I am getting a 1989 bronco with the 5.8 in it. It hasn’t ran in a few years and in the last 10 years it’s only been driven a few times. It currently wont start and the rear brakes don’t work. Can you tell me what I should do it to get back up and running. It’s located in Utah and I need to bring it to Southern California. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Do not try to start the truck with whatever “gas” is in the tank. Do you have somewhere to work on it for a few days? I would replace the gas tank and the in-tank pump. I would also expect one or more of the fuel injectors to be bad. You will need to determine why the rear brakes don’t work. Is the steel line to the rear rusted through? Are the wheel cylinders seized?

Something else to consider.. Are you going to have to pass emissions testing?

 

Having gone thru this on an older rig (03) that was sitting for over 10 years (it was a land rover discovery)...it was rusted to hell underneath. the brakes were pretty much seized and the brake lines
rotted. They actually broke when I took it in for the 1st repair place to work on it. That was over $1000 to fix. complete brake lines replaced, rotors, calipers, pads, etc.
Just saying....you won't know until you get a chance to get underneath and inspect things.

good luck.

 

Ya it’s been stored in a garage the whole time so it’s really clean. I believe there was just a leak in the line so I need to figure that out. I was going to change oil. Water, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter and drain gas. Just curious if there is anything before trying to start it.

 

Get as much of that old “gas” out of there as you can.

 

I’m pretty sure it will have to pass emissions but my goal was to be able to drive it back to SoCal without towing it.

 

I'm assuming you're taking some tools with you.
I would plan to pull the rear drums and possibly replace brake hardware, and as mentioned above, wheel cylinders and also bleed the brakes.
I would also remove the front calipers and lubricate the slide pins.
If the rear brakes aren't working correctly and properly adjusted for the trip back, the front rotors will quickly overheat.
If it's a five speed, you need to check the hydraulic clutch fluid (brake fluid) in the clutch master cylinder.
Check the transmission fluid, whether it's an automatic or a manual.
I would be very wary of the tires. If you can get the truck running reliably, I would plan a trip to Walmart for a set of relatively cheap tires, like Goodyear wranglers.
Take a torque wrench with you, so after your work, you can properly torque the lug nuts.

I would also recommend taking some 5/32" vacuum line and a variety pack of vacuum fittings.
Other tools I would take would be a volt meter, electrical tape, fuses, a fuel pressure gauge, a wire brush that fits in a cordless drill, and a repair manual like Haynes.
I wouldn't be over confident in the functionality of the fuel reservoir (Single Function Reservoir) that is in line before the high pressure fuel pump. But it's your project so you'll be finding all that out.
If it were me, I would trailer it.

 

I appreciate the advice on this.