JBronco,
You have a nice looking bronco. Got a question.

You think it might be your mechanic not your bronco? Just a thought.

My 3, knock on wood, are very reliable.
I know my mechanic is very hard to please 'cause he (i) settles for not doing a repeat customer trick on the bronco(s)

As i sat here and look out the window


KEEP THE BRONCO LAD

"i was suving when suving wasn't cool"

 

i say if you like to work on your vehicles you should drive the dodge and keep your bronco for a project vehicle,that is if money is no object.the wife drives a 93 jeep cherokee and my daily driver is a 86 f250 6.9L .also have 68 mustang and 81 bronco for my recreational toys.money (and storage)is an issue for me but i still keep em !!

 

Well Pro4x4parts I've been a proud 1987 Bronco 302 owner for about 8 months (wanted one for years)....yes I've repaired a couple of parts.....now unfortunatley I've just installed a 2nd rearend due to a blown bearing and trashed gears (dunno what the last guy towed with it)......BUT....I LOVE my Bronco...this is a KILLER TRUCK, it's got power and style (a L/S rear) and potential to be an awesome 4X4!! I've driven a Dodge Ram and thought it sucked compared to my Bronco in more ways than I can go into right now. Before this I'd owned a FORD 1984 E150 Van/4.9L, bought it brand new and beyond a few clutchs and rountine replacements/service through the years that Van served me extremely well.....Ford does make a quality product but much like everything else in this world....when people are involved in the manufacturing...mistakes are made and sometimes a lemon might sqeek through....nothing is perfect and nothing lasts forever!! But Ford does rule and thats not just ingnorant rants and whoopdy woo....people believe in Ford and the Bronco because of the quality and the trust you develope in your Ford through experience and time.....I say this as 20+years of Ford ownership has made me believe. You've owned 30+vehicles?.....maybe had you bought a good Ford at first you wouldn't be having this dilemma?

My advice??
Keep the Bronco, take the Dodge and drive the **** out of it (should take a week or two)...then you'll really be thankfull you have a Ford Bronco to come back to. A Bronco is a way of life not just a truck....you got a work on it and love it or you should'nt own it at all. If all you want is 4 wheels to go from A to B than get a Hyndai or whatever they call that crap. Good luck.

 

My friend owns a 97 Ram, paid twice as much for it as I did my 96 Bronco w/ 65K miles. He kicks himself in the *** everyday for buying a Ram. Luckily the Bronco is dependable enough that I can spend some time helping him fix his Dodge. (Bad tcase, suspension issues, etc...)

 

"You think it might be your mechanic not your bronco? Just a thought. "

Absolutely not. My mechanic is very honest. He will only do what needs to be done. He has advised me in the past not to do work that I wanted to do, because he thought that I would be wasting my money. He has also done things for no charge before.

One of the reasons that I now take my truck to a shop is that I found an honest one that does good work. At 39, and after having over 30 vehicles, I just don't WANT to spend my free time working on the Bronco. Things like trying to remove a broken exhaust manifold stud (it turns out to have been broken up inside the block), out in the driveway with inadequate tools; that stuff just doesn't do it for me. I will do the easier jobs, but the heavy duty stuff goes to the shop.

It's about a balance; when I work hard all week, and have a Harley and want to go ride when I'm free, I just don't want to spend my free time crawling around the Bronco. And not only that, when I work on it, sometimes it just seems to get worse. Like trying to change the water pump, and having bolts break off that I can't get out. It's frustrating. But then again, the shop costs me more money. So I'm basically screwed either way. If the Bronco didn't have so may "events," I wouldn't get so bummed. So please give ne a good old fashioned Bronco prayer - I'm going on a road trip with it next week for my vacation. A trouble-free trip and a few trouble-free months afterwards would be nice!

 

JBronco,
Great to hear you have a good mechanic. Sorry about your luck lately with the bronco. I recently had my waterpump changed by my mechanic on my '96 - 142k so I won't complain 'cause it lived a good life. I too have a great mechanic I rely on for the jobs when i don't have the time or it's 100* outside........... (Oh, I bought a motorcraft waterpump because I don't fool with the department store crap......that's the other thing you have to watch for with mechanics you don't know - cheap or j/y parts) I do most of my work myself, cause i like to tinker and it saves me $$. Two bolts broke when my mechanic was removing my old w/pump, he quoted me a price (60.00) before he started the job and did not change it 'cause he know's i'll reference him for more work. When you find a good mechanic, stay with him.

Now, as far as the DODGE ram - "Go ye unto the side of the mountain and rest.......Cause a horse will carry you home", is my prayer for you

 

May the muddboggin',rock crawlin',beachbuggyin',Bronco bustin'
gods watch over you on your journey!
How's that?

 

there have been so many replys to this thread i had to say some thing. i have had a few dodges in my time ,all trucks ,I have had very good luck with them ,as for there cars .i dont care for them at all..but the do build a good truck ..And i do love my bronco .its more of a hobby truck to me ..good luck with your choice..
happy trails

 

Thanks!

And 3Bronco, it was even more aggravating when the water pump bolt broke, because it only had 90 some odd thousand on it and worked fine, but I had the ps pump off and the water pump was wide open, just sitting there so I figured that now would be a good time to replace it.

So then that led to a new timing chain and gears, since the cover had to come off to get the bolt out.

It's all great in the long run, now all those parts are new. but at the time it was a pisser!

 

Keep them both. use all your spare cash to fix up the Bronco and use the Ram as a old beater. Dodge is notourious for having bad trucks.

 

Most people have had good luck with theirs. I have only had a starter fail on my '95 Bronco and its got 130K on it. Other than that only oil, tires, and brakes.

My point is that maybe you got a lemon. Happenes to all makes. But I understand your frustration. My brother has a '99 Grand Cherokee and has put over $3,000 in it this year replacing various crap that has broken. I'm not gunna say that all Jeeps suck because of his experience, but I am probably not going to rush out and buy one either.

 

There is a reason that Jeep is a four letter word.....

 

How many letters are there in Ford?

 

Six. Ford#1

 

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Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums > Bronco > Big Bronco (1978 - 1996) > Why keep my bronco?

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nbtvee61 - Actually I think that you got an extra good one, if that's all it has ever needed in 135K. Look on this board, I've seen worse than mine here.