Horrific First Bronco Experience NEED HELP San Diego

[horhay25]

Soo..just came home with a bronco this Saturday. 1969 Bronco Sport..1500 miles on 302V8 rebuild. Edelbrock heads, intake, cam(not sure which), msd ignition, hedman headers, flowmaster exhaust. Ford AOD trans., trans cooler, No Rust, a/m seats, sprayed interior, custom dash, tilt wheel, custom roll cage, New 33x13.5. I thought i got a smoking deal. Vehicle was purchased Saturday in AZ and my father and I towed to San Diego Sunday AM. I drove the car, my father drove the car and it seemed to run smooth and loud. There were a couple minor leaks from transfer case and rear end, but not much.

So, got it out here to Encinitas and my dad was driving behind me and he notices the bronco putting out smoke from underneath the car. We get it back home and notice oil splatter around the breather cap, so we figure it could be a loose cap, oil smoking on contact with block and smoking. Clean it up, test drive it and still notice it. We check out the hose attached to the breather cap and find out the smoke is coming out of the pipe on revs. Not a good sign...It doesn't seem to idol rough, I was told it has a "lopey" cam, I had an E cam in my 90 mustang, and this was def just as lopey. It seems to have power, not an immense amount for a 3500+ truck pushing 33x13.5's, but seems sufficient enough.

I took the car today to a mechanic here in Encinitas and he gives me the horrific news that it looks like a blown ring or possibly a cracked piston(??). I asked him how he knew and he pulled the PCV valve off and started the engine..puffs of white smoke came out.

So, I'm fairly novice when it comes to the internals of an engine, but does this seem like a right diagnosis? I'm planning on getting another opinion, Does anyone know any good mechanics in north county San Diego, more specifically Encinitas area??

Any opinions are GREATLY appreciative as i was quoted 2500-4000 for complete rebuild...

 

[bmc69]

Where to start?..."Welcome aboard" seems like a good place!

You need a lot more info from the "mechanic" before you make a decision, panic, spend money, etc. Rings do not selectively "blow"...modern pistons do not crack (the originals sure did though..like crazy..)....so you need to take a deep breath, step back, calmly assess the real situation over some time and you might be pleasantly surprised. Lots of help here on this forum, that's for sure.

 

[Ourobos]

Very possible yes. Too much crank case pressure. Do a compression test on all cylinders

 

[dtm030]

I had a similar experience with my bronco after 30 miles of owning it. Mine was bucking and making a cracking noise which was only diagnosed by pulling apart the rebulit motor to find out it had a bad cam in it. The guy had used an edlebrock cam, which is a hardened cam and one of the lumps didn't harden which made it elongated and it screwed up my lifters, pushrods and basically I had to rebuild the motor and found out it also had a leaking water pump. All this cost me $2700, so the price to rebuild doesn't sound too bad. That included a new cam (machined billet cam, not hardened), lifters, pushrods, labor etc.

 

[Phil Munsterman]

Would the Seller take it back ? I would be in contact with them ASAP.

 

[horhay25]

I had a similar experience with my bronco after 30 miles of owning it. Mine was bucking and making a cracking noise which was only diagnosed by pulling apart the rebulit motor to find out it had a bad cam in it. The guy had used an edlebrock cam, which is a hardened cam and one of the lumps didn't harden which made it elongated and it screwed up my lifters, pushrods and basically I had to rebuild the motor and found out it also had a leaking water pump. All this cost me $2700, so the price to rebuild doesn't sound too bad. That included a new cam (machined billet cam, not hardened), lifters, pushrods, labor etc.

Another thing the "mechanic" said was it could be they put the wrong cam in it. Said it could be more of a race inspired cam. I really wish I knew what cam/heads it has on it. I confirmed the intake/carb are edelbrock, I was told heads are edelbrock, not sure what type roller rockers, and the block is a 302.


The thing I can't wrap my head around is why the truck still runs pretty decent. Starts fairly quickly, seems like it has power, doesn't run hot, from what i can tell doesn't make any sounds out of the ordinary. the only real concern is the white smoke.

What are the negatives of still light driving this thing!?

 

[SteveL]

What does the oil look like? Any chance the po put tranny or brake fluid iin to hide the issues? I know a good honest motor shop bet they're up here in torrance.

 

[dtm030]

Another thing the "mechanic" said was it could be they put the wrong cam in it. Said it could be more of a race inspired cam. I really wish I knew what cam/heads it has on it. I confirmed the intake/carb are edelbrock, I was told heads are edelbrock, not sure what type roller rockers, and the block is a 302.


The thing I can't wrap my head around is why the truck still runs pretty decent. Starts fairly quickly, seems like it has power, doesn't run hot, from what i can tell doesn't make any sounds out of the ordinary. the only real concern is the white smoke.

What are the negatives of still light driving this thing!?

Mine was also driving okay under light throttle but under heavy throttle is when it would make that ticking/ cracking and it was a weird thing but if I kept driving like that it was probably going to cause some more serious damage.

