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bats 88 Bronco II Build Up aka Project Second Chance

agreed you do NOT want to do head gaskets twice = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
 



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This is actually the second time doing the HG... I feel like an idiot admitting this but....did the HG once before on this engine even though it wasn't needed. Listened to someone who I thought had more mechanical experience who was completely convinced it was the head gasket. We had words after that.

After doing it once, it's not a completely horrible job but not one I'd want to do often. In 2 hours I had the heads on the bench and all bolts tagged and bagged. A/C delete and EGR delete do make things easier to work on though.
 






Got the heads checked and milled. All good there. Planned to put it all back together this weekend BUT open the box from RockAuto and turns out I only ordered one set of 4 Lifters instead of enough for the entire engine. Sonovva!#%!$@

It's been a doozy of a week, officer.
 






Head gasket job is complete! Few minor hiccups but nothing tragic. Loose ground cable was arcing to the braiding on the fuel lines. Just some smoke, no flames.

As usual, couple of things to tidy up but I once again have a running (mostly), driving vehicle.
 






Alright so. Camshaft syncronizer sensor. What a b!tch of a thing to replace. I pity any mechanics who had to replace one on a stock explorer with A/C and crap. Broke the connector when I had the engine out. Should have replaced it then. Nope. Should have replaced it while doing the head gasket. Nope. Let's do it after the engine is all back together. Brilliant.

Ordered the tool that rockauto recommended. Cracked the tool due to the casting lines in the sensor housing. Tried it with one screw in and gave up fighting it. Figured out the whole deal with the vane and the window. Got it close, popped the sensor in and then used my camera phone to see where the vane lined up. Think I got it dead nuts on. Recheck my grounds again and no start unless the it's floored.

Found the piece of tape that was supposed to mark the proper location past TDC sitting on my work bench. Sonovva...
 






cam synchro in a 4.0 is a real pita
I just remove the upper intake plenum, makes it easier
I like the 93 model computer no EGR and no CAM synchro

TDC #1 compression stroke, I use my wet finger in the spark plug hole to determine compression stroke (air rushing past) then watch with flashlight until piston reaches top then starts to drop, that is TDC. Yes on a 4.0 this can be a one person deal :) you can use a piece of tissue over the spark plug hole also when it blows out you are compression stroke.
Once you do this THEN look at the balnacer and see if the 0 mark lines up it should be dang close.
 






Getting to TDC isn't that bad. I'm partial to the ziptie in the spark plug hole method. Set the timing correct this time. Took the upper plenum off go to loosen the bolt and it's stripped. Mtherfcer. Spent way too much time and blood trying to get to the bolt before realizing I could just rotate the body of the syncro and do the alignment that way. Found a note on another thread of a screenshot of a Haynes or Chilton manual. The trailing edge of the vane is supposed to align with the mark in the window. Why the f didn't they just say that from the start? I've read a dozen threads about timing tools and volt meters and that's all I had to do?!

Anyways, got it all back together and runs great now. Took it for a rip up and down the block. Feels slower than I remember but the torque is there. Damn thing still wants to climb up walls.
:burnout:
Had a heart attack moment when I saw spots in the driveway after the test ride. Just appears to be my valve covers. Guess I cleaned off whatever rust and grease held them together since a few of the holes are gone completely.

Still have the skull and crossbones on the grill so I left it in the driveway....just in time for Halloween.
 






Bunch of jumbled thoughts so I don't forget. Spent all day working in the cold. Came in and crashed and my brain isn't completely awake yet.

Today I finally did the floor plate. Chopped up the old one. It's not pretty but for now it keeps the noise and fumes out of the cab.

Other than the leaky valve covers I think it's pretty drivable. Would like to feel confident enough to take it to work and back when the snow starts. Tim sent me dono's old valve covers which should be here some time next week. That should solve one of my last major issues.

I'm still 2WD since I never hooked up the front drive shaft to the e-tcase. Debating whether to put the manual one back up or just use pliers on the electric one for now. The manual one did work fine but the fluid looked like strawberry milk the last two times I dropped it. (Add a better breather this time.)

Reminder for myself: RTV the freeze out plugs (?) on the top of the trans. They were dribbling when I started climbing on things.

Had another mini heart attack when it wouldn't start today. Crank, spark no go. The duct tape I had holding a nut in the fuel cutoff switch deteriorated and allowed the sensor to trip from me banging around. In the spring I think I may just wire that to a safety switch.

The M5OD setup is working great. The clutch is a little bit chattery but it seems to be disengaging and re-engaging just fine. Climbing up stuff while managing three pedals is getting easier. The bike cable throttle mod is on my list for the spring. All my Jeeps have been stick but I never really wheeled them. (Spent all my time fixing them!)
 






YOu can bypass the inertia switch just by twisting the two wires together, although with the commuting and 4x4ing you are planning its a good idea to have a functioning inertia switch
 






Inertia switch! That's the name of the thing!

Many moons ago I did a trail fix to prevent it from cutting off. Some a hole left serious ruts in the beach on the path back to the entrance and banging around tripped it every 10 feet.

Think I have a spare battery isolater switch with a key that would work good. Obviously not a high voltage application, just using what I got laying around.
 






Weekend update. ****'s broke.

Firstly, thanks to vroomzoomboom for sending me Dono's old valve covers. No thanks to USPS for not updating tracking for two weeks. This is why no one likes the post office. The valve covers have just the right amounts of surface rust and Ford blue paint to match the patina of the truck. Swapped out the driver's side one because it was pretty bad and managed to pinch the rubber elbow for the FPR vacuum line at the very back. Loosed the accessible bolt and tried to pull it out with some vice grips. Think I left a little piece in but fck me if I'm about to take that intake manifold off again. Still leaking less than before.

This week I wanted to see if the 4WD computer still worked. Pretty sure I left all the dash connectors untouched. The dash lights for the push button don't work BUT I got it to shift into 4WD high. 4Lo is a problem though. The 4WD computer wants everything at a stand still and the clutch in before it will shift. I never installed the NSS on the clutch shift lever since I bypassed it on the trans harness. Slid that sucker on and plugged in the harness. Still won't go past 4HI. Doesn't even seem like it's making an effort. Bad motor maybe? If I can get 4HI reliable that will be fine until the spring.

Here comes the exciting part! Tried starting the truck but got the battery light on the dash. Okay, charge the battery. Still no crank. Starter solenoid clicks. Gauge says 12 volts. Grab ye old screw driver and jump the solenoid. Fires right up. (I think my timing may be a hair off but it still runs without stalling. Added to the list.) Check some stuff, jump the solenoid again skrzz skrrzzz nothing.

Damn starter lost the top bolt and broke the lower mounting hole. But a washer on the lower through bolt and used a through bolt with lock washer on the top bolt. Still no crank from the key. Battery light even though the battery runs it fine.
 






no problem dan. to be honest, i just sent them to you, and didnt ask don lol. they were sitting in the back of a parts truck we both have, and i dont think either of us will own a ohv again (and by chance we do, and need another set, i can rob them off a motor i got for my cousins ranger lol).
as for patina....i dont remember your truck having that. then again, its been, what, 4 years since ive seen it?
 






Test the little red/blue wire at the starter solenoid make sure its getting the 12V when you turn the key to start.
 






I fixed it. Don't know why, but I did.

The little red/blue wire at the solenoid wasn't getting power when I turned the key. Jump from the battery to it's spot on the solenoid and starts. Checked all fuses. Checked my NSS bypass on the transmission harness. Still connected. Not sure what possessed me but decided to jump the clutch interlock harness under the dash.

Cover me in gravy and call me a biscuit. Starting with the key works again. Really stumped on why that suddenly needed to be jumped. That harness wasn't plugged into anything following the swap. Truck still started up until last weekend.

Ran it long enough to get it warm. No dripping from the D/S valve cover anymore. Nice, one less fire hazard.
 












Continuing on with the bug stomping...

The last time I went to drive the ******* I had no clutch. Everything shifts nice when not running but can't disengage the clutch when running. No leaks, fluid's good. The last few drives (roughly 10 miles) I noticed the clutch being less and less responsive. Did some reading and it seems the angle of the dangle of the master cylinder traps air bubbles. Some genius on Youtube came up with the solution of putting vacuum on the feed line in the reservoir to suck the air out. I didn't have the fancy tip for my self bleeder so I lopped the reservoir off (it was a tad too long anyways) and shoved a tube down into the feed line. Put some suck on it and whadya know, air bubbles!

Need to get some better bolts to hold the master on the firewall too. Planning on resolving all that this weekend and even getting an oil change in.
 






So did the vac at the resi work? Good to go? I hate them slaves with a passion. I had to give up messing with them.

Old methods:
Pulled that master out, stretch it on a post, and bled it, then throw it back in. If it still gives me heck, I gravity bled it with a fluid feed bottle. If that doesn't do it (even with tapping the lines), then the mityvac gets used, drawing air out at the slave. If that didn't work start all over, check O-rings, and put it back on the post. Blah......

New method:
Buy a new Pre-bled master, and flip the bird to the old one. I actually did that on my last install. Worked perfectly. Didn't even get my hands dirty. lol
 






I have a much easier way to bleed the master cylinder, in the truck, works in 5 minutes even on a brand new master cyl
I don't mess with hanging the whole system on the wall and pushing fluid for an hour...now I do it the easy way and I can assure you this removes that pesky air bubble every single time

OLD WAY:



NEW / BETTER WAY (works like a charm!!)


Gotta love the information age!!
 






The second link is exactly where I got the idea from! This was supposed to be a pre-bled master yet here we are.

Spent a solid hour sucking air bubbles with the self bleeder pump. Definite improvement but not quite perfect yet.

It's still a bit tough to get into gear when driving, needs a little extra force but then will engage and stay in. Clutch is disengaging, not grinding gears at all. Even with it being a fresh rebuilt (according to the ebay listing) it seems a little tight. Engine off it's noticeably easier to engage gears as expected.

Throwing around ideas with my dad and we're thinking that maybe the slave cylinder plunger doesn't have enough throw. Going to play with it tomorrow.
 



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Well that stinks.

Honestly, all I have ever had to do with a pre-bled, is install it, then immediately do a slow gravity bleed, and the pedal is perfect. Maybe the one you got has a bad O-ring in it, and letting air in when used?

Do you have a mityvac? Could try it on the slave at the trans, and try to get the air out that direction. Just a thought.
 






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