Bronco II, bringing it back to life.

[Charles]

I've got a 1987 Bronco II 2.9L EFI 4X4 that I'm trying to get running.
The body is in great shape, but it's been road rough and put in the away in the pasture (almost literally). Anyway, I acquired the thing for free since I have a 88 Ranger that some parts can be swapped with.

Well, I figured, what the hay, let's see what it would take to get it running.

first things first.

I checked the oil, it was stated that it had just been changed before being parked. It looked surprisingly good, not black, looks like oil right out of a brand new bottle. but seems to have a little too much in it. Just seems like there is too much oil on the dip stick.

there is fluid in the radiator.


It wouldn't run hardly at all, would stall, and eventually just spin.
I removed the gas tank, cleaned it up, reinstalled. Changed the fuel filter, changed plugs and plug wires. belts were shot so I changed them out.
The exhaust pipe was...well, someone looks like they've tacked a flowmaster or something on it. not a very good job, and no pipes coming out the back.

Anyway, turned it over and it started right up. Ran rough as hell though.

first thing I noticed was exhaust smoke coming from the passenger side around the back of the engine. This happens immediately after starting.
Also, a few vacuum lines were broke or disconnected. I went by my Rangers engine and rerouted some of the vacuum lines (someone had routed them different than my ranger) and it improved it. There are a few differences between the two though, the Bronco seems to have a few things the ranger does not have, so I have no idea where the lines go, if it matters, etcc.

The oil light on the dash flickers on and off and the engine sounds like it's ticking pretty loud.

I didn't leave it running long, just long enough to start it up, check the vacuum lines to see if it ran better/worse and shut it off.


Any suggestions on where to go next?

I'd like to post some pics and maybe someone could help me out with the vacuum lines. The exhaust coming from the engine compartment and getting into the passenger compartment bothers me because I can't see where it originates, but it's pretty bad. any suggestions there?

The oil light flickering, I plan on dumping the oil and oil filter, but I think it was stated that the oil light has always flickers. Oil pump maybe? hard to change that?

The ticking? Lifters? valves? what should I do there?



Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[country0001]

Its a 2.9,get used to the lifters ticking. It happens.Might try a thicker oil. The passenger side exhaust manifold is also good about breaking.

 

[Boggin]

the smoke could be from the valve cover gaskets leaking oil on to the manifolds and causing smoke. happened to me before

 

[Charles]

Thanks for the replies. I'll take a look at the manifold to see if it's damaged or if it has oil on it. The drivers side Valve cover looks like it was removed at some point, thinking the gasket was changed, but they didn't tighten the bolts down properly. hope they didn't strip them. I'll probably go ahead and change them at some point.

What I'm trying to do is get it drivable, but I have to watch how much money get's dumped into it. at some point, it's wiser just to replace something as opposed to repairing it. so If I'm dumping money into it and find something major.....well, lost alot of money.

Where is a good place to look for a complete exhaust system and about how much do you think it would run? Local junk yard is pretty good, but very pricey. It's the only one around and they do not allow you to go into the yard, and they are not open on weekends (shows how much money they charge if they can afford to be closed on the weekends).


Just for the heck of it also, how much would a rebuilt motor cost and where would I look for one of those?

 

[rusty70f100]

It sounds to me like the motor is shot. If the oil light flickers on the dash, when it's cold, that's a very bad sign for that motor. Lifters will also tick when it's low on oil pressure, but on a 2.9L they have a propensity to tick anyway.

What I would do at this point, if the rest of the vehicle is worth it, is go to the junkyard and get a motor. Rebuild one using the better parts from the other. Examples would be the crankshaft, valves, cylinder heads, etc. Try to get an '89 or later motor, since they had the improved heads.

Edit: I re-read your original post. Try to find out why the oil light flickers on the dash first, before you do anything else. Better yet, get a mechanical oil pressure gauge and see how much oil pressure it does have.

 

[Charles]

What is this item in the picture and where do the red and green lines go?

On the Bronco II, the green line is broke and is hanging loose.


What about the other items? Which vacuum lines attach to them?


For now, I simply grabbed some clean fuel line I had laying around and hooked some of them up, so ignore the color or hose type.

