salans7 Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 Yep, that's a good catch. But changing 35" tires must be FUN. My 33's are quite heavy, so I can only imagine. It's not as bad as I thought they would be, but I'm sure the alloy wheels help with the weight. I couldn't imagine steel wheels and 35's. Tire shop put in a patch this morning and all is well. Made it to work only an hour late which isn't bad at all considering the circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fords4life Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Yep, that's a good catch. But changing 35" tires must be FUN. My 33's are quite heavy, so I can only imagine. It's not as bad as I thought they would be, but I'm sure the alloy wheels help with the weight. I couldn't imagine steel wheels and 35's. Tire shop put in a patch this morning and all is well. Made it to work only an hour late which isn't bad at all considering the circumstances. Confirmed the ID number on the thermactor bypass valve today and Gary's findings are correct so at least I know what I'm looking for. Also got bushings and links swapped on the front sway bar, almost got rear bar done, but the links are a bit too long so I will need to modify them. Got the oil dipstick mounted and RTV'd. Also started pulling all the old brittle plastic wrap of the harness. Just need to decide what I'm putting back on the harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Confirmed the ID number on the thermactor bypass valve today and Gary's findings are correct so at least I know what I'm looking for. Also got bushings and links swapped on the front sway bar, almost got rear bar done, but the links are a bit too long so I will need to modify them. Got the oil dipstick mounted and RTV'd. Also started pulling all the old brittle plastic wrap of the harness. Just need to decide what I'm putting back on the harness. Wow! That's amazing! Exactly the # we expected. On the harness, I think Jim had a suggestion on what to use - but I've forgotten what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Wow! That's amazing! Exactly the # we expected. On the harness, I think Jim had a suggestion on what to use - but I've forgotten what it is. I like Tesa harness tape. Not their fuzzy interior harness tape, but the high temp underhood version. I'd posted an Amazon link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 I like Tesa harness tape. Not their fuzzy interior harness tape, but the high temp underhood version. I'd posted an Amazon link. Jim - Thanks, that's the stuff. And we still need that tips and tricks discussion. I've started a new thread on it: Harness Making Tips & Tricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Jim - Thanks, that's the stuff. And we still need that tips and tricks discussion. I've started a new thread on it: Harness Making Tips & Tricks. Today I put a winch on my pickup! Well, not really, but I made it so I can use the Bronco's winch on the pickup. I have a receiver-mount winch for the Bronco and a front (and rear) receiver on the pickup, so I could already mount it. But I didn't have a way to get power to it. Today I put a quick-connect on the truck so now I can plug the winch in! I only put a plug at the front and I don't have a long enough power cable to run it back to the rear receiver. But just a front winch should be nice to have at times, like next weekend when I'm going up to my parents cabin where the driveways haven't been plowed all winter. I need to drive in to pick up some firewood so I'll back in, and if I get stuck I can pull myself back out! And not "my" or a truck or today. But last fall I did the same thing to my wife's little Jeep Renegade. It doesn't have a receiver so I didn't do it for a winch. But there is no way to hook jumper cables to the battery in that thing! There's a panel mounted on top of the battery that blocks access to the battery posts (see picture below where I took the plastic cover off so you can see the panel). There's a terminal on top of the panel that's connected directly to the positive terminal, but it's not big enough to grab with jumper cables. So I wired a quick-connect on it and then put another quick connect on one end of a set of jumper cables (the cables are laying on top of the engine on the left side of the picture). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 Today I put a winch on my pickup! Well, not really, but I made it so I can use the Bronco's winch on the pickup. I have a receiver-mount winch for the Bronco and a front (and rear) receiver on the pickup, so I could already mount it. But I didn't have a way to get power to it. Today I put a quick-connect on the truck so now I can plug the winch in! I only put a plug at the front and I don't have a long enough power cable to run it back to the rear receiver. But just a front winch should be nice to have at times, like next weekend when I'm going up to my parents cabin where the driveways haven't been plowed all winter. I need to drive in to pick up some firewood so I'll back in, and if I get stuck I can pull myself back out! And not "my" or a truck or today. But last fall I did the same thing to my wife's little Jeep Renegade. It doesn't have a receiver so I didn't do it for a winch. But there is no way to hook jumper cables to the battery in that thing! There's a panel mounted on top of the battery that blocks access to the battery posts (see picture below where I took the plastic cover off so you can see the panel). There's a terminal on top of the panel that's connected directly to the positive terminal, but it's not big enough to grab with jumper cables. So I wired a quick-connect on it and then put another quick connect on one end of a set of jumper cables (the cables are laying on top of the engine on the left side of the picture). Good job, Bob! Looks really useful for the winch, and a lifesaver on the Jeep. (That's a really poor design on the battery for it.) I like the idea of backing in and pulling yourself out if needed. Hopefully you won't need to, but it is much better to safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 ... a lifesaver on the Jeep. (That's a really poor design on the battery for it.) ... and I found out about it at a really poor time. One very cold (well below zero) morning last winter my truck's battery was dead. I backed the Renegade out of the garage, pulled it in front of the pickup and was very disappointed when I popped the hood! Jumping it from the motorhome wasn't an option because the pickup was blocking it in. The Bronco was mostly blocked in the garage by the pickup and hadn't been started for a few months. But it fired up and with the Renegade out in the street I was able to maneuver the Bronco out. With no parking brake in the Bronco I had to shut it off after it was in front of the pickup and stick a brick behind a tire. After jumping the truck I had to park the Bronco, then the Renegade. Then I could drive to work. I was very late to work and VERY cold. Not going through that again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Good job, Bob! Looks really useful for the winch, and a lifesaver on the Jeep. (That's a really poor design on the battery for it.) I like the idea of backing in and pulling yourself out if needed. Hopefully you won't need to, but it is much better to safe than sorry. What did you expect from Fiat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 What did you expect from Fiat. I don't know about Fiat's designs. But I sure like what they've done with Jeep, Dodge and Ram. Or maybe more accurately what they've let Jeep, Dodge and Ram do. 707 horsepower in modern versions of '60s muscle cars? Let alone in a suburban soccer-mom SUV? And what corporation would let them design a vehicle where the windshield folds down? I know there's a lot of excitement over Ford "bringing the Bronco back", but Fiat / Jeep sure set the bar high. We'll see if Ford can rise to the occasion or if it's just going to be one more example of Ford recycling a name on a vehicle that no one likes as much as the original. (And yes, I've heard that F I A T stands for Fix It Again, Tony!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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