'84 Bronco II Build Thread

['84 Bronco II]

Awesome you posted that otherwise only you and the 3 other subscribers would have ever seen it. LOL
Just kidding, Bought my share of fourwheeler magazines.

Eh, it got so stupid cheap to subscribe at one point that I just went ahead and did it since I'd usually pick up an issue a couple of times a year to read while I was traveling. It seems like I have been getting issues forever and I honestly can't remember the last time I sent them money Magazines are pretty much a joke nowadays though. It seems 75% of every issue are just "buyers guides" (advertisements) for bolt on Jeep crap, or sponsored articles that are just a fancy advertisement made to look like an actual review or test It is amazing how they never have anything negative about the products they "test". Articles with actual tech for the guys that aren't building their rigs with a credit card and a 4WheelParts catalog are very rare.

uh, No. given the work you put in on this rig I wouldn't put you in the 'lazy' category. Most of the rest of the population, yes.
Good luck on the EB project, it's just money.

Thanks for the kind words! I may not post in your thread, but I am always blown away by the quality of work on you bump-side build. I really dig that truck, and can't wait to see you get it out in the dirt.

 

['84 Bronco II]

My leaf spring bushings and axle pivot bushings are completely shot, so I bought some polyurethane bushings to swap in before Trail Hero in a week and a half.

I put my Bronco II on my new lift for the first time and heard a loud pop as it came off the ground:

Hmmm, what's this greasy disc under the truck?

Apparently the axle shaft punched through the end of the slip yoke at the center U-joint in the front axle

What are the long travel guys doing about this issue? I don't have time to fix this before my trip, so I am just going to ignore it for the time being and hope I don't have any immediate issues in the short term.

 

[arse_sidewards]

Weld the cap back in and limit strap it so that it doesn't do that. That's how everyone fixes it or at least everyone who ever wrote about it on a forum in the last 20yr. Or just run without the cap and grease it regularly.

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Soooo i love it, such cool rigs that get no credit. As a buggy guy, I wish i had a closed cab rig at times. Also what is RBV???

 

[Toreadorranger]

Also what is RBV???

Ranger Based Vehicle. Rangers, Bronco 2s and 1st and 2nd Gen Explorers all share common parts for their respective generations.

 

['84 Bronco II]

I never finished the last update, so I'll catch the thread up.

Heres the rear with the new bushings installed and the springs ready to go back in:

When reinstalling the shackle, I ran into the same issue I had before with the original rear eye of the Skyjacker springs, The metal bushing sleeve is too small for the original bolt to fit. This may be an '83-'84 problem only since my shop manual specifies a higher torque spec for '83-'84 models, so maybe they used bigger bolts than the later models I had to find some 5" long 9/16" bolts to replace the original bolts, which, at least locally, is harder than you might think. I couldn't find any 9/16" deformed thread nuts, so I used lock washers, some blue Loctite, and torqued them to the high end of the torque spec. It kind of sucks not having a tang on the nut to hold it in place while tightening/loosening the bolt, but I was able to squeeze a line wrench back behind the shackle hanger to get things tightened up.

My front brake lines had been scary tight for a while so I decided I really needed to do something about it before one broke on the trail. I had the Skyjacker FBL35 extended lines which they list for 4-6" of lift. I measured them out to be ~25.25" long and figured I needed another 3-4" of length to get a comfortable amount of slack at full droop and steering lock. Skyjacker makes longer brake lines for and 8" lift (FBL38), but they were ~$125 and I couldn't find anything that said how long they actually were. The Bronco II uses a 3/8"-24 female flare fitting at the frame and a 3/8" banjo block at the caliper. Fortunately, the Skyjacker brake lines I already had use a 3/8" banjo block with an #3 AN male fitting, so I ordered some 30" Aeroquip lines with #3 AN female fittings at each end (FBPA0030-30) and some Allstar 3/8"-24 female flare to #3 AN male adapters (ALL50100) and built my own lines for $52 that had plenty of slack.

