Miller Hill / Mineral Basin UT trip in my Badlands

[VoltageDrop]

Yep, that's for any 4X4.

In this case, it's not the frame, though. It's the transmission support and it's a part you can unbolt and replace.

Here's a photo of a Bronco frame I annotated to show you the part in question:

Good view, thanks!

Yep, this is something the aftermarket will come up with a solution for eventually. Not all of it needs to be as low to the ground as it is, so a better transmission support could sit up a few inches higher and be tucked in the frame better.

Edited to add: Bronco Bastards already has a replacement for this part. The aftermarket responds quickly.

https://broncobastards.com/products/2021-ford-bronco-transmission-mounts

That mount looks like a nice start to a replacement crossmember. Is there anything above those diagonal braces that would preclude moving them up higher? Did you hammer on your rear shock mounts or rear lower control arm mounts much? Those are first up on my list to address when mine gets released from DMSC.

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[goatman]

Good view, thanks!

That mount looks like a nice start to a replacement crossmember. Is there anything above those diagonal braces that would preclude moving them up higher? Did you hammer on your rear shock mounts or rear lower control arm mounts much? Those are first up on my list to address when mine gets released from DMSC.

Yes, I wonder if replacement, higher clearance pieces can be used in those locations. Also what has been mentioned, filling the gap with UHMW or plate steel are also good ideas. I think we see from this that something needs to be done.

 

[ChrisD]

Yeah, I know on the JK when they did the brake hold for the manual people went through rear brake pretty fast too and I would suspect 1 pedal would do the same. Really a lot of the features like the G.O.A.T. modes are for new people and just as you know learning when to use lockers sway discos and manual mode will be better in the long run. Great write up!

Yeah, I used the GOAT mode for the throttle and transmission shift point changes it makes, but I operate the lockers and the like manually. If I shut down the bronco and start it back up, it asks me if I want to go back to "Rock Crawl" and I hit yes, then it resets to the default and then I change it from the default to what I like. Nail -> Head

I mostly like to run the front locker and reach up for the rear locker when needed. With a JK in front locker, it would not turn, but the Bronco turns fine with the front locker engaged.

BTW, if North Bend is the one I'm thinking of, that's a few miles from where my 5th Gen Bronco died in Snoqualmie Pass.

 

[ChrisD]

Good view, thanks!

That mount looks like a nice start to a replacement crossmember. Is there anything above those diagonal braces that would preclude moving them up higher? Did you hammer on your rear shock mounts or rear lower control arm mounts much? Those are first up on my list to address when mine gets released from DMSC.

Just some scraping. The transmission crossmember took the most damage.

And yeah, there's nothing really above those diagonals that would preclude them being up higher. Frankly, looking at it, I'm surprised that Ford didn't mount them differently to improve the clearance. There's room, just, weird design choice.

What surprised me was:

1. No real damage to the lower control arms on the front end - they don't appear to have hit much at all.

2. I did use one of the rear lower control arms as a slider at one point, but it held up nicely. It has some cosmetic scratches but no denting or deformation at all.

3. No peening that I can see on the rear shock mounts - they have some very minor scratches, but they held up really well.

 

[Aaonter]

I mostly like to run the front locker and reach up for the rear locker when needed. With a JK in front locker, it would not turn, but the Bronco turns fine with the front locker engaged.

I wonder if Ford does something like disengages it when turned to save the CVs. Maybe on dirt so the inner can slip?

BTW, if North Bend is the one I'm thinking of, that's a few miles from where my 5th Gen Bronco died in Snoqualmie Pass.

Same place. That does not sound like a fun time.

 

[broadicustomworks]

Beautiful. Thrilled to see it being used, sad to see the support member damage.
That $1200 skid plate looks like it would cover that, and those things took a beating!
Glad to see someone document where they are seeing the damage and low hanging fruit (no pun intended) to get covered by some protection.

Looking forward to more pics and videos.

 

[Bikeric]

Thank you for the write up!! You sir are doing just what I look forward to doing. On the frame note, Toyota just uses round tubing that is smashed on the ends and bolted from the frame to the crossmember to triangulate support. The round tubing is surely cheaper and easier to replace than the Ford piece and it probably slides better too.

