A reluctant Bronco II owner

[jmaynard]

I'm driving a 1989 Bronco II because I needed wheels in a hurry and it was the only thing I could find quickly and afford.

Once upon a time, I swore I'd never again own a Ford product.

I'd bought two new Fords in my life. The first was a 1983 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. The car was fun to drive - but it cost me $3K in repairs in the 43K miles I owned it. I had to have the cam and turbocharger replaced, and lots of stuff to go with them. When I finally unloaded it, the exhaust manifold was cracked; it had been cracked since not very long after I got it, but the crack was small and only made noise when the engine was stone cold - until one day it let go on the freeway.

I traded it in on a 1987 S-10 Blazer. I drove that truck 143K miles in 6 years, and then decided to give Ford another try with a 1992 Explorer Sport with a 5-speed. Boy, was that a mistake.

The Explorer's transmission failed at 65K miles in the middle of nowhere (for the Texans around here, it was about 5 miles south of Buffalo on I-45). I had it towed to a Ford dealer. They rebuilt the transmission.

4000 miles later, the transmission failed again. Ford refused to do anything at all for me, including honoring the repair warranty. That's when I swore I'd never again give Ford a nickel of my money.

Now, here I am, 16 years later, driving another Ford. At least this time I don't expect much out of it.

 

[88_Eddie]

ouch, sounds like you got some lemons. i've had 2 fords, one used and one new, and put over 175k on both. the tranny in my BII went out at around 165k, but other than that, no major problems. that's some BS that ford wouldnt honor the warranty

 

[Hopman]

Got 157,000 on my '94 Ranger. Bought it three years ago because, like you, I needed an inexpensive set of wheels. Now that I've owned it, I love it! I wish i could have two more!

Since then, I've spent a minimal ammount on repairs other than wear items (timing belt, new front rotors, oil changes, ect).

 

[Original_Ranger84]

My dad bought our 84' Ranger brand new it now has around 450,000 miles on it, the tranny went out at about 425,000 because a roll pin fell out cost me 200 to rebuild it and its still running.

My current one is at 96,000 miles with no sign of stopping or wear.

Sounds like you just got some lemons, My mom got a subaru and after 3 engines it finally decided to go haywire and roll over.

 

[r1hatman]

I had an 83 Thunderbird, POS! Until I put a 5.0 out of a mustang in it! That was a different story. Ho car go through more extremes so it stands to reason they will need to be fixed more often. As for the exploder, well the name stands for itself, I had an 95 and it need a lot of stuff done to it cause the guy who had it didn't. If you don't maintain them, they will break.

 

[jhammel85]

Talk about a bad strain of luck man...

Both of my fords have been used but both have treated me well. I hope to keep my old 87 Running as long as possible..it only has 140k on it.

Good luck with your Bronco II though. I bet this one will break the streak!!

 

[odie1969]

Well that sucks, All of the seven fords that I have owned the only problem child I had was my SHO but I think alot of that was cause it had 135K on the clock when I bought it, and I was 18 and thought it was cool to be able to 90mph before you had to shift into forth. and the best car I have ever had was my 84 shitcort reliable like the sun would never leave you any where but god was that car ugly. But i have to say my 01 ranger has never gave me a problem and when I bought it I needed a truck.

 

[Anthony C]

I think it all depends on the vehicle. I have had mustangs that nickle and dime you. Before I bought my Ranger I had a 94 Mazda b3000, which is the same as a ranger. I put 285,000 miles on that truck with no failures or rebuilds!!! I sold the truck still running and driving with no issues and used the money from that to by my 87 Ranger. I hope your Bronco II serves you well.

 

[jmaynard]

I sure hope the Bronco II breaks the streak. I'm going to put about $700 in the A/C tomorrow (new compressor and receiver/dryer, with conversion to R134a), and that's the last problem I know about it currently having. That will make about $2000 I've put into it, all told.

I do religiously maintain my vehicles, and this one will be no different. My goal is to drive it for a year and then see where I stand.

 

[Earl43P]

Wow.

I live in NC and hardly ever use the AC.
No way I'd've put that kind of money into AC, living where you do.
To each his own, I guess.
I hope you get good service outta that truck.

I suspect it'll continue to nickel-dime you, but some of us kind of like that sort of challenge. As long as it isn't leaving you on the side of the road, all's well. Might want to pick up a spare TFI Ignition module, they seem to be chronic failures.

 

[jmaynard]

I grew up in Houston. I won't own a vehicle without A/C. It gets as much use up here for defrosting with dry air in the winter as it does cooling in the summer.

I'm not sure which of the two modules you're referring to. Is that the one that lives on the side of the distributor? The terminology seems to wander a bit, between auto parts sites and books and repair info.

 

[TheTopher]

Kinda goes without saying, but don't let that motor overheat. The 2.9 has a knack for cracking the heads when it overheats...other than that it's a well made machine that some of the members here have gotten over 400,000 miles from.

 

[jmaynard]

I'll be keeping an eye on that, for sure. I think it may have had that problem in the past; my mechanic found no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil when he changed both the day I drove it home, but there is some oil residue in the coolant overflow tank. Still, I'm not taking it for granted, and I'm not curious enough to pull the heads and look for the bigger bosses. The temp gauge gets included in my panel scan.

 

[Mac]

Welcome! I'm next door in Wis and I sure would not go without AC if I could help it. 90 deg days with 80% humidity takes it out of you. I had a 1984 BII XLS and loved it, Picked it up brand new and made it 12 miles when the ign. modular went out. That was long before Ford/people realized there was a problem with them. Anyway, had great luck with it after that, enjoy yours.
Dave