B2 offroad capabilities

[nitrojunkie1029]

Hi i am new here and i am looking to buy a bronco 2. I just graduated high school and me and some buddies went to rausch creek over spring break and i now have some money to buy my own rig. I want to know how capable are stock bronco 2's off road. The trails we did at rausch creek(green trails and accidentaly a blue) werent too bad. I was driving a bone stock cherokee and it did great so i just want to know how a b2 will do. Thank you all very much

 

[Shran]

A B2 will be no better or worse. The Jeep is unibody construction which has significant disadvantages offroad and some have vacuum disconnect front axles which are prone to vacuum leaks which cause issues with the 4 wheel drive not engaging. The B2's have their own whole list of known issues too. Poor quality heads, sagging rear springs, rust, certain transmissions are very unreliable. The Jeep 4.0 and AW4 automatic are absolutely bulletproof, like worlds better than anything ever offered in a B2.

For a light wheeler/daily driver I'd buy a Cherokee, hands down. For a dedicated wheeling rig, the B2 would be the choice.

That said I've owned a few of both and neither would be my first choice if I was looking at buying another vehicle.

 

[nitrojunkie1029]

A B2 will be no better or worse. The Jeep is unibody construction which has significant disadvantages offroad and some have vacuum disconnect front axles which are prone to vacuum leaks which cause issues with the 4 wheel drive not engaging. The B2's have their own whole list of known issues too. Poor quality heads, sagging rear springs, rust, certain transmissions are very unreliable.

For a light wheeler/daily driver I'd buy a Cherokee, hands down. For a dedicated wheeling rig, the B2 would be the choice.

That said I've owned a few of both and neither would be my first choice if I was looking at buying another vehicle.

Well i am looking to buy something that can be steeet legal for now, but i am thinking i will go full exocage rock crawler with narrowed fenders and cut the top off, etc, etc so i might not end up with a b2 when im done if i get one. So theres my thinking on where im going. I loved that jeep i drove on the trails, but i love fords and i love broncos so theres that also

 

[Shran]

The B2 for all its flaws is a MUCH better choice for a crawler simply because of its body-on-frame construction. The Jeep unibody is pretty weak - yes, there are a lot of aftermarket pieces that make it marginally better but just find a good B2 body and you'll already be ahead.

 

[Surrey]

Try to get an 89 or 90 Bronco II, they redesigned the heads for 89. the 88 and older heads have cracking issues.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

A stock Bronco II in good condition will do surprisingly well on trails. The short wheelbase and great turning radius save it a lot of times. And they're not all that expensive to build up a bit. Up until this most recent upgrade of my choptop BII, I did a 4x4 conversion (it was a 2wd when I got it), did a 5" suspension and a 2" body lift, replaced the motor, and put it on used 33" tires.... for a grand total of $1,700 invested (including the purchase cost of the truck). It took time and a bit of wheeling and dealing, but it worked. Now it's on 35's with a roll cage and a ton of other stuff and the price skyrocketed, but...

One thing I'd consider if I did it again would be to look for an early Explorer Sport. Slightly longer than a BII but they came with the heavier axles (D-35 and 8.8) and a 4.0L engine. All the things that are common upgrades to a BII.

 

[nitrojunkie1029]

Try to get an 89 or 90 Bronco II, they redesigned the heads for 89. the 88 and older heads have cracking issues.

Yeah i've heard that. I love the bodies on the older ones though. I'll probably do an engine swap anyway which leads me to ask whats the best engine to swap in a b2 CHEAP but still have a good engine?

 

[Shran]

Yeah i've heard that. I love the bodies on the older ones though. I'll probably do an engine swap anyway which leads me to ask whats the best engine to swap in a b2 CHEAP but still have a good engine?

89 and 90 are only marginally better as far as heads go. There is a misconception that 89, 90, and ALL 4.0 heads are super strong...NOT true, ALL 2.8, 2.9, and 4.0 heads WILL crack relatively easily - the truth is that some are slightly stronger than others. Don't let that scare you, just wanted to clear it up - ALL of them will last quite a while assuming your cooling system is in excellent shape.

The best (cheapest and easiest) engine to swap into a B2 is a 4.0. Second to that would be any of the Windsor V8's, excluding the 351W since it is slightly taller and much wider which creates exhaust clearance issues.

 

[wildbill23c]

I've had both a Jeep Cherokee and a Bronco 2. I can honestly say its kind of a toss up between the 2 offroad. I know that the Cherokee's with the 4.0L HO, 4 speed auto, and Selec-Trac 4x4 T-cases were awesome offroad, and in bone stock form will go places you wouldn't think they would go. Throw out the whole unibody construction is bad, its less crap hanging down under the vehicle to get hung up on. The Vacuum line system is completely protected if you get a skid plate so there wouldn't be any worries there, I had my 96 Grand Cherokee offroad in areas where you would look at it and think this thing will get stuck and it kept right on going. Had a 92 Cherokee with the selec-trac 4WD, and it did awesome as well, it had a limited slip rear axle and it would go places that you would look at on an ATV and find another way around.

I haven't ventured too far in my Bronco 2 yet due to the horrible tires that's on it, but I can say this, those horrible tires this past winter got me through the snow/ice just fine with very limited 4WD use. I've taken i up a couple of mild trails without any issues at all. Can't wait to get a descent set of tires on this thing and see what it really can do in winter and on a few trails. I don't offroad much, but its nice to know what your rig is capable of because you never know what you may end up in someday.

