the swap of the case itself is easy enough. if you've swapped the engine in ur bronco, then you can swap the transfer case while your asleep. the problem with my swap was 1) i couldnt find a 13-54 shift linkage 2) i have a body lift and finally 3) i have a center console. so what i ended up doing was taking a 13-50's shift linkage and raising the shifter for the body lift and offsetting the shifter to the driver's side to clear the center console. as for the shift boot, it was ripped at the junk yard and the stock shift boot is too wide to fit on this flat spot between the center console and the edge of the transmission hump.. so i ended up using a shift boot from an
M151 "Mutt" (found it on Ebay) which is only about 2" wide.
the price range for the manual 13-54 varies from $40 (for the lucky ones) to around $300. i ended up buying two (one backup) and each was about $80-$100. Go to
www.car-part.com .. thats where I found one of the transfer cases. when you call a junk yard for the part, ask them to make sure its a manual transfer case and not an automatic/electric transfer case. shipping will obviously depend on how far you are from the junk yard but i paid about $50.00 for shipping (for each transfer case).
be aware that there are at least two different versions of the manual 13-54. one major difference between the two is that one comes with a speed sensor at the rear output shaft, and one does not (somehow I ended up with both types). i dont know whether or not your current transfer case has such a sensor but if it does, you'll obviously need the manual 13-54 that has the sensor. fortunately, my old transfer case didn't have such a sensor so i am okay running either version.
in addition, the manual 13-54 that doesnt have the rear sensor seems to have a weaker casing design. the one i currently have in my explorer is the weaker one and i managed to put a hairline crack near the bottom bolt (that attaches it to the tailhousing) by overtorquing bolts. the crack is only on a tab so its not very critical. so while the two different casing isnt really an issue as long as you dont overtorque the bolts, i just want you to know that the one with the sensor is probably the one you want since it does have a stronger design. the one without the sensor is also a bit lighter - so im guessing it's casing is thinner than the one with the sensor. i have ran this semi-cracked transfer case for about 9 months now and its doing just fine.