 

[country0001]

If your looking at an engine swap,you'll want to look at finding a wrecked explorer and put the 4.0 in.You'll have top swap engine, dash and wiring.Its not as hard as it sounds.Go checkout the tech library.There is a lot of info on the swaps and 2.9's in general

 

[rusty70f100]

What is this item in the picture and where do the red and green lines go?

On the Bronco II, the green line is broke and is hanging loose.


What about the other items? Which vacuum lines attach to them?


For now, I simply grabbed some clean fuel line I had laying around and hooked some of them up, so ignore the color or hose type.

The thing in the first (from left) picture is the EGR solenoid. The red line coming from it is supposed to go to the manifold where the neon-green line is in the third picture. The other line, the black one, in the third picture, is supposed to go to the MAP sensor, which is shown in the 5th picture with neon-green line hooked up to it. The dark green line in the first picture coming from the EGR solenoid is supposed to go to the open port on the EGR valve, as shown in the second picture. The line in the 4th picture is ok, as the fuel pressure regulator is supposed to be hooked up to manifold vacuum.

I went by color as that's what's in your pics. That should explain where everything's supposed to go. Be careful with those plastic lines as they like to crack and leak.

 

[Charles]

Thanks! That gives me something to go by! I've got two more though....


The second picture...under it (can't get a shot at that angle) is a broken line, in between two large lines. One large line goes to the PCV valve, I forget where the other goes. The one in between is broken.


What about the line from what I think is called the charcoal box, or something like that (first pic)

 

[kunar]

Thanks! That gives me something to go by! I've got two more though....


The second picture...under it (can't get a shot at that angle) is a broken line, in between two large lines. One large line goes to the PCV valve, I forget where the other goes. The one in between is broken.


What about the line from what I think is called the charcoal box, or something like that (first pic)

on the charcoal canister, the thicker line should step down in size with a metal line, and then run to the bottom of the throttle body. from the sounds of things, this one might be one that you say is broken. the other line on the charcoal canister runs to a vent on top of the fuel tank.

 

[Charles]

Cool, thanks everyone for posting. I'll take a look tonight. I really do appreciate everyone's help and suggestions on this.

Are there any other vacuum lines I need to be aware of? mostly all the lines were broken, and some were just hooked up wrong. I have no idea what the original owner was thinking.

The red line coming from the EGR Solenoid, it has a "T" in it, one end of the goes into something mounted by the Air Filter box. What is that that the other red line goes into?


Also, at the back of the air filter box is a larger hose, on mine it was disconnected and goes to nowhere. where does it go?

 

[kunar]

Also, at the back of the air filter box is a larger hose, on mine it was disconnected and goes to nowhere. where does it go?

doesnt go anywhere specific as far as i know, just toward the firewall and as high as possible. since the air inlet is so low and could draw in water, ford put that there to make sure if the inlet did get submerged, it could pull air through that hose and keep the engine from sucking in water

 

[Charles]

Played around with the vacuum lines tonight. The more I play,replace, and upgrade, the better it runs. Still got a few things to do, but I can drive it several miles back and forth up a back country road no problem (so far).

Oil pressure light doesn't come on until the engine get's warmed up. So when I first turn it on, no light. After running for 5 minutes or so, it'll start to flicker.

after driving it down the road and parking it, the light will stay on but it will go off if I drive it again (Higher the RPMs, the light will go off, lower the RPMs, it stays on).

Anything I can run through the engine to try and clean it out? Thought about Sea foam, Someone stated adding a little transmission fluid to the oil, running a little, then changing the oil. A few other suggestions like kerosene or something (I've never heard that!).

I'm moving forward, I don't want to mess anything up.

I'm gonna check into the mechanical oil pressure gauge sometime this week coming up, but are you talking about a simple analog gauge you buy at the store or something else:

http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=575&q=mechanical+oil+pressure+gauge&btnG=Google+Search#q=mechanical+oil+pressure+gauge&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Xmq&sa=G&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=EHBoTZdbieuBB8OX8MsK&ved=0CD0QrQQ&biw=1024&bih=575&bav=on.1,or.&fp=ca3424583e0d5426

And if so, how are those installed?

 

[Steeda04SVT]

Its a 2.9,get used to the lifters ticking. It happens.Might try a thicker oil. The passenger side exhaust manifold is also good about breaking.

Which oil do you recommend?