I addressed the slip yoke issue on the front axle by stuffing a plastic grocery bag into the open end of the yoke behind the U-joint

Sand Hollow was fun, but my Bronco II just doesn't have the stability to confidently tackle those tough, off camber climbs and ledges which led to some major pucker moments

I ended up spitting my steering U-Joint caps caps out after I made it up a climb on Plan B, but fortunately the passenger side held together long enough to get back to camp. I should have tack welded the sons of bitches when I tack welded my center U-joint caps

 

[Tech Tim]

I think these things never got the chance or support back then...
y

If Ford had used a coiled live axle instead of the TTB, in the Bronco II, Ranger and Exploder platforms, they could've been the most popular to build rigs out there.

Of course, same could be said of the S-10 truck/blazer platform.

 

['84 Bronco II]

If Ford had used a coiled live axle instead of the TTB, in the Bronco II, Ranger and Exploder platforms, they could've been the most popular to build rigs out there.

Of course, same could be said of the S-10 truck/blazer platform.

RBVs are decent, cheap rigs, but you are right, if Ford had put a Dana 30 or Dana 44 front in them they would be way more popular. I think even with the TTB, Bronco IIs would be way more popular if they came from the factory with the 1st gen Explorer drivetrains. You either have to go through the hassle of swapping in everything from an Explorer, or deal with having a bigger, heavier rig (Explorer).

Still, TTB and Bronco IIs are more capable than people give them credit. My rig isn't really anything special, but it is fun seeing how excited and impressed people are by it on the trail. I still think they are a decent platform if you want to run moderate trails on 33-35" tires, but I am pretty much at the limit of the platform without doing some major surgery.

 

[arse_sidewards]

RBVs are decent, cheap rigs, but you are right, if Ford had put a Dana 30 or Dana 44 front in them they would be way more popular. I think even with the TTB, Bronco IIs would be way more popular if they came from the factory with the 1st gen Explorer drivetrains. You either have to go through the hassle of swapping in everything from an Explorer, or deal with having a bigger, heavier rig (Explorer).

Still, TTB and Bronco IIs are more capable than people give them credit. My rig isn't really anything special, but it is fun seeing how excited and impressed people are by it on the trail. I still think they are a decent platform if you want to run moderate trails on 33-35" tires, but I am pretty much at the limit of the platform without doing some major surgery.

The 1st gen Explore drive-train is the best sub-fullsize drive-train of the 90s (mostly on account of how good the 31spl 8.8 is). If Ford stuck that in there then they wouldn't be cheap rigs anymore because all the stupid yuppie money would be chasing them. At leas the XJ has Chrysler's reputation to keep the stupid money away.

 

[Tech Tim]

... but I am pretty much at the limit of the platform without doing some major surgery.

Swapping in a TJ D30 front axle isn't too bad. There's some pics over on PBB of the Ranger I did a D30 swap for.

 

[bobbywalter]

the cost of murdering 8.8,s pushed me to sas...the diminishing supply of good ttb d35s for parts raiding had me near the edge, but the cost of fawking up arbs in the 8.8 is what forced it...

....but i am a ttb nutswinger, i know how to make them work on the cheap...


4x4 junkie sets the standard for me..his rigs just plain work good. your rig seems like its right in line with that and kicking ass no problem....

these days for someone starting out with an old ranger or ttb sploder....running 35's for a max tire....evicting a good 4.0 m5od for anything short of 350 hp powertrain...... or evicting a d35 front axle is hard to justify. unless your in deep goo.. only real upgrade is a d60 swap because you are going bigger on tire...

 

['84 Bronco II]

Swapping in a TJ D30 front axle isn't too bad. There's some pics over on PBB of the Ranger I did a D30 swap for.

A TJ Dana 30 would be a lateral move. Low pinion, smaller diff, smaller axle shafts (same size U-joints though), hardly any track width gain. It would be a solid axle, which I admit would be better for my usage, but I hang just fine with most Dana 30 rigs, and with what I have invested in my Dana 35, it isn't a big enough upgrade to make it worth while. Besides, It is kind of fun running TTB because it is different and people are always amazed when I tell them it isn't a solid axle.

As I mentioned in my other post the future of this rig is a bit uncertain at this point because I have other (better) projects in the works. I have a mildly built 4.0L OHV that I need to stab in sitting on an engine stand in my garage, and a Yukon Ultimate 8.8 kit that has been collecting dust as well. I figure I will probably swap to Dana 44 TTB outers on the front when I install the Yukon axle kit.

