My girlfriend is looking to buy a Bronco II within the next month and she feels it is better for her than a FSB.

I was wondering what are the best Years/engine/trans to get. I am looking at an '88 lifted with 33" tires with the 5.0l swap auto trans for $3400.
And the another one she is interested in is a '89 bone stock clean with 101,000 original miles on a 2.9L motor from a dealer for $4300
Finally, an '88 XLS 104,000 miles offroad bumpers slight lift but not nearly as clean. Has the 2.9L motor.

I personally have a 94 F350 but before I had a few F150s of the same era so I am familiar with the ttb system and the good and bad of it. She just wants something clean with relatively low miles that she can take to the sand dunes every now and then and camping.

I have heard many bad things about cracked/warped heads leading to having a bad head gasket in these motors. And finding aftermarket support to boost performance seems scarce from my searches.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

JMO, buy a later Explorer Sport 2 door with the 4.0 OHV motor.

A lifted BII on 33s. What's the license plate, a personalized one that reads "FLIPPER"?

 

Lol I told her they probably all rolled over that's why you don't see many of them but she wants something that people don't have and I can honestly say driving around in my area I have never seen a Bronco II but she has her mind set on getting one.

 

I had an '86 Ranger with the 2.9. OK motor at the time. They do not age well. Most valve covers leak no matter what you do. Heads warp. Transmissions are delicate little flowers. And, of course, they have the dreaded TFI ignition.

I know people run these things, but I also think most people actually running them spend a fair amount of time keeping them running or doing preventive stuff. Does she want a driver or a hobby?

Buy the V8 swap. That'll keep her busy.

Otherwise the bone stock '89. But don't pay too much for it.

 

I was leaning more towards the 5.0 swap also because it is a better proven engine with lots of aftermarket support. I think she wants the other ones because of the smaller motors and they are much cleaner than the 5.0 swap was.

I posted on therangerstation.com and they were saying get the 1990. We just found one that has 73,000 miles Eddie Bauer only 2 owners bone stock. Apparently the 89-90 2.9L have the better/upgraded heads.

 

I've had a 84, 88 and a 89. Mine musta all been defective cause non of um flipped. Even the lifted ones on 33's. I only ever saw one flip and that was because of driver error where a guy drove over the edge of an embankment. He was going around a corner and cut the wheels to hard and put both right side tires over the edge.


If she is looking for a 4x4 the 90 has a Dana 35 front axle. 89 can have either a 35 or 28. The heads were upgraded but all of them will crack if the truck over heats. The most reliable trans was the M5OD stick shift. If she can drive one. The earlier TK-5 is very good and has a lower 1st gear for off-roading and getting stuff moving if any towing is done but is older and would be getting on it's end for replacement parts. They all have the BW1350 t-case and it is a solid unit. The electric version can have problems due to aging electrical parts and wiring. If she is looking for an auto shifter there was not a solid choice.


The 2wd Bronco II's had a dummy t-case and used 4x4 trans and drive shaft. So a 2wd is just about the easiest to convert to 4x4 using the parts you want from a Ranger or Explorer. The rear 7.5 axle is ok unless you go with the bigger engine or a lot larger tires.


Course you are looking at, an at least 25 year old truck. And if she wants to run the Bronco II on the dunes the stock motor will be extremely lacking for power. Camping and driving in sandy mostly level parking area's would be fine.


So if I was to have to have one it would be a 90 with a M5OD 5 speed and manual shift t-case and hubs. And a good engine checked out with good cylinder pressure. 4.11 gears would be great but 3.73's would do.

 

Yes I know to stay away from the electronic shift 4x4. I just don't like it in general I understand the M5OD is a unicorn among the BII. We are leaning towards the 90 EB with auto trans. I'll make sure no matter what we get that I bring my compression testing kit with me and change/inspect alkaline fluids once purchased. (She says she can drive a stick but I've never seen it so who knows)

Are a the needed parts to convert from 2wd to 4wd just bolt on replacements essentially?

Finally figured with the 2.9l and larger tires if she lifts it that far change will put it back to where it feels good power wise. I don't think she plans to do anything crazy at the dunes just go maybe some very light wheeling and that's it..

 

Good comments by HappyJack & others and I don't have anything to add except that my 2.9L did make it up test in stock form. Jekyll, being from Michigan I assume you know what I mean by "up test". At 140hp the 2.9 is definitely lacking by today's standards but still very capable if treated right. If you're planning a lift then re-gearing the axles would be a good idea. Even just going up 2" to 30" tires my 5th gear is almost useless. I've heard rumors that gears for 7.5 axles are NLA, but early Explorer 8.8's are an easy swap and would allow for different gearing options. Not sure about gear availability for the Dana fronts.


In general they are good little trucks, I'll agree they can be somewhat high maintenance (I definitely have a love/hate relationship with mine at times), but it could be worth while if she's got her heart set on a BII. I'm still driving one daily if that's any consolation.

 

Mostly bolt up to change from 2wd to 4wd. The frame (engine cross member) TTB brackets are different and have rivets that need to be cut off. But most lift kits require this and the better ones have new brackets. Then a dana 35 from Ranger or Explorer will bolt in. With a 89 or 90 the M5OD out of a ranger or Explorer will bolt in and the clutch parts will work. 4.0 and 2.9 trans will interchange. Pedal assy. will change and are bolt up. You just need one from the matching RBV years. The Explorer 8.8 will require cutting off the spring under pads and welding new pads on top. The location is different and you need to set pinion angle. They are harder to find and bit more expensive since the Jeep folks started using them.


My 88 started out as 2wd and was 2wd when I bought it. We converted it to 4wd, Dana 35 front with Dana 44 outers, 5.5 front Skyjacker lift. Long radius arms. C-5 trans rebuilt with C-5 parts. Doubler (second reduction box between the trans and t-case). And 1354 manual shift t-case. Deaver rear 5.5 rear springs and full width 9". 4.11 gears with Detroit lockers front and back. Running 33 x 10.5 tires.


My 89 with 1.5 front lift coils and rear add a leaf fit 30's well. 4.11 gears and after market LS rear and lunch box locker front did really well. I did break one dana 28 front axle shaft. Ran really well till the A4LD started to have problems.


The 89-90's had a different front clip and dash. They fit a bit larger tire than 84-88.

 

Josh: I actually do not know what "up test" means at all please enlighten me?
and good info on the axles


HappyJack: Lots of good information you're providing there I know she would like something capable but "practical" whatever that means to her I do not know I just want it to be reliable so I can spend time on my vehicles and not hers hah.


We found a 2 tone brown one in Northern Michigan for $1200 claims it was an Arizona truck and they "never used the 4wd" which I find really hard to believe being that it's in Northern Michigan over the winter. He says it does have the push button 4x4 and auto hubs which I would probably swap over as one of the first things I did. Any good links for the swap tech? some of the links in the tech info section are not working...

 

Test Hill is the first hill at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. There's always a small row of trucks along it's ridge in a sort of 'king of the mountain' stance that have proven their ability to do anything in the dunes, and a big row at the base waiting for their chance to 'conquer the beast'.








The Ranger Station has some good tech articles on the manual hub conversion:


Automatic To Manual Hub Conversion


TRS Magazine - Ford Ranger Manual Hub Swap


Those articles will show you how to get the wheel hubs switch over but inside you would still have the push-button over the windshield for the electronic transfer case, a bit of a hybrid system but it's worked well for me. The previous owner changed my hubs to manuals. The auto's had still been working well though and I might have left the system alone until they broke but oh well.

 

About the only thing that really bugs me is her choice to use the BII in the sand. I don't know what kind of sand you guys run in. There is a sand off road park SW of me called Little Sahara in Waynoka, OK. For the last 20 or so years I have wheeled mostly in Colorado and Utah on trails. From the olden days when I ran in Little Sahara and did sand drags North of Amarillo, TX weight to horse power was what it was about. A slightly modified stock Bronco II would not be my choice for light wheeling at Little Sahara.


Now if you are going to build something to do what you want it to do the 2wd BII is not a bad choice. Get one as cheap as you can and one with a good engine and bad tranny if you are going to do most any trails and short pavement drives. The M5OD is doable with a hand throttle and a clutch start override switch. If you are looking to do like I did with the slightly modified stock Bronco II check for after support for the 28 front and 7.5 rear. Not sure what ring and pinion gears are still available for them now or what limited slip or lockers are available. That is the reason many go with a 35 front and 8.8 rear. Horse power is the reason for folks swapping in a 4.0 or 302.


Now when you think about taking a Bronco II and changing both axles, transmission, and engine the question is why not get a Ranger small PU, or Explorer with all those things stock. The reason I did was for the really difficult trails where the better approach and departure angles of the Bronco II really helped. Just something to think about. You would still be dealing with an older truck (TTB Explorers were last made in 94 and TTB Rangers in 96). If you do this you really need to get a 4x4 model. The 2wd models of the Ranger and Explorer have a different engine cross member.

 

Ahh the dunes, I have only been once when I was younger hah. I should see if mine cane make it without rolling over. I also made an account on therangerstation having a very similar discussion over there also. Some of the tech articles they have posted are incorrect or out of date so I thought I should cover my bases with a new thread on here also.


When you made it up what was your BII? All stock? Lifted at all? Bigger tires? How fast were you going lol.

 

Happyjack: the sand dunes is something she would be doing at most 2-3 times per year. She wants a solid daily driver that is somewhat capable offroad if the need ever come about. She wants a BII because you just don't see them anywhere and she likes to stick out like a sore thumb sometimes and to be different.




She just wants something unique that is reliable and I am the one who would be interested in modding it so the mods are just for my knowledge because I've found some for less than $800 that I would be interested in getting with clean bodies but something easy wrong with it and they are still drivable. So if I pick one of those up I would be interested in the mods for that she is mostly worried about cosmetics and reliability.

 

Josh, look's like Buttercup hill down at Little Sahara. One of the guys in the club I used to belong to had a 4cly Yota PU and we set and watched him try for 1/2 an hour to get up it. The park is 3 miles south of the town of Waynoka and he would back up so far from the hill to start we called it the Waynoka run. We had some flags on stiff wires we would stick in the sand making a lane to the top. Then folks would start at the first flag at the bottom and run up and over if they could. If they didn't we measured how far they made it. Then the ones that made moved up one set of flags closer to the top to start from and tried again.


My sons are officers in that club now and run down there 3-4 times a year. They both Yamahamer Raptors and the oldest has my old EB that is stripped down to the frame and body tub with a built 302 and C-4. It has enough horses power and is light enough to pull paddle tires. The sand down there is really fine and zero base. Nothing below the sand but more sand. Really easy to sink a heavy truck to the frame fast.


Sorry for the high jack. That picture just brought back a bunch of memories.