New BII owner, here is my laundry list of questions

Hey all, I'm glad I've stumbled upon this forum. Seems to be a great resource. I've recently acquired a 1989 Bronco II Eddie Bauer edition. I'll be using it as a daily driver around town and for mountain biking trips to the mountains (I live in Denver). It starts up every time and seems to run well. I love how nimble the truck feels with it's tight turning radius. Great for U-turns and parking.






More about the truck: 216,xxx miles, 4 speed man w/overdrive. Records indicate it's spent most of it's life in mountain towns around Colorado. Guy I bought it from used it for bow hunting in the mountains, said it's a beast of a machine in the snow. Haven't got the opportunity to test that out yet. It starts up quickly and reliably.

Anyway, there seem to be a few issues with the truck, as to be expected with any vehicle of this age. Here are the things I've noticed:

1.) The truck is SLOW on interstate highways. I can't seem to get it much past 70mph, and if you're going uphill, forget about it. I know that the Bronco II's are not very aerodynamic, and that the 2.9s aren't exactly powerhouses, but they should be able to at least handle highway traffic, right? Is this normal for this vehicle, or is something wrong with mine?

2.) 1st gear seems a little tall, like its easy to stall out.

3.) The 2.9 makes a ticking sound. It's not loud, you can't hear it from inside the cab, but it's there. It does it all the time, from startup, while driving, to shutdown. Not sure where it's coming from. Probably valvetrain noise, right? I've read a few threads here and I guess it's fairly common for the 2.9's.

4.) There is a "thunk" sound coming from the front end whenever I decelerate quickly, and whenever I accelerate through a turn. I can sort of feel it in the brake pedal and steering wheel, too.

5.) Power steering is loud. It whines. It works great, though. The steering feels very smooth and consistent. I wish it were quiet.

6.) AC blows warm air. I can hear noises from the compressor from inside the cab when AC is engaged.

7.) Truck is noisy and rattle-y when driving on rough roads. I know some of it is coming from the spare tire holder on the hatch. Any way to help quiet her down?

9.) The passenger side window rolls up pretty slowly, and both windows rattle around in the doors and contribute to the noisy issue when on bumpy roads.

10.) It's got a slow oil leak, at least from the valve cover and oil pan gaskets, possibly from other places, too.

11.) There is a fumy gas type smell coming from the engine bay after startup and when I sit at red lights. I can smell it with the windows rolled down.

Any wisdom/advice on keeping her on the road and healthy would be greatly appreciated. I'm not a mechanic, though. I can do basic maintenance, but I don't have the tools/time/skills (or money) for tearing down motors or anything just yet.

Wow, that thing looks clean! Very nice score.



A 2.9L isn't a powerhouse, but it should keep with traffic just fine.
I'm betting you probably have 3.45:1 axle gears in it... They really kill the 2.9's power along with making 1st gear steep like you say (also the oversize tires too). Swapping to 4.10s (or whatever is required if you go to even bigger tires) will put some more spunk in it.
Also, check the timing. Should be 10° BTDC (12° works even better if no pinging occurs).

My 2.9 makes a light ticking sound, but to me it sounds like the fuel injectors. It's a very light tick sound with no real metallic note or anything to it (audible, but barely with the hood down). Mine's got a bit under 180K miles on it (though with all the running in low-range I do offroad, it's probably actually closer to the equivalent of 230K).
With all the reports of ticking 2.9s I've seen, I would say it's probably nothing to worry about.

The "Thunk" is likely your radius arm bushings. Usually the passengerside goes first as it's closer to the exhaust system.

Hope that helps.
Welcome to TRS!

^ Thanks a bunch for the insight.

So with the current axle gearing are bigger tires slowing me down? The truck is due for new tires. Should I go with smaller tires? Would that help out with driveability on freeways?

Also, updated the list with more issues.

Thats a very nice B2 wish mine were that nice.

