bats 88 Bronco II Build Up aka Project Second Chance

[bats]

Nope, harness is all Explorer so it's using the black w/orange. It's been charging as it should now.

 

[410Fortune]

oh good! The silly 1986-90 BII wiring stuff had to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is funny to watch over the years copper must be expensive for car manufactures because they did everything they could to shorten all the wires. Ever notice the power dist box used to be by the pass headlight in the 80's (even though the wire pass through for the dash is under the brake booster)? Over the years the power dist box moved a few times...closer and closer to the dash pass through..... lol
Copper must have been cheap when they made the BII because the stupid wires routed all over the place! Even the power windows and locks harness goes around the radiator support!!

 

[bats]

No updates in a year. And what a year it's been! Drove the ******* almost exclusively this time last year due to traffic vanishing for a while (because of the thing. You know.) Only about a thousand miles but they've been mostly trouble free.

Don't remember what the last major thing I did after the engine swap was. Got the wiring/charging figured out. Starts every single time and wants to run!

If you remember, I have the electric t-case still after I cracked the case rebuilding my manual one. Someday I might hunt down a replacement one but today is not that day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either. The 4WD ECU got wet due to the fist sized rust hole in the floor. Probably was partially submerged in saltwater too if I remember correctly... Sometimes shifted into 4Hi, nothing but a burning smell when trying 4Lo.

Had plans to ghetto rig the shift motor with a motorcycle battery from the cab but ended up using the battery in a minibike project that almost put me into a wall.

Anyways, I was using the gear from the shift motor to manually turn the case. Worked great in theory. I was driving home in a snow storm last year and 2WD was getting sketchy with the locker. Pulled over and switched it to 4Hi. Continue for a half mile, hit a bump and oops all neutrals! Had enough momentum to make it to the shoulder and switch back to 2WD. Long story short, need something to hold the t-case in 4Hi and 4Lo.

Planned out this bracket a while back but finally got around to making it. Basically it's a retainer plate that holds the shifter in place with a hole to lock it into 4Hi and 4Lo. Even lower tech version of the Shifster. Really happy with how it came out.

Used a step bit on some 1/4" nuts to make spacers. Reused the shift motor bolts. Yes, that is an allen wrench welded on to the gear. Yes I am proud of myself.

 

[bats]

The little ******* is still kicking! Towed its rusty ass to Carlisle All Ford Nationals last year. Drove to the show field and sat in traffic with no issues. In retrospect it might have won something if I parked with the other Broncos and not with the EF crew. I'm over AFN.

In the past year it's really only been used for a weekend grocery getter. Haven't been offroading in some time and got sucked into other hobbies that demand my time and sanity.

We had a pretty wicked snowstorm here in the northeast. Battery doesn't like cold weather but once I jumped it the truck crawled it's way out of the snow bank like it was nothing. Had some fun romping it around the property and doing donuts. Goddang does that it still make me grin!

On to the not so happiness. It's been on my ToDo list to really go through the front hub conversion that I did. Sometime ago I swapped D44 spindles, hubs and fullsize brakes onto a D35 knuckle. Used D35 knuckle/balljoints/inner axle shaft. Used outter shafts from a Chevy or something to compensate for the length. MappyJack's thread has the details somewhere.

Pulled it apart and it was a sloppy mess inside....just like the last time. I can't seem to get the assembly to seal nicely. The passenger side still had water in the hub. The seal on the back of the spindle looks okay and I drill and tapped the ends of the axle shafts for bolts to pull it against the spindle. Those were still greased. Looks like the hubs are the point of failure. It's a PITA removing the D44 hubs.

I cleaned up, had a beer or three and decided to scrap it all and go back to the stock D35 hubs. It was a fun project making it work but I don't have the time to fine tune it.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The little ******* is still kicking! Towed its rusty ass to Carlisle All Ford Nationals last year. Drove to the show field and sat in traffic with no issues. In retrospect it might have won something if I parked with the other Broncos and not with the EF crew. I'm over AFN.

In the past year it's really only been used for a weekend grocery getter. Haven't been offroading in some time and got sucked into other hobbies that demand my time and sanity.

