Getting ready to buy 96

My father is debating picking up a 1996 Bronco Eddie Bauer with the 5.8L or a new Expedition.

He needs the towing capacity (23' Dusky Open Fisherman, center console, 110 gallons, dual outboards + gear which may be upgraded to the 25' this year).

His main concern was the sloppy steering in the Bronco and if there is a method to make that better (he also drove a 1994 with the same problem). The Expedition (2003) was perfect.

He also is looking at Broncos that will require an engine refresh/replacement and would like to use the 5.4 Lightning motor/Supercharger (about $4800 from Ford), but doesn't know about mounts, ECU, wire changes. The 5.8 Lightning is only 240 HP and his current Tundra has 245HP and he wants more power.

Rear Disc he'd like to do also, he already saw the F350 conversion and some aftermarket bigger front brakes, but if he has to redo the brakes anyway he'd rather upgrade everything. The trucks he is looking at need engine/brakes done 100k+ miles on them with nice bodies/interiors.

Also any recommendations for the 5.8L Bronco that can help with towing a boat and making it more modern. He is open to budget and basically would be able to play with approximately $20k, however, he would rather not spend all of that on the Bronco as he can buy the Expedition with his trade (he owns) outright.

Thanks

Chris

Well I don't like the Expeditions or the 5.4L engines. The 5.8L is a very strong reliable engine with tons of upgrades available. Throw a supercharger on that and an exhaust and you will fly. The max towing of a Bronco is probably around 10K pounds. The sloppy stearing can be taken care of by first checking to be sure all the ball joints and tie rods are in good shape. After you have determined that and you still feel it is sloppy put a steering stabalizer on it. Superlift makes a great steering upgrade kit but it only works on lifted trucks. If you are buying the truck just for towing this boat why not get an F250 or 350? The disc brake conversion for the 8.8" in the Bronco is pretty easy from what I have heard. Also you can upgrade the brakes by putting a 1 ton booster and master cylinder in. Not sure about the calipers. I love my Bronco and even with 37's and very few performance upgrades I can pull 4k pounds at 6k feet with minimal difficulty. Getting upwards of 10k feet it can get pretty sluggish but you have to expect that. Do not get and Excursion. Get a Bronco or F350.

A longer wheelbase will make for a better towing experience. I would go for the Expedition. I'm not sure what his boat weighs. If you are going to be towing loads that are closer to 10,000 lbs I would go with a 3/4 ton or 1 ton vehicle like an Excursion, F250, or F350. I own an Excursion -- it is basically an F250 with a shorter suspension and an SUV body.

I owned a Bronco and towed another Bronco on an open trailer -- the total load was probably close to 6,000 lbs and it was not a very fun experience. The longer, heavier trailers are just better handled by a vehicle with a longer wheelbase.

Either vehicle can have engine modifications done to it. If he's looking for something a little more "up-to-date" then I would go with the Expedition.

Speaking from the experience of currently owning both a 1995 Bronco with the 5.8, automatic, & Dana 44HD, towing package, quad shock front.... AND a 2000 F250SD with Powerstroke & 6spd AND towing both a boat or a flatbed trailer with +8,000 pounds on it....

It's all about torque and wheelbase. My Bronco would easily pull my smaller boat and can do my dad's 27' cuddy since it has trailer brakes and a well balanced trailer. The Bronco has the grunt to do the job but things can get a little loose feeling in a strong wind with the large boat. Hook the same setup up to my diesel and it's NEVER a problem (even when the trailer brakes failed). The HP rating of the Bronco and the Powerstroke are pretty close but the torque rating and curves are totally different. The 5.8 could be built up to a very strong engine and I'll even venture it would be significantly better then the 5.4 if done correctly but the wheelbase issue still comes in to play. I also suspect if some time was taken to properly setup both the trailer and the Bronco as a towing pair the wheelbase issue might be less of a problem in all but the most extreme instances. It sounds like the best solution is a diesel pickup in the cab configuration that best fits his needs with the Bronco/Expedition being a tie if some time is spent on the Bronco setup, if on the other hand he just wants to drop and engine and call it good the Expedition would be a safer out.