As far as the slow highway speeds, one of mine was like that.
I was going for a hour highway drive, and it could barely do 60mph and that was foot to the floor the whole way. Once I was 3/4 of the way there, I guess it cleaned some carbon out, and could do 75 mph no problem. There was about 220 000 km or about 137 000 miles on it at the time. maybe yours just needs a bit of cleaning. Just my 2 cents. Hope that helps.

welcome and NICE B2. I'm partial to nice B2's over the rangers.

1.) The truck is SLOW on interstate highways. I can't seem to get it much past 70mph, and if you're going uphill, forget about it. I know that the Bronco II's are not very aerodynamic, and that the 2.9s aren't exactly powerhouses, but they should be able to at least handle highway traffic, right? Is this normal for this vehicle, or is something wrong with mine?
Yeah 2.9's are fine for the b2 and no extra weight and you're probably not geared for anything over stock tire size...stock tire size is tiny on B2's. If I was you, I'd start with a full tune up, clean the throttle body, change fuel filter.
2.) 1st gear seems a little tall, like its easy to stall out.
3.) The 2.9 makes a ticking sound. It's not loud, you can't hear it from inside the cab, but it's there. It does it all the time, from startup, while driving, to shutdown. Not sure where it's coming from. Probably valvetrain noise, right? I've read a few threads here and I guess it's fairly common for the 2.9's.
I'm agreeing with Junkie, as usual. That guy's word is gold. He knows his stuff. If it's not the injectors it's the lifters. They tap, it's what they do... get used to it lol.
4.) There is a "thunk" sound coming from the front end whenever I decelerate quickly, and whenever I accelerate through a turn. I can sort of feel it in the brake pedal and steering wheel, too.
again, Junkie hits it on the head. Common thing with B2's
5.) Power steering is loud. It whines. It works great, though. The steering feels very smooth and consistent. I wish it were quiet.
That era ford power steering whines, best thing you can do is replace it usually, I wouldn't deal with it as long as it works. If you do replace it, don't buy Autozone stuff
6.) AC blows warm air. I can hear noises from the compressor from inside the cab when AC is engaged.
Check your freon level yet? probably just low. Check to see if it's been converted to r134a or not yet.
7.) Truck is noisy and rattle-y when driving on rough roads. I know some of it is coming from the spare tire holder on the hatch. Any way to help quiet her down?
the tire mounts rattle a lot, I never found a good way to quiet it down... Take the spare off(so the weight ain't there) and see if it's still that bad.
9.) The passenger side window rolls up pretty slowly, and both windows rattle around in the doors and contribute to the noisy issue when on bumpy roads.
slow? take the door panels off and grease everything up real good. if they rattle, are the anti-rattle strips good in the door? they are probably dryrotted by now. Cheapest place to get those are Rockauto.com
10.) It's got a slow oil leak, at least from the valve cover and oil pan gaskets, possibly from other places, too.
NEVER buy cork gaskets for the valvecovers. Get the permatex ones
11.) There is a fumy gas type smell coming from the engine bay after startup and when I sit at red lights. I can smell it with the windows rolled down.
check your fuel connections at the fuel pressure regulator, my 2.9 had a way of working itself lose a lot

Looks great! Welcome!

Stock size tire is P205/75R15. They are tiny.
Mine before any mods:


It had 3.73 gears stock with the FM146 stickshift. It was actually a lively little truck with those gears and the tiny tires.


If you get a new steering pump, be sure to buy a NEW one if you can (not remanufactured). The remans are sometimes just as noisy (if not noisier) than the one you're trying to replace. I agree though if it's working (and the fluid looks good), it'll probably continue to work fine.

That fumey smell is probably oil from the leaking valve covers burning off the exhaust manifolds (pretty common). You might see a little smoke coming from that area too 5-10 minutes after starting it if it hasn't been driven for a few days to a week.