The biggest downfall to any vehicle regardless of its capabilities and how it is equipped is the driver. Get a knowledgeable drive behind the wheel of a 2WD truck and they'll take it places most people would be leary even going in a 4WD. Put someone behind the wheel of a 4WD that don't know what they're doing and they'll end up with severe problems. A lot of the "capability" lies in the driver's skill and knowledge of the area, and their vehicle.

 

[Surrey]

I've had both a Jeep Cherokee and a Bronco 2. I can honestly say its kind of a toss up between the 2 offroad. I know that the Cherokee's with the 4.0L HO, 4 speed auto, and Selec-Trac 4x4 T-cases were awesome offroad, and in bone stock form will go places you wouldn't think they would go. Throw out the whole unibody construction is bad, its less crap hanging down under the vehicle to get hung up on. The Vacuum line system is completely protected if you get a skid plate so there wouldn't be any worries there, I had my 96 Grand Cherokee offroad in areas where you would look at it and think this thing will get stuck and it kept right on going. Had a 92 Cherokee with the selec-trac 4WD, and it did awesome as well, it had a limited slip rear axle and it would go places that you would look at on an ATV and find another way around.

I haven't ventured too far in my Bronco 2 yet due to the horrible tires that's on it, but I can say this, those horrible tires this past winter got me through the snow/ice just fine with very limited 4WD use. I've taken i up a couple of mild trails without any issues at all. Can't wait to get a descent set of tires on this thing and see what it really can do in winter and on a few trails. I don't offroad much, but its nice to know what your rig is capable of because you never know what you may end up in someday.

The biggest downfall to any vehicle regardless of its capabilities and how it is equipped is the driver. Get a knowledgeable drive behind the wheel of a 2WD truck and they'll take it places most people would be leary even going in a 4WD. Put someone behind the wheel of a 4WD that don't know what they're doing and they'll end up with severe problems. A lot of the "capability" lies in the driver's skill and knowledge of the area, and their vehicle.

The problem with vacuum hubs or whatever is vacuum systems, and hoses fail. Regardless of how protected they are by a skidplate, they are still prone to failure over time.

The problem with unibody is the inability to do a body lift. Body lifts are popular because you can fit larger tires without changing the center of gravity as much as a suspension lift does. Very typical to see 4-6" lift paired with a 2-3" body lift to fit 35+s. Body lifts are also cheap.


If you are interested in swapping the engine, a 4.0 swap is easiest. You can get a 91-94 Explorer as a donor vehicle, which will provide engine, transmission, transfer case, and stronger front and rear axles. the 5.0 explorer engines are also a popular swap for these trucks, but you can't get as many parts from one vehicle (the 95+ explorers dont have the same front suspension as the 91-94)

 

[Shran]

The other problem with the unibody construction is that it just simply does not hold up under moderate wheeling. Cracks form, the body falls apart, the doors don't fit and rust makes this exponentially worse. Jeeps are excellent vehicles as a driver or light wheeling but for a dedicated crawler it's a bad decision.

 

[wildbill23c]

The problem with vacuum hubs or whatever is vacuum systems, and hoses fail. Regardless of how protected they are by a skidplate, they are still prone to failure over time.

The problem with unibody is the inability to do a body lift. Body lifts are popular because you can fit larger tires without changing the center of gravity as much as a suspension lift does. Very typical to see 4-6" lift paired with a 2-3" body lift to fit 35+s. Body lifts are also cheap.


If you are interested in swapping the engine, a 4.0 swap is easiest. You can get a 91-94 Explorer as a donor vehicle, which will provide engine, transmission, transfer case, and stronger front and rear axles. the 5.0 explorer engines are also a popular swap for these trucks, but you can't get as many parts from one vehicle (the 95+ explorers dont have the same front suspension as the 91-94)

I've never had a problem with the vacuum lines on either of the jeeps, the problems I've seen in them are due to neglected services. If you maintain your vehicle you would know to check this stuff and replace as necessary which most people have no clue about the 4x4 actuator on the front axle of the Jeeps so it gets overlooked all the time until something goes wrong LOL.

Never felt the need to lift any vehicle I have owned. So a unibody is never a problem for me. As a matter of fact I'm trying to find another Jeep Cherokee, tired of the mess with this B2, not that its the fault of the vehicle but the previous owner did so much damage to my B2 that I've ran out of play money to get it fixed properly.

 

[Surrey]

I've never had a problem with the vacuum lines on either of the jeeps, the problems I've seen in them are due to neglected services. If you maintain your vehicle you would know to check this stuff and replace as necessary which most people have no clue about the 4x4 actuator on the front axle of the Jeeps so it gets overlooked all the time until something goes wrong LOL.

Never felt the need to lift any vehicle I have owned. So a unibody is never a problem for me. As a matter of fact I'm trying to find another Jeep Cherokee, tired of the mess with this B2, not that its the fault of the vehicle but the previous owner did so much damage to my B2 that I've ran out of play money to get it fixed properly.

Never needed to lift any vehicle. That would explain why you dont see your 4x4 fail on you.

I dont trust anything thats automatic, all it does is break at the worst possible time...

edit - like my s10 losing 4x4 on an icy hill at night...

 

[nitrojunkie1029]

You guys have been awesome, thanks a lot. Im planning on going to a junk yard soon so i'll check for any explorers and price stuff out. I do want to drive the bronco on the street for now and after college and i pay off my loans im going to build my truck to the extreme crawler i have in my head

 

[nitrojunkie1029]

Do you guys think this would be a good one to start with? Its from jersey so im afraid its totally rotted out, but it looks decent

1988 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer model $1500

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3920686356.html