1988 BII Build

[88_Eddie]

I know.....get rid of the auto hubs, they are ugly.

yeah, i was gonna buy some manual hubs from another TRS member last week but i was real low on funds....hopefully i can buy them in the next week or two....gotta find some more jobs

 

[88_Eddie]

well it's gettin cold here and now that it's gettin dark earlier, i pretty much can only work on the weekends.

i did some body work the other day. i'm still saving for a body lift and new treads.

trimmed the fenders to match the front of the BII, i've always hated how it hung down. i'm also debating if i want to paint the grill. it'll either be eddie bauer brown or black.

more to come soon.....

 

[IlovemybroncII]

I like it I like it That was a great idea cutting front fenders down to match front end

 

[dangerranger83]

I like that finder trimed look. Looks like I'm going to be doing that this spring or summer when I start body wok on my truck.

 

[88_Eddie]

i'm changing the oil in the tranny, t-case and both diffs this week. i have the 2 diffs done right now and i'll start on the tranny and t-case tomorrow i hope.

while i had the rear diff open, i did a little artwork with some gray paint i had laying around. i'm gonna wirebrush and repaint the axle housing later.

 

[recklessabandonman]

For a 4" RC lift, you don't need a steering extension. I just put mine in today, and steers just fine without it.

I was going to get that one 3" lift from JC Whitney, but it wasn't complete, so I went with a 4" from http://store.4wheelingplus.com/proddetail.asp?prod=435H.

 

[EB Golden]

Thats a nice bronco II man, i've always wanted to get one of them. it would look good with like a 3" suspension and 2" body so not so much of the frame shows and some 33x12.50 mud terrains. put up some more pictures of my ranger if your interested

 

[88_Eddie]

Thats a nice bronco II man, i've always wanted to get one of them. it would look good with like a 3" suspension and 2" body so not so much of the frame shows and some 33x12.50 mud terrains. put up some more pictures of my ranger if your interested

thanks man, yeah i'm workin on saving some funds to actually do some stuff to it, but it's hard being unemployed right now plus i've got a coolant/engine problem to deal with right now.

 

[frankserrano]

updates? i like the work you've done so far. i'm really fond of the fender trimming to eliminate the hangdown.

 

[88_Eddie]

^
i keep running into other problems, plus i'm still tryin to find a REAL job and funds are TIGHT to say the least....add to that it's been snowing and cold as hell for the last 3 weeks. right now, i've run into a cracked head gasket, so i'm about to tear down the engine and replace them. had to replace the thermostat and water pump before i ran into the head gasket problem. i have a D35 lined up at a junkyard for $250, i'd be $50 away if i didnt have to buy all this crap.....

supposed to hear about a job last friday, hopefully i'll hear today

 

[88_Eddie]

UPDATE............finally

well i've got a cracked head or head gasket.....so i've decided to take this project in a new direction. it's gonna be a RESTORATION now instead of a BUILD. i got this BII when i turned 16 and i wanna make it nice again. i'm gonna start by rebuilding the 2.9L. i'm gonna put a small lift on it, get a manual t-case, some 31's, probably regear and redo the interior.

napa has a rebuild kit for $600 that includes everything you need and they'll check out your old block and heads and stuff to make sure everything is ok. you can also subtract stuff off the kit to make it cheaper - which is nice, cause i just replaced the plugs, wires, water pump, alternator and t-stat.

here's the progress so far:

gonna paint some stuff ford blue, intake and valve covers so far

http://i893.photobucket.com/albums/ac134/88_Eddie
/BII/P2030002.jpg

more is on the way.............

 

[Xandor]

I like the blue. Def keeping an eye on your build. Nice to see people realy work on there builds even if its slow.

 

[jhammel85]

Looks like a good job man. I really like the intake. Did you grind the top of it to give it that look?

 

[88_Eddie]

I like the blue. Def keeping an eye on your build. Nice to see people realy work on there builds even if its slow.

yeah, the rack at autozone said FORD BLUE, i like it....plus my cone air filter is "ford" blue, so it'll go nice. not sure if i'm gonna paint the block yet. got the valve covers done today.

here's everything, should look nice in the engine compartment

Looks like a good job man. I really like the intake. Did you grind the top of it to give it that look?

yep, painted the whole thing and used one of sand paper wheels to take the paint off, worked great.


got the one of the heads off today.....the right one is still stuck on there. i got all the head bolts out, but i have the very back, lower exhaust manifold bolt to take out still. they're rusted in there like a mofo......got some good penetrating oil though, should take care of it.

here's the left head, looks to be in good shape, but i'm gonna get it checked out along with the block and other head

 

[jhammel85]

Making progress

I hope those heads are good. Itd be nice to save money for once wouldn't it?!

Did you find any other problems while digging around? Just a guess, but by the looks of the black marks on those manifolds, you might be fixing some leaks as well!

 

[88_Eddie]

^
i hope the heads are ok, i havent seen anything that is jumping out at me. one of the gaskets on the exhaust manifold was in pieces and fell apart when i removed the left hand head. the exhaust manifolds are really rusty, i'm thinkin about puttin some headers on it when i rebuild. it'd mostly be for looks, the exhaust manifolds on a 2.9 are flow pretty good as it is. plus, autozone charges $87 for the left side and $65 for the right - i found some pacesetter headers for $175.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

lookin good so far, did you run a compression check on it before you tore it down to pinpoint which cylinder was leaking? got any pics of the old head gaskets? the 2.9ls are famous for cracking so id have them magnafluxed if the napa by you offers this service. i wish we had rust like that around here! ive developed almost that much rust in only 2 years of michigan weather! keep up the good work, even if it is slow going.

 

[88_Eddie]

^
nope, didnt run a compression test, i thought of that yesterday after i got the exhaust manifold off.....oh well, you know what they say, hindsight is 20-20. i have the old head gasket sittin in the garage, i'll post a pic when i get a chance.

we're lucky down here, usually not much snow. the body is in great shape, there's just surface rust on the undercarriage.

bout to go get the last exhaust manifold bolt off now, hopefully i'll find a crack in the right hand head gasket, not the head

 

[88_Eddie]

got a good bit out today.....the right head gasket/head is out, doesnt look like anything is wrong tho, gonna get it checked out. took out the front drive-shaft, starter and got both exhaust manifolds out, they were a bitch. my bro is gonna help me get the block out this week....just gotta get in there and get the bolts out of the bell housing......

 

[88_Eddie]

ok, both head gaskets were fine as far as i could tell. gonna get the heads checked out ASAP. i went and rented an engine hoist today, $23 for 24 hours - not too shabby. i put this pic up on some other threads, but here is what my cat looks like. i'm thinking this is what was makin the car run so bad.

i found a new universal cat at pep boys for $72.99, so i'm gonna get that and some new piping and a new muffler to fix the exhaust, along with a new o2 sensor.

i think i'm gonna scrap the engine rebuild for right now, i just dont have enough money. i MUST buy the following right now:
-o2 sensor ~$40
-cat ~$73
-gasket set ~$74
-muffler ~$20 for a P.O.S.
-all the piping for the exhaust - who knows how much
-all the crap i'll need to hang it
-new head bolts ~$40
-new oil and filter
-most likely a new distributor, i think i broke it takin it out ~$60 (minus TFI)