Notes from Wheeling / Breaking / Fixing / Loving the Bronco

[partylineisfine]

Surprising how many 80 series owners end up with Bronco's. We did moab with the 3 of us in our 2 door badlands about a month ago, like you I left my 80 at home. 4k miles with an 8 yr old in a 2 door with a soft top did make for a long 11 days, but it was more comfortable for them than the LC. Looks like we ran a lot of the same trails so far, too. Always enjoy Tower Arch and Fins n Things.

Great story so far.

Beautiful LC!

I notice a lot of people from the LC community going to Bronco. Not sure why, but I haven't heard of anyone going back.

Sponsored

 

[partylineisfine]

A bit of a rewind to this story: 4 weeks prior to this trip at the rodeo, we did Rim Trail on a bone stock Brapter. All we did was add better tires.

We barely touched metal anywhere. Devils Crack only. The thing is so planted, it made the afternoon pretty uneventful for a high consequence trail. Thought I share some pictures.

Also threw in some hells revenge action...

 

[partylineisfine]

The rodeo trip was primarily a trail clean-up effort. We were honored to be part of it and probably met some of you. We organize trail clean-ups anywhere we can and (here's where I get preachy) please do your part.

We met some awesome people that brought out their kids to scrub the desert clean. There were tons of trash sites just off the road. If you have the 4.70 gearing, you can even walk next to your Bronco while you pick up garbage (we called it the Sons of Smokey or SOS mode on the goat wheel)

Bronco helps fund this effort (Thank you Bronco Wild Fund), but it only scratches the surface.
We developed an app that allows you to mark or find trash spots and share them with the community.

You can download the app here:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sonsofsmokey/id1625870688
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonsofsmokey&pli=1






Next Chapter: Wheeling and Breaking in Bend, Oregon

 

[Canyon Coolers]

They have them, think you need the lux or high package. My 4 DR WT has them with the lux package

mine 23 Wildtrak Lux does not have them, but I opted for the cloth seats. I believe leather gets you cup holders.

 

[scotman623]

Which trails did you do?

I live on the East Coast, So I did Crawl Daddy- Crawler Ridge and Trail 11 all in Pennsylvania.. Crawl Daddy was the hardest by far.. Some major rock obstacles… The Bronco just keeps on impressing me

 

[partylineisfine]

And...we're back. What I do love about the Bronco is that I can push it pretty hard, and it's still drivable for the ride home. We trek back the 1,000 miles to Bend, OR and immediately I start buying some things.

BTW: Dust makes a fun two-tone when you put the doors back on

1. Bottom sill protectors. Honestly don't know why they don't have this standard. The pain gets pretty jacked without them.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C39S2V29?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
2. Better center console divider
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XTMP3C3?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
3. protection tape for the top corners of the front door and the front quarter panel where you take off the doors. This will save the paint
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLIQFHQ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
4. back seat and cargo area protection
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YL9L3FH?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
5. Filters
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y2GG6TR?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
6. Garbage can: there really isn't a good place to put trash in the cabin
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DKB5TMQ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
7. Black handles: Didn't like the orange things it came with
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZTWW893?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
8. Black classic emblem
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X356P9B?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
9. Wheel spacers (helps fit 37s)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MVT2M9F?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
10. A better air nozzle for blasting out dust.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DQJDZNR?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
11. Tires: 37x12.50.17R KM3s

 

[partylineisfine]

I forgot to add the details of putting 37s on a Bronco. It's probably been said hundreds of times by now, but I want to just state what I did:

Nearly nothing. A Sasquatch package is high enough to put BFG "37s" or 36.4" tires without lifting. This will probably not work with any other tire MFG because they will do a true 37.

Here are some rapid-fire answers to possible questions

- I have noticed a small uptick in offroad performance.
- I have lost 2 mpg
- It's a bit less quick in acceleration
- It rubs in reverse at full lock, but it's very minor
- It barely rubs anywhere when wheeling hard
- I really like the look of a full wheel well, so this works for me
- You don't need a brake light extender if you go with BFGs
- You probably won't need hinge reinforcement for your spare. My buddy puts two duffle bags full of ice and beer on each side of the tire with a trash bag off the back. Wheels hard like that and never needed reinforcement or support.
- If you like the look of a bigger tire, but don't want a bigger tire, consider swapping to basic fenders to get a little more pop. Also, don't buy BFG 35s. Patagonias, nittos, Micky Thompsons are really good and are full sized.
- I put a 1/4 inch spacer on to reduce some of the rubbing

In my mind, the only reason to lift is to fit bigger tires. I don't like changing the angles from the factory if I can avoid it. Especially on an IFS car. I'm thrilled I could put 37s on a factory suspension rig. I don't love the shocks from the factory, but I can't stomach $5k+ for a marginal performance upgrade. Not judging anyone that has put on a lift, it's just low on my priorities at the moment because of what I can do stock.

