Hardtop Lifting Question for 2 Door Bronco Owners

[trenttrizzy]

Hi all—
Long time lurker, first time poster, apologies if this has already been asked!
There seem to be far fewer 2 Bronco door owners here than 4 door but I’m curious if any of you have tried, and been successful, with lifting the roof by yourself.

i currently own a 4dr Jeep Wrangler and regularly lift my roof by myself (overhead by hand). It’s more awkward than heavy but doable for anyone with decent upper body strength, I’d say.

Can any two door Bronco owners confirm if this is doable? Thanks in advance!

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[indio22]

Not first hand knowledge, but should be doable, because the Bronco top is built lighter. So I'm betting the rear clamshell portion will be lighter than the Jeep.

 

[Boxer4]

2 door MIC
So I do it with a crane setup. I got one like this for $80 awhile back. All in cost was about $120 with decent lifting straps.
The key to this is that the MIC bottom mounting flange near the back glass flares in about 2" (Circled in Red in these photos. ) At this point it is damn near the width of the roll bar. You need to make sure when lifting straight up that you hold the top horizontally to the back a few inches and your are dead level. ( there is a photo of a 6G member breaking this flange. Can easly see this could cause it )

I had some unistrut and made a spreader bar to keep the straps in position and not rocking.
In the front the MIC top seems weak at the rolled corners, so it looks best to keep the straps on the flat section. As for the back, you need to keep them to the outside edge to avoid the wiring and washer lines.
This photo shows the weight center is about 17" from the back.

With the front panels off, you can stand on the seats while running the crane. Once you clear the locating pins, just give the top a push to the back while lifting.
First run is best to have help and mark the Bronco's location on the floor. Keep adjusting until you find it dead level and perfect from side to side. Otherwise will screw up the roll bar paint.
Amazon.com: 440 Lift Electric Hoist Crane Remote Control Power System, Zinc-Plated Steel Wire Overhead Crane Garage Ceiling Pulley Winch w/Straps (w/Emergency Stop Switch) : Industrial & Scientific

 

[broncoky]

I haven't tried it by myself and I'm not going to try it anytime soon. Last weekend I had my neighbor help me remove the back cap. I would never be able to remove it by myself without rigging up some kind of garage lift, which I will probably do at some point. I'm barely 5'7" so the issue for me is clearing everything without damage to my Sasquatch Bronco. It was struggle even replacing the back cap for me as I had to lift it completely over my head to get it in to place even with someone helping. I also use the running boards to enter and exit every time so it might just be shorty problems.

 

[Boxer4]

I haven't tried it by myself and I'm not going to try it anytime soon. Last weekend I had my neighbor help me remove the back cap. I would never be able to remove it by myself without rigging up some kind of garage lift, which I will probably do at some point. I'm barely 5'7" so the issue for me is clearing everything without damage to my Sasquatch Bronco. It was struggle even replacing the back cap for me as I had to lift it completely over my head to get it in to place even with someone helping. I also use the running boards to enter and exit every time so it might just be shorty problems.

For what it''s worth, my 5'-2" wife ran the crane on my setup.

 

[gettk]

2 door MIC
So I do it with a crane setup. I got one like this for $80 awhile back. All in cost was about $120 with decent lifting straps.
The key to this is that the MIC bottom mounting flange near the back glass flares in about 2" (Circled in Red in these photos. ) At this point it is damn near the width of the roll bar. You need to make sure when lifting straight up that you hold the top horizontally to the back a few inches and your are dead level. ( there is a photo of a 6G member breaking this flange. Can easly see this could cause it )

I had some unistrut and made a spreader bar to keep the straps in position and not rocking.
In the front the MIC top seems weak at the rolled corners, so it looks best to keep the straps on the flat section. As for the back, you need to keep them to the outside edge to avoid the wiring and washer lines.
This photo shows the weight center is about 17" from the back.

With the front panels off, you can stand on the seats while running the crane. Once you clear the locating pins, just give the top a push to the back while lifting.
First run is best to have help and mark the Bronco's location on the floor. Keep adjusting until you find it dead level and perfect from side to side. Otherwise will screw up the roll bar paint.
Amazon.com: 440 Lift Electric Hoist Crane Remote Control Power System, Zinc-Plated Steel Wire Overhead Crane Garage Ceiling Pulley Winch w/Straps (w/Emergency Stop Switch) : Industrial & Scientific

Dude - nice set up. I was thinking of setting up a manual pulley from my hoops net and using a similar strap set up. Any "watch outs" other than the flange? since I'd pull it by hand I would probably feel the flange snag if it got hung up.

 

[terrible4130]

Check this out:

 

[Boxer4]

Dude - nice set up. I was thinking of setting up a manual pulley from my hoops net and using a similar strap set up. Any "watch outs" other than the flange? since I'd pull it by hand I would probably feel the flange snag if it got hung up.

Thanks- The various videos I have seen don't state it but there are Torque setting for the mounting flange as well as roof rack bolts. My owner's manual shows 15 lb/ft for the clam shell flange- 7.7 lb/ft for the rack mounting bolts and 5.9 lb/ft for the mounting bolt cover.

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