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bats 88 Bronco II Build Up aka Project Second Chance

Ouch! Starting to think some Fords are possessed! Some never have issues for 500k miles, and some can't make it past 100k.

:(

I really blame myself. Can't leave well enough alone and gotta to tinkering and tempting fates.

Dropped the fluid over the weekend, saved most of it. From what I can figure out, the springs in the locker weren't providing enough tension to keep the teeth locked. The ice in a blender noise was the teeth on one half just grinding, but not locking, on the other. Exact same thing happened a few years ago. Two thumbs down for the Powertrax No-Slip. Summit sells a spring kit for $15 but I'm not about to get let down again in a year or two.

Picked up a Spartan locker for around $200 with Amazon sale and a rebate. Instructions were garbage so I found a video online. Piece of cake. If the weather cooperates tomorrow, I'll try and get back out there to seal everything up.
 



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I have the Spartan in the work rig. Be prepared for some super scary, super loud snaps, coming from the rear when you first use it. It's common for them, and won't do it for long. Scares the ever living crap out of you when it happens, and you will feel the need to pull the cover to inspect!

The video's are how we ended up figuring it out too. Instructions are useless. Mine clicks louder on turns, than the others I have, but it definitely works well.
 






Weekend update: I need more rum or Advil or some ****tail of both.

Gman, the first five or so miles it sounded like I was about to break something but it quieted down after some 'light' break in with the skinny pedal. Works excellent. Really missed the skrtskrtskrt when turning!

Took it on a quick joy ride. No problems going into any of the gears. Gear ratios definitely different from the A4LD but it still wants to beat up people who wear socks with sandals and shoplift from Tesco. Living proof that putting a manual in a slow sh!tbox makes it infinitely more fun. Handles MUCH better with the stiffer springs even though it has a Jeep JK rake going on.

Rear main seems to be leaky even though I did it when I did the trans. Carry spare oil. Timing still a hair off under load. We're getting there.
 






Took the ******* in for its annual state inspection and... seems like I thrashed on it harder than I thought. Balljoints worn out already and the spindle nut worked itself loose and caused some kind of premature bearing wear. Wasn't there for the tear down but I trust my mechanic. But it stops and the turn signals work!

That being said, I think the next phase is going to be swapping D44 knuckles on so I get the benefit of bigger balljoints. This thread popped up recently saying some minor reaming of the lower TTB balljoint is all that's needed to make it work. I'll start gathering parts for that and tackle it later in the summer since I have another project occupying the garage.

I know I'm being stubborn by keeping the TTB and all the annoying quirks that come with it BUT the IFS is so much more controllable and fun when you're hitting whoops at 50 MPH. Or thereabouts. Not sure since the spedo stopped working.
 






The road my my house is 2+ miles of rocks, dirt, mud snow, ice, river, whatever Idaho decides to hit us with. The good news? No neighbors for miles.
The more good news? TTB!!
Solid axle I would have to be going waaaaay slower I know because we drive the F350 and Excursion in and out weekly. The E350 van (still 2wd beams) the Bronco II and the wifes FJ cruiser all take this road like it was built for it, why? IFS!! Long travel IFS to boot...
I will never give up my TTB now! In fact I am considering the whole d44 ttb conversion for more width (cheater travel) so I can really use the BII on my "driveway"

Glad you are getting this sorted out, you keep saying the timing is off, is this a cam position sensor issue? Any codes?
Are you still using the A4LD computer?

Keep up the good work! BII with a 4.0 and 5 speed = fun fun fun fun
 






TTB crew represent!

I thought about the D44 TTB conversion but aren't those brackets rarer than hen's teeth? Cut n turn D44.... I can dream...

Was able to find a manual computer from the same year Explorer so that's what it's been running on since the new trans went in. KOEO codes give me EGR errors since it no longer exists. Tried doing the KOER codes but the CEL never flashed. Gave up for the night since the skeeters started coming out.
 






ah ha! With no egr present it can buck and miss that is for sure
We need to get rid of all codes before we can expect a super smooth pushrod
 






For the heck of it, swapped back to the auto A4LD computer and oddly enough that seemed to smooth things out. Didn't do a road test because I was diagnosing the blender sound coming from the ass end. My money is currently on bad bearing in the 8.8. Locker wasn't the cause of the sound though it needed to be replaced. Damn, all that money wasted on Royal Purple gear oil. Damn.

Started digging into ball joints. Bit of rust inside the hub. Looks like the inner axle seal let junk in. Not sure if the c-clip eliminator is pushing hard enough to keep a good seal. Saw that some of the D44 shafts were threaded and someone else put a bolt and a washer on it to keep the seal nice and tight. Unfortunately mine are not threaded BUT they do have a cavity that I can tap. (No pun intended, it's the heat stroke talking.)
 






Well, that sucks. I change dif fluids so often, I just use the Walmart brand synthetic at $13/ea. Water gets sucked into the axle tube seals when housing is hot, and water is unavoidable when woods wheeling. 2-3 changes a year, or after each outing. No sense in buying that $22/ea stuff. lol

I think there is a diff cam in autos and manual engines. The matching pooter would make it run better I believe.
 