We had a pretty wicked snowstorm here in the northeast. Battery doesn't like cold weather but once I jumped it the truck crawled it's way out of the snow bank like it was nothing. Had some fun romping it around the property and doing donuts. Goddang does that it still make me grin!

On to the not so happiness. It's been on my ToDo list to really go through the front hub conversion that I did. Sometime ago I swapped D44 spindles, hubs and fullsize brakes onto a D35 knuckle. Used D35 knuckle/balljoints/inner axle shaft. Used outter shafts from a Chevy or something to compensate for the length. MappyJack's thread has the details somewhere.

Pulled it apart and it was a sloppy mess inside....just like the last time. I can't seem to get the assembly to seal nicely. The passenger side still had water in the hub. The seal on the back of the spindle looks okay and I drill and tapped the ends of the axle shafts for bolts to pull it against the spindle. Those were still greased. Looks like the hubs are the point of failure. It's a PITA removing the D44 hubs.

I cleaned up, had a beer or three and decided to scrap it all and go back to the stock D35 hubs. It was a fun project making it work but I don't have the time to fine tune it.

yeah!!!!!!!!!!! ef crew >bronc crew jmo, may be biased!!! git er done!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

seems like non of you guys goes to afn anymore. must be because everyones favorite canuk stopped going
also glad to see the ******* is still fighting you back. was worried i would click on this and would read you either sold it, or gave up and scrapped it!!

 

[410Fortune]

cant hold a good bronco down, I know mine never gives up

 

[bats]

End of year update and some reflections or something. Other projects and life kept me busy this year and the opportunities to do any kind of wheelin' are few and far between these days. Spent the afternoon going over my handiwork on replacing the hubs. Ordered a bunch of the nickel and dime stuff to finish it. Then need to get all the 31's on the same bolt pattern rim and then it should at least be drivable.

The rust will need addressing soon. Bottoms of the doors are bubbling and the rear quarters are pretty crumbly. Frame is good other than that spot by the shock mount. A good wire brush and rust sealer should be all it needs. Most of the body mounts are still solid. Rear outer axle seals are leaking.

I had big dreams for the Bast ard that never happened but I'm not ready to let go of the truck just yet. It's been with me for over a decade at this point. I'll be happy just to be able to use it as a reliable daily driver that can still hit the occasional mud pit.

Looking back on it all, there's a lot I wish I did differently. The 4.0 was a nice jump from the stock 2.9 but I really should have gone V8 or even a blown 3.8 for ***** and giggles. Should have went with a built A4LD (feels like forever since I said that name) instead of going manual. That's the biggest disappointment in this build. Younger me drank the 5-Speed Kool-Aid hard.

 

[bats]

Had a sunny but cold day here and found some motivation to get out to the garage.

D35 hub reversion complete. Replaced the front soft brake lines with -3AN instead of going back to regulars because every place that sells extended brake lines for an explorer/ranger was backordered indefinitely. (4WP, James Duff, etc) I screwed up and forgot to replace the axle seals in the diff....which are leaking. I realized this as I was cleaning up and saw two new seals on the bench.

Wheels and tires need to be sorted. Have a mish mosh of tires on ranger and fullsize bronco rims. Probably going to get some black steelies.

Now the big one... so the truck has always had a noisy clutch since doing the swap. Clutch in, rattle stops. Okay, my bike does the same thing which is apparently normal. On the truck, sometimes it feels like the clutch doesn't fully disengage. More noticeable at low speeds because it jerks like you're pumping the clutch in and out.

I had to modify the pushrod for the clutch master cylinder because it was too long but I made sure it was going all the way in. I verified this again today. Did my homemade suction sucker on the clutch master again and no change.

Guess I'm looking at dropping the trans. Gonna order up a stage II clutch setup when time/funds are available.

That's the last big one. There's a fuel pressure bleed down issue after the trucks been sitting for a few days but low priority since it runs well enough and couldn't find any immediate fuel leaks.

I should probably also secure the tailpipe better since I tore it off the muffler trying to climb something.

 

[410Fortune]

For the clutch are you sure the slave is bled enough?

Have you measured the clutch travel? (Through the inspection port)

The fuel pressure
Bleed off is pretty normal if your bronco is still return fuel there is just a little rubber sock on the end of the return line, the little orange thing. That sucker is supposed to hold all the pressure in and it doesn’t.
My bii will lose fuel pressure after just a few minutes… was that way for years and runs fine

 

[Fix4Dirt]

is deerfield bacordered too on lines?

 

[410Fortune]

I was able to buy some brake lines a few
Months ago directly from skyjacker

 

[bats]

Didn't even think of Skyjacker. Did a lot of my parts ordering last year when I was in bed with the flu. Yay cold medicine! Never heard of Deerfield. Their website needs a little work but bookmarked for future reference.

Both master and slave were bled but it's possible there's still air in there. Will look at the travel next time I can make it out to the garage. What could cause it to be chattery at idle in neutral? Clutch in and it gets quieter.

Okay, wasn't sure if the fuel pressure thing was normal or not. This is the first vehicle I've had that did that so noticeably. I messed with a lot of things in a rush with this build and now I'm trying to make it right.

 

[410Fortune]

chatterycould be
clutch not releasing fully
Bad pilot bearing
Bad throw out bearing?

just a guess
good idea to watch it working with the engine running through the access port CAREFUL!!!!!

 

[bats]

Blinked and it's halfway through summer already. Fired up the little beast for the first time in a over a month. Just needed a little jump and started first crank. Something about those OHV's. It's still probably the most reliable vehicle in my fleet.

Current plan is to get it back on the road by the fall. Couple of small things to tidy up like brake line standoffs. I'll be happy just to drive it again.

 

[bats]

I finally got a weekend to myself and patched the frame. Not the prettiest but it'll hold. The crack was in between the rear shock mount bracket so essentially it's braced on both sides. Check that off the list.

While pulling the wheel off to get access to the frame I found another issue of sorts. The backing plate for the drum break was loose! All the bolts had somehow backed off enough that it wiggled without much force. Also, looks like the axle seal is leaking. Also found out the e-brake doesn't hold so good anymore.

Not sure what the deal is with the wiggle backing plate. I know I've whacked the drums on some **** hard enough to bend the same side backing plate. Anytime it made it to the trails, I drove it like I didn't have to drive it 200 miles home and made it all but one time.

Figured I'm going to pull the axles out to do the seals, finally going to do the disk brake swap. Parts for that are ordered.

 

[410Fortune]

You using explorer or mustang rear discs?

 

[bats]

You using explorer or mustang rear discs?

Explorer disks - East Coast Gear Supply

 

[bats]

Whoever did the disk brake swap in one weekend, I'd like a word. I'm at three weekends and counting.

Breaking down the axle was fine. Shoehorning the Spartan locker pieces in an out while laying upside down was a bear. ECGS backing plates went on nicely. So did the rotors and calipers. Realized too late that the calipers didn't come with the banjo bolt. I got the rear soft lines from ECGS as well. They're both equal length vs one long/one short on a factory disk brake 8.8. They came with tabs that I welded on to the axle. I think they're a smidge longer than a factory right side 8.8 disk soft line. Used the center soft brake line from a drum brake rear and ran two new hard lines. The ECGS kit did come with enough hard lines...but I was excited and didn't measure correctly.

Finally making progress and...the AN line that connects to the top of the soft line sheared off when loosening. Ordered up a new one of those. Ran into another snag with the e-brake cables. I used the part numbers for a 99 Explorer sport. At test fit the lengths look perfect. The snag is that the ECGS backing plates are a hair too thick and need to be shaved down so the splines can stick out and hold the cable in place.

I'm going to address the front brake lines too. I used -3 AN lines from the caliper to the top of the shock tower but ordered them too long. For simplicity's sake I ordered the front pair from James Duff which were on my doorstep in three days time.

 

[410Fortune]

Fun! Can’t wait for pics

Rear discs will be worth it
Are you changing the master cyl?