So the Bronco hasn't been running running reliably for the past two weeks. When the temps started dipping below 0f at night it wouldn't start in the mornings. For 3 days straight the warmest it got was 10f and I spent those days diagnosing the problem, suddenly it got warmer and started running one day, I figured the crank position sensor was going bad. Then the next morning no start, there was too much snow/ice on the ground and it was way too cold to fix it in the parking lot. So I called a tow truck to take it into the shop. They replaced the first thing that looked bad which was the distributor cap and rotor, even though it had spark. By then it warmed up in the shop and of course started running. So I argued a little bit that it couldn't be the cap and rotor (but i'm not the certified mechanic, what do I know?) plus I could hear the exhaust and something wasn't right. Then it nearly stalled crossing an intersection and ran rough the whole way home. Next morning no start, the same way it didn't start before. Called another tow truck to bring it to a different shop that agreed to work on it. 3 days later they call back refusing to work on it, this is the second time they've *cough*TMA*cough* done that to me. So I had ANOTHER tow truck take it BACK to the first mechanic (the only full service shop not booked for weeks). It sat there for another week, started every morning because the weather was warmer by then. Eventually I was like "Fuck It!" and had them replace the 5 most possible parts on it. They replaced the Crank Position Sensor, PIP Module, Ignition Module, entire Distributor assembly, and Temperature Sensor. They also found the timing was retarded by 10 degrees.
Nearly $1,000 later it runs like new, but now I got it back and noticed I have no rear brakes! Hard to tell when it happened because I've been using 4WD which ties the front brakes to the rear. So I figured maybe they need an adjustment, but then I realized the res was nearly empty! I must have snapped a rear line the other day romping through the snow on some rough dirt trails. Problem is I can't tell where the leak is because everything is wet due to the snow. So that'll have to wait for another 2 weeks, and just to rub it in, the 2 weeks I didn't have my truck it was beautiful outside with dry roads... as soon as I picked it up today it started snowing again... for the next 3 days!