So there was another thread and the 79 Bronco seems to have a following, I'm looking to free up cash for a land purchase and have a 2008 F150 with barely over 50,000...... with the options I have from what I've researched it's saying around $25,000 private sell.  a dealership close by has a 95 Bronco that I'm considering switching too, any thing I need to watch out for?

Just got a 96. Had a 94 and my dad has a 79.

The only thing to watch out for is the usual F-series cab rot. Mechanically you could have different problems that I would have or say my cousin would have. They don't have any "common" problems. Sometimes you will have weird starting issues with the 302 motor but that is easily fixed by plugs, wires, and checking the started. I know a lot of people complain about auto transmission issues but those are also the people who either beat the hell out of it, or tow more than they should be with it. It will treat you well. Put a set of 31 inch tires on it. Which can fit stock, and you could go anywhere you need to go unless you are a true wheeler.

My first vehicle was a bronco II, lost my virginity in that thing so they hold a special place in my heart (I know the bronco II is different but close enough ;) )  I'm mauling it over, I have my house up for sell, if it sells then there is a good chance I will.... that would get me a chunk of change to do what I'm wanting to do

Bronco II. You mean a ranger with a pappycap lol? From a wheeling standpoint I always wanted to build one because they are so small and nimble. But for comfort, being a large man like myself, I was always more comfortable in a fullsize bronco. But, they did go through everything.

I really don't know much about Bronco.... I think I read somewhere you can still take the cap off the 95 but it no longer talked about it in the owners manual because of safety additions?

We took the fiberglass shell off of a friend's Bronco in highschool.

There are about 30 to 50 fender screws attaching that thing to the bodywork.   I remember at least 2 of the threads stripping out as we removed it such that we had to cut the screws/bolts.

Pretty sure it never went back on perfectly.

If the rig was a pristine rig no way in hell would I remove it.    If it was a trail rig/beater, sure whatever.

Things are barely adequate with a 302.    Pretty decent with a 351 though.

31 inch tires on them look "big" some how even though my 07 Tacoma has more tire on it.    A 1st gen quad cab tacoma 4x4 with a cap would be my preference to a Bronco between two off road capable vehicles that could seat 4.

Broncos are cool but  it would be a unique situation for me to want to get one.   I have a buddy that loves them.   I prefer 1st gen Broncos personally.

I love mine with a 3 inch lift and 35 inch tires. But not having a locking front sucks. and having the 351 is ehhhh okay I would love to have like a 390 or something because my dad has a 79 with a 460 that he bought and it is amazing with the 4 speed. But I can not find the a shell that is not rotted out of any of the older ones. Everyone I know hates them but they never grew up in a bronco like I did.

My daily driver is a '95 F-150 with 220,000 miles on it.  Five speed and 4.9.
I've replaced both gas tanks (the side tank was leaking a little only when full ) when the fuel pumps quit and had to be replaced...the rear tank was not leaking yet but had rust from the straps and the new one was only about $100.
Replaced the fuel filter that's along the frame when I replaced the brake line that's along the frame because it sprung a leak.
A heater core...it's pretty easy,you access it through the glove box.
Replaced the A/C compressor ( leaking from the seal ).
Replaced the slave cylinder and throwout bearing...leaking...see any pattern here?
Replaced the radiator...leaking where the tanks were crimped to the core...took it off and had it recrimped and that did not fix it so replaced it, another $100 or so.
Replaced the brakes...twice on the front once on the rear.

You will have the usual IFS/radius arm bushings that go bad...replace with poly when needed, they will last.
The transfer case in mine ( don't recall the model #) has an oil pump that rides against a rib inside the cast casing to keep it from spinning and will eventually wear a groove in the case and start spinning and stop pumping. It can be fixed or prevented but the transfer case has to be removed and opened and since your in there replace bearings and seals.

It may seem like a lot but other than the throwout bearing and A/C compressor every thing else was pretty simple and it has ALLWAYS got me home.

I definitely had good luck with the Bronco II although  I can't remember what year it was ....... being my first vehicle you can imagine I beat the shit out of it and never had major issues

Well, for better or worse, it's 20 years old.

Personally, I don't have the skill to buy and fix a 20+ yo vehicle from a stranger.


My Jeep is older, but I bought it new and know everything about its history.



The most important issue is not the vehicle, but your abilities and constraints (time and money top that list)


Good luck.

Yeah I have minimal auto mechanical abilities but I'm more confident working on something like the Bronco than my 08 F150

I have an '89 Bronco, and if the one you're looking at has a 5 speed, save some money back to have it rebuilt if you plan on keeping it for a long time.

