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bats 88 Bronco II Build Up aka Project Second Chance

Did you try removing the top of the master cylinder like video #2?
A small air bubble smaller then a pea can cause your clutch not to fully open, pre bled or not
If you pull the master cylinder apart, let the fluid come to the top, then reinstall the plunger then there is no more air trapped in the master cylinder
This fixes the issue you describe 9 times out of 10
I have dealt with this MANY TIMES over the years, so many Rangers and Explorers with brand new clutch, brand new hydraulics and cannot get 1st or reverse gear easily = tiny air bubble

The only other place it can get trapped is in the hydraulic line, but on a pre bled that is not likely
We have also seen many issues with cheap slave cylinders, like pro torque and the other auto parts store junk
Luk or Motorcraft ONLY!!!! I will ONLY use these two brands for the clutch hydraulics on one of these trucks
Never a problem since

Did I ever tell the story of how a certain 88 BII went through 4 clutches and 3 manual transmissions in one summer before finally converting to an A4LD automatic? Years later I would learn about the air bubble and finally know why I could never get the manual to work in my truck. A 5 minute trick could have saved alot of grief, heartache and money.
Knowledge is power
 



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Whoops, wrong video. Saw the Ranger and thought it was the same one I referenced.



Next time I make it out to the garage I'll try that method. Maybe that's where the remaining air is trapped. After yesterday it DOES feel better and it's bearably drivable I think. Would I want to drive it in traffic though? Nah.

This is the point where I'm almost kicking myself for not just having the A4LD rebuilt. Cost would be about the same and in theory I would have been up and running already. Then again there's that whole reliability thing. The A4LD that was behind the original 2.9 was rebuilt at only 40K miles and 10K miles later after two moderate wheeling trips it was slipping gears already.

I know it's a your mileage may vary thing. I'd probably have problems even just getting the A4LD rebuilt. Always an adventure.
 






A4LD rebuilds are more like nightmare then adventure, you have to get a builder who really knows his stuff otherwise its a crap shoot

You likely have an air bubble, once you remove it the clutch will work as it should
I have seen this many times
pull the top of the master apart, be ready to catch some fluid (small amount) and then re assemble, fill the reservoir and then try again.....
 






A4LD rebuilds are more like nightmare then adventure, you have to get a builder who really knows his stuff otherwise its a crap shoot
.

That's partly why I didn't bother with a rebuilt. With the problem being the front pump seal and a lot of misinformation about how to do replace it properly didn't want to risk it.

Good news and bad news. Replaced the master cylinder. After removing the snap ring on the old one and letting the juices flow they kept flowing. Something didn't seal right after putting it back together. Got a LUK replacement. Hooked it up and put some vacuum on it before attaching to firewall. Kept wiggling and tapping to get all the air bubbles out. Feels MUCH better now. Drove around the yard and went back and forth and it feels better than the other one ever did.

Bad news is I broke the tip on the clutch fluid reservoir. Temporarily jury rigged the catch can from the vacuum pump to be a ressy. Couldn't find a part number for just the reservoir which sucks. See if I can find a universal one or something.

The other semi bad news the drivers side valve cover still leaks when cold. I used RTV in addition to the Felpro gaskets on the back half. Fixed the passenger side but the drivers side still weaps a little bit. Definitely less than the original valve covers and they DID need to be replaced.

The 2.9 valve covered leaked but these ones seem to drip down the block just right that it drips on the exhaust.

Anyways, happy early new year and thanks to everyone for your help!
 






that sucks about the valve covers. i dont think i pried them off when i took dons motor apart. and from what i remember, his motor was dry up top
 






Tim, the valve covers were mint. I made sure the surfaces were straight (they absolutely were) before putting them back on. Next time I can get out there I think I'll just use RTV and clean the head mating surface extra extra good.

Fixed a fuel leak. O-ring on one of the injectors had a nick in it. No more fuel smell. Upper intake manifold back on...again.

Crossing the clutch off the list. Got a new reservoir of fleabay, installed. Drove around the yard a bit again and clutch is still consistently working. The only thing is the plunger doesn't want to clip into MC like the old one did. If I'm too zealous on the third pedal it springs out and the plunger falls out of the MC. Maybe I'll just make a simple limiting strap and move on with life.

