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The Blue Pig - ECGreen's '89 BII


bobbywalter

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Location
woodhaven mi
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
FORD mostly
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
BIGGER
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
sawzall?
Tire Size
33-44
My credo
it is easier to fix and understand than "her"
With a doubler? Any traction to a wedge event at 6 to 1 is brutal.

I have seen....and videoed 2.9s murdering Dana 60 parts at Hollister and the Rubicon... So conservative driving is a given.
 


ecgreen

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Location
Dunbarton NH
Vehicle Year
1989
Make / Model
Ford Bronco II
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
3"
Tire Size
33
With a doubler? Any traction to a wedge event at 6 to 1 is brutal.

I have seen....and videoed 2.9s murdering Dana 60 parts at Hollister and the Rubicon... So conservative driving is a given.
Absolutely. Having wheeled an ifs for a long time, you need to learn how to handle these things. So easy to snap a cv if driven wrong. Seen it many times.

The answer to an obstacle is very rarely "send it." Especially locked and geared. You need to learn to feel the torque. If you have a tire wedged, you need to know when to back off and tey a new line.

I have seen almost everything break with "more skinny peddle!" Lol

I really do think ill be fine with the rebuilt D35. If i start breaking a lot though... upgrade time baby! Thats the fun of the game.
 
Last edited:

ecgreen

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Dunbarton NH
Vehicle Year
1989
Make / Model
Ford Bronco II
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
3"
Tire Size
33

4x4junkie

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Location
So. Calif (SFV)
Vehicle Year
1990
Make / Model
Bronco II
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Engine Size
2.9L V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Tire Size
35x12.50R15
Whoops, here I am... (I guess I need to check my email notification settings)

Yes, you are 100% correct.
It's pretty easy to discern whether the truck is bound up (tire caught under a rock ledge, etc.), or whether it just needs a slight bit more throttle to scale up a rock (I think it's in whether the truck wants to raise slightly or dive slightly when you give it torque... if it dives, then beware, you've probably got a tire caught).


Barring the above scenario, the maximum torque the axle will ever see (no matter how deep your gearing is) will be limited by the traction of your tires (them slipping on the surface you're driving on, which even on pavement, is almost always less than what will immediately break a D35 or better axle shaft). Of course this doesn't include dynamic shock loads... If you're an aggressive driver bouncing over things, then yeah you're much more likely to have issues.
One thing inevitable though is breakage from simple metal fatigue, which I initially figured might happen maybe every 5-10 years, but so far (knock on wood) it's been good. It is a matter of time though no matter what, so I keep a set of spare shafts above the frame in the space created from my 2" body lift for if & when that time does come).
 

holyford86

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many
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4.0
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Manual
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7
Tire Size
33x12.50R15
A long time ago in a galaxy, well....right here. Here she was in all her glory. My '89 BII from Maine with a blown head gasket. She spent a lot of her years on Martha's Vineyard apparently. How she wound up in inland Maine I don't know.

View attachment 73105

That was 3 years ago...ouch its been a long build.

I played around with the engine until I had to accept that the heads where just F'd and the whole thing needed to pulled and replaced. What was the issue? Someone overheated it and the heads cracked...surprise!!

I set about tearing the truck apart and figuring out what was next.

View attachment 73109

View attachment 73110

Rust-wise everything was pretty good, but the frame needed attention. I used Eastwoods rust converter followed by a black topcoat.

View attachment 73111

In this pic you can see I installed a Rough Country 1.5 inch lift up front. In the rear I used Wulf shackles. If you are look for a cheap way to get 1.5 inches of left, that is the way to go. Eventually, I went with a Duff stage 1 as you can see in the next post.

Here are some other mods I have done along the way. Can't remember in what order.

Fuel tank access panel:

View attachment 73512

4.0 Radiator:

View attachment 73513

New tire day (and a shameless pic of my Taco):

View attachment 73514

New steering rod:

View attachment 73515
what did you use for a steering shaft?
 

RumPunch

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Location
Walkerton Va 23177
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford Bronco II
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
3"
Tire Size
31x10.50R15
Second that on the steering shaft.
 

Uncle Gump

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Location
Ottawa IL
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2006/1986
Make / Model
Ranger/BroncoII
Engine Size
4.0L SOHC/2.9L
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
Lead follow or get out of my way
I bought Bronco II and it already had one on it. I swear he said he got it from Bronco Graveyard... but they don't have it listed.
 

Peter Griffin

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Quahog
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1988
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Ford Bronco II
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2.9 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Read this build thread too (getting inspired for my '88 build)...awesome @ecgreen, well done Sir! (y)(y)
 

RumPunch

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Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford Bronco II
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
3"
Tire Size
31x10.50R15

Uncle Gump

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Ranger/BroncoII
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4.0L SOHC/2.9L
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
Lead follow or get out of my way
ecgreen is another bad influence...
 

lil_Blue_Ford

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Nice build and nice BII, looks really clean. Now I’m anxious to get back to getting mine running again, lol
 

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