I now have a Ford Bronco II

[entirelyturbo]

Well, it's not MINE, actually. But I am in possession of it right now, I get to fix it up and then my grandfather and I will sell it and split the dough.

My uncle needed a good car, so my grandfather was nice enough to trade him his 1997 Mitsu Diamante (hardly call it a GOOD car, but w/e) for the Bronco.

It's a 1990, 5spd, 2WD, V6, I'm guessing 117k miles (only 5-digit odo), body is actually in good shape. But believe me, this is not something a picky freak like me would want to drive around everyday. CEL is on, and I'm 80% sure it's the temp sensor (idles terrible, stumbles, and temp gauge stays on cold), the shifter is as wobbly as a dildo, the oil pressure gauge jumps and bounces all over the place. Plus it's a Ford

I might snag pics of it if I get time...

[THAWA]

dont waste the film...

[vrg3]

Sounds like it could be fun... reminds me of when a friend and I bought a not-quite-running 1988 GMC Sierra pickup for $25, got it running again, and sold it for $100.

This page should help you get the codes out of the ECU: http://www.dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html

What makes oil pressure fluctuate? Could clogged passages do it? Maybe adding some Sea Foam to the crankcase could help clean it out.

And maybe you could cover up all the "Ford" logos with electrical tape.

[LaureltheQueen]

there was some kid at my high school that had a kia sephia he cut the springs on and "fixed up", which included covering the oval shaped kia emblems with electrical tape, so they resembled ford emblems, I think he was hoping someone would mistake it for something with more than 20 horsepower

[entirelyturbo]

Thanks for the link Vikash, although I'd hafta sit down for a while and read it thoroughly, it's no children's book like a Haynes manual is.

I'm 95% sure it's not actual oil pressure fluctuation, but a faulty gauge or sending unit or sumthin. When I do give it gas, it goes to Normala and stays steady. I do hear a tapping lifter though.

My understanding is it's not the original engine. All I can tell is it's a 2.9L V6.

Ah well, I think I might actually have fun with it, or I might just grow to hate it after working on it and just fall in love with Scoobs even more .

[entirelyturbo]

This Bronco is bad karma. Now I remember why I love Subarus so much...

Found out the hard way today that the low fuel light doesn't work Drove about a mile from my house and it died on me, ON MY WAY to get gas might I add So I walked home, got a gas can, hopped in trusty ol Patti and put about half the can of gas in it (at least 3 gals and the gas gauge didnt move at all, so I think the gauge is broken too), then took it straight home, then walked back to Patti. At least I can say I walked 2 miles today

Then I looked in a Haynes manual for these POS's at Discount, and it didn't clarify things much more than Vikash's link. Something about putting a voltmeter between the self-diag connector and the + terminal on the battery, then some other crap and the voltage gauge on the dash will jerk the code at you WTF is that??

Oh and the oil gauge is obviously designed for dummies. It has 3 positions: Low, Normal, and High. There is no position in between them. I watched it today and whenever the idle dropped below 500rpm, the gauge just shot over to Low, as if it was perfectly normal at 600rpm. So I concur that fixing this idle problem will bring that to an end.

Add to that the transmission is noisy as hell. I checked the gear oil level today, it's full. However, I will note that there are no external bushings on the shifter. The shifter goes straight into the tranny from inside the car, so maybe a shift rod inside is screwed up. And hell if I'm pulling the tranny and cracking the case

So I think I'm just going to fix the CEL/idle problem and the fuel gauge problem. Then I'll slap a For Sale sign on it. And I will be even more in love with Soobies...

[vrg3]

Sounds like a plan.

Yeah, that page reads like it was copied directly out of a Chilton's manual.

I think you want to do this:

- Get out your test light, or buy one if you don't have one.

- Warm the engine up.

- Shut the engine off and wait at least 10 seconds.

- Locate the trapezoidal 6-pin test connector on the firewall or fender.

- Locate the small 1-pin connector near it.

- Identify the pins on the trapezoidal connector. You want pins 2 and 4.

- Jumper pin 2 of the trapezoidal connector to the 1-pin connector.

- Clip the alligator clip of the test light to the positive battery terminal.

- Stick the probe of the test light in pin 4 of the trapezoidal connector.

- Now when you either turn the ignition on (for KOEO) or start the engine (for KOER), the test light will flash out the codes as per the description on the web page.

[entirelyturbo]

Wow, that was the most comprehensive thing I read so far. Thanks Vikash!

[vrg3]

Sure thing... hope it works; I was just re-interpreting the instructions in the link.

[entirelyturbo]

That is no longer the main problem...

I drove it around enough today for it to actually get up to temperature. The temp gauge does work, it just warms up really slow (probably an iron block and the belt-driven fan doesn't help ).

But the valves started tapping really bad and the oil pressure gauge only registered Normal at 2k rpm. I poured 3 quarts of oil in it, didn't really car if I was overfilling it , and it still tapped and registered low oil pressure. So at the very least, I've got an oil pump rebuild on my hands, unless the engine bearings are worn enough to not return proper oil pressure

Junking it is a possibility too

[vrg3]

I don't know much about troubleshooting low oil pressure, but... have you tried just replacing the oil filter, in case it's acting as too much of a restriction or something and the bypass valve failed?

[entirelyturbo]

Since there's probably way too much oil in it right now anyway, I'll probably just change it and the filter.

My grandfather says it's in the way right now and wants it back at his office, so I guess he wants it to be a burden to him as long as possible. I told him I'd rather get it done, sell it, and get it over with...

[entirelyturbo]

My grandfather helps me out in a lot of ways, he's bailed me out of so much trouble it isn't funny. He's really a helpful guy...

That said, he REALLY pissed me off. He gave the Bronco away to his brother without so much as a WORD to me. I went by his office today and it was gone, and I asked him where it was. He told me no one was doing anything with it, I said I was just getting ready to bring it back here and start working on it...

I can't get angry with him for getting rid of it, it's his car, he can do what he wants. But telling me that I get to work on it and split the profits with him when he sells it, then gives it away without even telling me really pisses me off!

I actually was kinda planning on whatever money I was gonna get from it. Now I'm absolutely sure I'm gonna hafta get a second job in the mornings until I go back to school in January if I have any intention of doing the stuff I wanna do with my cars...

GRRRRRRR!

[Yukonart]

Don't worry. . . . you wouldn't have gotten a ton of money from any Bronco II. IMO, they were one of Ford's dumber moves in the 80s and 90s . . .

That's it. . . let's take a short-wheelbase "truck", give it tons of ground clearance, a top-heavy body design, and a narrow track. Seriously. . . I think the Ford "engineers" were smoking pot the day they came up with that design.

Trust me. . . you're better-off not even having to deal with it, anymore.

[BAC5.2]

All of Ford's "2"'s were lame ass. The Mustang 2, and the Bronco 2. Both sucked some balls.

They were Ford's answer to a "gas crisis" that no one asked for.