Ranger, or bronco II? Do either fit my needs?

[kawana]

Hey guys, so im completely new to the 4x4 scene, and need some advice on what to get. Ive been going back and forth between a first gen cherokee, bronco II, or a ranger. I have $3500 to spend, but dont want to spend more than $1500-$2000 on the initial vehicle purchase. Id like to have a grand or 2 left over to mod it or fix it up. Whatever I pick will be my daily driver, but also a weekend offroader (nothing hardcore, just light stuff), and something Ill take camping. I need something easy to work on, cheap on parts and reliable! Reliability is very important to me. Ive researched the cherokees to death, and I think they're pretty reliable, but I wanna give the fords a shot. Are the bronco II's, and rangers gunna leave me stranded? How are they to work on?

Please dont sugar coat your answer, regarding their reliability. I know this is a bronco/ranger forum, but please give it to me straight. What are their known problem areas? What should I look for when checking one out? Worst spots for rust?
Edit: Also, what are the best factory equipped years for both the bronco II and ranger?
Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[crbnunit]

The Cherokee is a unibody. Enough said in my book. I have seen them do some incredible things and have seen them heavily modified but the unibody construction means it has a definite life span. Jeeps make great offroaders... Once you bolt a bunch of Ford parts on them. Jeep is the Hardley of the auto world. They are expensive. Parts are expensive. JEEP-Just Empty Every Pocket.

Ranger or BII. There are fewer parts available to "just bolt on" and you have to cobble things together sometimes to get what you want. The are definitely in your price range and are under appreciated as off road vehicles. They can be VERY capable and affordable if modded with a plan. Do you need a pickup? If not, the BII will actually turn inside a Jeep which is a great advantage on tight trails. They also climb like a goat! If you brake those big windows though, they are quite expensive to replace.

I have had both. I have a Ranger now and love it. I miss the interior space and accessibility of the BII sometimes though. Both are quite reliable if you maintain and build them right.

 

[heptofite]

I'll tell you from experience, my B2, which is stock except for the tires, could not get high centered when i was out on the trail, came close a few times, and if i'd been any longer, would have, but it could get into and out of some really tight spots.

I've actually fit it through four wheeler trails before.

 

[whocares]

You can pick up a good running BII under a grand, use the rest of your budget making it into what you want.

 

[LearjetMinako]

A 1st gen Jeep Cherokee or BII you can get for around $2K or less. With the BII, even if you find one thats not a 4x4, you can easily swap parts to make it a 4x4. With the Ranger, you can not. A good find would be a late 95~97 Ranger 4x4. This way it will have the 4.0L OHV engine (good torque @ low rpm's) and is OBD II for easier fixes. BII will also be good, but the 2.9L will lack some on the HP (still good torque @ low rpm's) and has a known issue with cracking heads if overheated (even on the improved heads, just not as easily as the ones before). A engine swap to a 4.0L or 5.0L would be a good option later. The Jeep is unibody, so don't expect to put a large lift kit on it. But the soild front and rear axles are a plus for durabilty in the off-road terrain. The I-6 4.0L is a good engine with good torque @ low rpm's.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I've got to admit...... that I've always owned rangers..... but when it comes to offroading the B2 is the way to go. They are balanced so well that you don't even need a locker for all 4 tires to spin %80 of the time. And if your camping and stuff the rear hatch has enough room to store your goodies and keep everything clean and dry.

As far as reliability...... get a manual trans and you'll never have an issue.
the 2.8 and the 2.9 are 250k mile motors if you maintain them. B2 addicts 2.8 has been durasparked, and I'm pretty sure it's completely indestructible.

Frank

 

[BlackBII]

Cherokee, BII or Ranger, any of them will take a good number of upgrades to make them decent off road vehicles.

Out of the box, they're all pretty even. Save for the BII, which will have the 2.9, where the Ranger/Cherokee will have a 4.0. (Provided you get one with a 4.0)

The ranger and BII will have stronger Axles out of the box, Dana35/7.5/8.8 vs Dana30/35. (Some '89 and '90 BII's came with the Dana35 front, if not, swap is bolt on) All have decent drivetrains.

