Ford Bronco ---- Need Advice ----

[NJLOAD]

I?m looking to buy a 1996 Bronco Eddie Bauer 4X4 and need an honest opinion.
It has: V8, Auto, PS,PB, Air, PW, PDL, Tilt, Cruise, AM/FM Stereo, CD, 81,396 miles. I can buy it for $8,700 from a dealer and need to know from the Ford experts if I would have any issues with this vehicle? This truck is clean and I drove it last night and it ran smooth. I am towing a Coleman popup camper to Maine this weekend also.
My present vehicle is a 1996 Ford Windstar with 93,000 miles on it and it is getting tired of towing.

Please any Ford Mechanics on the forum with honest opinions welcome.

Thanks

 

[alm99]

I am curious to know as well as I have also been looking into this, although I have been looking at older models late 80s early 90s, $$$ low. How dependable are these vehicles? How hard are they to fix if you were to do it yourself? Help this man out!

 

[BAMAVOO]

I have 1989 and it is fine

 

[alchemist]

chech your PM on the 1996
go to www.bigbronco.com
they are a great source of info on the bronco

About the 1989-up bronco be careful on the auto trans.....they are prone to failure ~120K miles. Also make sure the ignition switch has been replaced....they like to catch on fire

 

[fastz28]

I had a '91 EB Bronco. Sold it 7 months ago for $3500, 150k miles. It was awesome. Only had to replace alternator and starter once ($50 each), they were easy to do and the parts are super cheap and available, since it shares most parts with the F150 pickup.

Oh yeah, had to replace a rusted muffler, $80 including labor (don't know how to weld myself).

 

[bunker]

Bronco's tend to last forever if treated well. As was mentioned above though, the tranny's tend to go after about 100k

 

[Quixfire]

The Ford Bronco is a great vehicle, very little is known to fail. As a Ford Mechianc of eight years, the most common faliures are listed below.

Engines tend to leak oil due to the breather filter under the PCV Valve is never changed.
Upper & Lower ball-joints wear out along with the outer front axle u-joint binding.
Transmissions can be pricey to repair, but usually last over 150K is serviced per owner guide.

As always, take care of your vehicle and it will take care of you.

IMHO offer the dealer $7500, and work you way up to no more than $8300.

 

[NJLOAD]

Thanks for the replys.

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
The Ford Bronco is a great vehicle, very little is known to fail. As a Ford Mechianc of eight years, the most common faliures are listed below.

Engines tend to leak oil due to the breather filter under the PCV Valve is never changed.
Upper & Lower ball-joints wear out along with the outer front axle u-joint binding.
Transmissions can be pricey to repair, but usually last over 150K is serviced per owner guide.

As always, take care of your vehicle and it will take care of you.

IMHO offer the dealer $7500, and work you way up to no more than $8300.

Beat me to it

Check the trans fluid. Pull out the dipstick and place a drop of fluid on a "bounty" paper towel. ( bountys work best for some reason ) if the fluid is black ( or extreamly dark ) and leaves rings, then the trans is eating things it should not be eating. If it is bright red, then the trans was either just rebuilt or the dealer changed the fluid recently. Be aware the fluid change could be to hide problems.

Make sure the engine is waremed up and running when you try the above.

The U-joints are cheap ( $20-40 ) but are expensize to change. If it has 80k miles on it, and you live somewhere you are going to be using the 4 wheel drive, then get them changed for insurance. When they go, they tend to take other stuff with them, such as the stub shafts. then you need more $$. The only way to test them is test drive the vehic, go to a parking lot and put it in 4 wheel. Then try to make a "lazy" turn. if you hear clunking, then the u-joints are ready to go. Tire squeal or "skipping" by the tires is normal.

Ball joints are integral with the control arms ( if I remember correctly. Have not worked on one in a while ) grab the tire and try to pull the top of it towards you and away from you. If you feel give, then the upper ball joints are totaly gone. The lowers can not really be checked by this method, but the uppers usually go first.

 

[GasX]

The only issue with Broncos that I am aware of is the tendency of the rear gates to rust out. Give it a very close look - even to the point of throwing a bucket of water on the rear window to see where the water goes. The engine is pretty bullet proof. Don't worry about the rattles - even the new ones rattle

 

[NJLOAD]

I had an 85 Blazer and got rust by the rear gate hinges, that was one thing I checked last night and I didn't see any rust at all. Short of throwing a bucket of water on it, it looked good. Rear window also went up and down with ease. Last night I didn't put in 4 wheel drive but I might take another ride tonight and do the parking lot test. I live in New Jersey might need 4X4 someday, but winters here have been mild last few years.

Thanks for all the good tips.

 

[alchemist]

the other rust spot is the metal fenders over the rear wheels....they dont drain water that well from the rear tires and the metal fenders will rust out very easily....check that out

 

[NJLOAD]

For you folks who responded.... I bought the truck and drove it to Maine for vacation.
It ran good...got 12mpg towing a camper. Another question I have is: I have a pioneer cd/am/fm radio I would like to install....the system that is in the truck now is the premium sound system from the factory but the cd player does not eject the disc. I bought a converter plug from best buy to plug into the factory power/speaker plug but when I plug it into the pioneer I get no sound.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Thegonagle]

Aren't they basically F-150s with a full body?

Just look out for the patented Ford steering (ugh, so sloppy and disconnected feeling). The steering gearbox and all associated linkages seem to wear fairly quickly on these things, but what do you expect from a 2 ton-plus vehicle? I used to light econoboxes on which the front end stuff lasts 150,000 miles or more.