Now, if I keep the rig long enough, I am thinking about tubbing the rear for more compression travel and pushing the rear axle back 2-6", and tubing out the front clip and running coil overs so I can get more compression travel since I have pretty much maxed out the droop.

 

[welndmn]

Why not do the whole Dana 44 TTB swap?

 

[Tech Tim]

So go with an XJ front for the high pinion, same bracketry.

D30 axle shafts are the same as the Exploder D35 at 1.16" - 27 spline. With the 30 swap, you can go up to 30 spline easily with ARB and RCV.

The difference in ring and pinion size between a D30 and D35 is minuscule and there are a lot more parts out there for the D30.

No difference in size on the differential other that height. Internal gears are same size.

When we did the one in the Ranger, we looked at it this way.... Once the TJ D30 was in there, then all those axles people have for TJs are now just a simple bolt-in. Rubicon 44s, Dynatrac, Currie, Ford F150 with a TNT TJ truss kit. So many possibilities.

 

[Toreadorranger]

So go with an XJ front for the high pinion, same bracketry.

D30 axle shafts are the same as the Exploder D35 at 1.16" - 27 spline. With the 30 swap, you can go up to 30 spline easily with ARB and RCV.

The difference in ring and pinion size between a D30 and D35 is minuscule and there are a lot more parts out there for the D30.

No difference in size on the differential other that height. Internal gears are same size.

When we did the one in the Ranger, we looked at it this way.... Once the TJ D30 was in there, then all those axles people have for TJs are now just a simple bolt-in. Rubicon 44s, Dynatrac, Currie, Ford F150 with a TNT TJ truss kit. So many possibilities.

Its still a 0 sum gain. A lot of effort to expend when the TTB works for the tire size he has now. Yea the market is bigger for aftermarket, but at that point its just polish on the turd with money much better spent elsewhere.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Why not do the whole Dana 44 TTB swap?

Because Dana 35 inner axle shafts with Dana 44 outers is stronger than a Dana 44 axle shaft assembly. The Dana 44 inner axles neck down to 1.09" vs. 1.16" at the splines for the Dana 35.

In summary, the dana 44 outers give you stronger stub shafts (~1.125" vs 1.0625" minimum diameter), bigger brakes (1" bigger rotor diameter), better wheel bearing spacing (The bearings are practically touching on a Dana 35), and ~1.5" wider track per side (~3" total width increase). The track width with 44 outers will match the 8.8 with the Ultimate 8.8 kit installed nicely. The conversion from C-clip to set 20 bearings adds a little over 2" to the factory width of the 8.8".

The Dana 35 gear set is stronger than the factory axle shafts anyway, so the Dana 44 center section doesn't really buy you any additional strength, just more weight, and a Dana 44 would require custom beam pivots since the spacing is completely different from a Dana 35.

Here are some stolen pictures for reference:
Dana 44 TTB axle

So go with an XJ front for the high pinion, same bracketry.

D30 axle shafts are the same as the Exploder D35 at 1.16" - 27 spline. With the 30 swap, you can go up to 30 spline easily with ARB and RCV.

The difference in ring and pinion size between a D30 and D35 is minuscule and there are a lot more parts out there for the D30.

No difference in size on the differential other that height. Internal gears are same size.

When we did the one in the Ranger, we looked at it this way.... Once the TJ D30 was in there, then all those axles people have for TJs are now just a simple bolt-in. Rubicon 44s, Dynatrac, Currie, Ford F150 with a TNT TJ truss kit. So many possibilities.

Are you sure the minimum diameter of a factory Dana 30 shaft is the same size as the spline diameter (1.16")? The Dana 35 shafts do not neck down smaller than the spline diameter, but it appears that the factory Dana 30 shafts do to a small extent:

If I were upgrading from the Dana 28, the Dana 30 would make sense, but the argument against the Dana 35 just isn't very strong. You can go 30 spline and RCV with the Dana 35 too, but there is no way in hell I am sinking that kind of money into a Dana 30 or a Dana 35.

As for the gear sets, The Dana 35 has a 7.563" diameter ring gear with a 1.406" diameter pinion vs. 7.2" and 1.376" for the Dana 30 respectively. Not a humongous difference, but still an appreciable one none the less.

