7.3 Powerstroke Swapped 96 Bronco

Keep trying. One guy applied 6 times before getting in.

Once you make the dirty dozen, you usually have a good shot and will get picked at some point if you keep applying
 
Tiha said:
Wheeled with Ox Years back. Keeping up with him is not as easy as he makes it look.
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No it is not!!

And thanks guys about UA! Just another year to prep and figure out a few more mods.

06h3 said:
Keep trying. One guy applied 6 times before getting in.

Once you make the dirty dozen, you usually have a good shot and will get picked at some point if you keep applying
Click to expand...
I definitely will be reapplying, and was encouraged to do so by the staff. I'll also start stashing some PTO so if I do get selected I can take it a bit more leisurely towing to/from UA and maybe see some stops along the way.
 
Have some updates on the Bronco. First off, sold the rear seat and harnesses for $400, which means I’m only into the front seats and harnesses $250. Big win on that. Also got them installed, and have been enjoying them. I’ll have to get some pictures but they were a very nice upgrade.

For my front driveshaft issue, I contacted Tom Woods, and they made me up a new shaft with 2 feet of spline, so I never should need to worry about over compression again. Also, the centering ball on the double cardain joint of the old shaft was busted (likely from over compression and extreme angles) so it wasn’t a bad move getting a replacement shaft.

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Next up I addressed a real hack job joint on my powesteering line where I went from hard line to rubber hose. Instead of hose clamps, I moved to a compression joint to hose barb. This is just a low pressure return line, but it makes me feel a lot better. I should probably purchase a spare compression joint to keep in the truck.

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Also finally finished up my rework of the anti wrap bars, and replaced my transfercase with a spare that I resealed. The reason the transfercase was leaking was because of the front driveshaft bottoming out again and pushing the case around.

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The video does a better job showing the whole process.

Fixing the Biggest Off-Road Issue with the Diesel Bronco - Anti-Wrap Bar Clearance Rework


And that was pretty much all the work that got done on the Bronco before our latest wheeling trip to AOAA. I went out with my dad who just finished up his diesel Blazer that we got as a marketplace special. Paint color was my idea to match my tool boxes.

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The Blazer performed well on its maiden voyage, with no real issues other than a front diff cover that leaked. It just needed the bolts tightened.

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More on the wheeling trip to come!
 

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Not a ton of changes recently. Been out wheeling 3 or 4 more times since the previous trip I posted about, most of which with my dad and the Blazer. More or less smooth sailing, with a few breakages along the way.

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Smooth sailing at first.

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Less smooth sailing. Sheared the output shaft off of my steering box coming out of Rock Creek at Rausch Creek. Luckily the local Advanced Auto had a rebuilt box in stock and they delivered it to the off-road park via some sort of DoorDash like company. That was nice.

Ended up rebuilding the original box which was drilled and tapped by replacing that shaft with one from a parts truck. Already had all new seals too which was nice.
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I then made a brace that tied to the frame to put the steering shaft in double shear. Should keep that from failing again.
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Then I went out with reptillikus and OX1 as well as my dad. Great day of wheeling, but we all took a bit of a beating. I ripped my exhaust off coming off of the rock climb on Red F.
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This was taken just a few minutes before it happened. I don’t have a ton of photos from the day, but this video I put together shows all of the best parts. It was an intense day of wheeling.


 
About 2 months ago my dad bought an Arc Droid CNC plasma cutter.
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This is it in its stock form. We have since added a water table, down draft system, and a ton of other odds and ends. We’ve been using it a lot, and I’m excited for it to warm up a bit outside. My plan is to measure the Bronco and draw up skid plates, and then use the CNC to cut them all out.

What you can also see in that photo is all the pipe on the ground. A bender is on its way, and my dad plans to build an exo cage for the Blazer. It’s only been out 4 times and there’s already a handful of non-straight body panels on it.
 
Found it

Thread 'OBS/TTB conversion to 2011+ Superduty steering box'

After being away from the forums for what seems like forever, it is hard to get back into it, but I want to do my part to support this place, and hopefully help bring back the feel of the old days. This is my latest upgrade to my 93 Ranger, but the tech should translate over to any TTB Ranger, 80-96 F-150/250/350 that is running the stock steering box. My truck is running a modified D44 TTB up front with stock style steering, coil springs, 2.5" resi shocks and 2x2 air bumps. The rear end is a set of F31 Deavers and 2.5 SAW's. 4.0, 5speed, 5:1 Atlas, ARB's front and rear, 4.88s, chromo...
  • CowBro
  • ford steering superduty
  • Replies: 26
  • Forum: Ford
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After I broke it, I spoke with BlueTop steering gears and while they said the newer boxes are stronger, its only marginally and probably not worth the money/time. I think they wanted like $700+ for the drilled and tapped one. I already had a spare box, so the replacement shaft was free. We'll see how long it holds ups with the support brace.
 
The Bronco has been running really good and I’ve been very happy with it. Know what that means? I’ve got to disable it before the massive snow storm they predicted where the Bronco would be super useful.


