410Fortune 1988 Ford Bronco II Eddie Bauer 4x4

[410Fortune]

gages are my last priority LOL
took ARB locker and diff to High Country
$120 to diss assemble and then call me with estimate.
ARB can likely be repaired. Cross shaft pin that holds the ARB pinion gear to the case likely broke = FUBAR but rebuildable (YEAH) they will call with an estimate.

ordering steering TRE's today
Need to borrow metric 22.5 tap from Brett so I can re-install

Transfer case is suspect still, trying to source another 1354 CHEAP LOL
I have 2-3 dont trust them, I think with two lockers and 35's I have been stretching chains? but they are so plentiful its not worth a rebuild when I plan to go low gears someday...

pics:

Fingers crossed ARB carnage is minimal, hopefully new pinion gear and cross pin only, de burr pinion gear (where it was struck) and run it till it breaks!

Torn apart, need to re-locate brake lines

Superlift Super runner steering:

Excuse the mess, we are also getting a 96 Gen II ready to be crushed , BII parts:

You can see where my driveshaft was hitting the body x member (top right of pic) NOT GOOD
Made a HORRIBLE bang a couple of times on the highway to/from Moab 07.... yikes
I had clearance when I did the 5.0L conversion, I lost that clearance when I went to the Duff urethane body mounts
Maybe I need a 0.5" body lift? LOL

Steering column is out, PITA to get past stock wiring

 

[Dannyboy]

painting fenders are my last priority LOL

fixed it for ya.

 

[410Fortune]

LOL on two trucks! matching paint will come some day...

 

[Dannyboy]

Try this out for your radius arm bushings.

 

[410Fortune]

dang, all this work to find out transmission is shot
It will not give me 1st gear in D, it doesnt want to shift out of 2, its making a horrible racket in 4wd......
All the same things it was doing before, I thought it was my front locker and t case... nope

This sucks!
I will post pictures of the work I have done last week in order to get her ready for the 08 wheeling season, but my transmission is toast

Now to find a GOOD rebuilder and save some $$$, come up with a plan of attack
Makes me sick to think of the $$$ and time I have in this.... my rebuild did not last like I paid for it to, just spent $400 on my front locker did 3 days of solid wrenching including my own alignment to find out FUBARED

 

[MoabB2]

That sucks man! What do you think caused the transmission to go out? It didn't have that many miles on it, did it? And you run a trans cooler so it runs pretty cool all the time too...?

Don't you have a spare 4r70w laying around?

 

[410Fortune]

I do have a spare 4r70w, it needs a rebuild as it has 165K miles on it and it was slipping when pulled.

My 4r70w was rebuilt before I installed it, we used alot of new parts but it was not a full rebuild because the trans only had 80K on it. My trans pan temp never saw more then 150 degree's, my trans runs REALLY cool

Something hard broke inside the transmission I believe, something failed.
We will know when its torn down I guess

Symptoms (very odd because in 2wd its almost fine):
-does not want to give me 1st gear in D
-Does give me first gear if I put it in 1, shifts into 2nd like normal
-trans is making a high pitched squeel
-Truck does not want to roll in N
-something in the drivetrain feels like its binding, however I can freely spin the front or rear tires with the axle in the air, front driveshafts to tires everything is smooth, both lockers/hubs/ u joints all feel fine
-has these symptoms with two different t cases, so its not the t case
-in 4x4 it still loads up and then goes BANG, very loud very distrubing

Before I yank this thing I plan to do a bit more testing to make sure 100% this is a trans issue, but I am 98.5% right now

I dont want to do another rebuild, at least not locally, so sick of having my Ford trans rebuilt by the "best in town" only to have it fail in less then 20K miles.... Considering a new 4r70w (if I can find one) or a rebuild by Baumman or somebody elses who has a reputation for buioding a bullet proof 4r70w. I also need to source a 4406 manual t case.... unless my BII shift motor wires will shift the e shift version!

