Hey, all. BII owner here

[KDub57]

I've gotten so much useful information from the community here. Finally decided to make a profile.

I'm the proud owner of a 1989 Bronco II RWD Eddie Bauer. It's bone stock except for the radio. She's not for off-roading, I just love the way she looks and I love wrenching. I've put about 20k miles on her in the 2.5 years I've had her.

She's in great shape as far as the body goes. Very little rust, and the previous owner had her repainted. Mechanically, she's fine for the most part. I've never had a problem with the engine. Since owning her I've replaced (or repaired) the front brakes, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs and wires, window motors, door lock actuators, power steering hose connections, and I'm sure a few other things I'm forgetting. I've also endured a transmission rebuild and water pump replacement after a poor route choice towing through the Appalachians, but that's another story.

Next jobs on the list are a full rear-brake job, possibly swapping the driveshaft (I've got cv joints), diagnosing and repairing the cruise control, and rebuilding the rear differential.

That last one is actually what ultimately made me make a profile here. I could use some help confirming the noise I'm hearing, but I'm going to make another post in the Ranger Axles section.

Anyway, great to finally be here, and I look forward to learning from everyone as well as helping when I can.

 

[fangotango306]

welcome from another b2 addict!

 

[Mark_88]

Nice looking BII!

I almost bought one and I'm really wishing I had done so when I had the chance...it just needed a new engine to replace the worn out 2.9 but I was off on another project...

Ah, well...so you think your rear end is making noises? Did you try putting it up on stands and running it to check?

If not...might help find the noise...I read one member did that and found something was rubbing on his drive shaft or something like that...can't tell without looking at it and a rear end rebuild may not be hard but why do it unless you have to?

 

[KDub57]

Thanks! I feel like I got really lucky with this find, despite the on-going project it may be haha.

I haven't tried running it on stands to check for the noise. I have never done it before and so far I've been too worried something might go wrong.

I have the diff cover off at the moment and I'm waiting on a new one in the mail (old one was fiberglass and had a crack in it). Once I put the new one on I'll take some precautions and try checking for the noise on stands.

 

[Mark_88]

As long as the stands are not the cheap ones and are rated for the load you put on them they should be fine. The back end of a BII is probably less than 2,000 lbs so the lowest rating should cover that. Maybe have someone in the driver's seat ready to tap the brakes if needed...

In all the years I used jack stands I've never had one collapse with weight but I have heard of it happening with some of the cheap metal ones that are made outside of North America. I usually had a backup system in place when possible like some cement blocks with wood put in between so that it is just sitting under with no weight.

That was when I first started working under my truck and as I got more comfortable I got a bit more confident with the stands but never really fully trusted them...so always had a backup on at least one side and kept my body out from under things like axels and tires or brake drums if that was the task at hand.

A bit of extra caution can be the difference you need...and I'd rather spend a few extra seconds putting that in a post than to think if something happened I might have been able to prevent it with just a few extra words.

 

[KDub57]

I'm feeling more confident about it now. The stands I have are rated for 2 tons each and should be fine. Having a backup like cinder blocks and wood sounds like a good idea. And before I even try looking under the truck while it's running I will stay in the driver's seat and run the wheels up to make sure things are rock solid.

Should be able to give it a try next week so I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[KDub57]

In the meantime, I made this video of my examination of my differential with the cover off.

https://youtu.be/rSACLXB4nAY

 

[Mark_88]

It does look like there is too much play there but I've never rebuilt one either...

I found this video that might give you an idea if the noise is from wear...at about the 5 minute mark the guy shows the old vs new gears and there is a fair amount of wear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnZc7Dbn-Vk