 

[partylineisfine]

Now that I got the 37s, it's time to see how they do in Central Oregon. I text my friend Jeremy that owns a shop called Technique Vehicle Outfitters (he's the guy that brought the Brapter to Moab) and asked him if he wanted to go wheeling soon. He said, how about tomorrow? Sure, why not?

Side note, Jeremy is one of those guys that gets shit done. He runs an organization called Public Land Stewards, constantly organizes off-roading adventures, and is one of the best vehicle outfitter I know.

He rallies up a crew of Toyotas and we hit Edison Butte Trail starting at 6pm. This is probably rated around a 5, but there are a lot of side obstacles you can do that would bump that number up.

We had LCs on 40s, 37s, 35s, a GX460 on 35s and a 4runner on 35s. The Bronco did everything the others did except one very technical non-route that the 40s tackled.

The sun went down and things started to get more challenging. This is where I screwed up.

I was following Jeremy down a line that I couldn't see very well. His clearance missed a rock that my front skid plate hit. Instead of backing off, I thought I could push through it. In doing so, I dislodged the rock and it rolled into my transmission pan. Those things are plastic, so it caused a small crack that started slow leaking. Time to get off the trail as soon as possible.

Where I hit the pan

I got back around midnight and hoped the pan didn't get worse until I could fix it.

 

[partylineisfine]

The next day, I head to Kendall Ford of Bend and get the parts I need to fix the pan. With the ATF (which I didn't need the 14 qts they said I did I should have gone there on a full night's sleep and realized I probably only needed about 6) I was out about $300 in parts.

Then head over to Jeremy's shop. He's got a lift and doing the fix without a lift would be super messy.

Up on the lift, I could really see the problem with these Broncos. There is almost no protection for the trans pan or the transfer case.

As you can see from this picture, the frame cross members get bashed up pretty quickly. I'm used to the Land Cruiser with it's super thick steel. I'm probably going to reinforce these eventually.

Before I swapped out the pan - luckily it was a slow leak. I actually couldn't even find where it was.

To get to the pan, you have to remove the oil pan skid and the Sta-Bar disconnect (if you have one) It will still be tricky as engineers hate mechanics so everything is super tight.

Once complete, bolt everything back up and fill the pan. This is a bit of a guessing game as the proper way to measure is only once the transmission is between 205 to 215 degrees.

I put in 5 qrts and hoped it wasn't too much.

Later, I got the temps up and realized I was about 1 qrt too low. For reference, the goal is to get the level between 3.5 and 5 on the stick once warm. I was almost to 5 with it warm, so I was guessing that 1 qrt would do it.

Modern cars can be temperamental, so I really wanted to get this as close as possible.


After the swap. As you can see, the pan is super exposed. I didn't get a good picture of the transfer case, but that's very exposed as well.

So, what did I learn:
- The trans pan and the transfer case need protection
- The cross members need reinforcement. They aren't very slick either in their pinch weld design
- I will need shock skids eventually. Luckily I haven't hit them.
- I need more lights for night wheeling
- Don't follow a land cruiser at night.

More adventures to come.

 

[Br0nc0_Badlands_Sasquatch]

Wow, thanks for sharing - appreciate your perspective on wheeling the bronco without crazy mods and love the trail clean up that you all do!

How are you going to protect the trans pan, transfer case, and the cross members? I want to say the raptor has a skid plate for this area?

Any thoughts on a winch?

offtopic, but i feel like my 4dr has more chassis flex with the hard top off - has anyone else noticed this?

 

[partylineisfine]

Wow, thanks for sharing - appreciate your perspective on wheeling the bronco without crazy mods and love the trail clean up that you all do!

How are you going to protect the trans pan, transfer case, and the cross members? I want to say the raptor has a skid plate for this area?

Any thoughts on a winch?

offtopic, but i feel like my 4dr has more chassis flex with the hard top off - has anyone else noticed this?

I'm going to add a skid plate to all of the places currently lacking. I was eyeballing RPM skids, but there is a guy in town called Bell Fabrication that does beautiful work. He wants to take a look at it first.