A small note on those full under-belly skids: you will hear more engine noise inside the vehicle all the time. I replaced the standard transmission support on my 4Runner with a skid support and my poor anemic V6 sounded like a drowning cat as I drove it.

 

[ChrisD]

Thank you for the write up!! You sir are doing just what I look forward to doing. On the frame note, Toyota just uses round tubing that is smashed on the ends and bolted from the frame to the crossmember to triangulate support. The round tubing is surely cheaper and easier to replace than the Ford piece and it probably slides better too.

That would make perfect sense. Ford, for some unknown reason, chose to weld the support to the crossmember and then bolt it to the frame on the other end. It necessitates either welding to repair, or replacement of the entire crossmember assembly. I have no idea why they did that. When I was crawling around underneath, I thought to myself, "Well, that's a dumb idea for an offroad vehicle."

 

[Virtual-Chris]

One obvious take-away from this video is that the trail cam is going to be a game changer!

 

[ChrisD]

One obvious take-away from this video is that the trail cam is going to be a game changer!

It really is - I mostly ran it in the split 360 degree and front camera mode. When threading through tight rocks, it was nice to put it in the front wheel look down mode. Everyone who saw that was pretty amazed.

 

[ChrisD]

My door storage bags came in - yay! I went to pick them up and the guy at the front of the dealership said, "Hey, are you the guy who high centered your bronco?" "Yeah, that would be me!"

I also checked the price for that transmission support bracket. It's ridiculously expensive, must be made out of platinum or something. When I get the urge to replace it, I'll go aftermarket, get something sturdy and something that rides up quite a bit higher underneath so I don't have an impact point there!

Fun times, anyway! It looks ugly, but it's still serviceable, as in it's doing its mission of holding up the transmission. I just want a solution that tucks up underneath there better than the stock one.

 

[goatman]

I also checked the price for that transmission support bracket. It's ridiculously expensive, must be made out of platinum or something. When I get the urge to replace it, I'll go aftermarket, get something sturdy and something that rides up quite a bit higher underneath so I don't have an impact point there!

Fun times, anyway! It looks ugly, but it's still serviceable, as in it's doing its mission of holding up the transmission. I just want a solution that tucks up underneath there better than the stock one.

Very likely someone will make a better replacement part for that. I'll be looking for one, or modify it right away when I get the Bronco, now that we know. It will be interesting to look under the Broncos at the Off Roadeo when I go in a few weeks.

 

[MaverickMan]

I'm figuring if I get under there with some Rust-O-Leum, it'll look like new! Haha!

If those parts get bad enough, they're just supports and can be cut out and new welded back in. They're not load bearing, just stabilizing.

I mean if its not a pain to unbolt you could take em off and hammer all those edges over flat and weld them up. Would make it stronger and smoother. One of the things I want to do when I get one is to do a bunch of small chassis fixes that were probably production speed compromises anyway. Once I get it paid off a little first though lol.

 

[SLFordVT]

Don't worry about not ordering the Sasquatch package. If you ordered a badlands, there is very little difference , plus you would most likely not have taken delivery of your vehicle yet. From what I understand the only thing you're missing from the Sas pack is wheels, tires and a sticker. Simply remove your front and rear crash bars and buy the wheels and tires of your choice, this way you can get stuff that is better and cheaper than Ford OEM . Plus, the Sas really has only 34.4" tires so true 35s will put you just a bit higher.

 

[MoabRox]

@ChrisD
Thanks for sharing. I live in Utah as well. It's been many years since I played in Mineral Basin. Last time I tried, it was a UTV zoo so we aborted the trip. Since then I've stayed away.

Your experience has me seriously doubting that the 6G Bronco is suited for me. If a Badlands hits the underside that much in Mineral Basin, how will it ever survive the harder trails around Moab? I was hoping to get away with minimal lift and 33s on my 2D BD (assuming it survives Dirt Mountain). Sounds like I had better plan on a couple inches of lift and additional skid plates. 35s would help as well, but they make no sense for a vehicle that will spend most of its time driving around town.

Good thing my Jeep XJ will be staying in the family! I have yet to hit anything on the underside other than the diffs and front LCA axle mounts.

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