f100guy, what was bad about the 2.8L? I'm just wondering because my fried has a bronco II that he is fixing up and I would just like to know what usually goes wrong with these motors. I am actually hoping that the motor goes out. Because it looks like you can just lift it out by hand and also my friend said he would put in a 302 if his 2.8 blew up.

 

I know this might sound crazy but, I have towed heavier loads with my 84 F150 4wd 300 I6 (backhoes, heavy equipment) than I have with a Humvee (M105 trailer, loads maybe 3/4 ton). And my Ford still tows easier... heck you didn't even know the load was back there! The GM 6.2 and 6.5s are pigs, and they puke all over when you even put the slightest load on em!

 

Yeah, I often find myself yearning for an inline 6 half-ton with 3.08 gears to haul things like 13000-20000 pound backhoes (not to mention the weight of the trailer). I don't think this sounds crazy at all, nope, and totally believable too as long as I don't think about it for longer than half a second (or I might wake up from that sweet dream).

Good thing the USMC has other vehicles that were designed to do the towing. Then again, I didn't have to tell _you_ that.

 

For GM
4 cyl:2.5 ironduke(in my opinion, best 4 banger ever made)
6cyl:3.8 turbo
8cyl:327 and 350
BB8cyl: 396, 427 and 454
For Ford
6cyl:300 inline
8cyl:302 and 351windsor
bb8cyl:351 clevland, 429 and 460

 

ok the 2.8 liter has no acceleration because i think it is too small to put in a bronco
mine leaked oil all the time smoked and overheated but it actually did run pretty good just if you are doing little rides it is not good for highway use but i had an 84 4x4 automatic and it was good in mud it had good power to pull i think because of the gearing the conversion from a 2.8 to a 302 will be hard. i considered it too not only that it is expensive different mounts transmission adapter for 4x4 and you also have to shave the heater box a little also you have to beat the firewall in if you check the bronco II forum you can find a lot of info on this motor

 

And then you look into his signature a little further and see that he a has a 4 speed transmission. They have one he!! of a first gear.

 

O.k., add the words "4 speed transmission" in any particular order anywhere you please in my reply, but only in a way that makes what I said look totally ridiculous. Then re-read it. Doesn't change a thing does it? Why? I was hoping you would ask.
You see, in his original message, he also added the words:
Also, if you "view user's gallery" to glean even more information about his setup, you see even more words that I left out:
That's a good sized tire. Nice for off-roading, don't ya think? Wonder how this helps the gear ratio though...? Might need this one explained to me, as I am merely hoi poloi.
So, for the sake of brevity, I cut to the chase in the options I listed. What we have in total, however, is the fact that he tows "backhoes, heavy equipment" of which I gathered meant "heavy" and he said "backhoes" so I listed the average weights for small backhoes (to be fair) at 13,000-20,000 pounds. Trailers for this setup can vary in weight, I'll leave it to you to pick your weight for this. Now we can go over the facts;
1) inline 6 - This motor has no business towing loads that heavy to begin with, it simply doesn't have the power and you would be needlessly hard on it to even try
2) half-ton - Now this should have been the real tipoff, I really don't see how you could argue the fact that a half-ton with a fifth wheel (I really hope we wouldn't be led to believe that he tows this with your average class 3 or 4 reciever) wouldn't totally wreck the entire back half of the truck even loading it, let alone driving 6 inches.
3) 3.08 gears - If the air didn't smell bad enough, there's the gear ratio. I mean come on, 3.08??
4) 4 speed transmission - What's that smoke? Don't worry, it's only the clutch burning trying to pull that load.
5) 31 inch all terrains - Wonder what the weight rating for these tires are...? Think they were built for something this heavy? Not to worry, it's stamped on the big sidewall, this should tell the tale.
6) "heck you didn't even know the load was back there!" - *cough* what could I possibly add to this statement that could shine a worse light on it than it does to itself?
I really hope this is all adding up, I have a feeling I could go on indefinately... But let me apologize for attempting to show the obvious to you all, the only thing that was "obvious" is that the plane came in for a landing and missed the runway for a few people. I started my first post here because of what was being handed out as fact about the 5.7 diesel. I came here to learn about Fords as I am rebuilding two of them (don't want to use the word restore). This board has a knowledge base about Ford in general that is likely second to none. Now why would anyone want to dilute the knowledge with information that may not be true?

 

It towed just fine no clutch smoke (11 inch heavy duty), backend hardly squatted (8 leafs in back with heavy duty shocks) yes I had a little trouble in the hills. I had no problem starting not even on a hill ( gotta love that granny gear) I was not running the 31s at the time either. All and all the truck towed it just fine, but I would not want to do it with er every day!

 

I will pick the two items I have knowlege about.

1) Power in not what tows trailers, torque is. While the 300 I6 does not have the biggest amount of torque, it has a lot right at the bottom of the rev range, right where you need it for towing. The hardest part of towing is getting the load moving, not keeping it that way (got to love Newton's laws of physics) While the 300 6 is not the best choice for this situation, it will outperform many small V8's in this situation. Hell, You could get the 300-6 in heavier duty applications, such as the f250.


