new to bronco looking at a 92 351

[Broncobill78]

Ok, then it's been his tow rig for the past X number of years, no big deal as long as it's been cared for. An aux tranny cooler will look like a small radiator (maybe 14"x8") attached to the front of the engine radiator and it will have a couple of rubber hoses that look like fuel lines running from it. If you don't see it than ask the seller if he has one, if he's been towing with it he should know good & well that it needs one and be able to show you where it is.

 

[cj_92Bronco]

as a matter of fact i think i have a aux cooler but im not positive, do you mind posting a pic of yours?

 

[madmaysey]

he says no aux cooler

and he said the truck came with the manual locking hubs

 

[Broncobill78]

Sounds like he either ordered it with the manual hubs & T-case or was lucky enuf to find one on the lot that was built that way, so that would probably rule out a transfer case swap which is fine, it simply simply indicates that there haven't been any major modifications performed which is good since clean & unmolested trucks are becoming a rare breed. As long as he was just towing a couple of bikes I wouldn't be overly concerned about the lack of an aux cooler but I would make sure to ck the condition of the transmission fluid & see how it shifts. Best thing you can do right now is take a run over & ck it out for yourself.

CJ: I don't have one on mine yet (didn't come w/one stock) but I'll be putting one on when the new tranny goes in & I'll post some photos.

 

[madmaysey]

i just got back from lookin at the bronco its pretty clean, the bikes look pretty good

i brought my mechanic he was a little concerned about a little bit of play in the crankshaft pully, he said he hasn't looked at a v8 in awhile though so he wasn't sure if that is a major problem

minor things the break master cylinder was leaking a little bit and one of the hoses on the power steering pump was a little wet he said other than that it looked pretty clean.

i think it was a well taken care of truck the seller gave it to his son and it just seems like his son wants something smaller and cooler(they loved my car)

any insight on the crank pully?

 

[Broncobill78]

Hard to say. with 140K there's quite possibly some play in the bearings but generally speaking it the crank has any *significant* play in it then you also have leaks at either the front or ream main seal. If it wasn't leaking from either point I wouldn't worry too much (small leaks are to be expected, I'm talking about a large leak). A well-cared for small block can easily go 200K. Yeah, you'll probably have to install a short block at some point down the road but chances are that you'll be able to drive it for several years before needing to do that. It's not a factory fresh engine, it's 20yrs old so sure, I'd expect a bit of play here & there but if it ran well with no knocks or raps *that's* what I'd pay more attention to. Granted it's probably taken a bit more of a beating since his son got hold of it but the first 15-17yrs of quality care have probably saved it.

If his son has a woody for you car then I'd start negotiating.

 

[madmaysey]

yea i don't think much negotiating needed, i think we will both be able to walk with a fair and square deal, problem is the kid has to convince his mom to let his dad lend him the money i'll need and that includes promises of getting a job to repay it

but i have a good feeling i think i might be gettin a bronco /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[madmaysey]

one other thing of interest, is when i started it, it took a little while to actually start, i asked my friend he said thats pretty normal its a 20 year old v8....is this correct? anything to do with the loose crank pully maybe?

 

[Broncobill78]

nope, that's normal for something it's age. If the crank pulley were an issue of any significance it would be leaking oil, making noises or the engine would have a lower end knock/rap. That wouldn't effect the way it started.

 

[madmaysey]

thanks a million for all the help

 

[madmaysey]

i was told to make sure i see it start COLD so i can see if it is smoking...when i started it last time im pretty sure it was already warmed up unless the heater works incredibly quick.

and i should check to make sure there is anti-freeze in the radiator not just water

sounds like a good idea but is this a deal breaker if i can't or smoke does come out, it was running fine when i test drove it...

 

[Broncobill78]

No, I wouldn't consider it dealbreaker at all. You have to remember that you're looking at a truck that's 20yrs old with 140K on it. To be perfectly honest at this point *most* of the truck's value is in the body & interior. You should expect some wear on the engine, chances are the piston rings, valve seals & valve guides are somewhat worn so sure, I'd expect a little smoke when starting it but as long as you're not laying down a James Bond/Spyhunter smokescreen as you drive down the road then I wouldn't be too concerned. I wouldn't get wrapped up in the little stuff. If it runs well, drives nice & shifts good then I'd consider it a good truck for the money. Sure, it's a good idea to make sure there's some anti-freeze added to the coolant because it lowers the boiling point of the water & has anti-corrosives added to it but that shouldn't effect the deal in any way, that's the sort of thing you do when you get it home & start going through it. If you want to look at any truck closely enuf you'll find all sorts of flaws to focus on, but then guys fixate on that stuff and wind up passing on trucks that they should grab becase they're looking for a "perfect" truck. Fact is that for $3K you're simply NOT going to get an always garaged, only driven on weekends truck that someones Nanna owned. Those trucks are out there but they run upwards of $10K. From the info provided & the photos in the ad this is a *very* good truck. Will the engine & transmission show some wear ? Sure they will, but they aren't significant problems right now and I doubt they will be anytime soon. The body & interior are in excellent condition (which is a LOT more than most trucks of this vintage can claim) so if you take care of it and keep up on everything, when you DO finally replace the engine and rebuild the transmission you're going to have one **** of a nice truck that will look great and run beautifully for another 20yrs (or longer if you run synthetics, use premium filters and really keep up on the maintenance)

 

[madmaysey]

very similar to what my roomate said. he basically said its a good truck don't worry too much about it

i have another question why would i want a new engine over rebuilding....a side fomr the obvious that its new

but is it simlar in price or something? or is a new engine really that much better than rebuilding