I am looking to buy a late 80s bronco 2. The one i'm interested in is kind of far from my house, so i'm hoping you guys can give me some advise before i drive to look at it. All the info i know about it is what the owner has told me. 2.9l stick 4wd. He said that it has some lifter noise, and that he tightened one down, and it quieted down some, but that he didn't know what he was doing so he didnt mess with it anymore. I've read that lifter noise is common with these engines, so is that really something to be worried about? Also, my biggest concern, he said that it slips sometimes in 2wd but it does fine in 4wd. He thought it was the clutch, but that doesn't make sense to me. What would cause that? bad u joint? Any advice would help, especially ideas on what would cause the slipping. thanks

 

The lifter noise is quite common. I've had mine for a year now and its just annoying. Hasn't suffered any performance issues with it. As for the slippage, need more info.

 

what other info would you need? I can call the seller, but i have not been to see it yet. trying to see what possible problems it could be before i drive to look at it.

 

I'm not sure why it would be different in 2wd or 4wd, but the main thing that would be slipping would be the clutch. Unless it's the CV style driveshaft they put on these things. I know when my CV joints were going, it felt an awful lot like the clutch was chattering (I wouldn't have described it as slipping, but someone else might). You might call the seller and ask him if it still has the stock CV style driveshaft on it. Maybe get him to better describe the slipping. Does the engine engine speed increase without an increase in vehicle speed (that's how I define slipping)? or is it something else?

 

thanks mrshorty. I will ask him, though i doubt it has been changed, it looks completely stock. i don't know what cv style driveshafts are, so if this is what's causing the "slipage" then the rear driveshaft would need replaced?

 

Usually one replaces the driveshaft, because it isn't usually cost effective to rebuild those CV joints. Whether you replaced it with another factory style driveshaft or opted for a single cardan or a double cardan u-joint style driveshaft would be up to you.