This rig won't be getting a solid axle, because I already have other solid axle rigs. It will be staying more or less with its current drivetrain configuration, or I will be getting rid of it.

Its still a 0 sum gain. A lot of effort to expend when the TTB works for the tire size he has now. Yea the market is bigger for aftermarket, but at that point its just polish on the turd with money much better spent elsewhere.

This, all of my failures have been U-joint related, and a Dana 30 or Dana 44 use the same size U-joints. The first one was a 15 year old obsolete 5-297x, and the latest ones were because I didn't use full circle clips/tack the caps and spit the caps out.

 

[Tech Tim]

Are you sure the minimum diameter of a factory Dana 30 shaft is the same size as the spline diameter (1.16")? The Dana 35 shafts do not neck down smaller than the spline diameter, but it appears that the factory Dana 30 shafts due to a small extent:

You want it to neck down to a smaller diameter than the splines or that's where are your stress concentration with be.... at the splines, with all those peaks and valleys where cracks like to start.

This rig won't be getting a solid axle, because I already have other solid axle rigs. It will be staying more or less with its current drivetrain configuration, or I will be getting rid of it.

Gotcha. I read your earlier comments as a live-axle swap was more than you wanted to do. Was trying to point out it's pretty easy in the BII/Ranger platform.


Cool build so far, good to see people building them.

 

['84 Bronco II]

You want it to neck down to a smaller diameter than the splines or that's where are your stress concentration with be.... at the splines, with all those peaks and valleys where cracks like to start.







Gotcha. I read your earlier comments as a live-axle swap was more than you wanted to do. Was trying to point out it's pretty easy in the BII/Ranger platform.


Cool build so far, good to see people building them.

There is validity to your point about the shaft necking down, but it really depends on what failure mode you are concerned about and the length of the shaft. When shock loading the shaft, having the shaft necked down to create a uniform stiffness can help avoid failure due to not having a huge discontinuity in stiffness (stress riser) right at the splines. For a more steady-state application of torque, a shaft with the splines as the smallest diameter will take more torque before breaking than a necked-down shaft. Regardless, I agree, the axle shaft strength between a Dana 30 and a Dana 35 is a wash; I was thinking that Dana 30s necked down more than they apparently do.

Here is a picture of my other Bronco II that will be getting parted out soon to build one of my early Broncos:

 

[Tech Tim]

There is validity to your point about the shaft necking down...

Yep, just a little validity...

No properly engineered shaft has the spline as the smallest diameter, well unless that's where you want the stress concentration.

But we'll getting off the subject of your build. And that you have a second BII that's built even more is cool.

 

[arse_sidewards]

You ever get around to using the headers?

 

['84 Bronco II]

You ever get around to using the headers?

Not yet, I still need to get off my ass and drop the 4.0L in It is embarrassing how long it has been sitting in the corner of my garage as a complete long block.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Pretty well established tech at this point, but I figured I would share my full circle snap ring installation on junkyard axle shafts.

The trunion of my 760x joints were fully intact, but you can see how the stock U-joint cap C-clips wedged on the lip of the axle forging an then spun out of the groove allowing the caps to eject and take out the ears on the shafts:

You can buy full circle clips from off road vendors, but they are way overpriced and aren't really anything special. You want some 30mm external retaining rings which actually fit 760x joints a bit better than 1 3/16" retaining rings and are thicker as well (.059" vs. .050" respectively). I bought a 50 pack from Amazon since I had multiple sets of shafts I wanted to use them on and they can be difficult to find locally. You can also get them from McMaster-Carr in smaller quantities.

I found a Dremel with a 1.5" grinding disc was the perfect tool to clearance the axle yokes for full circle snap rings. If you are planning on doing more than 2 joints like I was for a TTB, you probably want to get two grinding wheels since mine was starting to get a little small after the second joint. The only "trick" is that you have to chuck it in the Dremel with the Dremel inserted in the ear of the axle shaft.

Here is what the first ear came out like. By the end I was good enough that the results looked like the shafts had been machined

The only other thing that is different from standard U-joint assembly is that you need to put the full-circle rings on the trunion before you press the caps in since they can't spread wide enough to install them afterwards.