I would say as much as it sucks you need to spend the money and get the thing rebuilt by a reputable mechanic and that way you can drive it with confidence and love it.

 

[horhay25]

What does the oil look like? Any chance the po put tranny or brake fluid iin to hide the issues? I know a good honest motor shop bet they're up here in torrance.

Oil looks a little darker but ok..i was about a qt low when i purchased it..added a qt right away..

 

[dtm030]

Have you had the mechanic check compression?

 

[73azbronco]

Have you called the previous owner, I mean really, I only know you'll have issues if the guy is trying to cover something up, otherwise, he should be able to point you to the shop that worked on it or he has info in his hand. I'd push to get a better history before I start fixing things. But, compression test is best place to start.

 

[Sabas]

I agree with bmc69. Take a step back. This group is great very knowledgeable. If you do need a rebuild., my opinion would be to forgo rebuild and pickup a low mileage 5.0 explorer motor with serpentine setup. Kill many birds with one stone. Efi, newer motor, explorer serp set-up.

Sabas.

 

[horhay25]

I agree with bmc69. Take a step back. This group is great very knowledgeable. If you do need a rebuild., my opinion would be to forgo rebuild and pickup a low mileage 5.0 explorer motor with serpentine setup. Kill many birds with one stone. Efi, newer motor, explorer serp set-up.

Sabas.

I'm definitely gonna start with a compression test tomorrow. Then I'll revisit after. This thing is not my daily driver so I can be patient with it.

As far as EFI motors, I'd love to go that route, but know it can be way more expensive. If i rebuild the engine I'm sure i can save money reusing intake/heads/carb whereas efi i would need intake/heads/computer/wiring..etc...

How much start to finish for a typical EFI swap?

 

[Rox Crusher]

I'm definitely gonna start with a compression test tomorrow. Then I'll revisit after. This thing is not my daily driver so I can be patient with it.

As far as EFI motors, I'd love to go that route, but know it can be way more expensive. If i rebuild the engine I'm sure i can save money reusing intake/heads/carb whereas efi i would need intake/heads/computer/wiring..etc...

How much start to finish for a typical EFI swap?

Luck of the draw......

If you find a complete low mileage explorer 5.0 and are capable and willing to do the work yourself........you can certainly do it cheaper than 2,500

 

[horhay25]

Luck of the draw......

If you find a complete low mileage explorer 5.0 and are capable and willing to do the work yourself........you can certainly do it cheaper than 2,500

not sure if my garage is big enough, nor do i have all the tools at my disposable to undertake an engine swap...

 

[DirtDonk]

A couple of things.
The mileage is suspect. Not that he lied or anything, but if he didn't break the cam in correctly, or is using a low-zinc oil in it, it could be that the cam is deteriorating.
Improper break-in is unfortunately super common even these days. Failure could happen anywhere from 1/2 hour after it starts running to 5,ooo or even 10,ooo miles after.

Second. What setup is it engine running for a PCV valve? A lot of people leave them off when they rebuild an engine. The mechanic should have noted it if it was missing or improperly hooked up, but you never know.
Any way you can post a few detailed and a few overall shots of the engine compartment?
That way we can help you identify some of the outer components you had questions about, and maybe even see something amiss that others might not see right away.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[horhay25]

A couple of things.
The mileage is suspect. Not that he lied or anything, but if he didn't break the cam in correctly, or is using a low-zinc oil in it, it could be that the cam is deteriorating.
Improper break-in is unfortunately super common even these days. Failure could happen anywhere from 1/2 hour after it starts running to 5,ooo or even 10,ooo miles after.

Second. What setup is it engine running for a PCV valve? A lot of people leave them off when they rebuild an engine. The mechanic should have noted it if it was missing or improperly hooked up, but you never know.
Any way you can post a few detailed and a few overall shots of the engine compartment?
That way we can help you identify some of the outer components you had questions about, and maybe even see something amiss that others might not see right away.

Good luck.

Paul

Have one pic and a brief video of it running..I'll take more detailed pics tomorrow...

 

[DirtDonk]

Sounds pretty healthy in the vid.
Looks like you have a 6-cylinder radiator, or just one of that downflow type.

Is that a hose connected to the breather cap on the driver' side valve cover?
Where does it go?
What is on the passenger side valve cover?

Paul

 

[horhay25]

Sounds pretty healthy in the vid.
Looks like you have a 6-cylinder radiator, or just one of that downflow type.

Is that a hose connected to the breather cap on the driver' side valve cover?
Where does it go?
What is on the passenger side valve cover?

Paul

The hose connected to breather cap was routed down by the firewall and flow out under the truck..on the passenger side valve cover is the PCV valve..

i thought the same thing about the radiator with electric fan but the engine temp runs about 190-200..but havent seen it above that..

 

[horhay25]

Sounds pretty healthy in the video.

Paul

Thats why im so skeptical of an internal engine issue..it sounds super healthy and runs very well..just cant help that smoke..do you have a breather/pcv setup? If so..can u take pcv valve off after warm and see if you get a little smoke out the pcv hole on the valve cover..or if anyone with that setup can help??