ArdWrknTrk Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 So I have done quite a bit since August, and I have not held up on my promise to make more videos or document things, and will probably continue to not do these things because I no longer have a computer and everything is much slower on a phone. However, I will share the progress I have made so far. Last year in Sept I did all the brakes so I could prepare to move into another house. I had to pull steel brake lines from the junkyard because the flare nuts froze on mine. All in all, I replaced the following with new parts: - calipers - pads/shoes - drums - all hardware Because the truck was dieseling on shut down and wouldn’t reliably start or run, I investigated the ignition and the solution was just a new set of spark plugs... At this time, I also started a fire in the engine bay because of oil-soaked animal nests built up on my exhaust manifold. I sprayed them down and replaced my valve cover gasket. After I got the truck on a trailer in October and moved it, I didn’t touch it until January. In December I bought a motorcycle so that took up all my attention. In January I started doing wheel bearings which evolved into a full front-end rebuild after my front diff started leaking when jacking up the front frame. I dropped the whole TTB suspension and disassembled it. Then I brushed radius arms/support arms with POR-15 gloss. I did the same on the frame section above the suspension. Goodyear Wrangler Adventure 31/10.5/15 tires were mounted on 15x8” Pro Comp wagon wheels. Parts installed in front suspension rebuild: - all new grade 8 hardware - Bilstein 4600 shocks - stock height springs - inner/outer wheel and spindle bearings - ball joints - tie rods and assembly - Spicer u joints - Spicer slip shaft and slip yoke (could not separate original ones) - brake rotors and hubs - Warn Premium locking hubs - Energy Suspension polyurethane radius arm and pivot bushings - bump stops I took it out for a spin up and down the street, and by god do those Bilstein shocks up front feel good. This will end up being quite the comfortable rig for long road trips. This arm of the project has made me take a wildly different path than I first planned. My next move is a rear end rebuilt. After that it’s the transmission. Then at the same time I will rebuild the engine while the truck is in the body shop. Your Bronco looks great with the wheel wells filled out! I hope you intend to keep the stock colours. That's a nice (and uncommon) combo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 Your Bronco looks great with the wheel wells filled out! I hope you intend to keep the stock colours. That's a nice (and uncommon) combo. That is the plan. I still haven’t seen another truck with the same colors. I’ll have to get a Marti Report to see how rare this build was, it’s apparent to me it was specially ordered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Your Bronco looks great with the wheel wells filled out! I hope you intend to keep the stock colours. That's a nice (and uncommon) combo. X2 That is a lot of nice work you have done so far. It's nice to have a "game plan" how close to it are you so far LOL Don't feel bad my project was just do a quick "fix whats needed" that turned into a full on cab off rebuild. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 Your Bronco looks great with the wheel wells filled out! I hope you intend to keep the stock colours. That's a nice (and uncommon) combo. X2 That is a lot of nice work you have done so far. It's nice to have a "game plan" how close to it are you so far LOL Don't feel bad my project was just do a quick "fix whats needed" that turned into a full on cab off rebuild. Dave ---- I will soon be dropping the rear and doing a rebuild. I am planning on doing the following: - inspect rear diff guts - Eaton Detroit TrueTrac LSD - inspect axle shafts - replace all bearings - paint axle assembly - paint rear frame section - new leaf springs - Bilstein 4600 shocks - all new hardware I need some advice with how far I need to go with my diff and axle shafts. I did not replace anything inside the front diff because the gears looked fine, but it probably wasn’t used much, if at all. I have no idea if my truck has 67,000 or 167,000 or 1,567,000 miles and I don’t know what in the rear diff should be replaced no matter what, and what is not a “wear part” in this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I will soon be dropping the rear and doing a rebuild. I am planning on doing the following: - inspect rear diff guts - Eaton Detroit TrueTrac LSD - inspect axle shafts - replace all bearings - paint axle assembly - paint rear frame section - new leaf springs - Bilstein 4600 shocks - all new hardware I need some advice with how far I need to go with my diff and axle shafts. I did not replace anything inside the front diff because the gears looked fine, but it probably wasn’t used much, if at all. I have no idea if my truck has 67,000 or 167,000 or 1,567,000 miles and I don’t know what in the rear diff should be replaced no matter what, and what is not a “wear part” in this situation. Now I am not one to just go replacing parts just because. After doing a few diff rebuilds, not because I wanted to, had to. I only replace if bad because of play or noise but that's me. If it is a 9" I would get a complete 3rd member with the gear ratio to match the front. It would come with new bearings and set up right so all you need to do is pop out your old member and pop this one in. Then all you would need to deal with would be axle bearings & seals. FIY as part of service on my 02 Durango the dealer found metal flakes in the oil when changing. They replaced the bearings as the gears looked good. When I got it back it was making a little noise a sign it was not set up right, it did not do this before the bearing swap. It went right back and they said they replace the center unit. Well it is making noise now but with 240K+ I am not going to worry about it as it would now coat me, the first was covered by Dodge. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Now I am not one to just go replacing parts just because. After doing a few diff rebuilds, not because I wanted to, had to. I only replace if bad because of play or noise but that's me. If it is a 9" I would get a complete 3rd member with the gear ratio to match the front. It would come with new bearings and set up right so all you need to do is pop out your old member and pop this one in. Then all you would need to deal with would be axle bearings & seals. FIY as part of service on my 02 Durango the dealer found metal flakes in the oil when changing. They replaced the bearings as the gears looked good. When I got it back it was making a little noise a sign it was not set up right, it did not do this before the bearing swap. It went right back and they said they replace the center unit. Well it is making noise now but with 240K+ I am not going to worry about it as it would now coat me, the first was covered by Dodge. Dave ---- I agree with Dave. If it's a 9", just swap it out for whatever ratio you need. They are easy to setup because it is all done on the bench, and they are simple to swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 I agree with Dave. If it's a 9", just swap it out for whatever ratio you need. They are easy to setup because it is all done on the bench, and they are simple to swap. This is the 3rd member I think I’m going to go with. It’s just under $1000 for parts I would’ve chosen myself and the Eaton Detroit TrueTrac LSD. https://www.quickperformance.com/Ford-9-Complete-Center-Section-Third-Member_p_36.html I went to look at a 1978 GMC pickup today but coming to this forum has reminded me that I don’t need another project right now. I ALMOST bought it... lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 This is the 3rd member I think I’m going to go with. It’s just under $1000 for parts I would’ve chosen myself and the Eaton Detroit TrueTrac LSD. https://www.quickperformance.com/Ford-9-Complete-Center-Section-Third-Member_p_36.html I went to look at a 1978 GMC pickup today but coming to this forum has reminded me that I don’t need another project right now. I ALMOST bought it... lol I think you'll like the TrueTrac. Big Blue has one and it works pretty well, although it can be a handful on slippery surfaces. As for another project, just like you I keep telling myself I don't need another. But if I'm silly enough to mention it my wife says something about a hole in the head. I'm not sure, but I'm afraid she's saying she'll put one there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 I think you'll like the TrueTrac. Big Blue has one and it works pretty well, although it can be a handful on slippery surfaces. As for another project, just like you I keep telling myself I don't need another. But if I'm silly enough to mention it my wife says something about a hole in the head. I'm not sure, but I'm afraid she's saying she'll put one there. Luckily for me I don’t get winter or much rain where I live so it should be dandy. I told my girlfriend about the GMC and how it’s going to be some work to get it reliable and she told me if I have to think about it then I shouldn’t do it. She’s a whole lot smarter than me. We need a pickup badly and not a project pickup. I’m not sure why I thought I’d be fine without one. When I was with my previous employer I just used the company truck and didn’t think much of it. Currently hunting for a 1999-2003 Chevy/GMC or 1998-2001 Dodge Ram. Anything newer is too expensive and anything older needs too much work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted September 12, 2021 Author Share Posted September 12, 2021 Luckily for me I don’t get winter or much rain where I live so it should be dandy. I told my girlfriend about the GMC and how it’s going to be some work to get it reliable and she told me if I have to think about it then I shouldn’t do it. She’s a whole lot smarter than me. We need a pickup badly and not a project pickup. I’m not sure why I thought I’d be fine without one. When I was with my previous employer I just used the company truck and didn’t think much of it. Currently hunting for a 1999-2003 Chevy/GMC or 1998-2001 Dodge Ram. Anything newer is too expensive and anything older needs too much work. Holy hell guys, it's been a wild last few months with not much progress done on the Bronco. In March I crashed my motorcycle at 60mph on a turn and had to take a break from any repair work. No injuries (I got lucky), just cuts and bruises. When I started feeling better I replaced all the broken stuff on the bike and added some upgrades. Then I ended up buying a base trim 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2L 4x4 that used to be a Cal Fire work truck until 2019. It had 267k miles when I purchased it, so it needed a bit of work. I fixed up the interior a bit, added a stereo and replaced speakers, replaced the shocks, jerry-rigged a V10 radiator in place, and did most of the engine gaskets. Upgraded the design-defective intake plenum plate with a thicker aftermarket one, so the engine should be bulletproof as it was actually a rebuild (and probably failed from this issue). Steering box was a reman and it went bad. Dropped $500 on a Red Head gear and an aftermarket column bushing. Grabbed some wheels and tires from a 2004 1500 to replace the original steelies. After that, I took it on a 1400 mile trip to Washington and then a kayak camping trip in the Sierras. I also ripped around some OHV trails in Northern California for good measure. After fixing all the oil leaks, the rear main seal began to leak. Not interested in fixing it, I'll just keep adding oil. Also needs some body work on the roof to seal up the holes where the light bar was. Overall, solid truck it seems like. As a government worker myself, our trucks get fixed the right way for any minor issue, so I'd bet it's had everything replaced at least once considering all the evidence of off-roading I've found behind the interior panels. Then I got married, sold my Fiesta ST, and was in the process of buying a house. I was getting prepped to potentially move but I pulled out of the home buying process because I figured out my realtor was manipulating me and I was buying a total wreck of a home. So here I am, ready to get back to work on the Bronco with a good bit of cash from selling my car. Since my last update, I have removed EVERYTHING from the undercarriage rear of the catalytic converter. Exhaust, leaf springs, fuel tank, axle... Everything is out. Leaf springs got me stuck for a while since the bushings and bolts were seized. Body mounts were also a pain, and they were totally rusted out. I could punch out some of them from the top with a BFH but I snapped the head off a bolt on one and had to sawzall it from the bottom. So I figured I should probably finally pressure wash the underside of the truck, but it was immobile at this point in time. I made water channels in my garage out of duct tape and went for it. The duct tape worked pretty good at keeping mud in the boundaries. I'm finishing up the paint in the rear 1/3 of the undercarriage this weekend and then I've got parts here and on order that need to be installed. I won't be putting on an exhaust, anything fuel related, or brake lines until I've moved forward and painted the middle undercarriage and replaced the tranny with a ZF5 or M5OD. I'm having trouble locating a used one that has already been pulled. It's even harder to find one that uses a mechanical speedometer. I have this metal piece that sits beween the body and the rear bumper. Is this part only for the poverty-spec bumpers, or do I also need it with a step bumper? Also, I've been toying with the idea of some light performance/quality of life upgrades in the far future. I think I want to go with a 2bbl carb and electric fuel pump or just fuel injection but I'm wary of CA emissions with both. Not trying to do anything crazy, just want a modest boost in power without killing fuel economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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