I've run several hard and moderate trails since installation, and so far, so good. Hopefully things stay together from now on and I don't start breaking axle shafts

 

[posford]

Finally took the time to read thru this. Awesome build! My Ranger progressed very similarly until I took the TTB out, then it went stupid. Makes me want to go back to a more basic RBV wheeling rig

 

['84 Bronco II]

I haven't updated this thread in a while, so I figured I would share some of the pidly crap I've done over the last year.

I ran the Hole In The Rock Trail for the second time with the Bronco II at the beginning of summer. I don't like keeping fuel inside a closed-cab vehicle so I fabbed up a steel gas can holder out of the metal shipping frame that came with my 2 post lift. I designed it to mount to the factory tire carrier higher than the wood one I destroyed the first time I ran the Bronco II on the Hole In The Rock trail. I did the same obstacle that killed the wood one successfully, so I'd say it was a success. The shipping frame already had holes in the angle which worked out great for hooking ratchet straps to.

I also bought some small chain quick links and welded them to the cage to give me some secure tie down points in the cargo area.

Had a good run on Hole In The Rock and checked out the washout in Lake Canyon where the original trail went. Pictures don't do it justice. It is crazy how much dirt has been washed out of the canyon.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Then in July I was feeling froggy and tried to take the Bronco II on a trail it shouldn't have been on. I posted earlier about installing full circle clips on the front axle shafts, but I was lazy and didn't feel like dropping the diff to replace the center joint in the TTB. As I was strapping it down to leave, I noticed that a few of the tack welds I had put on the center joint caps were cracked, but didn't have time to do anything about it. I ended up blowing the center joint on the first obstacle like nothing, then slipped off the line and got high centered really bad trying to back off it. I almost took out my driveshaft, killed a shock, and bent the shit out of my transfer case skid. With a lot of high-lifting and rocks stacking we got it off and I rode with my buddy the rest of the trail. As we got to some of the bigger obstacles, I was glad I broke right at the beginning The other two non-buggies had to winch a few times. One guy broke the main leaf on his front driver side, and the other ripped the ram assist off his axle.

The obstacle that took out the leaf spring that I am glad I didn't get to Those are 42" tires for scale.

My bent shock

I straightend out my skid plate in my 20 ton press and added some reinforcement to keep it from bending up into my transfer case again

Then I tore apart the front end and dropped the diff to replace the center joint. The C-clip I had made out of a washer the last time I broke the center joint had gotten hammered pretty hard from I assume the slip yoke bottoming out until it had punched the plug out when I had it on the lift getting it ready for Trail Hero 2020. That is also probably why the original C-clip was broken too

It looks like the full circle clips did their jobs on the steering joints, but I am obviously still probably going to keep breaking them since the ears are stretching I went ahead and welded the cap into the shaft. They held up through Chile Challenge, so we'll see how much life I get out of these shafts. I spoke to Solo Motorsports and they said they make custom 4340 TTB shafts for around $750 (primarily for desert guys running extended beams). That will be my last resort. They thought I must have some crazy motor to be breaking stock shafts and didn't understand how I was breaking them with a stock 2.8L

I don't know whether I ever had issues with the center joint bind (common issue with long travel setups), but the slip yoke has much less angularity in one plane than the other (I think ~20º). I decided to go ahead and grind out the yoke while I was already modifying it for the full circle clips so it would go at least 33º all the way around. I also decided to punch the plug out of the slip yoke in advance

 

['84 Bronco II]

I also realized my lower ball joints were trashed while I had the front end apart. One was original to the axle, the other was a cheapo Raybestos from O'Reilly that I bought about 4 years before. I went ahead and replaced them with the "gold, blue boot" ball joints everyone says are the shit. They are a metal on metal design with no plastic liner to wear out. They are branded AC Delco now, but were previously branded Raybestos as part of their professional line, and I think there was a company before Raybestos as well. They felt exceptionally tight, so I'll see how they hold up.

I was rushing to get all this finished so I could go pre-run some trails down in Caballo for Chile Challenge. I finished up just in time, got it loaded up on the trailer and hit the road. I didn't realize I forgot to fill the front diff with gear oil until it started making god awful grinding noises going down the trail That was an expensive stupid mistake. One of the guys who was with us on the trail was able to get me the hook up on wholesale pricing for replacement Yukon gears and an install kit

Interestingly, the Yukon 5.13s looked identical to my ~9 year old superior 5.13s. Same finish and the same numbers and manufacturer markings stamped into the gears.

