1994 Ford Bronco Build

[jhammel85]

Good work!

 

[exbass94]

^^Thanks!

I got a little more done after work last night. Drag link and passenger side tie rod are installed. The new tie rod adjusting sleeve for the driver's side should be in today, so I'll be able to install the driver side steering.

My new spindle nut socket came in yesterday. Holy crap that made it a million times easier to torque the spindle nuts down. I should've gotten one of those a long time ago. I got both rotors and hubs installed yesterday, and I got the driver's side brake pads and caliper in. Didn't have time to do the passenger side.

I also picked up some bleeder screws this morning. My new calipers didn't come with them (wtf? )

 

[exbass94]

Turns out those bleeder screws were the wrong size. Every parts store catalog has them listed as 7/16-20 thread, which is apparently wrong. The thread size my new calipers have are 3/8-24 thread. And these are reman calipers, so they should be the same as the factory size. Anyway, I returned those screws and got the correct ones.

I got the rest of my steering linkage installed last night, as well as the front driveshaft.

 

[exbass94]

Front suspension rebuild is complete! I finished it up this weekend. I made an appointment with the Ford dealer this morning to get an alignment, and to have them re-bleed the brakes. I thoroughly bled them yesterday, but I still have a soft pedal. I think it's because I let the master cylinder run dry and now I have air in the ABS pump. So, I'll let them use their fancy scan tool to cycle the ABS and get the rest of the air out.

They're also going to do the cruise control switch recall for me. Apparently it still hasn't been done. I'll be dropping it off this afternoon.

The steering still seems to be really loose, even though I replaced the entire steering system. I'll see how it feels after the alignment. I may try to tighten the adjustment on the steering box when I get it back.

 

[exbass94]

I got it back from the dealer. They said my drum brakes were out of adjustment and that was causing my mushy pedal. But the brakes felt fine before I did the fronts, so I didn't think that was it. Oh well. Anyway, they adjusted the brakes, cycled the ABS pump, and re-bled them. The brakes feel fantastic now.

The alignment also feels great. The camber and caster were apparently already in spec, and they only had to adjust the toe. The steering wheel is now actually centered when I drive straight, whereas it was cocked about 45 degrees to the left before.

And they did the recall for the cruise control switch. I'm glad I don't have to worry about my truck burning to the ground anymore. They also lubed up my hood latch, so now I don't need vice grips or a second person to help me open my hood! I'm really pleased with the work they did.

And with that, I finally got all seven items in my first post done! She's officially safe and drivable.

 

[exbass94]

I haven't done much to the Bronco lately, just driving it and enjoying it! I installed new front sway bar bushings yesterday, and I tried to adjust the steering box. I tightened it up as much as I could, but it's still loose. I'm going to order a Red Head steering box soon. I knew I should've skipped the parts store one and just gone straight for the Red Head. Oh well. That won't be for at least a few weeks though. My parts budget is non-existent at the moment. Luckily, I have things to keep me busy without having to buy new parts. I need to rip out the nasty carpet, clean the interior panels, swap out my transfer case for the manual shift one, and swap out my mirrors for the power ones.

I did spend a little yesterday on a new coolant reservoir/washer fluid reservoir and new washer fluid pump. My washer fluid pump apparently doesn't work, and the reservoir has a broken tab, so it flops around loosely in the engine compartment. So I'm going to fix both of those issues at once.

 

[exbass94]

I got the new reservoir/washer pump installed. I also ripped out the nasty old carpet (well, the front section of carpet anyway, the rear sections are still in the truck). I reinstalled the seats and center console. I'll be driving it like this without carpet until the body work is done. So, it's staying like that for a long while. I also started my manual transfer case swap. I took apart the shifter, painted the bracket, greased up all the moving parts, and put it back together. It was extremely stiff and frozen up before, now it moves extremely easily. I removed the access panel for the transfer case shifter and installed the shifter. I need to get a new boot for it though.

That's about it for now. More pics soon.

 

[exbass94]

I've been dealing with sluggish acceleration and weird idle issues. I changed the fuel filter last night, and that greatly improved the acceleration and power. The old fitler I took off was a Motorcraft, so that may or may not have been the factory original filter . Lots of black gunk came out of it.

I bought a new toy:

Yeah, I know you can accomplish the same thing with a paper clip. I always have trouble deciphering the flashes and lose count and stuff. I pulled codes last night with this reader and it makes things a lot easier.

I don't have any KOEO codes, but I have a KOER code 412. I think it's a bad IAC valve. I will be inspecting it this weekend.

I think this truck needs a tune up pretty bad. I'll start gathering parts for that soon.

 

[exbass94]

So, I tried testing my IAC over the weekend, and I think it was working ok until I applied 12 volts across the terminals to see if the plunger would move. That apparently kills it. Whoops. So I ordered a new Motorcraft one from Rock Auto. That put my troubleshooting to a standstill, since the engine can't even idle now. I will resume troubleshooting when the new IAC arrives.

