My 88 Bronco 2 is getting a new heart

[wildbill23c]

I posted over on the Bronco 2 Corral but not sure how many from TRS frequent that page, so I thought I'd post my news on my Bronco 2 on here as well.

About 3 months ago (about the middle of July) things seemed to go from bad to worse, I took a back road home which has a pretty long stretch of uphill, Bronco 2 started losing power quite rapidly, not like you experience when you go up a hill, but you could tell the engine was no longer running on all cylinders; the old and tired 2.9L V6 in my Bronco 2 went from being somewhat driveable to questionable if I'd make it back home before it decided to start throwing parts out the side of the block. So I parked it and started driving my other vehicle full time. August 14th, my mom passed away so things have been extremely chaotic for a while, and have somewhat settled down enough that I finally got a shop that is competent enough that I can trust to replace the engine...no it isn't cheap...if anyone is wondering its about $4,000 to have this done...add another $1,000 if you live in a city where labor is $100+ an hour.

So, anyhow, the Bronco 2 made it to the shop on its own power, drove great going up there, the guy jumped in it to go park it around back in their lot and it started blowing smoke pretty bad again. It always seems the front cylinder on the driver's side is where my problem is that must be just dumping oil into the cylinder as its the one that I've been having to replace the spark plug in really frequently. Last time is why I stopped driving it. Usually I'd find the plug just packed with carbon, on the last replacement it was quite oily, and rather than carbon I found metal filings ...so it got parked at that point.

Sorry for the long story, I'll try to update when I get more information. They're saying about 10 hours of labor which seems low? It would take me a whole day to just pull the engine LOL.

I seem to be a bit more happy and a little more relaxed seeing my Bronco 2 getting a new engine really soon. Probably in a week or 2 depending on how busy the shop is. Can't recall the company the engine is coming from but it is a long block, and I am really hoping they don't run into any problems but of course I'm sure they will. Just happy that its getting an engine and I'll be able to drive it wherever I want. Transmission is holding up really well, I hope the engine replacement does as well, I enjoy driving the Bronco 2 and I'm sure my mom would love to see it running like new as well, unfortunately she's gone way too soon , but in a better place and no longer suffering.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Sorry to here about your mom.
In a shop 10 hours to pull an engine seems high...but...I'm a backyard mechanic, not a pro.

edit; I just realized you're talking about the whole job. Seems like a fair estimate.

 

[Assassynation]

You have my condolences.

If you can get the build sheet from the shop, maybe you'll get some input on quality of the parts being replaced.

and...

for 4k you can find a real nice replacement bronco too

 

[wildbill23c]

For 4K I can keep driving the Bronco 2 I already have and already put a tranny in 2 years ago. If I didn't have a Bronco 2 already 4k would be about what to expect for something that drives down the road and doesn't look like it went through a destruction derby LOL. Where I live little 4WD's are expensive because all the hunters buy them to use for hunting, its nothing to see 80's rangers in the $4-6k range because? Because people keep shelling out that kind of money on them.

As for a build sheet, I have no idea how you'd get one, its a crate engine, and this is the first engine replacement I've ever dealt with so I'm not sure if those sheets would come with the engine or not? Maybe a future contact to the rebuilder may net those results, maybe not, probably not they most likely wouldn't divulge which foreign Asian country they sourced parts from...cough...cough...China.

I believe the previous owner just put gas in it and drug it around behind his motorhome improperly until he got tired of it not running properly then sold it cheap, so now...like many others on TRS that have sunk several thousands of dollars into their B2's and Rangers I'm doing the same to keep my B2 alive as long as I possibly can. Why? Because I love driving it too much to get rid of it LOL.

Yes, I have at times considered scrapping it due to the engine issues, but overall its in pretty decent condition no rust, no major dents, just needs a new paint job...nothing a couple of $4 spray paint cans at the hardware store can't fix, if I could just recall what that late 80's red matches up to in Rustoleum paint HAHA!!!