Attached the front drive shaft and tested 4WD. Still no 4LO but I can live with that for now. Might just be missing the ground on the clutch pedal switch. I doubt I'll do any heavy duty wheeling this year so it's not high up on the list.

More importantly on the to do list is e-brake cables. One of the steel cables I used rusted out. Something about taking the truck swimming in salt water maybe? The remaining one still does the job and actually works better than the e-brake on my daily driver. I'm still using the foot pedal for the e-brake which is annoying when you're doing it all the time. I have a floor mounted lever I pulled from an Aerostar we junked that I'm considering putting in. Lokar makes some nice kits for the 8.8 but they're spendy.
 






Replaced the radiator. Went with a manual first gen explorer rad. Didn't realize there was a difference until I got it bolted in. The manual radiator has a perpendicular inlet while the automatic one has an upwards angled inlet. Both in the same spot. This requires a different rad hose. Picked on up locally. Trimmed to fit - Explorer rad hoses work but they need about 3 inches clearancing. No big deal. Get that in and sealed up.

Moved on to replacing a cracked rad fan.Start putting the fan clutch back on and it hits the new radiator hose. Sonovva!!! Temporarily held it out of the way with a ziptie. It needs like 3/4" to be clear. Seeing if I can do something with some silicon heater hose.

Otherwise it's running and driving. Ish. Took for a test run down to the industrial park. Shifted into all gears, clutch catches consistently about halfway up. No speed demon but definitely torquier than I remember. *Edit I'm an idiot* It's been a while since I drove something with a locker but I don't remember it ratcheting so much in turns.

Another annoyance is the front springs are way too soft. They're Early Bronco progressive rate springs. They settled in and the progressive part is completely compressed giving the truck a noticeable rake. I didn't plan to play with the suspension again but they make the front end ridiculously sloppy. Enough to make me look for the old sway bar brackets in the garage.
 






So close to being ready. Replaced rear diff fluid with Royal Purple with friction modifier and quieted that right up. The gear oil I dropped was still fresh so not sure why it was so jumpy in turns.

Temporarily swapped in the electronic t-case since the manual 1354 didn't sound right. Couldn't get it to shift into 4LO despite jumping the appropriate wires on the NSS. Cracked open the manual t-case and seems like it was just bearing noise due to the salty, pink milkshake that was in it for who knows how long. Ordered a bearing kit and that should solve that. Reminder to self: t-case breather!

Started getting ready to pull out for a test drive and I hear a *thwomp thwomp thwomp* noise. In the time it took me to figure out it was the rad fan hitting the lower radiator hose it wore a gash in it. Engine was only warm so only lost a trickle of fluid. Ordered up a new hose too.
 






Battle on!
 






Bad news - rear housing on tcase cracked while putting it back together. Still not sure on that one. Everything lined up but wouldn't sit flush on the main input side. Tap tap tap crack. Not sure how I'm going to proceed.

Good news - rad hose replaced. Got some play time in the yard. Only stalled it once flexing on a stack of tires. Still a beast in 2WD.
 












Okay. You got me. Incoming pic flood. Let's start with the good ****. Some poser shots from last year.

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Cool stuff.

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?media/automatic-****pit.54298/full

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Cover from the evil red Explorer. Almost had an electrical fire immediately after. Removed immediately.
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And, things that suck.

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Took el ******* on a shakedown drive this morning while everyone was in church for something.

Stutters under a load when actually driving, think the timing is still off by a few degrees. Still has power at low speeds.

Soo much body roll going around corners that it's just about unstreetable. The amount of flop actually terrifies me a bit.
 






























Bad news. The rear end is fcked.

Jacked it up and ran through the gears. Third though fifth gear I was getting this sound like ice in a blender. Crawled under there with the old listening hose and couldn't pinpoint the source. Then started turning the wheels by hand and it sounded like **** and the locker wasn't locking reliably. Drop the rear drive shaft and Bob's your creepy uncle. Smooth as glass.
 



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