1989 Bronco II questions

[Lpannell25]

I am new to this site. I have been looking for a 4x4 vehicle for a while now and my uncle recently offered to sell me his 1989 Bronco II. Have always loved this thing and would love to be the new owner of it! He told me to make an offer and knowing him it wont be enough but first question is what would a reasonable offer be?It is in rather good condition 4x4 manual transmission not sure of the miles however by the time i get answers on here i will have checked and added more details. Also the even bigger question i have is what would be a good estimate as to how much it would cost to put a new engine in this vehicle, the 4.0 liter to be more specific. Doubtful that i will do the work myself so obviously going to have to pay for the engine as well as labor. These are the 2 big questions i have on my mind right now thanks in advance for your time! Hope to be a proud new owner of a bronco II in no time!

 

[jakubek1993]

I bought my 1987 bronco II 10 days ago for $1200
The body is in a good condition with some surface rust.
Engine runs fine, manual, 4x4
Although i needed new calipers($30 each), windshield($180 installed), and leaf springs($100 for a pair from a 1999 explorer)

I went to get it appraised and the guy told me that in this condition it's worth around 2k

It's my first off roader and I love it so far, it may be old but it's tough

Why do u want to swap the engine??

 

[Lpannell25]

the engine is chattering my uncle seems to think it is a valve sticking may run it as is until there is a catastrophic failure was just curious if anyone had a questimate for when i do decide to swap the motor

 

[Charles]

Engine chatter is pretty common with the stock engines. I've got 2 rangers and a bronco II, all three have 2.9l and all three chatter like crazy.

Try running some seafoam through it, you can find instructions on using it online or on the can. That will clean up the engine some, then change the oil.

I put in 4 quarts of standard oil and a quart of Lucas. This helps but it doesn't solve the problem. A good oil gauge will help. The engine swap will be better in the end though.

 

[Tb8983]

Um I paid 450 for mine 2 years ago(needed a clutch) and yeah the motor does chatter a little espically in the higher rpms. But I'm also looking to do the 4.0 swap soon. To me if it runs ok and drive maybe 1k if not 6-7 hundo. Just depends on how much you want it

 

[superds]

Yep, run that 2.9 until it blows. I have 193K on mine and it still runs good. It has ticking like others but I've heard using diesel oil might help (certainly won't hurt anything) because it has different additives in it than regular oil.

Your local market conditions will dictate the value of that BII. Here pickups are king and any SUV gets a lower price than a comparable older pickup (excluding brand new or very late model SUV vs. Pickups). I'd have to see a picture of it to determine the condition. No rust, no mechanical issues, I'd probably pay around $1000 for it, maybe a bit less.

 

[AZFX4]

Prices can fluctuate a lot on these vehicles depending on your area and condition. I paid 150 bucks for mine a few years ago. The guy thought the head was blown but it just had a leaking freeze plug. Anyway the ones im seeing in my area are going from $500 not running to around 1200 for ones running and in good shape. Not sure what your budget is or the mileage/condition of the vehicle but anywhere in that range is reasonable. Any more than that and you would be better off finding another one for cheaper.