Pulled the axle Thursday night.
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Fully torn apart Friday after work, and mocked up in the bridgeport Saturday.
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Cutting around the edges.
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Fully rough cut.
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About an inch and a half of total material removed.
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Then final fitment and the bottom plate has been tacked on.
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Next up, I’ve gotta modify the truss and make that fit! I knew if I didn’t just bite the bullet and pull the truck apart, that this project would never get done.
 
I don't have the shaft OD's on hand, but the strength should be a substantial jump due to the size bump. The rest of the box could be the same and it wouldn't matter, the sector shaft is what breaks.
 
Yeah, you're probably right. The guy I spoke to was likely not super familiar with their use in this extreme of abuse. If I break it again, I'll definitely look into the swap.
 
reptillikus said:
1.5" removed is pretty significant! How much are you adding back in to close the housing back up?
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Ends up being about a half an inch. It’s a lot of work to gain just and inch, but it’s nice that it’s a flat bottom. The piece I cut off was all scarred up, and it was a 90 degree corner so it acted like an anchor.

Plus while it’s out it’s getting resealed, fluid changed, and trussed.
 
BroncoJoe96 said:
Ends up being about a half an inch. It’s a lot of work to gain just and inch, but it’s nice that it’s a flat bottom. The piece I cut off was all scarred up, and it was a 90 degree corner so it acted like an anchor.

Plus while it’s out it’s getting resealed, fluid changed, and trussed.
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An inch is pretty significant honestly, thatd be like stepping up to a 46" tire. And with the flat bottom should make that rock anchor slide pretty nicely over the rocks.

Any thoughts to shaving those lower webs? Youre already trussing it, so probably dont need them anymore and thats 2 less spots to get caught on.

Does your dad have a lathe?? How are you getting the ring gear turned down?
 
reptillikus said:
An inch is pretty significant honestly, thatd be like stepping up to a 46" tire. And with the flat bottom should make that rock anchor slide pretty nicely over the rocks.

Any thoughts to shaving those lower webs? Youre already trussing it, so probably dont need them anymore and thats 2 less spots to get caught on.

Does your dad have a lathe?? How are you getting the ring gear turned down?
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That’s true. When you use the tire perspective, it’s a big difference.

And I debated it. I’m not sure how much strength they actually add, but I also don’t want to go overboard. Probably wouldn’t hurt. Maybe I’ll touch them up.

As for the ring, we have a lathe but I think it’s too small to fit it. I have access to a larger one, but honestly I think I’m just going to make a flange for it in the plasma cutter, put it on a rod so it spins (think lazy Susan), and will just hit it with a flap wheel.
 
Told my dad if he wanted to play with grinding the ring gear while I was at work, to feel free. He said it was too big for the lathe, but then I got this video. I added the music.



I feel like this is going to upset people, especially on YouTube, but I honestly don’t have an issue with it.
 
That's going to take a minute to remove that much material. A new belt might help.
 
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bdkw1 said:
That's going to take a minute to remove that much material. A new belt might help.
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So following that video, I ended up receiving a part 2. He was able to take off enough material that he was able to chuck it up in our lathe and hit it with an angle grinder.
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I have a few thousandths left to take off, but it’s more or less done now.

Also spent Friday night and Saturday prepping the truss. It was originally a full width truss, and I cut it down to fit within the leaf spring perches.

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Also cut off my mangled and low hanging shock mounts. I’ll be welding newer ones on a little higher up.
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I’ll need to cut an access hole in the truss to get to my ARB air fitting.

Is there any reason I shouldn’t weld up my breather hole and move it to the top of the axle where it’s more protected? I was debating moving it to the top of the axle tube outside of the spring perch on the drivers side. Then I would also mount my brake lines high up on the truss in a more protected area as well.
 
BroncoJoe96 said:
Yeah, you're probably right. The guy I spoke to was likely not super familiar with their use in this extreme of abuse. If I break it again, I'll definitely look into the swap.
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I am the guy that did the swap in my ranger, the newer boxes are MASSIVE compared to the OBS ones, I would 100% look into it given the tire size you run. And a word of warning on the sector shaft brace that you installed that runs over to the opposite frame rail. If the frame flexes at all (which it will) then that brace is going to push and pull on the sector shaft trying to break it again, the brace should run to the driverside frame rail and be solidly mounted on the frame side, no rod end to that it can resist deflection in all directions.

This is how the jeep guys do it, and they know all about breaking sector shafts:

sector shaft brace.jpeg
 
CowBro said:
I am the guy that did the swap in my ranger, the newer boxes are MASSIVE compared to the OBS ones, I would 100% look into it given the tire size you run. And a word of warning on the sector shaft brace that you installed that runs over to the opposite frame rail. If the frame flexes at all (which it will) then that brace is going to push and pull on the sector shaft trying to break it again, the brace should run to the driverside frame rail and be solidly mounted on the frame side, no rod end to that it can resist deflection in all directions.

This is how the jeep guys do it, and they know all about breaking sector shafts:

sector shaft brace.jpeg
Click to expand...
I'll have to keep my eyes out for a newer box to check out/keep on the shelf. Thanks for the input!

As for the the frame flexing, do you still think it'd flex that much if the frame is tied together in front of and behind where that mount is connected?

Regardless, I'd still probably be better off tying it to the driver side.
 
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