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Bronco II / Explorer

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AngliaGT

AngliaGT

Great Pumpkin
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I'm looking at these 2 vehicles to replace our '94-
Dodge Dakota.
Can anyone give advice about them?

- Doug
 
I used to have a Bronco II. Great little vehicle but its short wheel base is better for Jeep trails and not for towing. If your planning on using it for any towing, the longer wheelbase and larger displacement engines in the Explorer would be better for those jobs. I wanted to replace the 2.9 MFI V6 in my Bronco II with the Explorer's 4.0 V6.
 
Shawn,

If I buy a Bronco II,it's not a tow vehicle.If I buy an Explorer,
it's like buying a Ranger.I'm aware of the transmission problems,& take
that into account.

- Doug
 
We had a '97 Explorer. No problems with it.

I believe they're still on the no-go list at U-Haul; can't rent trailers over certain sizes, if that's an issue for you.

Interestingly, the Mercury Mountaineer is the same vehicle, but not on the list, according to a report a while back!
 
I have my own trailer.The seller used it to haul a (gutted)
Chevelle stock car,so I figure it will haul anything that I have.
It's not a huge trailer,& single axle.
Besides,I have the Chevy 1ton panel truck if I need to tow.

- Doug
 
the fact that he used to tow with it sends up flags about those known troublesome trannies. I'd be cautious. Although if you want to spring the bucks when it lets go, Jasper offers a rebuilt trans with over a dozen upgrades.
Bronco II is a decent little jobbie. I think I'd like one of those over an Exploder.(Yes I did mean to spell it that way) but..... they are less stable on the road. Having owned a CJ5 I'm not gonna be the one to tell you not to get something because it's not super safe.
I think the Bronco was an overall tougher built vehicle.
 
Bronco IIs can have over heating issues - the heads can crack on the 2.9L version. I wouldn't too anything with one though - too short.
 
78Z said:
Bronco IIs can have over heating issues - the heads can crack on the 2.9L version. I wouldn't too anything with one though - too short.
Click to expand...

Agree with not towing anything. Never heard or experienced the overheating issue with mine and it had the 2.9V6 with over 150k miles on it. One very common failure I did experience was a failed stator in the electronic ignition.
 
I had a 1988 model that cracked its head a bit. Engine banged around like a bucket of really big bolts but still ran.
 
Mine was an '89 with the 2.9 MFI engine, my step dad had an '87 with the 2.8 carbed engine, we both experienced the stator failure.
 
I'm looking at lots of options:

1987 Bronco II,rebuilt transmission - asking $1900 (I would offer a lot less).

1981 Ford F150 4WD in really nice shape original owner - asking $2000
(I keep looking at it,& thinking about it).

1995 Dodge Dakota Club Cab,4WD,75K miles - owner not ready to sell yet,-
but he will when he buys a bigger truck.

Lots of Explorers on craigslist,but it takes time to look at them.

I need something to haul gear for the fire department around in,&
since we only have standard transmissions on all of our vehicles,an automatic would be nice.
I also want some I can pay cash for (even if it includes selling the '94 Dakota.
Decisions....decisions...

- Doug
 
I think I'd pick the F150 or the Dakota from that list.
 
Likely out of your price range but, Oh my...
Diesel F 100
 
JP,

That's so cool!The best of both worlds,but also out of my price range.
The '59/'60 Ford 4WD's are one of my favorite trucks.

- Doug
 
For that price range you can get a pretty decent Jeep XJ. 4.0/AW4 auto, how could you go wrong?
 
I don't know, looking back, that I could honestly recommend an Explorer, but I wouldn't discount it, either. I bought one new in November 1990, special ordered with the complete towing package AND five-speed manual. One thing I never had any problems with was the gearbox (or clutch, for that matter) in nearly 200k. It saw a lot of towing, always with a heavy single-axle trailer originally built to haul a drag-racing Nova around. I towed everything from an autocross-prepped Spitfire 4 to a Peugeot 505 Station Wagon with it. Most of the time (the Peugeot being the possible exception), it would get about 20mpg towing and 21mpg without trailer and load. Mind you this was with the 4.0 V6 -- not a bad engine in and of itself, but many of the pieces that bolted onto it were garbage!

All in all, I could have done worse, I suppose. In many ways, it was a pretty decent car all around.
 
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