Back then Ford used the Mazda M5R-1 and M5R-2 transmission for their 5 speeds, or at least they did in stuff like F-150s, Broncos, Thunderbirds, and Rangers. But they have an inherent flaw. Somewhere between 120,000 - 150,000 miles (on average) the oil pump in the transmission gets worn out to the point that it will sieze up, break loose from it's mounting tabs, and just spin on the shaft. When that happens, the input shaft bearing doesn't get oiled properly, and you can guess what happens after that.

Mine shelled out at around 168,000. It sounded like the rearend was going out, so I figured, screw it, I'll run it until it goes and find another one in a junkyard. But, I was wrong.

Those transmissions aren't too hard to rebuild, and rebuild kits & other parts are readily available online.

Beyond that, there's a little fuel reservoir along the left frame rail under the skid plate that can go bad. I had to replace mine. It was $90.

And I would get a remote oil filter setup, because the stock location is a pain in the ass to get to.

The thing you need to understand the most is that when buying a 15 to 20 year old car, plan on spending quite a bit of time and money in order to make it reliable.  You can plan on doubling that figure if for labor cost alone if you are not mechanically incline.

I have owned many a used truck without knowing the owner history and have always ended up putting a few thousand into them just to make sure I won't get stranded. You need to understand that at 20 year old vehicle,  with 200k miles and many different owners over those years will start showing it's age quickly.  Whether it is bushings, bearings, seals, wires, pumps etc, they will all start to go as you are running a vehicle close to the end of it's service life. You will always put more money into it than it's worth. Multiply by 3 if it's made by Jeep.

On this age of vehicle you are looking at who cared for it for 20 years, rust, and dried out rubber seals and gaskets.



Sure the tech is simpler in many cases but it depends on how solid the chassis and body are.



It is like a shortbed 4x4 pickup so towing limits are going to probably be lower than your f150.



At least it has a decent sized gas tank, 30 gallon or so I think, but if the spare is on a hanger out back it might need examined because those were not really installed in the best way.  Seen water get in or seen panels that seemed pulled out over time.  Spare inside takes up a lot of room.  Because of big gas tank the spare won't be under the vehicle.



I have a regular cab shortbed 2wd f150 from 1995 and it is what it is.  Mine is geared for highways and on the highways it will get over 20mpg.  Running rural roads I am more like 15 mpg or so.  This is with the straight 6 and 5 speed manual transmission from mazda mentioned above.



I like em because they are body on frame and I call mine the trash truck.  I have done enough work on it to make it pretty reliable.  Been driving it to work for a few months.



But it needed brake lines replaced due to rust, rear fuel tank rusted out and replaced and front tank now smells of gas when full so it will get dropped this fall sometime.  Just flushing out the cooling system and getting it decent and changing all the old hoses out took a fair bit of time as well.



Undoing a lot of previous poor repairs has been fun as well.  But I knew what I was buying when I paid 1250 or whatever I paid for it.  I knew I would have that much more in parts and time right back into it.



On a ford 4x4 I would have a shop that knows alignments and the ford 4x4 front axle on those broncos take a good look at it.  It is easy for bad tire wear to almost be considered acceptable.

I'm sure it's regional and even then varies but say it need a good overhaul, what kind of money and I talking to have someone fix it?  All this is dependent of if my house sells, but if it does I'm looking to free up as much cash as possible to do what I'm wanting to do

If a dealer has it I bet they want 5 grand for it.



If you don't have another 5 grand ready to put into it then you should not even stop and look at it.



It might not need much.



Or it might need a lot.



Engine, transmission, axles, transfercase, old fuel tank, rust, wear and tear in interior, some of the dash parts might have issues, and on and on and on.



Even better if a previous owner did some hack fixes.



And lets not forget 20years for a mouse to come along and eat some wire insulation for you.



You can play on rock auto and see what parts will cost.



You can easily see what 5 tires would cost, I figure the old spare is probably cracked and should not be used these days.



Read up on the rear window of these, I always post I hate em but I have seen some folks have good luck with these great big windows.



There are a few good ford websites out there where people are still building the f150 and bronco trucks, tons of good reading on there.



I generally post that I dislike the front axle thingy the bronco is going to have.  I worked in a spring shop and I did a lot of work on fords and replacing bushings in that system and then hearing our alignment guy work on getting the thing into alignment.



I kind of consider the front tires on my f150 disposable.  I have not done the bushings and don't want to do em this year or winter and I put highway tires on itbecause it is scrubbing the edges a bit.  But not as bad as I expected.



If you want to buy the thing and have a shop go through it you may as well be looking at having that 25 grand from your f150 available.  You can call around and see what an engine swap would cost or a transmission rebuild or a transfer case.