Getting the 4406 under the BII could prove interesting, although it will likely give me a bit more clearance for my front D shaft... It will need a crossmember and mount.... IF it fits between my frame rails! It will likely hit my exhaust?? I guess we will find out!

more headaches! Not sure if she'll see dirt in 08 or not.... very very sad
The only good news is the steering and front end are *****in now! I pushed my front wheels forward an 1" which really helped with alot of things, the coils sit better, the steering is better, the alignment is better, looks better, the beams are sitting at a better angle, etc... my Skyjacker radius arms were never right, been wanting to do this mod for 10 years....also my 96 Mustang floor shifter with modifications is 100%, I have all gears, I can lock it in 1 or 2, and it shifts as smooth as a new Stang... to bad the trans broke

I wonder when it broke? its killing me to not know what the problem is, I wish it was something simple like a converter but I am fearing the worst...sounds BAD

 

[MoabB2]

Man, that is very interesting. No codes in the computer?

I continue to have 1 code after my swap, P0708. It only appears when I am driving in 1, which I only do when offroading in 4x4. When the pressure builds in 1 it will slip out of gear....I don't think it goes to 2, almost like it goes to N, then I slow down, and it will slip back in to 1. Really disturbing when creeping down a steep incline...

Under normal driving the code never appears, and the computer will clear the code a few days after it appears.

So, you having trouble in 1 concerns me too. Although, not having 1 in D is pretty scary. Hopefully you got your front end all set though. What is your wheelbase now, 95"?

 

[410Fortune]

First my ARB locker up front was bad, the cross shaft broke in half, allowing it to walk out of the housing and it was hitting the pinion gear on each rotation:

bad ARB:

cross shaft:

fixed at High Country Performance 4x4, about $390

they were able to save my 4.10 Yukon gears thank goodness

onto the steering, removed the superrunner kit and cut off the bad pitman arm pivot end:

Center link is cut to 10-7/8" from the flat side of the pivot bracket (had to remove material twice to get the correct length with the new tie rod end screwed in):

Metric 22 x 1.5 tap works perfect, allows you to run a drivers side D35 TTB outer:

Carquest part # for new end (I bought two because I also replaced my outer tie rods on both sides. Carquest part # for pass side is same but ends in 15 not 14:

installed, using a Gen II Explorer CV shaft outer nut as my new jamb nut (same thread):

I also removed my 88 steering column and cleaned/repacked the bearings. I cleaned and lubed the cruise control contacts on the back of th ewheel too, then re-installed. no more squeek! I bought a junk yard steering column from a Ranger, but later found it in worse shape then mine! So I didnt use it

I did not replace my Superlift inner tie rods, they are still nice and tight.
All reinstalled and greased:

On to the Shifter conversion:
Here is my 98 explorer setup, the shift arm faces upwards and with the 96 Mustang floor shifter I was using it has the wrong amount of "throw"

So I had to convert this trans to use the 96 Mustang shift pawl, cable and bracket. Ford wanted $140 for the cable and bracket, I won a 96 Stang shifter and cable on Ebay for $16.50. The stang shift pawl came from Ford, $20

install was simple, remove the DTRS, remove the nut on the inside of the shift pawl and pull it through trans. Install new seal on stang part, install into trans, install DTRS. You can see the explorer shift arm was outward of the DTRS, the stang shift arm is inward, keeping it tucked closer to the trans....thank goodness! I have a front d shaft so this clearance really helps!

All installed, cable and bracket mounted

Onto the floor shifter itself:
the 96 stang shifter has no detents for gears 1 and 2, it simple slides right from 1 to 2 right to D. Well for 4x4ing this SUCKS. I want to lock it into 1, and lock it into 2, so out apart comes my Ebay shifter and out comes the dremmel

before

after

sweetness! Now to fix my mount, when I did the V8 I hurried up and got th efloor shifter mounted. Now I finally had the parts and time to do it right, this floor plate cover came from a 96 Explorer, amazingly it FITS THE 88 trans tunnel!

mounted, fits awesome:

Now will the front d shaft clear the new shift cable/bracket?

YES! Barely!

