To but/not to buy, pointers and opinions

[slickemhoundd]

Im gettin rid of my ex and looking into purchasing a B2. Im just looking for overall opinions, whats the better motor trans combo, better years, common problems, best places to find oem-aftermarket parts, Difficulty scale on 5.0 swap, the general run around. Ive always wanted one and was always told to stay away. Please give me the scoop!

 

[solitary ogre]

my '88 bronco ll has 389,000 kilometers (241,000 miles) on it's original 2.9L engine. it rattles like an old diesel engine due to failing lifters. i had changed the oil religiously every 5000 km.
i understand that Ford put revised heads on the '89 models to lessen the chances of cracking between the rocker studs and exhaust valve stems. some came with Mitsubishi 5 speeds (like mine) and some with Mazda 5 speeds (like in my '91 explorer).
the Ford 7.5 rear end is a bit light for a V8 but will stand up to it if it is stock and you go easy on the go-go juice.
i plan on restoring mine to new like condition. until then it sits out back with the snow plow attached waiting for the next snow fall so i can go play.

keep smilin........t

 

[not turbo]

My B2 is running strong at 250k. Nothin' wrong with the B2 truck, just some people gotta have a ricer-truck or über-lifted nonsense...imho

For noisy lifters, try this product (Lucas Oil Stabilizer) My B2 has one noisy lifter (#2 cylinder) that failed twice until I put this in...about 10k miles ago. Now it's noisy only on very cold mornings, and that quickly goes away. Gotta put in a new quart with every oil change, but that's a small price for no noise.

(Btw, I'd suspect the noise would go away permanently if I just rebuilt the darn thing, especially cleaning the blocks oil channels...but didn't have the money when it failed, and now that I have the money, don't have the time...)