I also ordered a new PCV valve, MSD coil, distributor cap and rotor, and a set of Ford Racing plug wires. I picked up some new Autolite spark plugs too. These parts were recommended on a Bronco forum I visit. I will also advance the timing a little to approx. 13 degrees BTDC. These parts, combined with advancing the timing has been known to give a good increase in power and fuel economy.

I sold another one of my old rims on Craigslist today and got $60 for it. I then went home and promptly spent that $60 on a set of Polk Audio db571 speakers for the rear.

 

[exbass94]

Well turns out the IAC was bad anyway. I know that because I replaced it and did nothing else and all my idle problems are gone. I did another KOEO and KOER test and I don't have any more codes either.

So, all my parts arrived. I decided to return the MSD ignition coil. I should've gone with my gut instinct that the OEM coil is more than good enough. I did some further reading on the Bronco forums and many agree that the MSD one is not necessary and doesn't have any advantage over the OEM one. The coil I got is made in China and the wiring connector does not fit snugly and comes unplugged easily, whereas the OEM coil plugs in nice and firm and doesn't come out easily.

 

[exbass94]

I installed the new rear speakers and ran new speaker wire to them. I ordered a new head unit too. It's a JVC KDA95BT.

It has a CD player, 2 USB inputs, an AUX input, Bluetooth, and lots of other cool stuff. I'm going to run the wires for the USB inputs and the AUX input to the center console. That way I can easily reach in the console to hook up my iPod or any other device and keep it stored hidden away in there, or store it in the cupholder so it's in easy reach.

I have the interior rear side panels halfway taken out (I had to in order to install the speakers). I'm going to take them completely out so I can clean them and remove the rear carpet. I also want to see what's behind them. I think I saw a mouse nest behind one of them as well as some rust holes. I'll probably gut the whole interior and leave it that way until all the body work is done. I also still need to do that tune-up. Busy busy busy.

 

[AgPete139]

Good progress. Looks like it's coming along nicely.

I'll never buy a car from up north. Wouldn't it be less work to attain a vehicle further south?

Exbass, how much did you pay for the truck?

 

[exbass94]

Well I got my new head unit installed. It sounds awesome! The USB cables aren't quite long enough to reach the console though. I might just plug in some extension cables, or run them to the glove box instead. We'll see. I'm going to eventually add an amp to power a subwoofer, so I already connected an RCA cable and remote turn-on lead, so I won't have to take the head unit back out of the dash again. I also connected wires to the switched 12 volt wire and the illumination wire in the harness. These wires are currently just hanging out the bottom of the dash. In case I add any aftermarket gauges in the future, I'll need these wires to power the gauges, and to light them up at night. Again, just thinking ahead so I don't have to pull the head unit out again.


I replaced all the U-joints in the rear driveshaft, but haven't gotten the chance to re-install the driveshaft yet. That should take care of the acceleration clunk I was getting.

Not sure if I mentioned this already, but I'm seriously considering re-gearing to 4.10s. It has 3.55s right now and they kind of suck for acceleration AND highway cruising. Acceleration is slow, and the engine runs too slow on the highway and lugs too much. I'm thinking the tune-up may help a lot (still haven't gotten to that) but probably not enough. The rear is howling and needs to be rebuilt anyway. I found a 4.10 Dana 50 TTB from an F250 on Craigslist that I might go look at. A Dana 50 diff is a direct bolt-on for the Dana 44 axle beams. I also found a 4.10 Dana 50 TTB on eBay. I need to do some price comparisons and then I'll decide. I'll probably get the rear rebuilt by an axle shop, maybe add a limited slip.

I know I've been really slacking on the pics. I'll post some up soon.

"They're coming! Soon! The pictures are coming!"

 

[exbass94]

Good progress. Looks like it's coming along nicely.

I'll never buy a car from up north. Wouldn't it be less work to attain a vehicle further south?

Exbass, how much did you pay for the truck?

I paid $1500. Yes, it probably would've been less work to get a southern truck. But this one kind of fell in my lap. I never even planned on buying any project vehicle in the first place until this came along. Like I said, my in-laws were trying to sell this without any luck, and I wanted to help them out. So it also sort of has some sentimental value. My mother in law really loved this truck and is really enjoying seeing it get fixed up.

That being said, the rust is pretty bad. Depending on the body shop estimates, a frame-off body swap may be in the future. I'm hoping I can salvage this one though. I'm willing to dump a few grand into the body to get it right. I'm determined to save another Bronco from the junkyard. They don't make these any more ya know

 

[exbass94]

Finally some pics as promised.

I soldered pigtails onto the rear speakers, just like I did with the front speakers


And, they're installed



Head unit wiring harness soldered together


Big ol' mess of wires hanging out of the dash with everything labeled.


Wiring harness installed in truck, which cleaned things up nicely


And head unit installed



New u-joints installed in rear driveshaft



I picked up that Dana 50 on Craigslist. I got the whole front end for $120. I figure I can take the differential, sell the rest and probably make all my money back.