For the winch, my buddy put on the hidden winch from Rough Country and it works pretty well. It doesn't leave a lot of room to unspool and you lose a little bit of approach angle. I like very minimum looks, so I'll either go that direction, or Rough Country actually has a pretty low profile mount that doesn't obstruct the camera. Ford didn't fully think through or didn't care about adding a winch. The classic aesthetics were probably more important. I do need to add something pretty soon as snow wheeling will be here shortly.

I don't have a hardtop, so I can't help you on the last question. I'm sure there is more flex.

 

[Br0nc0_Badlands_Sasquatch]

I was thinking of trying to shoehorn the raptor transmission skid, as I want to try maintaining OEM as much as possible. For example:



Regarding the winch, have you seen APG's hidden rear mount? Looks very minimal, but does require their bumper & exhaust work. But I'm also not sure on rear mounted winch...

https://automotiveperformancegroup.com/product/bronco-hidden-rear-winch-mounting-plate/

 

[partylineisfine]

I was thinking of trying to shoehorn the raptor transmission skid, as I want to try maintaining OEM as much as possible. For example:



Regarding the winch, have you seen APG's hidden rear mount? Looks very minimal, but does require their bumper & exhaust work. But I'm also not sure on rear mounted winch...

https://automotiveperformancegroup.com/product/bronco-hidden-rear-winch-mounting-plate/

I'm sure the OEM would be just fine. The pan is so deep that any 4 bolted metal would protect pretty well. Plus the OEM stuff is pretty thick unlike what you'd get on a Toyota.

That rear winch is interesting but requires me to replace the bumper. That's not in the plans. The hooks work pretty well in protecting my ass end. Although, I have bent one pretty badly.

Side tangent, I think there's some innovation to be had with winches. If they can make tiny high-power motors for cars, why can't that tech make it to winch motor size? With synthetic lines and a smaller spool wheel, it could cut down on size. Even a 20% reduction in size would make a huge difference. I don't think the incentives are right yet, but if more people want to hide a 12k winch, innovation will follow.

 

[JessD05]

Nearly nothing. A Sasquatch package is high enough to put BFG "37s" or 36.4" tires without lifting. This will probably not work with any other tire MFG because they will do a true 37.

Here are some rapid-fire answers to possible questions

- I have noticed a small uptick in offroad performance.
- I have lost 2 mpg
- It's a bit less quick in acceleration
- It rubs in reverse at full lock, but it's very minor
- It barely rubs anywhere when wheeling hard
- I really like the look of a full wheel well, so this works for me
- You don't need a brake light extender if you go with BFGs
- You probably won't need hinge reinforcement for your spare.
- I put a 1/4 inch spacer on to reduce some of the rubbing

Just checking in since I’m needing to buy new tires.
@partylineisfine

Would you say having the 2” larger tires over factory GYrs is not only #1 -looking a lot better but also #2- is worth the cost for performance offroad?

*Do you see any likelihood of stress on other parts due to the heavier tire?

*And the small amount of rubbing is only minimal when off-roading obstacles with only adding the spacers on stock squatch setup?

Thank*

 

[partylineisfine]

Just checking in since I’m needing to buy new tires.
@partylineisfine

Would you say having the 2” larger tires over factory GYrs is not only #1 -looking a lot better but also #2- is worth the cost for performance offroad?

*Do you see any likelihood of stress on other parts due to the heavier tire?

*And the small amount of rubbing is only minimal when off-roading obstacles with only adding the spacers on stock squatch setup?

Thank*

Good questions.

- I think it looks a lot better. It just fills the wells much better and I get tons of comments on it (although that's not really what I'm going for)

- I haven't taken it wheeling as much since I hit the pan. I haven't gotten plates yet and I got busy. I did do a little bit of wheeling on a 4 rated trail, but that's about it. The extra clearance is not super noticeable. The MT tires do grip better though.

- The extra unsprung weight is highly noticeable. They did over gear and over power the bronco, so it doesn't really take too much from the driving experience. And the MPG drop is pretty noticeable too. I find myself keeping my off-road gauges up more and trying to keep my foot out just light of boosting the turbos. Anything over 55 mph, those suckers are spinning hard in my mountainous region.

- As far as the wear and tear of the extra weight, I don't think there will be much. Because I haven't changed the angles of the suspension, breaking, impact, and acceleration stress should be minimal.

- I have noticed the rear door is starting to rattle/squeak, but that just started yesterday. It might be from the extra weight, but I haven't investigated yet.

Hope that helps.

Sponsored