I appreciate the condolences for my mom, she certainly is missed, and the holidays will...well not exist anymore in my household...when my grandmother passed away in 2002 it left the holidays pretty empty, and now with mom gone its even worse .

Anyhow, hope everyone has a good rest of their week and a great weekend turning wrenches on their RBV's...we all know that's a normal weekend occurrence HAHA!!!

 

[wildbill23c]

Sorry to here about your mom.
In a shop 10 hours to pull an engine seems high...but...I'm a backyard mechanic, not a pro.

edit; I just realized you're talking about the whole job. Seems like a fair estimate.

Yes the quote was for R&R. I'm guessing more like 12-14 hours in reality though, nothing ever goes by the book especially on a 30 year old vehicle. I'm just hoping it goes smoothly and they don't break anything too expensive...they already racked up a $1200 bill on a free car I got last month...yeah not so free now but it runs and drives pretty well.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I can feel for you regarding trucks you already have money sunk into. I was given for free an 86 Ranger that needed a salvage inspection. After about $2,000 in repairs and $450 for the inspection, I had a decent little rust free truck. A year later the trans went. That was another $2,000....Not so cheap any more...and....it was only worth about $3,500 in this market. I drove it till it until the motor blew and there is rust thru the cab and box so I figure I got my money out of it. I still have it but it's going to the scrapper soon.

 

[wildbill23c]

I figure since I already own it and its in pretty decent shape the money I sink into it now just keeps it going. Its not like you can just go buy a new one and I don't think I'm going to care for the new "Bronco" coming out in 2020, so there's absolutely no reason why I shouldn't keep what I like and fit it and keep driving it. eventually it'll get some new paint and maybe a better interior but all in all its not that bad of a vehicle, and for what I do with it just as a daily driver I'd like to keep it original, yes I tossed the idea around of putting the 4.0L in it, but it came down to keeping it original and just driving it as much as I can while I can. I enjoy it too much to get rid of it anyways.

 

[Assassynation]

its nothing to see 80's rangers in the $4-6k range because? Because people keep shelling out that kind of money on them.

Where is this market, I might need to take a road trip...

Idaho is beautiful country. I drove through a few years back.

I enjoy it too much to get rid of it anyways.

Yeah, it's really unique. I bought 2 B2's for parts rigs and I wouldn't mind having one of them too.

Since your engine out already, consider a cam upgrade. 1988 had smaller diameter throttle body too, slap on an 87 to get more power.

There's a really good write up on here to get the most out of the 2.9 without going crazy.

 

[wildbill23c]

Where is this market, I might need to take a road trip...

Idaho is beautiful country. I drove through a few years back.



Yeah, it's really unique. I bought 2 B2's for parts rigs and I wouldn't mind having one of them too.

Since your engine out already, consider a cam upgrade. 1988 had smaller diameter throttle body too, slap on an 87 to get more power.

There's a really good write up on here to get the most out of the 2.9 without going crazy.

Its getting a long block, its not a custom build, I'm not putting that kind of money into something that is a DD. I'm not into racing, and I'm not into performance. I live in Idaho, people here can't manage to drive the ridiculously slow 20-25mph speed limits in town, I don't need speed, just something to get around town LOL.

Maybe when I win that $900 million powerball I could do a couple of upgrades HAHA!!!

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Are they going thru the heads? Mainly valve guides, valve seats may need attention too.

And they like to crack, it would be good to have them magnafluxed before slapping them back on.

 

[wildbill23c]

Are they going thru the heads? Mainly valve guides, valve seats may need attention too.

And they like to crack, it would be good to have them magnafluxed before slapping them back on.

You missed the whole long block portion of the post apparently. There's nothing to go through. Post #9 I mentioned its getting a long block. All the external accessories get bolted onto the new block, long block gives you a new block, pistons, rings, heads, etc. You just have to put all the external stuff from your old block onto the new one.

 

[det107]

Sorry about your Moms-