Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Bronco II

Found a driveable '90 for small change, now gotta decide what to do wiffit? It will off road only, for up at hunting camp. Wanted something small in 4x4, so I don't hafta beat the snot outta my Z71 bouncing across fields. The Bronc is small enough to use on the trails in the woods, the truck ain't.

4 cylinder, 5 speed. Rough body (faded paint, dents, etc), but not much body rust and the frame/drive train appear to be okay upon visual inspection.

Mine has 235k on it and still runs great ('87). I have the 2.9 V6 and the 5 spd. Mine has the 3.43 gears so it's a little high geared for serious off roading. It also kills the power for towing. The 3.73 is much better for anything other than highway.
It gets around great in tight spots, for sure. It's very agile. Driving fast in a stiff cross wind will get your attention. It'll get pretty squirrely.

Only "high winds" this little pizzer is gonna see, will be when it's tethered on my trailer during the trip to camp. ;O)

No idea what gears it has, will figure that out later. Only drove it briefly (in a field), when I looked it over before buying it. Fairly good stock tires (Wranglers) with somewhat aggressive tread. They should suit my intentions. Price was right: $600, as is.

Will check to see how much my buddy's 4WD shop wants to put a mild lift on it, before I fetch it to camp. In case I ever get an urge for bigger gums?

with the 4 cyl, think hard before you put on larger tires unless you want to spend a wad on new ring and pinion gears. That engine will have a hard time turning big ones over.

As good an excuse as any to swap in a 4BT...

Wasn't figuring to get carried away with tires, but might go a tad larger than what's on it now. Think they're 235/15s? Didn't bring it home yet, don't have it here to look.

From what I can tell, most of the parts are "interchangable" with Ford Ranger parts?

Axle ratio: look at the door tag, bottom line. One box is labeled axle. This chart tells you what the gears are.

CODE: DEFINITION:

42 -- 3.45

44 -- 3.73

47 -- 4.10

D2 -- 3.45 (limited slip)

D4-- 3.73 (limited slip)

D7-- 4.10 (limited slip)

Quite a few parts are interchangeable with the Ranger, but not all. For one, I think the Ranger is slightly wider and the axle mounts don't quite match up.

I learned to drive a manual trans in an 86 Bronco II. It was a 2.9l 5 speed.

It was a fun little rig that rusted to hell.

My 87 is pretty rusty but it runs like a champ and turns around on a one lane road.It's hauled more than a few mulies and a couple of bears out of the bush.The front fenders interchange with the Ranger,and I'll be needing some real quick! Monashee

I inherited my '87 when my brother died about 3 years ago. He bought it new and drove it hard for over 200k. It's held up VERY well, almost no rust at all.

My brother had one made in the late 80's, forget the year. He only kept it a couple of years. WAAAAAAY under powered. It was a manual and at times he had to go to low range just to get it started on a hill. If you live in flat land it might be OK. Forget bigger tires unless you plan on swapping out gears and engine

I can tell you that mine, with the 2.9L and 5 spd, can't pull a 2000lb trailer into a stiff headwind at over 45 mph, even in lower gears. It just hasn't got the oomph to do it. It does ok without the trailer but you won't suffer from G-force blackout.

Got it loaded and off to a buddy's garage today, to get new brake lines installed. Used to do all that sorta stuff myself, too much hassle fer an achy old goat now.

Discovered the driver's side power window doesn't work, so will root that apart later. If I could be lucky enough to find a boneyard door w/manual operation, might go that route? Hate power "anything" in old beaters.

4x4 works fine, don't much care for push button transfer case switches, though. Think I'll just let in 4x4, since it's a hunting camp jalopy? Little pizzer fired right up and went on the trailer like it wanted to be there.

Bonus found in the back: Brand new Craftsman HD 3 ton jack stand. Cast iron notched leg, not a piece of pipe mit der holes/cross pin.

>Checked to see what axles it has, according to the furnished data above. It has 3.73 gears. The tires are 235/75/15 Wranglers, 'bout a quarter inch of tread depth. And I'm embarrassed to note that it's the 2.9L V6, not a four banger, as the guy said he thought it was (wasn't his rig). Date of mfr. is 12/89.

Also has a skid plate under the gas tank; Rancho shocks; PS/PB and A/C. Looks like all the belts and hoses are fairly new. The radiator appears to have been replaced at some point, as it's still clean as a whistle.

I'm glad you got the 3.73 gears. The 3.43's are highway gears. With the small engine, the 3.73 is MUCH more useful. The 2.9 is a good engine, very durable. Mine has 235k miles and it just purrs, using almost no oil at all.

Too many irons in the fire this fall, finally just now getting around to totin' the little devil to camp this weekend. Better late than never, since deer season starts Monday. Gotter loaded and chained, ready to roll.

Wanted to have it up there by late Oct/ early November, but it didn't happen.

Turned out the brake lines/hoses were okay, but the master cylinder was leaking where it mates with the power booster, inexpensive fix. A buddy asked why I didn't camo the damn thing before I hauled it to camp. Told him the paint is so dull, didn't need any camo. ;O)

Bought one of those new 1988. 2.9 engine likes to get real hot. Don't let it or you'll hear that annoying ticking. It will also bake the plug wires and any other such items. Replace the stock plug wires and hoses with heavier duty equipment, don't try to pull heavy loads, change the oil regularly and it will run forever.

Also watch out for that pesky transfer case solenoid. Mine went through two before I found a guy in SC who new the club hand shake. Replaced it with better after market variety and never had the problem again.

Wish I had kept mine.

First vehicle I owned was a 87 bronco 2.Mine had the 2.9l but was an automatic and it would GO PLACES!!Great engine, will run forever if you take care of it!Nice and small to manuever around obstacles, etc..Perfect for what you want it for.Still wish I had it back at times, lol.

Spent two weeks at camp for deer season and the Bronco worked out very well. Regular little mountain goat. Saved me lots of walking on sore old feet and knees, getting from camp, closer to some favorite hunting spots.

The driver's side power window that I thought didn't work, actually did with a bit of help at first. Coupla cycles and it worked fine by itself. The heater works great and came in handy. The A/C even works (tried it one day when it was in the upper 50s). Not that I needed it much in December? ;O)

I put the sumbitch in 4WD Low and left it there. It ain't gonna see much "on road" use while I have it at the cabin. So far, so good and a helluva lot handier in the rain, than a $5K ATV.

dubePA,

Any pics?

Regards,

Peter

Occured to me on the way home from camp, that I never got around to taking any pics of the little devil while I was up there. Looks "perfect" now, since it's splattered with mud and hay grass residue.

The mini-Bronc is dark maroon w/silver side panels. Must've been a popular color choice, because there are two of them just like it, still on the road here at home. Although the other two don't have the spoked OEM mags that mine has.

The paint is so dull, it blends in pretty well when sitting in the woods, which it was most of the time. The mud and grass only added to the camo effect.