but it seems to be coming from the oil pan area. Do Ford V8's use a one piece main seal design? Again, I'm a noob with Ford's.

 

[Shadow_D]

to the Zone!

I would check the pan it's self, those pans have been known to rot out and leak.

I'm with JSM84 in with the rebuild. This way you can do a few upgrades as you go, a crate motor will give you all stock parts and the Ford warranty isn't worth the aggravation, believe me I know (been there done that. I had a problem that they wouldn't cover, they said the time was expired)

As long as you have a good sense of how a motor is built, you should be fine.

Good Luck...

 

[Justshootme84]

Yes, 1984-1996 Ford Bronco V8's use a one-piece rear main/ cranshaft oil seal. Pulling the transmission is required to change it. The oil pan gasket can be changed with the motor in the truck, raised up enough to get the pan loose. There's several threads recently on oil leaks that might help you find where it's coming from. Is the engine blowing smoke out of the exhaust, or making any knocking noises? Does the oil pressure drop below "Normal" on the gauge? JSM84

 

[BigWrenn]

It does smoke some at start up and knocks after it warms up. The gauge does go below normal often.

Thanks for all the replies and help so far guys!

 

[Justshootme84]

Sure, it makes little sense to replace the rear main seal when the main bearings are shot and the engine needs to be rebuilt. Hope the link gives you some info to look into. Either Haynes or Chiltons has a repair manual for 80-96 F-series trucks and Broncos that has helpful info. They're available at most auto parts stores for about $20 for either one. JSM84

 

[BigWrenn]

Yeah, I was just trying to squeeze the last little bit out of the engine /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />. Oh well, time to bust some knuckles!

 

[BigWrenn]

I did some looking around for engines and finally decided to just rebuild the current motor. I haven't rebuilt one in a long time but it should be interesting.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I did some looking around for engines and finally decided to just rebuild the current motor. I haven't rebuilt one in a long time but it should be interesting.

To a knuckle busting wrench tuner... Welcome to BroncoZone! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Glad to have you aboard.

Please consider taking pics as you do your rebuild. IMO... I don't learn anything from pictures of "look how pretty", but rather.. see this was bad, and this is how I knew it had to be replaced. Those pics are worth a thousand words.

joe

 

[BigWrenn]

I'll definitely be documenting this one and thanks! I'll start a new thread once I have the first stage under way so it won't be so cluttered /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />.