I have had 4 Broncos (67,79,80,85) so I am no stranger and a new 1997 F250 4x4 Powerstroke (same body style) but I am now looking for a 92-96 Bronco. All I can find have high miles and I want something that is fairly dependable, I drive at least 60 miles round trip a day. I see they didn't put the I6 300 in them those years Is there any key points yall think I should check that is specific to these models? Any help would be great and, oh yeah, I am in South Carolina so you can consider the climate. Thanks!

 

The 300 (4.9) was dropped from the Bronco in 1993.

(If you want the '92-'96 body style and the 300, look at 92's or look at swapping front clips. '87-'91 models will accept the later front clip with some minor modifications. You can also swap a 300 into a later model with the necessary components. I have a 300 in my 93 and I believe ManfredVonRichtofen recently swapped a 300 into his 94?)

Check the Red Link here or down in my signature for more buyers guide tips and general information on the late model full-size units.

 

Number 1 of course is maintenance and number of owners usually is telling. Rust present on the floor when you open the tailgate. Automatic tranny service is very important. The 351 is pretty bullitproof if taken care of. Check to see if the cruise control was changed by recall. Other normal used vehicle issues, brakes, coolant, belts, hoses, etc. I am sure you know the drill. Hope you find a good one, getting harder to find.

Pap

 

I had a 300 stock in my 1990. I just swapped in a ZF5....when it had a M5OD.
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Find one with a 300. They are out there, specifically find one with a manual too! Forget about the crappy E4OD.

Because if you like shifting gears and you get a E4OD, you possibly might try to do a swap...so save some time and money and find one with a manual already in it.

 

If A/C is important to you, the '94 and up have the system designed to use HFC-134a, rather than the earlier years R-12. Bigger condenser, HPCO, proper accumulator dessicant, etc. They cool very nice. Not like retrofitting a R-12 system to 134a.

Also, there are 351W engine/intake changes between 1993 and 1994, right? Seems I recall seeing a lot of F4 numbers on castings on mine.

 

Broncos suck.....

 

mine has been reliable, with 309,000 only the obvious has caused problems, IE: auto hubs sized (not motor related anyway) and my starter when bad...other than that i havent had any problems

 

Yeah, replace them Auto hub ****s.

But I do say, they did get me to Panama City Beach (well near there) to a friend's house.

My rear driveshaft was kaputt and I wanted to go see my friend bad so I did something stupid and drove in 4x4 on the interstate and made it there AND back home with no problem. Couple months or so later, I was marking timber with my old job and was leaving the woods to go home and boom...the auto hubs finally gave out on me..



They are ok but I rather have manual locking hubs and knowing that hub is locked in.


P.S. I did get my rear driveshaft replaced.

 

VERY, VERY sad that mine will be available in 1 1/2 years. I have replaced everything that was not perfect because the plan was to have it the rest of my life. Plans changed. Family vehicle shuffle will have me in a Z-71 Suburban.

 

Blasphemy. Never mention.."Z-71, OR Suburban" in here. The name of it makes me cringe.

 

yup they were the first to be gone when i bought it, got me self some nice warn lock outs lol

 

Good move.

 

Thanks for all the great info. Yes, AC is very important here in South Carolina so I will narrow the search unless a great deal shows up. Speaking of which, I have found a clean looking (at least from the craigslist pics) 1996 Eddie Bauer. Been in the family since 99 (father till 2011, son since then). Seems to be the type to get stuff fixed as it goes instead of fixing themselves. Has receipts on rebuilding the rear drive shaft, rear window motor, all brakes, stuff like that. It has 225k miles on it. The transmission/shifter won't go into park but he has an estimate saying its the linkage. The bigger problem is he said it has a bad shaking starting around 60 mph, bad enough he won't drive it on the interstate. I am thinking bent rim or radius arm rubbers but not sure. It is 3.5 hours from me so I hope to look at it Saturday. here's the link 1996 Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer 5.8 any ideas?

 

A new tranny could be in your future, $2500; check the brakes, look for rust underneath the carpet by the floor/tailgate, coolant replacement history or may need a new radiator, also have the engine get warm and check the heater; heater core is a bad problem, check for the cruise control TSB change, get any service records. I'd offer $3,000 cash and have all the 100's for him to look at. Good luck.

Pap

 

I honestly couldn't remember. I knew about the ZF, I just had the odd notion that you were doing the same swap as me. Ah well, the 300/ZF combo is pretty nice if you ask me.