Bronco is back in the garage

[Idaho]

My 94 Bronco developed a knock in the engine about 2 months ago so I finally decided to get the engine rebuilt. $3,700 later and it is back in the garage.

We found that the #5 piston was partially melted. The bored out the cylinders 20 thousands over and put in new pistons. Rebuilt the heads (new valve job) ground the crank and installed new bearings. Had the flywheel resurfaced and a new clutch installed. The engine has a roller cam setup so I did not need a new camshaft or lifters. The shop cleaned the injectors and istalled all new belts and hoses. It definitely runs much better now than before the rebuild.

The only thing is that now there is way more tranny noise coming up through the transmission hump than before. I have asked the shop about that and they are going to take a look at it.

It's nice having my Bronco back.

[ringadingh]

Did they find out what caused the piston to melt? Thats quite an expensive repair to have to make out of your own pocket.

[Idaho]

We think it was a plugged injector that caused that cylinder to run hot. The melted piston was not that bad. Just a small amount of metal damage on the edge that scored the cylinder wall. It caused a knock that drove me nuts and worried me that it would give out on a back road somewhere and really destroy the engine.

I have 175,000 miles on the Bronco and it is in good shape because I have taken care of the body and it is always garaged.

As to the cost, it is cheaper to rebuild this one than buy a new one. To replace the Bronco I was looking at a $30,000 PT cruiser. Did not want the payments.

[ringadingh]

If you keep it undercoated, it should last you quite a while with the new motor. Road salt is our biggest killer here, they pile it on thick because they don't want to be held liable for slippery roads.
Salt is whats eating my truck away slowly, Ive replaced two transmissions and for the amount I use it now it doesn't pay to replace at this point. I'll clean up the body work this summer and hopefully get some more time out of it.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

We think it was a plugged injector that caused that cylinder to run hot. The melted piston was not that bad. Just a small amount of metal damage on the edge that scored the cylinder wall. It caused a knock that drove me nuts and worried me that it would give out on a back road somewhere and really destroy the engine.

I have 175,000 miles on the Bronco and it is in good shape because I have taken care of the body and it is always garaged.

As to the cost, it is cheaper to rebuild this one than buy a new one. To replace the Bronco I was looking at a $30,000 PT cruiser. Did not want the payments.

You're better off with the Bronco.

I have a 1991 Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition. It has an oil leak, probably from the rear main. My 87 Bronco I previously owned had the same issue.

I need to do some work on mine. Last year I replaced the rear window lift motor. Now I need to replace both front window lift motors.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Glad your Bronco is road worthy again. Cost of the engine rebuild sounds about right. Nothing cheap these days. Back in the late 60s I had a 1957 Ford with a 312 engine rebuilt for about $350. Prices have gone up about ten times but doesn't seem that our pay has.

[nomad561]

Glad to hear you got it back. I lost the engine in my truck last year and it was $6700 to replace it. They are really proud of the Hemi engines.

[Idaho]

Originally Posted by Wandering Nomad "Darksider"

Glad to hear you got it back. I lost the engine in my truck last year and it was $6700 to replace it. They are really proud of the Hemi engines.

Still cheaper than a new rig. I really like my Bronco, even more now that it runs great!

[glwilson]

Originally Posted by AlabamaNomadRider

Glad your Bronco is road worthy again. Cost of the engine rebuild sounds about right. Nothing cheap these days. Back in the late 60s I had a 1957 Ford with a 312 engine rebuilt for about $350. Prices have gone up about ten times but doesn't seem that our pay has.

I had an old Ford Van with a 302(?)... that was one great motor. It was extremely easy to work on and they lasted forever.

My van's body finally fell apart... at which time I sold the motor out of it for more than I paid for the van.

The guy that bought it used the motor for many more years before getting rid of the truck he put it in.

Those were the days when even a guy like me could change-out the starter in an hour for $30

[audiogooroo]

Originally Posted by glwilson

I had an old Ford Van with a 312... that was one great motor. It was extremely easy to work on and they lasted forever.

My van's body finally fell apart... at which time I sold the motor out of it for more than I paid for the van.

The guy that bought it used the motor for many more years before getting rid of the truck he put it in.

Those were the days when even a guy like me could change-out the starter in an hour for $30

I hear ya Greg. I can remember my first pickup (69 Chevy w/ 350) and I could actually crawl into the engine compartment and sit on the fender well to change the plugs, There was nothing under the hood but that V8 block.

[ponch]

302 or 351? It's amazing how expensive engines are getting, even crate engines. I bought a 350 4 bolt in 1988 for $1200. Now I see some engines as high as 13K. It's nuts.

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

My 94 Bronco developed a knock in the engine about 2 months ago so I finally decided to get the engine rebuilt. $3,700 later and it is back in the garage.

We found that the #5 piston was partially melted. The bored out the cylinders 20 thousands over and put in new pistons. Rebuilt the heads (new valve job) ground the crank and installed new bearings. Had the flywheel resurfaced and a new clutch installed. The engine has a roller cam setup so I did not need a new camshaft or lifters. The shop cleaned the injectors and istalled all new belts and hoses. It definitely runs much better now than before the rebuild.

The only thing is that now there is way more tranny noise coming up through the transmission hump than before. I have asked the shop about that and they are going to take a look at it.

It's nice having my Bronco back.

[afgunner]

Sorry to hear that the horse layed down on ya' Idaho! Nothing is cheap on a vehicle anymore, although I think that you got hosed on that rebuild. I just completely rebuilt a Ford 360 for my 93 F-150 for less than $1800. That included new seats and a three angle on the heads, new crank, bearings, connecting rods and pistons and paying to have the block honed and decked. I did the assembly myself so I saved all of that labor cost which is where you got hurt. You still got off way cheaper than a new rig though. Hopefully your tranny is OK. If you are hearing a lot of noise I would suspect the transfer case before the tranny. Good Luck and let us know what you find out.

[Idaho]

afgunner, you are right - the biggest part of the bill was labor. between the machine shop and the mechanic that part was over 2 grand. The noise that was coming up through the floor as because they did not fasten down the plate around the shifter boot. Tranny is okay.

[Idaho]

Update. The Bronco had a broken frame mount where the left I-beam bolted to the frame. I have no idea how that happened because I don't even remember smacking a pot hole that hard. Anyway, this Monday I drove the Bronco on the interstate and the check engine light came on. We expected that thinking that there was a faulty O2 sensor.

The mech got a frame piece and I had him check the sensor. They called to tell me that it needed a new one. Then they called to say that they thought it was a bad wire in the loom and was it okay to string one outside the loom. I said okay.

Then they called to say that they thought the ECM was bad. Of course you can't buy a new one for a 94 Bronco so they had to look for a used one. Found one 55 miles away. They got it today and last time I saw them they had it running but the looks on their faces was less than satisfied.

Long story short, the Bronce is still in the mechanics garage tonight. RATS.

[Idaho]

They are now focusing on the O2 sensor. They replaced it with several others. Mine is a four wire. When they put in a one wire it works perfectly. Can't leave it in because two of the other wires are a heater circuit in the sensor. If that is open it lights the check engine light.

The other sensors that they put in are all aftermarket sensors so they finally ordered a MotorCraft sensor from a dealer in SLC today. It will be here Monday morning. In the meantime my Bronco is in some else' garage for the weekend again. Rats.

Only consolation is that I was able to take the Nomad out to meet my wife for dinner when she got off work. That was good.