I've had my Bronco since it rolled off the showroom floor and plan to keep it. It's got 130,000 miles on everything except the tires, brakes, hoses, belts, fluids, filters, plugs and battery so I can't complain. It is much easier to use to move the trailers around than my F250 since it's shorter, it has 4wd and can carry a good load of people and stuff. As an added bonus it's paid for and I'm more willing to take it places that a newer and more expensive vehicle might make me have secong thoughts about.

Sorry didn't get any email notification to replies and forgot to bookmark this site.

The main reason for the Bronco is it's a SUV not a pickup...the homeowner's association decided to ban open pickups...including those with 'toppers' on them. The Expedition at about $35k or so would have been doable expect my father did not like the overall size ("Seems like too much truck").

His old Tundra at 245HP was great, expect he wishes it had 4 wheel drive.

He did buy the 96 Bronco...its a 351W with 3.55LSD, tow package and Eddie Bauer. I detailed it over 3 days and it looks like a new truck....some of the leather gives away it's real age, but the paint is bright bright white now. The top which we thought was light brown, turn a shiny bronze

Now we are trying to figure out what engine to go with. Two cylinders are tired....regardless it doesn't want to merge into traffic like his Tundra did.

We are looking at the Ford Racing 393W and the Coast High Performance 393/408/427W packages. Some have told us just to go 460, but other's explained that while it's perfect for the earlier Broncos...we have OBDII, a electronically shifted E4AOD tranny and would have to convert ALOT more than say a 1990 Bronco.

He doesn't want a big MPG hit (we think 10-15 would be typical now, the Tundra got 12-16).

Next is tires (swaying to the 32" high Michelin LTX M/S tires...they have an almost 33" high one also 285/75 or something)....he doesn't need an AT tire.

Also exhaust...something Cat back as he has the Ford Motorsports shorties already installed.

I want my own Bronco now...one big plus is just how easy it is to detail and clean up things....

Look in to the Michelin XCX APT's I had them on a '79 Bronco and have a set on my '95. They offer a little better traction in the slippery conditions I've seen at boat ramps and muddy roads than my past experience with the LTX MS which is a very good tire but much more of a highway tread IMO.

As far as the engine why not do a strong rebuild on the stocker? Even add a small supercharger system? Lots of juice left in the 5.8 with the right parts and an eye towards what you really are looking to use the engine for.

Exhaust? Flowmaster makes a cat back kit #17132 that will be finding it's way on to mine very soon based upon the great experience I have had with their products in the past. Then again if your going for a big HP bracket motor you'll need to look at a custom exhaust instead of a cat back system.

Yeah I'd go with a rebuild on that 351. You've got mass air with the '96 setup so any mods you do will be sufficiently handled by the stock computer. Those Coast High performance setups are by no means made for fuel economy. I think anything above 10mpg would be a miracle with those setups.

Stick with a rebuild, mild cam, new intake, and possibly some head work. You'll be amazed at the difference.

How many miles are on it, BTW?

(we're working on e-mail notification for posted messages...hopefully it'll be online within the next few days)

cool about getting email notification here, good luck with the project.

The truck has 114k miles on it. My dad would like to just rebuild the stock engine and either do the bore and stroking if any locally...however we have yet to find a reliable builder here. Three previous ones, all which were well recommended ended up holding back parts we paid for and didn't do all the extras we paid for...they are also all out of business.

He is speaking to a builder who is the husband of one of my father's employee's (but doing his engine poorly would not be any grounds to do anything to the employee over...so it's sort of good, but not a 100% guarantee).

We know displacement = more power so we are debating the coast high performance or Ford's 393W kits and having the rebuilder go to work. Also we'd like aluminum heads, if only to save some weight.

What would be the cam, heads, manifold, etc to go with? The MAF will be a great plus for those....also what exhaust is best for this setup?