I also went ahead and added a brass plug to the bottom of the 3rd member so I can change the oil without having to pump it out or drop the 3rd from the beam.

Stabbing the 3rd member back in has always been a horrible pain in the ass, so I tried to be smart and make some alignment studs out of some cheap bolts by cutting the heads off them and rounding them off with a grinder. They didn't work as well as I had hoped, but still easier than doing it without them.

 

['84 Bronco II]

During Chile Challenge I found out my rear locker wasn't working again Fortunately the trails I was leading were only rated 6/10, so the Bronco II did fine with just a front locker. In fact, I was blown away how well it did with just a front locker. I used to be of the opinion that if you can only afford one locker, put it in the back, but after running with just a front locker, I think the front locker does 75% of the work.

After getting back from Chile Challenge, I coordinated an Irate4x4 run in the New Mexico group section. Folks wanted to do harder trails, so I decided to investigate why my rear Eaton ELocker wasn't working. It was getting full power at the connector and the stator had the same resistance as the front ELocker which was working fine. I even pulled the pins out of the connectors and plugged them directly into one another and it still wouldn't reliably engage; it would occasionally engage then pop out almost immediately while turning on dirt and not re-engage. I then jacked up the rear end to diagnose it while turning the driveshaft and tires by hand and it behaved as it should, it just apparently wouldn't hold any torque with the weght of the vehicle on the ground. This suggested that the engagement pins were completely stripped out again even after treating it like a grandma after the last rebuild Sure enough after opening the diff up there was tons of metal

A new locker to replace the piece of shit Eaton wasn't really in the budget, and I didn't want to rebuild and reinstall the Eaton again just to be dealing with the same issue once again in the near future. It turns out you can buy full spools for the 8.8" cheaper than the rebuild kit for the Eaton, and I already had a Yukon "Ultimate 8.8" C-clip eliminator kit that had been sitting in the garage for a few years I decided to spool the rear end as a temporary fix until I can afford a new locker.

The Superior "Super 88" kit and the identical Yukon "Ultimate 8.8" kit have always been listed for '95-'01 Explorer rear ends, but I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't work on the '91-'94 drum brake axle. They use the same housing and the axle shafts are the same length and I couldn't find anything definitive online as to why it wouldn't work, so I decided to be the guinea pig.

Here's the axle torn down to just the housing showing the bearing pocket that gets cut off during the C-clip elimination

The first snag I ran into is that the new SET20 bearing pockets provided with the kit don't sit flush against the drum backing plate (the disc baking plates are flat).

I decided, "no big deal, I've got a grinder." The material you have to grind off shouldn't hurt anything, so after a couple hours of grinding and test fitting, I got everything to fit up nicely.

 

['84 Bronco II]

The next issue that I ran into is the retaining plate for the new semi-float axles interfered with the parking brake spreader bar. I decided that issue could be solved with a grinder as well. Now there was plenty of clearance, even if the strength might be questionable. Since this only affects the operation of the parking brake, I decided it was an acceptable risk.

Then I cut the bearing cups off the ends of the housing and ground them smooth with the shoulder of the end flanges per Yukon's instructions.

The kit supplies a spacer that goes between the retaining plate and the bearing/seal. I installed the spacer when I pressed the shafts together, but found out when I tried to bolt the axles in that the axle bottoms out before the retaining plate seats against the drum backing plate (note the bent retaining plate. The disc backing plates are thicker.

The kit might work on a drum brake axle if you leave the spacer out, but at this point, I was out of time to make the wheeling trip, so I stopped trying to make it work. I am just going to convert to discs and have all the parts on order. Even if the kit would work on a drum axle without the spacer, you would be much better of just converting to discs to avoid all the grinding my dumb ass did.

 

[WaterH]

Fun reading through this. For some reason, not all the pics work for me. I’m in for future updates. Thanks for posting.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Fun reading through this. For some reason, not all the pics work for me. I’m in for future updates. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the compliments

Is anyone else having issues with the pictures? I attached them directly through Irate (not a 3rd party hosting site) and they show up fine on my end