 

[410Fortune]

Finally on to the big stuff, re-installing the ARB/diff and finally modifications to my Skyjacker Radius arms to get my front tires where they should be

My trick to allow me to remove my 3rd member without touching the radius arm, cut the factory bolt:

beam cleaned and ready, I use black silicoln to make the seal:

My beam is also cut to clear the ARB air line:

front D35 all back together, axleshafts, bearings, brakes oh my! (can do this in my sleep now)

On to the radius arms:

before, been like this since we installed the radius arms about 10 years now I think:

bushings okay, nylon ring is bad

end of Skyjacker arm:

the plan, new piece of 1" steel pipe, 3/4" long approx:

all together, just enough room to thread, no more nylon ring the are worthless and limit flex anyways. I am running simply inner and outer rubber bushings now, should help flex

my welding skills are improving! I also tacked the big washer in place so it wont rotate anymore:

And finally, OH SO NICE, finally the front end geometry is more like factory!!! (check out the new monster HF jack stands, 32" of lift! 12 ton!!, I can finally support my lifted BII by the frame with no worries)

then I put the wheels on, did a tape measure alignment and got to test her out....... only to find I gotta do all this again and then some... trans is coming out!! Hope to see trail in 08... please send $$$

Josh I can tell you on my test drives having the ability to lock the shifter into 1st gear is awesome! Both in 2wd and 4wd, in 2wd I can leave a light and shift 1-2-D myself, going from 2-1 will almost snap your neck, it also chirps my rear tires! so nice!
in 4x4 low, having it locked in 1st is *****in! FINALLY she crawls, been really missing no 1st gear on the trail... not anymore, 1st gear in the 4r70w is LOW, now if I can just get mine back together we will really have something.

The only code I got is DTRS unexpected signal between R and N, same code I have had since day 1 of my 5.0L conversion, guys at Baumman believe this was a faulty PCM code and should be taken care of with a re-flash of my 98.5 pcm. Currently I am a bit more worried about it since my trans is broken... so I will post what I find out.

Also adjuster on my d side Rancho shock is doing nothing, spins freely... need to look into that, thank goodness for lifetime warranty!

 

[Turdle]

I'ts good to see you back ai it Jamie
I think the truck was feeling ignored.

 

[MoabB2]

Freak....I should have never posted that the code only appears in 4x4. I'm daily driving the Bronco again, and during a trip to lunch today the CEL appeared again. I don't have a scanner, but I'm assuming the same P0708, DTRS Voltage High, is back, now in 2x4. I'll have to see if there was a TSB for this in '97.

Mine goes into 1 and it is really nice to crawl with. However, when going down a hill it won't hold itself once the RPMs get up and slips out. But yes, 1 is the only gear to wheel with, unless you are trying to keep up with a group! LOW.

Hope you get your trans figured out soon. Let us know what you find.

 

[CopyKat]

the plan, new piece of 1" steel pipe, 3/4" long approx:

all together, just enough room to thread, no more nylon ring the are worthless and limit flex anyways. I am running simply inner and outer rubber bushings now, should help flex

my welding skills are improving! I also tacked the big washer in place so it wont rotate anymore:

And finally, OH SO NICE, finally the front end geometry is more like factory!!! (check out the new monster HF jack stands, 32" of lift! 12 ton!!, I can finally support my lifted BII by the frame with no worries)

then I put the wheels on, did a tape measure alignment and got to test her out....... only to find I gotta do all this again and then some... trans is coming out!! Hope to see trail in 08... please send $$$

Also adjuster on my d side Rancho shock is doing nothing, spins freely... need to look into that, thank goodness for lifetime warranty!

Now that it done, how close is your passenger axle shaft to the pivot bolt? I know you run cut and turns but it's got to be close when fully stuffed


As for the shocks just pull the 2 allen head screws out of the adjuster and the adjuster will come off. You should be able to see inside if the thread is stripped. Use a bit of Petroleum jelly to lube the plunger for the adjustable valve. I've got 4 shocks that are fawked I could pull the adjusters out if you need one, but if you got warantee that should cover it.

 

[HahnsB2]

My trick to allow me to remove my 3rd member without touching the radius arm, cut the factory bolt:

Did you reinstall the pinch bolt? A lot of the torn/cracked beams I've seen we results of not running a pinch bolt just just so ya know

 

[FROADER]

Hey Jamie,

If you could do it all again, would you use the same trans/t-case? If not, what would you go with? I'm starting to research all of this and see what others like and don't like for a 92% trail 2% street and 6% parked rig.

