Front Differential mount failure/broken.

[Ducati1098]

Having pulled the front diff on two of these bronco's so far, one with only 274 miles on them, one thing I noticed is that from the factory, the bolts were not tight. I could literally remove them just by putting a crows foot on and twisting by hand. That's all it took. When we put the ultimate FDU back in on the 2022, we obviously torqued it down appropriately and when pulling this significantly heavier diff back out however many thousands of miles later, the bracket was still fine. Of note-the diff and mounts are protected by Next Venture skids, and the skids do seem to provide a little additional support to the diff. So it's tough to say if loose bolts are the issue or if the extra support is helping out. Either way-couldn't hurt to check those bolts out.

Yeah this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that someone found them loose

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[SierraBronco]

Yeah this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that someone found them loose

One bronco loose with 20k miles or whatever…okay. It happens. Second one with 274 miles? That’s peculiar. Kinda want to check the other 2024 with 6500 miles but…I’m too lazy. We’ll be pulling it soon enough.

 

[zathus]

Mine broke. Thought it was the CV than today I started inspecting and saw the bracket was broke.

 

[SierraBronco]

Mine broke. Thought it was the CV than today I started inspecting and saw the bracket was broke.

Dangit. It’s not too bad to get in there to repair. Granted I didn’t repair ours as it was still okay, but recently strengthened it since we had the diff out getting regeared.

 

[Desmolicious]

Mine broke. Thought it was the CV than today I started inspecting and saw the bracket was broke.

What year is your Bronco?

 

[popo_patty]

My buddies just broke too

 

[23OBX2.7]

Dangit. It’s not too bad to get in there to repair. Granted I didn’t repair ours as it was still okay, but recently strengthened it since we had the diff out getting regeared.

Are you sure the welding heat didn't weaken it all more than the exta plate?

 

[SierraBronco]

Are tou sure the welding heat didn't weaken it all more than the exta plate?

Nope! Not sure at all.

 

[E. J]

Looks like the new brackets are of a heavier material judging by this picture.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...bracket-cracked-or-broken.105492/post-2413605

 

[SierraBronco]

Looks like the new brackets are of a heavier material judging by this picture.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...bracket-cracked-or-broken.105492/post-2413605

Makes me want to measure the OEM mounts that came on the 2024. The replacement from Ford you shared looks thicker than ours.

 

[Imaginary Friend]

Kind of a big deal to me that the front diff be stout enough to, you know, actually mount the front diff.....

 

[E. J]

I'm always interested in the Bronco, but I'm running a Ranger Raptor and will go check the diff mount bracket too.

If the rear axle reinforcement, shock mount brackets, and the control arm brackets are an indicator, I'm suspecting the front diff mount is with a heavy material as well. One reason the RR is 750 pounds heavier than the standard Ranger.

 

[zathus]

What year is your Bronco?

2022. Ford is picking it up Thursday. Trying the warranty route but if they tell me kick rocks, so be it. Doesn't look to bad to fix.

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