I converted my A/C to R-134a. Simplifies future servicing, plus it's just nice to have during the summer (also helps defog your windows faster during cooler seasons)
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21719

Welcome to the forum--nice BII! My fix for the spare tire carrier is to take about a 4 inch long piece of the dark gray foam pipe insulation for about a 1 inch pipe and put it around the bar where it sits in the latch. Then wrap it with several wraps of plastic electrical tape. It will be a lot tighter to latch and it kills that rattle/squeak--at least for the last 5 months.

Valve train noise is common with these engine as they sometimes don't get enough oil up to the tops of the pushrods. Try heavier weight oil or a good clean-out. I did both and it is better, but not gone.

Hello again. Thanks a bunch for all of the knowledge. I had a gander at the tires on the truck right now. They say "P235/75R15" on the sidewalls. It's due for new tires soon. If I go back to the stock tire size, will the truck have better driveability?

Ultraspontane said:

Hello again. Thanks a bunch for all of the knowledge. I had a gander at the tires on the truck right now. They say "P235/75R15" on the sidewalls. It's due for new tires soon. If I go back to the stock tire size, will the truck have better driveability?

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probably so(for road use). What's your axle code on the door sticker?

gearing is probably your issue.
I have a d28 with 3.73's you can have if you pay shipping. I'd ship you the chunk only (not the entire axle lol). If you find a 7.5 locally already geared 3.73, that'd help. I had 30x9.5's on my B2 for a long time with the stock axles and 2.9. It wasn't a powerhouse, but it was not undriveable by any means.

If you get the chunk already geared, there is no differential work to set up, just swap them out. Find a 3.73 geared rear (either 8.8 or 7.5) and make it mount up. The B2's 7.5 should bolt up. An 8.8 would require some fab work.

4.0B2 said:

probably so(for road use). What's your axle code on the door sticker?

gearing is probably your issue.
I have a d28 with 3.73's you can have if you pay shipping. I'd ship you the chunk only (not the entire axle lol). If you find a 7.5 locally already geared 3.73, that'd help. I had 30x9.5's on my B2 for a long time with the stock axles and 2.9. It wasn't a powerhouse, but it was not undriveable by any means.

If you get the chunk already geared, there is no differential work to set up, just swap them out. Find a 3.73 geared rear (either 8.8 or 7.5) and make it mount up. The B2's 7.5 should bolt up. An 8.8 would require some fab work.

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Thanks a bunch for the offer, but the truck's first order of business is a commuter vehicle, and secondly for recreation. I don't really have any need to run bigger tires. So I think I'll go back to the stock tire size, and leave the stock axles as they are for now. Baby steps.

I just checked the door sticker and it says "42" under axle.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

as we figured.. 3.45 gears, open.
If I were you, I'd go stock size tires if you're not regearing anytime soon.

The offer still stands until I give it to someone else or scrap it. I'll probably scrap everything but the autohubs and chuck soon. Just let me know if you change your mind.

Great, thanks for the info. I'm learning new stuff already. So I'll be getting new tires for her this weekend. I will report back on any changes in driveability.

Other than new tires, the first problem I'd like to tackle is the radius arm bushings. The parts are cheap, but I wonder if this is something I'd be able to do myself. Would this be an expensive job for a mechanic? I don't mind getting my hands dirty.

Anyone here have any experience changing the radius arm bushings in a BII? If so, how'd you do it and what tools are required?

Thanks again.

I would highly recommend a haynes or chilton manual for your Bii....according to my manual, the hardest part about the job would be removing the coil springs and disconnecting the front driveshaft....after that you're basically unbolting the radius arm, pullin it off and replacing bushings....you'll need a floor jack, assorted sockets/wrenches, maybe a prybar, a C clamp could help with the brake calipers...nothing too advanced, just time consuming. I've never had to replace them on any of my vehicles, but I bet a mechanic would quote you at least 4-5 hours plus parts, pretty expensive fix. A quick phone call could get you a more accurate quote though...

The bushings aren't bad. Check where they mount. The bracket can wear out if the bushings have been worn for a long time.