How many miles is to many?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

firebronco

New member
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
I got an 96 Bronco and it has 224,000 miles on it. Everything is orginal even the drivetrain. I want to put 36 tires on it with about 6 to 8 inch lift kit. Do yall think it will **** my engine and tranny when I do this? Or should I just put my money towards a new motor and tranny? Or if put gears with the lift and tires will help it out?

 

Broncobill78

New member
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
1,867
Reaction score
8
Location
Treasure Coast, Florida
it's going to be a wash with maybe some penalties. The lift kit will replace your beat & worn suspension so that's a plus but unless you plan to ALSO replace the gears (and you'd be a fool to spend the $$$ on that without *also* replacing the differentials) the you're gonna take the engine WAY out of it's powerband and, well, it's pretty worn already with 224K. I'd say that chances are pretty good you'll cook either the engine, transmissio,, transfer case or quite possible 2 out of 3 or even pull off a trifecta and scorch all 3 in the process. The tires, rims & lift will run you at LEAST $2K and for that kind of coin you can buy a reman'd engine & tranny & install them yourself or choose one or the other & have it installed by a shop. Either way I'd strongly suggest tending to the mechanicals unless you want a towering lawn ornament in your front yard.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Roadkill

New member
Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
940
Reaction score
7
Location
Killeen, TX
All depends on the condition of your truck and how it has been maintained. I recently lifted my '96 with 196000 miles on it and just drove it from Killeen TX to White Mills, KY to visit my parents for Christmas taking it past 199000. I even averaged 11.5 mpg on the trip. (still have stock gears, hope to increase that milage a little bit after I re-gear since it was getting 15 mpg before the lift) My truck is my daily driver and has been very well maintained. The fact that I trust it to take 900 mile (one way) trips speaks for itself. On the other hand, nothing lasts forever and the E4OD is expensive to bebuild so I have an "emergency fund" tucked away for the rebuild that must come sooner or later (although the tranny shows no signs of problems yet).

Gears with the lift will definately be a good idea. The only reason I didn't do it before the trip was that I simply ran out of time. (I was also moving across town during the same time frame.) Yeah, I know, trying to put 10 pounds of $hit in a 5 pound sack, but I had allready started the truck project when the "relocation" oportunity jumped up at us.

Anyway, if you truck is still running strong and well maintained, go for it. If it is on its last leg or allready nickle and diming you to death, you may want to concentrate on getting it back to good running condition before starting the more fun projects.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Roadkill

New member
Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
940
Reaction score
7
Location
Killeen, TX
Either way I'd strongly suggest tending to the mechanicals unless you want a towering lawn ornament in your front yard.
Your way of saying that is way cooler than mine, sure wish I had your gift for words :D /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> . I also wish I hadn't taken 15 minutes to type and send my response and end up following your much more entertaining response. You are one hundred percent right in what you say, you just say it way better than me! :p /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Guess I'll go finish my beer now.

 

Broncobill78

New member
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
1,867
Reaction score
8
Location
Treasure Coast, Florida
Man, I'm WAY ahead of ya & already looking at those last few cold one's & trying to decide if I want to space 'em out or just enjoy them & go to bed early. But ****, I never wind up spacing them out like I plan too <grin>. Glad the humor is appreciated, it's the only thing I ever got from my Old Man :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> (well, that & learning not to ever buy a car built on a Friday)

You actually raise a salient point that I've been meaning to ask you about. I know you've got some milage on your rig but just how much of it did *you* put on there ? Did it have 150K when you got it or 185K or 100K, was it your first truck or what ? You're absolutely right as far as I've known guys who made some insane mods to rigs with 150K+ on them but almost every guy who did had a REAL good grasp of what his truck's history had been and a few were even original owners. Seems to me like the guys who buy a truck with 225K & then lift it & run 38's are the ones who wind up crying into their beer (and Lord knows how I hate to waste beer) because the freaking thing busted a timing chain a week later. If you *know* your truck & it's history and maintenance that's one thing, but taking a shot in the dark is another. I apprenticed ($hit, do kids even DO that anymore ?) with a mechanic at a Sears Service unit & THOSE tightwads *never* parted with a truck or van until it had well over 300K on it. I honestly can't say how many timing chins I've seen so stretched out that they actually *jumped* a tooth, it was a regular replacement item. I've seen a LOT of super high milage Fords and without a doubt good maintenance is the absolute key. Problem is when you buy that 225K sweatheart deal you don't know if the guy was some **** retentive ***** (you can only HOPE & pray that he was) or just didn't care & babied it for as far as he though it would last him & then dumped it. There's a real difference, especially now in the the day of synthetic fluids & Jiffy ****'s on every corner.