THE 4 speed transmission has a granny low gear, which drasticly improves pulling ability at low revs, an area which the I6 excels.
He says that he has the 11" clutch, so cluths slipping wont be a problem.

 

Best engine/worst engine? I'll stick with the ones I've either owned or have had a bunch of personal experience with.

As for best engines, I've had a bunch of good 'uns. But I believe the most reliable I've ever owned:

Ford: It would have to be my current 2.8 V6 in my Bronco II. I've had it since late '98 and it's like the energizer bunny. It keeps going & going & going...........
Hon Mention: A 351 Cleveland I had in a '72 Gran Torino. Solid engine in a great looking car. Unfortunatly the engine lasted longer than the car body.

GM: I'm going to be an odd duck in the puddle but I've had the best luck with Pontiac 400s. They haven't made one in years, but those were some tough old powerhouses. Like the 351C mentioned above, they'd outlast the car body. I put one in a '65 Chevy pickup and it'd pull up stumps.
Most Hon Mention: Chevy 283 hands down. Although the 250 straight six comes close.

Foreign: I had a '80 VW Rabbit Diesel for years that I'd probably still be driving if it hadn't of gotten totaled out.


Worst:

Ford: '85 302-2V in a F-150. It wasn't so much the engine, but the EEC-IV and TFI that was strapped onto it. I started having problems with it and nothing would straighten it out. Funny thing is my 2.8 Bronco II has the same setup and with it all fouled up and missing bits & bobs, the 2.8 just keeps going. The 302 would stop in it's tracks almost everytime and after the first time, it never did run well again. As this is a Ford enthusiast website, I'll not mention what I traded the F-150 in on.

GM: Never owned one, but in the early '80s I was a shop mechanic for Burch GMC in Texarkana. We always had a 350 Diesel in the shop, usually because of a dropped valve.
Unhonorable mention: a 74 Chevy Vega. After about $500 worth of engine work (1979 dollars), I finally ended up with a semi-reliable Vega. As long as I didn't hit the oil pan on anything. O' course, I only gave $75 for the car and a parts car to go with it.

*****

 

Why not? When you wake up, it'll be like it never happened... But seriously, you need to tow around more than a backhoe to keep up with the amount you're shoveling

 

Oh, you mean like 145hp and 260tq? You're right, it doesn't
If it were only that simple... if I followed your logic, my single cylinder lawnmower engine with the right gears (and an 11 inch clutch...) would tow just as well as a 460.
Not only does he break many laws of physics with what he said, he also breaks this one. You forgot to mention the "presence of a force" part of Newton's First Law. Then again, maybe Newton had it right, pkupman82 would have had to "use the force, Luke" to actually pull off what he said.
ya think?
I won't dispute that, but eventually he'll have to take it out of first gear
Let's see (doing the math in my head...) Say he's towing the lightest backhoe that could still be considered "heavy equipment", so about 13,000 pounds, then he'd have to have a trailer (or he wouldn't be towing) and the trailer would have to weigh at least 4000 pounds to carry this weight, so this
tells us he tows 17,000 pounds minimum with an inline 6 half-ton with 3.08 gears. And not only does he tow 17,000 pounds with this setup, he tows it quite well, and the "backend hardly squatted", and only "a little trouble in the hills". Am I the only person that is having trouble believing this?
I feel sorry for all those hi-way tractor drivers out there wasting their money at 4 mpg and 13+ gears when all they really need is an inline 6 half-ton with 3.08 gears.

 

Forget towing a load like that. How did you stop it?

 

Hey we get 7 MPG and have 15 speeds, silly gov't contracts.

His story is still possible but he wouldn't be doing it for long, the motor would hold up but only with an automatic, no clutch to slip. Its also not possible for the frame to hold up that long either. I have overloaded an F150 with 3.73 gears and a 460 and it won't go anywhere. I must note that it was more like 23,000 lbs, thats the weight of our grain pelleting equipment.

 

Heres what I have personal delt with rank from best to junk
1. 1992 ford f350 7.3idi
2. 1991 dodge dakota 2.5 4cylinder very impressed by how much I could push it
3.1989 ford mustang 5.0 185k Most I ever had on a vehicle
4.1988 ford taurus still going strong 145,000 no major problems just tires and oil changes
5. 1990 ford aerostar 4.0
6.1995 ford aerostar 4.0
7.ford windstar 3.8
8.plymouth horizon 2.2
9. Braonco II 2.9 cracked both heads I always hated that little 3/4" radiator. That thing always ran hot
10.1982 s10 2.8 junk I could never get it not to kill at every light
11. 1986 GMC 2500 305 70k and burned more oil than what I put in for gas (I put about 3.5 quarts in it about every week and changed spark plugs on the weekend)
look I would say that the the 426 is the best motor ever but I have not ever worked on one or seen any of its problems but I know the bad and good of what I have owned or what have maintained I like the Idea of having a 429 sohc but don't have the money to get one the 300 i6 maybe impressive but I think It was under powered from the factory striaght motors in the same cubic inch always have more torgue than v motors that motor should of had over 300 lb feet of torque But thats how how things work