Welp. Burnt myself out the past two days trying get everything back together. Balljoints needed replacing. Tie-rod was shot. Made up some bolts and washers to hold the axle shafts in place. Pictures to follow eventually.

Went for a ride and still stutters a little under load. Doesn't stall, starts right up and idles. Just doesn't like being under load. Even with the A4LD computer back in. Went for a ride and it'll get up to speed just fine still but it feels like it's going to explode getting there. Other than the stutter it actually drives pretty nice. Need to do something about the roof oil canning though. And the heat's stuck on because the diverter valve broke. And fix the exhaust because the tailpipe fell off. And fix the spedo. And figure out what's popping when I turn. (Not sure if it's the locker, there's too much noise to isolate sounds.)

It's getting there. I don't know where...or why lately....but it's getting somewhere.
 






plugged cat converter? low fuel pressure?

Those two things come to mind
I had the catalyst inside one of my converters come loose after a wheeling trip. Everything was perfectly fine until I would try to get on it or climb a hill, the catalyst would move to the rear of the cat housing and plug the hole.... caused me huge headaches for a couple of months until at my wits end I dropped the exhaust off the y pipe just to eliminate it as the culprit...sure enough it was the culprit.
 






So let's start with the good stuff.

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This is the inside of the hub. The problem was a seal in there didn't get a good seal. No seal, and problem fixed.

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Scrounged around in the magic nuts and bolts bin and found leftover bolts from one of the explorers. Some drill, tap and grindy action later that's what we end up with. Thus far seems good.

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Poser shot to prove it moves itself.

Took it for a test drive the other night. With the heater divertor valve wired to off and the windows open, it's not too terrible to drive in the summer. Those tilt in windows are the best. angles the air right at my junk. The more you know!
 






wing windows are how I have survived many wheeling trips in the desert. I keep 2 gallons of water in the passenger seat (before I had a wife) and a small squirt bottle, spray yourself down, wet your t shirt and hat and start driving! its better then AC (or at least that's what I told myself when it was 102 in Moab)

So let me get this straight you drilled and tapped the end of your axleshaft??? ran a bolt in there? or am I just losing my mind and that's how the D44 outers are? Please explain before my head explodes
 






wing windows are how I have survived many wheeling trips in the desert. I keep 2 gallons of water in the passenger seat (before I had a wife) and a small squirt bottle, spray yourself down, wet your t shirt and hat and start driving! its better then AC (or at least that's what I told myself when it was 102 in Moab)

I have an actual mister system in my Explorer for when the doors are off. It's a setup that's normally used in golf carts.
 






And now the bad. Head gasket.

Truck was leaving puddles in the driveway. Thought it was oil at first but on further investigation... it's antifreeze. Further further investigation it's the head gasket. Passenger side, rear cylinder is leaking AF right down the block. Enough that after an hour of spirited driving it lost enough that I could open the radiator and not have any splurge.

Wondering if the block isn't warped. When I had the heads done, the guy said it was definitely overheated at some point. Don't remember what part number I used for the head gasket but it was definitely a FelPro.

Again, I am at a crossroads. I finally got the suspension where I'm happy with it and comfortable driving at high speeds. Blasting down a bumpy road at ~50MPH I can lightly hold the wheel with one hand and have good control. I'm getting wet just thinking about that. El ******* isn't going anywhere but maybe it's time to upgrade the drive train. I can hear the "V8 V8 V8" chant slowly growing in the background.

Maybe I'll go the Rookieshooter route and go carb'd 302 for simplicity's sake. I discussed that way back in this thread. No emissions due to age. Could probably find a rusty fullsize Bronco and just swap everything right over. I'm not afraid of EFI but not crazy about going through a wiring harness again. The OHV is a simple engine that I'm comfortable with but even when it was running good, I felt like it still needed more go.
 






410 - Yes, that's exactly correct. Some of the D44 outers come threaded from the factory like that. Might be a TTB thing. The Mappyjack writeup I was following has since been deactivated but I'll try and find the reference pic. Other D44's had an indent for a snap ring.

Edit: Snippet from Mappyjacks D44 writeup.

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Rick, that looks like a nice little system that won't completely bankrupt me. Never even crossed my mind to go with a standalone setup. I really like that idea. Thanks for the inspiration!
 






You have already converted to a 4.0, the wiring is mostly done!! Go 5.0!!!!
 



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Slept on it, made the decision to go V8. The OHV has been fun but time to start fresh.

Complete, good running 302's are always on Craigslist for a few bills. Start with a carb setup to get it moving and make the jump to bolt on EFI when funds allow. Sadly I don't think any real wheeling is in my future so no immediate need for a super duper, run upside down fuel setup.

Trans will 98% be something auto with overdrive. It will be nice to have a backup vehicle to take on the highway.

I'm going to be aiming for the spring to do the actual swap. Gather all the pieces, update/clean/rebuild whatever in the mean time.

I've been using the Bronco around town for chores and groceries which is the plan until it blows up. Still leaves me grinning like a nutjob every time I drive it.
 






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