88 B2 4wd Auto Trans 2.9L D28 Drivetrain, How reliable are they mild off-road?

[cmcfab]

I’ve inherited my stepmoms 88 B2 with Auto Trans, push button 4wd engage, 2.9L with D28 stock axles.

I come from an off-road desert fabrication background but mainly 4.0 Rangers.
My ideas for the B2 are to make it a camping/Beach B2. Mainly fireroads and BLM camping.

I’ve built many 2wd toys for desert racing but I’m not looking to make that big of an investment in the B2.
So I’m curious how reliable these are for mild off-road?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Youll be fine.

Put a larger radiator in, heat is the biggest enemy to the 2.9...and D28's dont like big tires, but it doesnt sound like youll go over 31s or 33's

 

[Shran]

"Mild" off roading is subjective, but your rig will be perfect for dirt roads and camping. I did quite a bit of rock crawling with a D28 and 33's. Where you get into trouble is with a manual transmission, disregard for the gas pedal, cheap u-joints, worn out stuff... etc... an auto and a light foot will go a long ways. You'll be fine.

My wife's 87 has all of my trouble spots and she is not afraid of using the gas pedal and brute force to get through rough trails. It's pretty cool to watch, I just cringe thinking about all the things I broke that she hasn't broke yet but probably will eventually.

 

[cmcfab]

Thanks for the replies.
Definitely won’t be jumping it but I’ll eventually probably end up with an 8.8 and locker in the rear.
Tires max will be 31-32”.
I might do a Coilovers conversion up front but if I do end up swapping to a D35 front end then I’ll do a Cut and Turn extended setup.
But for now I just want to get it somewhat reliable for some 300 mile away from home road/camping trips. But that won’t be until I fix all the leaks. As for now it looks like everything has a small leak.
Once I get it road worthy I’ll do a good pressure wash underneath to determine where all the leaks are coming from.
Looks like both Trans and transfer case have a slow drip, along with the valve covers and power steering pump.

 

[cmcfab]

Do you suggest an aftermarket Radiator or is there a good earlier year Ranger/Explorer radiator option to swap with?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Do you suggest an aftermarket Radiator or is there a good earlier year Ranger/Explorer radiator option to swap with?

Most guys use the 91-94 Explorer 4.0 radiator. I believe its a bolt in besides the upper hose...think it takes some trimming

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Do you suggest an aftermarket Radiator or is there a good earlier year Ranger/Explorer radiator option to swap with?

I went with a standard radiator in my 88 and used Mercedes C230 kompressor fans in the core support. Worked really well. Would chill the front of the engine off enough that the thermostat wouldn't open if I ran them too long.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So, the D-28 and 7.5” would be adequate for mild off-roading with 31” tires. My choptop B2 is on 35’s with a D-35 front and still the 7.5” rear. I intended to go to an 8.8” rear with disk brakes but haven’t got that far and the 7.5” hasn’t been a problem yet. I’ve had more trouble with breaking the front axle and blowing up 4.0 motors in it.

4.0 radiator (auto) and lower hose is a cooling system upgrade. I went with a 180* thermostat too.

Definitely a bigger (or two stock) transmission cooler in front of the radiator. The A4LD likes heat less than the 2.9 (arguably). Do fluid and filter change on the trans and adjust the bands (minimum). I would also very highly recommend doing a Transgo shift kit and some valve body mods on the transmission while you’re in there. Night and day performance increase and because you limit slippage with more positive engagements with the valve body work, you reduce heat. Win, win.

I’m not really intending on doing much off-roading with my 88 Bronco II, but I’m doing a 2” suspension lift and 1” body lift, extended radius arms (custom), some tweaks to the 2.9, valve body and shift kit work to the trans, and going to run 30-31” tires.