And on a vehicle this old, it tends to be common to get into other stuff while you are there.  I had a bad slave cylinder on my 5 speed transmission and the transmission gets pulled to replace this setup.  I paid for clutch and other parts since the labor was already covered in dropping the transmission.  I know the parts are new in there and while some of the old parts looked ok some looked like it was a good call.



Trying to replace one of the rubber brake hoses going to a front caliper lead to all metal brake lines and all rubber brake lines being replaced on the ford.  The metal line kind of tore while trying to get the blown rubber hose off.  The more my friend and I poked and prodded the more it showed us we could do it all and be done or we could do it bit by bit by bit.



When I tore into the brakes it became a game of just replace everything except the rear drums.  Sure some of it could have been saved but when doing new rotors and calipers and all new drum hardware and shoes and wheel cylinders why would you try to save one thing here or one thing there?



If I had more free time, I could see maybe doing that.  I did not want back into areas of the truck I or my friend had worked on.



Read up on what these had for a transfercase and how long they usually last.  My 1995 model has an electronic odometer showing 191k miles so no worries on a rolled odometer unless they changed out the computer and what not.  My truck looks like it was well cared for to get that many miles, interior is better than I expected.



I bought a truck with a straight 6 ford engine because they are a bit of a legend when it comes to lasting.  This one got all new fluids and a tune up and keeps on keeping on.  Sure it could use some more little odds and ends but overall it does what I want it to do.



Depending on what the bronco has you might want to read up on the engine.  Parts might cost less or more.  Engine swaps are common.



I would have someone who knows broncos look at this thing before you buy it.  That includes the front axle and alignment.  Spend a grand on some tires and then see worn parts or bad alignment chew up your tires and see how that budget looks.



They are an interesting vehicle but if you plan to have the back seat used a lot it will probably be a pain for whoever is using it.  They do have a decent bit of trunk space, but not a huge amount with the back seat in use.



They are an interesting vehicle and have a following so there is plenty of reading to do on them.  Learn what to look for in the last of them.



But if you think you might have a 100% reliable daily driver for 5k bucks you might be wrong.  I have less than that in my trash truck but even though it has been good for several months the other day it had a no crank issue.  Battery cable ends are worn, easy to wiggle em and get moving but still something else to fix.



I have a 2nd vehicle for when the trash truck needs work.



Lots of people drive past my house going to the same place I work, so at worst I call someone for a ride to work.



I still think you really need to see what abuse that truck has seen in 20years as well.  

I bought a 95 in 98, owned it for seven years and 150,000 miles.  Overall it was reliable, near the end brakes would lock up first time you used them if it sat out in the rain.  Replaced the rear window twice, both times I broke it my fault.  The rear seat was cool in that you could flip and store it forward for a little more room or completely remove it for a lot of room.
    Overall one of the better vehicles I owned, it was just starting to wear and I decided I wanted a pickup again.

I have a 94 Bronco, Eddie Bauer, 5.8L, w/ 165k/mi that I'm trying to sell now.

It was a great single guy SUV, but quickly became a pain when adult friends had to try and get into the back seat.  Sucks even more with car seats.  Folding the back seat up is deceiving, as it doesn't give you that much extra room.
Its's getting the usual cancer over the rear fender wells, and the cab spot weld seams at the door/roof joint are starting to crack the paint.  The rear drop gate is surprisingly rust free (always a rust prone area on Bronco's).
The rear window switch crapped out.
Mine eats a steering box every 2-3 years.  it's on it's third since I bought it in 2004.  (ball joints or radius arm bushings, death wobble?)
I run 31" BFG AT's and so far they have 50k/mi on them, run down bald, but evenly.  No complaints there.
TTB is a PITA if you have any visions of lifting.  Some guys do it right...and some don't.
I never took my top off.  With the later models that have shoulder belts and a third brake light, it can get a little hairy.
You learn to love 10mpg.  It's just what you get.  I once squeaked out 17mpg on a long road trip with new plugs, wires, air filter, and an MSD coil.  But couldn't repeat it.
Tank should be 32 gal, so that helps with the mileage.
Verify if it's a "Speed Density" setup or a "MAF" if you have any desire to do engine hop-ups.

The only right way to do a lift on any Ford with that goofy front end is to do a solid front axle conversion at the same time. Which is what I intend to do if I keep my Bronco much longer (mine is getting pretty rusty too).

You can still pull the roof off that bronco but if IIRC the rear seat belts were shoulder belts that attached to the roof.  I would have a roll cage put in it with the seat belts attached to it.

i would love to buy a 95 as a daily driver! thread needs pics!