 

[Dannyboy]

C5 with C4 internals reverse valve bodied, doubler with 4.56s.

on 36" tires, you can still haul balls and open it up but gear down to a serious crawl ratio without needing to step down to 5.13s


oops mi llamo no Jaimie.

 

[410Fortune]

I would not run the TTB without the pinch bolt, that is why I shaved the bolt head down a bit so it will clearance my Skyjacker radius arm without having to remove the arm from the beam... the pinch bolt is a requirement on these beams, it locks the differential to the beam so the diff is actually a structural part of the beam, without it the beam would twist/crack/whatever. So yes I run the pinch bolt

Colin I would use the same transmission for sure but not the 1354 t case, simply because the AA adapter is so damn expensive and it requires the trans to be rebuilt. Using a different transmission with the 5.0L would require removing the trans functions from the PCM, or dropping a distributor into the GT-40P block and using a truck.stang computer. I personally like the benefits of OBD-ii and the 4r70w trans (almost cant believe that is coming out of my mouth right now ggggggggggr so angry at trans), having EFI and DIS is awesome IMO, plus this conversion would even be legal in CA into any pre 95 truck


My first choice would be:
-4r70w/ atlas 4.3 case (come on lotto)
-4r70w/ built/geared D20 twin stick (requires a smaller cheaper adapter/stub shaft $$$ for that and the D20 build up)
-4r70w/manual 4406 case

this is likely the route I will go (4406)... requires all new everything IF the 4406 will fit in a non body lifted BII, I have no clue if it will.....but I have seen this setup in a IFS Ranger.

That all depends on what is actually wrong with my truck, at this point its speculation until I have a chance to diagnose.
My plan:

-pull computer codes again
-remove front d shaft and see what happens in 2wd and 4x4
-put truck on 4 jack stands, run it through the gears in 2wd and 4x4 with a helper so we can try to locate the issue
-swap in another known good 1354 to make absolutely sure I just dont have two bad t cases

I still believe it is the transmission based on the noises / symptoms... but before I rip it out for a tear down I want to be 100% sure. Takes me 2-3 hours to remove the tcase in my truck because of the clearances, removing the trans/exhaust is another 2 hours

I need to check:
driveshafts
front end (again)
L&L motor mounts (make sure ones is not broken)
t cases (maybe I broke two t cases? V8, lockers, 35's its possible)

then we'll tear into the transmission.... Man I need more $$$$ I was not expecting this, once we found the broken shaft in the front locker I was 100% sure I found my drivetrain problem... nope!

If my trans is bad (95% it is) then I will tear it apart to find out what happened, see if it can be fixed easily.
Then I will decide, rebuild it and keep 1354
or
rebuild my other 4r70w (trade it in) and try to stuff a 4406 t case, new d shafts, etc

 

[MoabB2]

Hmmm, you've sparked my curiosity.
Besides some mega bucks, what would it take to get an Atlas 4.3 under there? Driveshafts? Adapters? Rebuild?

 

[410Fortune]

step 1. Order atlas t case for 6 bolt AOD/E transmission (assuming you didnt convert the 4r70w to run the 1354, if you have the 1354 adapter order the 1350 style 5 bolt atlas)
Step 2. Bolt in Atlas
Step 3. Have driveshafts modified to fit (if required)
Step 4. figure out linkage/boots

Thats about it, Atlas T case is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[410Fortune]

I'ts good to see you back ai it Jamie
I think the truck was feeling ignored.

Lol thanks John, I never left the garage, just switched focus to sleds for the winter... wow so worth it those things RIP! Now considering ATV's because we had so much damn fun snowmobiling. If you live in CO (or similar) and you dont have a snowmobile.... GET ONE, get a newer long track one, they are insane! By the end of the season we were driving right up teh side of a fricking mountain, all the way to the top, look over the edge, then turn around and FLY down the hill. Snowmobiles have come a long way since I was a kid thats for damn sure....

BII /FJ and a couple of ATV's would make for some serious summer fun!

I wish I could get this damn truck right, its killing me!! I should be doing cage not transmission crap!

truck was grounded, not ignored! shes a bad truck!