Personally, I would go for a BII. Why?
Can be found for really cheap. 500-1000$
4.0 swap is cake
Rear 8.8 swap is cake
Short wheel base
Might be lucky and find one with 4.10 gearing
8.8 swap is cake
NOT a unibody
BII's are awesome

With all this, it makes it look like it takes a lot of work to get the BII off road worthy. But, it can be done with much less money than the Jeeper and it'll be a better vehicle in the long run.

With a $ to $ comparison, the BII will out do the Cherokee easily off road.

 

[heptofite]

the 2.8 and the 2.9 are 250k mile motors if you maintain them.

got almost 500k on my 2.9, it's pretty reliable

 

[country0001]

I'd vote for the B2 also. I'm finishing up my 1st 4.0 swap, and its been interesting to say the least. But it'll be worth it in the end.

My second chouce would be a 2nd or 3rd gen Ranger extended cab w a 4.0/5spd.

Both of my B2's are 90's one w a D35 and the other w a D28.

Parts trucks are cheap and readily available.

 

[crbnunit]

This is what I'd do if I were starting over. BII. They are cheap and plelntiful. Shop around and get something with a decent body and interrior. Another nice thing about the BII is you can haul 4 people. Can't really do that in a Ranger. Or you can take the rear seat for more storage. If you aren't too tall, you can even sleep in it.

Next, take some of your mod moeny and buy a wrecked Exploder for the D-35, 8.8 and the 4.0. Should be lots around for around $500 or so. With those two items, you have a decent base truck and the three most improtant mods for the BII .You'll have the disc braked, limites slip 8.8 which is a much stronger axle than the little 7.5 stock BII axle, the D-35, also much stronger, they will be geared the same (if you are careful and lucky, you can get stock 4.10 gears) and they will be a bolt on mod. Should be able to swap them in a day easy. You definitely wan ta manual trans and t-case if you can but the A4od isn't as bad as everyone makes out. You just have to treat them nice and don't let the m get hot. The 4.0 swap will take a bit longer but you will LOVE the difference. The 2.8 in my BII was adequate. Just. Dependable yes, but weak. As a bonus, you'll get better wheels to bolt up. Go up to 31's or 33's, a small lift, a decent winch and you are set for all but the gnarliest trails.

 

[scotts90ranger]

skip the wrecked explorer, just get a friggin explorer to start with! they have the optimal drivetrain, look for one with a 5 speed, this way you get the 4.0, 31 spline 8.8, D35 and the tranny that will live the longest behind the 4.0, and to lift you will just have to get drop brackets for the front then flip the springs on the rear axle.

 

[Frank The Tank]

skip the wrecked explorer, just get a friggin explorer to start with! they have the optimal drivetrain, look for one with a 5 speed, this way you get the 4.0, 31 spline 8.8, D35 and the tranny that will live the longest behind the 4.0, and to lift you will just have to get drop brackets for the front then flip the springs on the rear axle.

But explorers are gay.....

Frank

 

[kawana]

Thanks for the replies guys, it seems like lots of other website I asked about BII's on, have nothing but bad things to say. Now, I do take their opinions with a grain of salt, I have no idea of this is first hand knowledge they're passing on, or from a friend of a friend of a friend etc... Why do they get such a bad rap? Where there some years that were prone to failures? They say they "Fall apart", "... The elecrical system fried 3 times in the first month" etc...

Now, if these problems are cheap fixes, its not such a big deal

 

[Frank The Tank]

My b2 had the tail.lights go out..... big deal, just a dead short.

They are so cheap it's not funny to work on.
And yeah when you put something through the absolute hell that a B2 will withstand, it's going to have some issues. The automatic trans weren't very good, but they weren't good in the rangers either.

They kind of have an uggly duckling reputation, but I think they're sexy.

Frank

 

[ragajungle]

b2! neat trucks, can turn around in a parking space, great stock trail rig. easy as hell to work on!