I am looking for a used bronco. just sold an 04 f150. one is an 88 eddie bauer with 98k original miles looks nice and straight,2500$. the other a 96 eb with 169K looks nice and straight also, 4500$. I will look the truck over before I buy, but wondering if there are any strengths or weaknesses in either. any advice? I am without a car so need to make haste. any advice..

 

would the 88 have a 4speed auto?

 

The '88 may not have an OD trans and it will have the cluster**** dual stage fuel system with in-tank and frame mounted pumps and a switching valve, and the motor will have a tiny flat tappet cam that barely opens the valves enough to allow internal combustion and you will have to use a ZDDP additive in the oil to prevent it from self destructing. You can probably tell by my comments but I would not own another early Ford truck unless it had a '94+ powertrain in it, after that point the engines all have decent roller cams in them..well the V8's anyway I wouldn't own a 300I6, every trans has overdrive, the fuel system is simple, and the EFI system much better.

 

go with the 96

 

This is an extremely unfair/not very good comparison, but when I was in high school, my brothers and I drove an 88 f-150. It had the 5.8. The truck seemed to have TONS of power, but it was in the shop almost every week for something, and I mean pretty much EVERY week. Back then, I didn't know anything about vehicles, and my older brother ran the crap out of it. Our roads were dirt back then too and they got really wash-boarded while the truck had extremely tight shocks.. so it bounced around a whole bunch if you didn't got 5mph or under. Eventually, a head gasket blew and we had that fixed then sold it. I think the truck had about 160-180k on it.

Now, I have a 96 bronco with the 5.0. (Not a very similar comparison but still). I have had very little issues with my truck at all, and no engine issues (except as of recently some weird pining/hesitation which is intermittent which I think is more ignition/vacuum related, NOT the engien). I've had this truck for about 7 years and the money I have put into it has mainly been because I wanted to upgrade stuff. Yes, the occasional water pump/alternator will go out with an almost 20 year old truck, but it has been really good to me. I have 212k miles on the engine right now and it still seems to run very strong.

Plus, I really like the body style of the 92+ over the 80's. The 80's style still looks cool, but the style of the 90s was perfect! Also, with a 96, you have OBD-II which makes emission testing a breeze and reading engine codes much easier!

 

well, i'll check out the 96 tomorrow. they are both about an hour and a half one way from my home, in opposite directions. I looked at the 88 today..was completely misled by the owner. the 'pristine low miler' was anything and everything but..total pile..

 

Oh well that's too bad, but I think the 96 would be a better option anyways. Hopefully it's in pretty good condition!

I can't say how the 04 F-150 is, but everyone I have talked to that has had a bronco loves them, and anyone who had one that sold it regrets it. So if they 96 is good enough to buy and you get it, don't ever sell it!

 

'96 EFI is a big plus, it'll be OBD-II so you have more diagnostic possibilities, more electric stuff to break too. Check that the horn works and that the airbag light isn't flashing otherwise you'll be replacing the clock spring - not a huge job but you have to pull the airbag.