PS. Don't feel bad. I do the same thing as well & SeaBronc & JSM84 always seem to hose me for it. I've been learning to type faster because of those two.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Roadkill

New member
Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
940
Reaction score
7
Location
Killeen, TX
I bought my truck with just over 160,000 on it. In fact when I first sat in the truck for a test drive, the odometer said exactly 160,000. That made me suspicious so I shelled out a few bucks for a CARFAX report and the odometer reading was confirmed. I guess sometimes "co-incedences" do happen although 7 seven years as a Military Policeman have made me very suspicious of them. Well, (back on track) the CARFAX also showed that the truck had had one owner up until it spent about 6 months going from one dealer to another until I found it. It had been registered out in west Texas where a trip to the grocery store can be 100 miles round trip so I was reasonable certain that the majority of miles were on the highway. Everything on the truck was in excellent condition, (even the rear window worked and the tailgate was un-rusted). Inside the truck I found the original leather "zipper case" with all the trucks manuals in it and it even had the window sticker folded up and tucked in the back of the owners manual. From the condition on the paint and undercariage, it was obvious that the truck was garage kept and rarely (if ever) used off road. I even found an evelope with a few years worth of reciepts from oil changes, transmision services and other routine maintence so I was reasonbly sure the truck had been well cared for.

Of course, since I've owned it, it has not been in garage, (wouldn't fit any more, even if I had a garage) and been off road a lot with a few battle scars to show for it. It is however mechanicaly sound and I do all my own work, so I know it's done right. I am also pretty "****" about maintenance records (13 years as Army mechanic before I got drawn over to the dark side). I keep a log book with every drop of gas, oil, or anything else put into the truck as well as all maintenance performed and reciepts for any parts that are under waranty. It drives my wife crazy when ever she drives and I say "make sure to write it down if you put gas in". She used to make fun of me about this until our first Cavalier was burned in a grass fire. The log book survived, but the electronic odometer did not. Since there was no odometer the insurance adjuster "estimated" milage when determining the value of my one year old car. His estimate was more than triple the actual mileage that I had records to back up. If I hadn't had that book, that scaming bastard would have cheated me out of about $1500 value on the car.

Anyway, I'll bring this back on the topic at hand. I have only put about 40,000 of my trucks miles on it but I'm reasonably sure that the truck has had excellent maintenance throughout its life. Here are the "first" and "most recent" pages from gas section of my logbook. I original found the truck in Liberty Hill, TX and at first I didn't keep track of the price paid for gas. I started keeping track of gas price when prices went over $2.00 per gallon.

DSCN0693.JPG DSCN0694.JPG

 
Last edited by a moderator:

Broncobill78

New member
Joined
Oct 11, 2007
Messages
1,867
Reaction score
8
Location
Treasure Coast, Florida
Outstanding my man, simply outstanding. 11yrs as a civilian LEO and I can understand the inherent suspicion (no dude, we FOUND it with the keys in the ignition and all those empties in the back seat. We were just driving around trying to find the owner listed here on the registration. Honest to God, I wrote that in the report & took it to court. Judge was NOT impresed. Sometimes it was damn hard not to giggle on the stand.) Sounds like an excellent deal (I picked up an awesome Ranchero with a similar pedegree but it was under unfortunate circumstances & the parents just wanted it gone)

I've never been disciplined enough (the LEO stint just wore it out of me) to keep a similar log but **** man, that's the way to be. If you *know* the history of your truck that's one thing, but a complete unknown is a whole different story (How many of us have taken off a valve cover for the first time & been absolutely *convinced* that someone $hit on the damn head ?) Neglect should be criminalized, I mean, really who cares about a Yugo ? But a $20-30K truck should be maintained, especially when it's perfectly capable of running up to 300K without any major maintenance as long as you change the damn oil. I honestly can't say how important that can be, the guy I apprenticed with at Sears would change the oil on *every* van every month & the tranny fluid every 6 months and we had the LOWEST maintenance costs in New England. I think it was 87' or 88' when Corp HQ in Chicago sent out a couple guys to our unit to see just what we were doing. We showed them our logs & told them what we had been up to. Six months later our *exact* maintenace schedule came down from Chicago as the national "recomended service interval" and we laughed & laughed & laughed. Until the unit Mgr drove up in his brand new Porche and gave us both a handshake & pat on the back. Then we came in early & ****** in his coffee until someone suspected us. I'd walk around ALL DAY with that knowing smile on my face, it just made going to work feel worthwhile.

 
Last edited by a moderator:

mongo

New member
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
Location
Royal Oak,Michigan
Wow interesting post,Funny our Bronco is an 88 with 186,000 miles on it ( stock ) v-8 351.Everything looks cool but don't really now about the past owners,We would like to put 33's or 35's on it. FOr some of our trail ans sand driving,Not to crazy stuff.I know the guy who we got it from took really good care of ,Reciepts and all.Wondering if we asking for problems,With that many miles on it,.MAN I DIG THIS SITE,Theres always something

 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
22,709
Messages
137,171
Members
25,449
Latest member
eholt80
Top