Brand new to the B2....is the Sven Pruett build real?

[4x4prepper]

imho, If I was looking at "reliable" I would go with a carb 2.8, though I guess converting the 2.9L to carb while you have it apart would be okay. There is better parts availability for the 4.0L.

Tom Morana Racing Engines

Your wiring harness and all ignition components are now 35 years old, a capacitor in your engine computer needs no excuse to leak and burn. It is way beyond it's designed life cycle.

It is getting very hard to find QUALITY parts any more for the vehicles. If I was going to dump money into a B2 engine, it would be a bone stock 302.

One thing you could do to make it more reliable is replace the whole braking system including hard lines. Replace the whole fuel system including the tank. To protect the investment, put good rear bumpers front and rear. Line it with skid plates.

Replace the seat belts and put a solid aluminum driver's seat or at least a one piece plastic. This will protect your son in rear end accidents more then anything, especially with a limiting strap on the seat.

 

[franklin2]

On that Tom Morana site I see on the 2.9 carbed intake they say you will need a custom distributor, which is supposed to be available from them. But I can't seem to find it on the site.

I was running my 2.8 with the TFI dist locked and it ran surprisingly good, though fuel mileage was down. I did some research but never came up with a solution, and ended up getting the old style DSII 2.8 distributor working again.

One of my ideas was to tighten the TFI dist down only slightly, and make a arm to attach to it. And then hook a lawnmower throttle cable to a bracket and hook the cable to the arm and actually move the dist on the fly like a old Model T. It seemed a little ridiculous and I never tried it but I bet it would have worked.

I am waiting for the 2.8 to blow, and then I will work on putting the 2.9 in with a carb. But this 2.8 just doesn't want to give up.

 

[ryan]

Replace the seat belts and put a solid aluminum driver's seat or at least a one piece plastic. This will protect your son in rear end accidents more then anything, especially with a limiting strap on the seat.

This is horrible advice - those types of seats are designed to be safe when you're wearing a 5 point harness and strapped in TIGHT. Like can't move at all tight. I'm totally in agreement to move to a more modern seat with whiplash protection, but I would never recommend doing something like that in a vehicle with a 3 point normal seatbelt, you'll scramble your brains in a rear end collision

 

[Dhaile]

imho, If I was looking at "reliable" I would go with a carb 2.8, though I guess converting the 2.9L to carb while you have it apart would be okay. There is better parts availability for the 4.0L.

Tom Morana Racing Engines

Your wiring harness and all ignition components are now 35 years old, a capacitor in your engine computer needs no excuse to leak and burn. It is way beyond it's designed life cycle.

It is getting very hard to find QUALITY parts any more for the vehicles. If I was going to dump money into a B2 engine, it would be a bone stock 302.

One thing you could do to make it more reliable is replace the whole braking system including hard lines. Replace the whole fuel system including the tank. To protect the investment, put good rear bumpers front and rear. Line it with skid plates.

Replace the seat belts and put a solid aluminum driver's seat or at least a one piece plastic. This will protect your son in rear end accidents more then anything, especially with a limiting strap on the seat.

Carb engines aren't more reliable. They are much simpler and there are less components. But they are just not more reliable. Yes, most of the components are are getting very old. But, they're still working. Which to me, speaks to the reliability of what I have. I've had to get creative with parts. For example, if/when the ECU(yes I know it's really called a EECV or whatever) gives out, I'm going to use a microsquirt instead. But the rest of the stuff is kind of off the shelf. For instance, the plug for my resistor for my hvac controls crumbled when I had to replace it(only one fan speed). Well, about 30 minutes on google and I found a generic replacement that worked like a charm. It did take some effort to repin things, but that's the price you pay for having one of these oddball things. I mean, we love the thing, but it's a Ford failure that only has a cult following. I knew that when I bought it. I'm in the cult now. If I was going to go all in on a swap, it wouldn't be a 302. It most likely wouldn't even be a ford power plant at all. The problem I have owning an 88, is that if I were to do a swap correctly, the only thing that remains a B2 is the body, suspension and frame. All of the wiring, the ECU, the fuel system, the motor/tranny/transfer case all gets converted. Then I have to go up the road and get custom driveshafts. It would most likely go to a toyota or GM powerplant. The purist in me says that the 2.9 is reliable enough to carry on for quite some time. As for the brakes, they've been dealt with, the seatbelts have been sent off, redone, returned and reinstalled. They work perfect now. The suspension is currently underway. We're having fun tinkering over here. Seats are not on the list. I'm not trying to make this thing as safe as a volvo or something. It's pretty safe as is. With the exception of the small rollover issue. But, that's something we have to keep in mind when driving. I have more than enough experience to deal with it, the boy does not. So, that will be a focus as the driving lessons go on. I'll let him take it out and let him experience what body roll feels like and how to tell when limits are getting near. Just like I would in any other vehicle. I like the small challenges of not being able to just have every solution right at your finger tips. I like that the boy has to learn to think his way through an issue. Research problems, diagnose and test things. This was kind of the entire point of this thing. Well, that and it's just really kind of cool. I understand why other people do the things that they do. And I do have an appreciation for it. But, I'd like to keep this thing as close to original as possible for as long as possible. I did have to bring some things into the modern era already. The lights and sound system have already been brought into 2023. As far as most of the rest, I just like it as is. I was just trying to correct some of Ford's oopsies. From talking with other people and some engine shops, I've pretty well decided on a path for this thing. We have all year to drive it around and enjoy it as I'm not spending my entire summer for this project. This will be for the winter of 2023. Things could change by then, but I'm pretty set on it right now. When I do get to it, I'll have a write up so everybody who wants to can follow along. Yes, I'm even going to dyno it for information purposes only. I've never seen before/after numbers.

 

[RobbieD]

. . . but that's the price you pay for having one of these oddball things. I mean, we love the thing, but it's a Ford failure that only has a cult following. I knew that when I bought it. I'm in the cult now.

I'm sorry, but in defense of the Bronco II, it was conceived to be very capable off road, but with the comfort and luxury of what was found in passenger cars (at the time).

Admittedly, as such it wasn't a very stable platform, and yet it also appealed to a lot of buyers who didn't understand that (as in young or beginning drivers, soccer moms, mall crawlers, etc.). It is a fun, practical vehicle for daily driving, commuting, grocery getting, as long as it's driven within it's limits.

To Ford's credit, I think that they looked wisely at where the market was heading, and took a honest look at the B2's shortcomings. So instead of just killing the B2, they replaced it with Explorer. The Explorer was a home run for Ford, and it could be argued, I believe, that the Explorer started the popularity for the SUV type vehicle that still predominates the market today.

I just don't see the Bronco II as a "failure". More like "misunderstood".

I am glad to hear that you do love your B2, and welcome to the cult! (yes, we are a cult)

Have fun with it, and I hope that it serves you well.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Wow...how did i miss this thread.

The best thing you can do to have a reliable 2.9 are these two things in this order...

1- Keep it Cool. This is a biggy. The top end (heads mainly) are by far the weakest point on one. Alot of guys swap in 4.0 explorer radiators, and run cooler thermostats. I have the stock radiator in mine With a 185 T stat and even when towing about 2000lbs it never goes over 1/2 on stock gauges.

2- Change the oil. 2.9s arnt to picky about synthetic vs conventional or whatever. But the valvetrain on the 2.9 can get noisy, this is caused usually by cam bearing wear or plugged rockshafts, both which are caused by neglectful oil changes...and please god use the FL1A motorcraft filter.

The ticking is more of an annoyance then a real issue though. As long as its not due to low oil pressure.

I got my first 2.9 to over 300k with literally zero issues besides an ignition module. It even had the original alternator, water pump, etc. It didnt even tick, but i had it since new and always did pretty religious oil changes.

The highest mileage RBV i ever heard of was on here, a member named C marshall had a 87 BII witb over 600k on the clock (626 IIRC) and he delivered papers with it.

My current 2.9 ticks, but it has never created any bigger issues.

The 2.9 has plenty of giddy up when bolted to a manual, ive drivin one auto 2.9 and it was still adequate, but nothing like a manual.

Everyone has their opinions, and in mine, the 2.9 is the best rounded engine ever put in an RBV. More power then a 3.0, slightly better on fuel then a 4.0, and is actually fun to drive unlike a 4 banger.

One other thing id like to add, is in my 20+ years around this place, i dont recall ever hearing of bottom end issues or complete grenading of a 2.9. Im sure its happend, but they are damn tough little engines when half assed maintained and kept cool.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I'm sorry, but in defense of the Bronco II, it was conceived to be very capable off road, but with the comfort and luxury of what was found in passenger cars (at the time).

Admittedly, as such it wasn't a very stable platform, and yet it also appealed to a lot of buyers who didn't understand that (as in young or beginning drivers, soccer moms, mall crawlers, etc.). It is a fun, practical vehicle for daily driving, commuting, grocery getting, as long as it's driven within it's limits.

To Ford's credit, I think that they looked wisely at where the market was heading, and took a honest look at the B2's shortcomings. So instead of just killing the B2, they replaced it with Explorer. The Explorer was a home run for Ford, and it could be argued, I believe, that the Explorer started the popularity for the SUV type vehicle that still predominates the market today.

I just don't see the Bronco II as a "failure". More like "misunderstood".

I am glad to hear that you do love your B2, and welcome to the cult! (yes, we are a cult)

Have fun with it, and I hope that it serves you well.

The Bronco II was kind of a competition for the Jeep Wrangler (CJ/YJ). It shares the same wheelbase and a slightly longer body than the YJ and has much nicer interior, especially the Eddie Bauer editions. Rollovers are a claim that a lot of people make against it, but it’s really not any more unstable than the Jeep. The early Explorers were accused of rollover problems but I still contest the problem is largely user error in both. I have a theory that by making the interior and feel of the vehicle more car-like encourages people to drive it like a car and not an SUV with a high center of gravity.

From my understanding, Ford almost changed the Bronco II into the Explorer. I’ve heard rumbles that they talked of making a 4-door option and there is evidence of a few test vehicles made of the Bronco II with the 4.0 OHV motor. Instead they changed to the Explorer which I think was a good call.

I think part of the whole thing with the Bronco II was the 2.9 and A4LD transmission. Both required maintenance and didn’t take kindly to abuse, and I’m sure we all are well aware there are a lot of vehicle abusers out there. Neither were terrible, they just require some understanding. I’ll admit I had a serious dislike for the 2.9 and A4LD for years until I had a good 2.9 and tweaked an A4LD. I knew their problems and a good bit of the why, but I didn’t think very highly of them for a long time.

So yes, I would definitely go with misunderstood for the Bronco II

 

[Dhaile]

@RobbieD maybe misunderstood is a better word to use. I mean, after all, ours is 35 years old and runs like butter with 159k on the clock. And I'll even go so far as to say the thing still looks pretty dang good. But, with that said, it has flaws. I'm just taking out as many of those flaws as I can. It's just what I do with my stuff. After owning a lot of vehicles just like this, I just make them better where I can and it makes sense. It's not just a Ford thing. It's a lot of vehicles. That's really all this entire thought started out as. @rusty ol ranger I don't how you missed this one. It's been interesting. I was never looking for more power. My daily is an 04 silverado with a 4.3. I'm over the speed thing in life. But, when doing certain things, power just comes with it. That's why I wasn't really concerned with that portion. I'm fine with what it has currently to be honest. Does it take me a minute to get to 70? Sure. But so does my truck. If I wanted a race car, I'd build another one. Fords tick, that's just what they do. The 5.0 is infamous for it through the latest generation. For some reason, Ford engineers love audible cues that things are running. I don't know why. Thanks to this forum, and a few of the members I have a pretty good understanding of how to keep this thing alive for pretty much ever. The whole reason I ended up with one of these is I know several people that have clocked into the 300k range on the 2.9. Unfortunately, they all let theirs go. So, here we are with ours. Although now you have me curious about the oil filter thing. I did change the oil when I brought it home(and literally every other fluid). I used mobil one 5w30 full synthetic high mileage with the matching mobil one filter. It's the same combo I've used in my truck for a while and it seems pretty good. It's my understanding that there's some sort of valve(I'm not sure if that's the right term or not) in the filter to keep some oil hanging around for startups and whatnot.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@RobbieD maybe misunderstood is a better word to use. I mean, after all, ours is 35 years old and runs like butter with 159k on the clock. And I'll even go so far as to say the thing still looks pretty dang good. But, with that said, it has flaws. I'm just taking out as many of those flaws as I can. It's just what I do with my stuff. After owning a lot of vehicles just like this, I just make them better where I can and it makes sense. It's not just a Ford thing. It's a lot of vehicles. That's really all this entire thought started out as. @rusty ol ranger I don't how you missed this one. It's been interesting. I was never looking for more power. My daily is an 04 silverado with a 4.3. I'm over the speed thing in life. But, when doing certain things, power just comes with it. That's why I wasn't really concerned with that portion. I'm fine with what it has currently to be honest. Does it take me a minute to get to 70? Sure. But so does my truck. If I wanted a race car, I'd build another one. Fords tick, that's just what they do. The 5.0 is infamous for it through the latest generation. For some reason, Ford engineers love audible cues that things are running. I don't know why. Thanks to this forum, and a few of the members I have a pretty good understanding of how to keep this thing alive for pretty much ever. The whole reason I ended up with one of these is I know several people that have clocked into the 300k range on the 2.9. Unfortunately, they all let theirs go. So, here we are with ours. Although now you have me curious about the oil filter thing. I did change the oil when I brought it home(and literally every other fluid). I used mobil one 5w30 full synthetic high mileage with the matching mobil one filter. It's the same combo I've used in my truck for a while and it seems pretty good. It's my understanding that there's some sort of valve(I'm not sure if that's the right term or not) in the filter to keep some oil hanging around for startups and whatnot.

There’s a lot of truth here. And if we want to talk slow trucks, let’s talk about my 95 F-150 with the 300-6. Just about sloth power, but it will literally drag anything at the same speed. My green Ranger will be my go-fast toy. I like variety.

On the oil filters, Mobil 1, K&N, and I think there’s one other high-end filters are acceptable. I’ve used them to no ill effect. I will never use another Fram if I can help it. The last one I used was a “Tough Guard” in my at-the-time GFs car because I couldn’t get the AC Delco I always used for her. In 5k miles the cartridge filter COLLAPSED. I had to dig the crushed beer can out of the hole that was swimming with oil because of the filter. Never again. Motorcraft is my standard go-to for Fords, but I’m ok with a high end filter too. Last time I bought filters, I got a whole case of FL-1a

 

[rusty ol ranger]

@Dhaile Ive just always had good luck with the motorcraft filters. The mobil 1 by what ive heard is a good filter. The anti drainback valve is important IMO. I was mostly trying to keep you away from cheapo filter.

I had my F250s oil changed at midas once, they used a champ (i believe) that cross refrenced with the FL1A (460 engine) and about 2000mi into the change i cooked my mains at 80k miles.

Not saying thats what did it for sure, but the filter they used was much smaller then the FL1A.

As far as power goes, yeah i agree its not everything. Currently the slowest at my place is the wifes 2.5L fusion. My 2.9 would hand it its ass from 0-40 lol.

But i think you guys will have fun with it. Maybe get him interested in wheelin', then he'll be to worried about spending his savings to buy that new warn winch and avoid speeding tickets

 

[sgtsandman]

There’s a lot of truth here. And if we want to talk slow trucks, let’s talk about my 95 F-150 with the 300-6. Just about sloth power, but it will literally drag anything at the same speed. My green Ranger will be my go-fast toy. I like variety.

On the oil filters, Mobil 1, K&N, and I think there’s one other high-end filters are acceptable. I’ve used them to no ill effect. I will never use another Fram if I can help it. The last one I used was a “Tough Guard” in my at-the-time GFs car because I couldn’t get the AC Delco I always used for her. In 5k miles the cartridge filter COLLAPSED. I had to dig the crushed beer can out of the hole that was swimming with oil because of the filter. Never again. Motorcraft is my standard go-to for Fords, but I’m ok with a high end filter too. Last time I bought filters, I got a whole case of FL-1a

Purolator Boss/Pure One and Wix. IIRC, Mobile1, the better Purolator, Wix, and Motorcraft are all made by the same company and made the same way except for the paint and label.

 

[Dhaile]

@sgtsandman that's interesting. I didn't realize they were one in the same. I learn something every time I get on here. I only switched to mobil one with the matching filter after watching some test videos and stuff on youtube. Yeah, I get that nerdy about it when there's nothing on tv. @lil_Blue_Ford I still kick myself for getting rid of my 93 f150 with the 4.9. That was one of the best trucks I've ever owned. It never won any races, but it did just get a bigger grin the more you beat on it. It always did everything I asked it to do and I asked it to do a lot. I learned my lesson with Fram filters when I had one disintegrate and starve everything behind it. That was a bad day. They're just not good products. I just jump on amazon and order oil and filters. It's convenient because both my truck and the B2 take the same oil. It's almost like it was planned that way(it wasn't but that would've been a good plan.) A fast ranger does sound fun. There are some days I miss having something fast. But then, I really enjoy not getting tickets or wondering what I did to offend cylinder 4 so much that it just leaves the group. @rusty ol ranger I could get back into wheeling for sure. I had a lot of fun with that. But, I think that would be a different rig if I were to do that. Ooh, maybe a second B2 just for a toy. That one we could have fun building whatever we wanted. And when we break things, it can sit until it's fixed. It may happen. The plan for the current one is just a true daily. Or, maybe if the boy decides he wants something different in a couple of years, we turn this one into some monstrosity of a toy. Either way, we're enjoying it for now. Everything takes ten times as long when we do something with it because I have to explain how it works. But I'm more than ok with that. I figured if I can get him to catch the gearhead bug, he can't afford to get into trouble with other things(I'm kind of kidding). But seriously, the stuff I've learned on here has been incredible. I'm always up for taking advice/pointers/constructive criticism or whatever else. So I do appreciate the input from everyone here.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Sounds like a good plan. Hell buy a couple quads even for wheelin. Thats what i did. Alot cheaper to fix, eaiser to transport, and alot eaiser to get unstuck

I think though the B2 will be a good choice. I know yall went over the stability issues but its like anything, make sure he respects the vehicles limitations.

 

[sgtsandman]

@sgtsandman that's interesting. I didn't realize they were one in the same. I learn something every time I get on here. I only switched to mobil one with the matching filter after watching some test videos and stuff on youtube. Yeah, I get that nerdy about it when there's nothing on tv. @lil_Blue_Ford I still kick myself for getting rid of my 93 f150 with the 4.9. That was one of the best trucks I've ever owned. It never won any races, but it did just get a bigger grin the more you beat on it. It always did everything I asked it to do and I asked it to do a lot. I learned my lesson with Fram filters when I had one disintegrate and starve everything behind it. That was a bad day. They're just not good products. I just jump on amazon and order oil and filters. It's convenient because both my truck and the B2 take the same oil. It's almost like it was planned that way(it wasn't but that would've been a good plan.) A fast ranger does sound fun. There are some days I miss having something fast. But then, I really enjoy not getting tickets or wondering what I did to offend cylinder 4 so much that it just leaves the group. @rusty ol ranger I could get back into wheeling for sure. I had a lot of fun with that. But, I think that would be a different rig if I were to do that. Ooh, maybe a second B2 just for a toy. That one we could have fun building whatever we wanted. And when we break things, it can sit until it's fixed. It may happen. The plan for the current one is just a true daily. Or, maybe if the boy decides he wants something different in a couple of years, we turn this one into some monstrosity of a toy. Either way, we're enjoying it for now. Everything takes ten times as long when we do something with it because I have to explain how it works. But I'm more than ok with that. I figured if I can get him to catch the gearhead bug, he can't afford to get into trouble with other things(I'm kind of kidding). But seriously, the stuff I've learned on here has been incredible. I'm always up for taking advice/pointers/constructive criticism or whatever else. So I do appreciate the input from everyone here.

If you want to get real nerdy on oil and oil filters, check out Bob is the Oil Guy.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

@sgtsandman that's interesting. I didn't realize they were one in the same. I learn something every time I get on here. I only switched to mobil one with the matching filter after watching some test videos and stuff on youtube. Yeah, I get that nerdy about it when there's nothing on tv. @lil_Blue_Ford I still kick myself for getting rid of my 93 f150 with the 4.9. That was one of the best trucks I've ever owned. It never won any races, but it did just get a bigger grin the more you beat on it. It always did everything I asked it to do and I asked it to do a lot. I learned my lesson with Fram filters when I had one disintegrate and starve everything behind it. That was a bad day. They're just not good products. I just jump on amazon and order oil and filters. It's convenient because both my truck and the B2 take the same oil. It's almost like it was planned that way(it wasn't but that would've been a good plan.) A fast ranger does sound fun. There are some days I miss having something fast. But then, I really enjoy not getting tickets or wondering what I did to offend cylinder 4 so much that it just leaves the group. @rusty ol ranger I could get back into wheeling for sure. I had a lot of fun with that. But, I think that would be a different rig if I were to do that. Ooh, maybe a second B2 just for a toy. That one we could have fun building whatever we wanted. And when we break things, it can sit until it's fixed. It may happen. The plan for the current one is just a true daily. Or, maybe if the boy decides he wants something different in a couple of years, we turn this one into some monstrosity of a toy. Either way, we're enjoying it for now. Everything takes ten times as long when we do something with it because I have to explain how it works. But I'm more than ok with that. I figured if I can get him to catch the gearhead bug, he can't afford to get into trouble with other things(I'm kind of kidding). But seriously, the stuff I've learned on here has been incredible. I'm always up for taking advice/pointers/constructive criticism or whatever else. So I do appreciate the input from everyone here.

I‘ve taken to referring to my F-150 as the Blue Ox (as in Babe, the Big Blue Ox of Paul Bunyan fame) since sometimes it has no respect for it’s strength, lol. It’s pulled 30-40’ tall trees out by the roots among other things. It’s also broke a number of things, most recently the cross of a 1330 U-joint. Blam. Not the caps, the actual cross and the thing even had grease in it. Just a beast of a truck.

I’ve collected a variety of toys over the years, lol. Just need to get them all working. My 89 Bronco II choptop is my lifted off-road toy that is road legal-ish. Sitting on 35’s it draws some attention, lol. It started as a 2wd with a blown up 2.9 and grew over the years, at first it was a total shoestring build and fun aside from liking to eat motors for some reason. I’m building my green 2000 Ranger with a 5.0 and all-time AWD so it should be a fun street toy. At some point I’d like to go 331 stroker with it. But it will do nicely as a 302 for now if I can get the kinks worked out.

A Bronco II makes a fine off-road toy. If you’re looking for something that requires a little less of the upgrades, a first gen Explorer sport might be the ticket if you can find one. Still 2 doors for the sport, but slightly longer than the B2, already would have the D-35, 8.8 and 4.0, so the three major upgrades are done.