help with a few problems of a bronco i may buy

[paintballdude902]

so i went and looked at an 88 bronco today with a 351w and a c6 tranny

its got a few problems most small

1 the turn signal must be held when you flick it to signal right

2 gear shift indicator stays in 1st no matter what gear your in

3 what else but the ever present tailgate rust

4 has a little bit of roof rust by the gutter above the drivers door

6 this is the only really big one to me.... cracked manifold

are these hard fixes? the last 2 are the only ones that really concern me

i climbed under and checked for leaks and it is all good, ran great, and sounded awsome with the duel exhaust the vehicle was a company car and had oil changed every 5000 and the spark plugs changed at every 50000

super clean interior

hes asking 2000 but in a round about way told me hed take 1500

is it worth it?

also it stayed fairly consistent at 2000 rpms going 45 and he said it goes to 2900 when doing about 70 is this normal?

its got 33 inch tires nice rims and and the rear tire carrier which is a tad rusty but its all surface if i get it im gonna sand it and get it powder coated

 

[BroncoJoe19]

How many times did they change the plugs?

 

[Yardape]

The cracked manifold is common, its hard to contain fords power, haha. Perfect opportunity to put on shorty headers. 2000 is well worth it if the rear quarters are not rusty. It looks really good to me. I would buy it just because it has a 351 but thats just me. How many miles on it?

 

[paintballdude902]

probably shoulda said that its got 136000

the guy got it from his company and in like 2001 and used it just for towing his boat he said that hes taken it on the beach one time

how hard is the manifold to replace

i wanna say it was the exhaust manifold but it may have been the intake it still runs great but it wont pass inspection unless i fix that he said he just got a friend to do the inspection because he knew he would pass it

even the rear window still works even though its on the second motor still a plus that it works

 

[Yardape]

The intake manifold wouldnt crack on you. The exhaust manifolds are notorious for cracking. It may be a bit hard to get the bolts out, they are easy to break. Then you got a bit of trouble. But if you can be gentle removing the the bolts from the heads you should be fine. The ****** bolts where they manifold meets the exhuast pipe will probably break, thats okay you will just need new ones, no problem.

 

[paintballdude902]

ok so thats not a problem probably 100 bucks or so for the manifold and seal

better stock up on penetrating oil lol

should i just get oem replacement parts or go up in quality?

what about the rust would it be worth grinding out the rust and welding a patch over it? or should i just grind out the rust and bondo it?

 

[Justshootme84]

If the roof rust is just on the surface and has not eaten a hole thru the roof, you MAY be able to sand it and repaint it. It's common for the Bronco body to crack at the end of the rain gutters next to the hardtop, so check that out, too. A replacement exhaust manifold is $100. AS stated, the passenger side cracking in half is very common. There is no gasket for the stock exhaust manifolds on that 351W. But overall, $1500 sounds decent, JSM84

 

[paintballdude902]

if the rust is all the way through what would be the best fix welding a new piece over it or just bondo

 

[Yardape]

The best way is cutting the rusted section out and welding a new piece in. Because of its location I would consider getting it fixed professionally. Its an area that stands out and the contour of the roof would be hard to match if you dont have alot of experience. Also the roof is a big area that can warp easy if you dont stagger your welds for cooling properly. Dont sweat the manifold its a piece of cake.

 

[BB33's]

I agree with Yardape and shootme, If the Manifold and rust are your only concerns it is not something to walk away from I don't know about where you are but here in 'cali a bronco like that can easily get 3500 bucks.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

The best way is cutting the rusted section out and welding a new piece in. Because of its location I would consider getting it fixed professionally. Its an area that stands out and the contour of the roof would be hard to match if you dont have alot of experience. Also the roof is a big area that can warp easy if you dont stagger your welds for cooling properly. Dont sweat the manifold its a piece of cake.

Have you any idea what having that done would add to the cost of the truck? I don't. What would it cost?

I have some rot through on my rear wheel fenders.

 

[Justshootme84]

A body shop would charge around $800-$1000 to repair just the roof and repaint that section, due to the labor mostly. Bondo isn't a good cure, because it doesn't stop rust - only hides it for a short time. You may want to take a much closer look under the floorpan and cargo area and the frame for further signs of rust.

 

[Yardape]

Have you any idea what having that done would add to the cost of the truck? I don't. What would it cost?
I have some rot through on my rear wheel fenders.

I do believe the question was what is the best way to fix this problem. I would personally just buy it and drive it. If and when he falls in love with it then worry about restoring it.

 

[Yardape]

If you can do the body work yourself the rear quarters are about 700.00 (up here anyways) for both sides. The body on mine is very rusty, cracks in the roof, cracks in the floor. rust front to back. I priced out every panel I could buy for it and the cost was very substancial. I intend in doing all the work myself so that wll save a ton of cash. Out of curiousity I looked on craiglist and I found about 20 totally rust free Broncos for about 1000.00 with various engine problems. I have decided that its much more worth my while to buy one of those and do a body swap. So after my extensive surgery/reconstruction of the Bronc I will just swap in a new body. I have done so much welding and fabricating over the last couple months I just want it done.

 

[paintballdude902]

yard im lucky enough that the only rust is the tailgate and gutter

i crawled under looking for leaks and rust and it looks great other than surface rust

i think im gonna try and get it im taking my dakota to a few used car lots this week to try and sell it

i may get a friend of mine to do the welding for me my skills are mainly limited to fixing farm equipment while hes a welder by trade it jsut depends on how i feel about it when i start driving it

the steering is a tad loose but not bad it might just be the way the bronco handles while my truck is very tight steering so its a change but not that big of a deal

im probably gonna buy a new tailgate just so it will look nice... and maybe a brush guard...and a light bar maybe a new rear bumper with a jerrycan mount ... and cant forget about the cb

 

[Outkast]

1 the turn signal must be held when you flick it to signal right

mines the same way the turn signals dont like to stay on. you will just get used to it.

 

[Yardape]

yard im lucky enough that the only rust is the tailgate and gutter
i crawled under looking for leaks and rust and it looks great other than surface rust

i think im gonna try and get it im taking my dakota to a few used car lots this week to try and sell it

i may get a friend of mine to do the welding for me my skills are mainly limited to fixing farm equipment while hes a welder by trade it jsut depends on how i feel about it when i start driving it

the steering is a tad loose but not bad it might just be the way the bronco handles while my truck is very tight steering so its a change but not that big of a deal

im probably gonna buy a new tailgate just so it will look nice... and maybe a brush guard...and a light bar maybe a new rear bumper with a jerrycan mount ... and cant forget about the cb

And cant forget the lift, the 38 inch tires, oh now i need gears. changing gears now is a good time to add lockers. None of your friends can get to you now when you get stuck so you better get a winch......... and on and on. Just wait til you get the bug. My Bronco has totally overtaken my rational thinking. Wait til the first day you drive with the roof off. Then you will see what I mean.

 

[bluesman17]

Turn signal switch on my 92 was 60 bucks

 

[FireWeb13]

I agree with Yardape and shootme, If the Manifold and rust are your only concerns it is not something to walk away from I don't know about where you are but here in 'cali a bronco like that can easily get 3500 bucks.

yeah i agree with BB33... that is a steal for 1500... I bought mine for 2500 and my interior was shot, my tranny was slippin... and it wasnt very pretty lookin... haha... i say go for it...