 

[rusty70f100]

In your motor Charles, I'd run a synthetic 5w50. Once the oil warms up and thins out, the pressure gets too low, and the oil light comes on. That means the motor is worn out. You therefore need a thicker oil when it's warm to compensate. This will work in the short term; in the long term you need to rebuild it.

From the way you describe it, it sounds like the oil pressure light is working properly. However, if you want to know for sure (I would) then see this link:

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Spring2003/oilsender.htm

 

[chazzone]

Which oil do you recommend?

The oil that you want to use is what Ford recommends for the engine, that's 5W-30.

A lot of guys will tell you to run a higher viscosity oil, but they really don't understand how this engine is designed, or why they almost all have a lifter noise.

There is poor circulation to the lifters, and a higher vis oil only makes that worse.

The worst possible thing you could do to that engine is throw in a higher viscosity oil, when it's already crudded up and has low oil pressure.

You really need to do an oil pressure check with a mechanical oil pressure gauge. They aren't that expensive or hard to install.

That way you know what you're dealing with, and have a baseline to judge any progress in cleaning up the engine.

Use some Sea Foam in it and run it long enough to get the circulation going and clean up the bad stuff.

Then change the oil, add some more sea Foam, and run it for another 500 miles and change it out again.

Keep track of the oil pressure, and see if it starts to improve. Also keep and eye on the condition of the oil and see how bad it looks after you run it a while.

It may not be all that bad inside, so just keeping it lubed with good quality 5W-30 will give the best longevity for the engine.

 

[rusty70f100]

Have you even read the whole thread? The oil light is coming on, when it's warmed up! That means that the engine is very worn out. The only way to get enough pressure to make sure everything has oil, in his particular engine, is to raise the viscosity.

Yes, I've had a 2.9L V6 apart. I know exactly how they're designed. I also know that if you want to limp by on a worn out engine you need thicker oil. This isn't just lifter tick; If he's got the oil light coming on he's got bigger problems. That is most likely worn out bearings.

How is the oil going to get into the lifters if there's no oil pressure to begin with? Most likely the lifters have already collapsed anyway, and no amount of maintenance, fiddling, or oil changing is going to make them quiet now.

But yeah, try to clean it up as mentioned. I don't think it'll turn off the oil light though.

 

[Charles]

OK, got the oil light issue taken care of....maybe.

here's what I did, I poured 1/3 to 1/2 can of sea foam in the top (where thwe oil goes) and ran it up the road a mile or two, just long enough to get it warmed up.

Let it sit and idle for about 5 minutes, oil light was on by then.

shut it down and changed the drained the oil and changed the oil filter.

Put 4 quarts of standard 10w40 in, what I had around at the time, and poured in a can of Lucas oil stabilizer (thick stuff) in it also.

started it up and ran it down the road several miles (can't go too far, no rear bumper, so no tag, and cops are trying to meet their quota, they would LOVE me right now). Oil light stayed off.

The only thing I saw was a slight flicker of the oil light when sitting idle after getting back, and that was hard to notice. I imagine the longer I run it, maybe it'll flash more but it seems like an improvement or a step in the right direction for now. not a cure all.

nowhere near as much ticking coming from the engine. getting better.

I know this is probably not the correct way to do things, these short cuts, but I'm not trying to fix it up to sell or anything. This is so similar to my Ranger that I enjoy, I figure it would be a good vehicle driving back and forth to work in. not for off roading or beating the hell out of.


Two more issues.
1- The Rear AntiLock Brake light is on and stays on. No problem with braking, they work fine. What could it be?

2- The EGR solenoid buzzes when I shut the engine off. Does this need changing or is the oscillation coming from something else like the voltahe source?

 

[CountryBoy78]

Like others have said you can tinker and do bandaid fixes on that motor, but until you get a mechanical oil gauge in it to see whats going on for oil pressure you are just guessing whats its problem.

If it was mine I would just do the normal repairs to get it running good and just run it till she blows. If the motor is bad theres no sense sticking a ton of money in it. But I have limped a few weak motors for a long time and they just kept on running till I got sick of them and replaced them.

Have fun and keep doing what your doing. If it doesn't hurt your wallet to bad and you learn somethings thats all what matters.

 

[rusty70f100]

Good to hear you got the oil pressure up high enough that the light goes out.

1. I haven't had experience with the RABS system not working, so I can't help you there.

2. The EGR solenoid is supposed to buzz for a while after you turn it off. It's the way they were designed. It's not a problem.