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K8GTH

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So I am looking at that rear frame member and the the receiver. Ford said Class II receiver, and it looks similarly constructed compared to the four bolt 2” Jeep Class II receiver that was on my JK. I recently swapped mine out for a heavier Class III four bolt. The primary difference being front and rear plates are welded around the receiver tube, whereas like my OEM JK, this Ford one only the front plate appears to be welded around the tube.

I guess Ranger has 3500lbs without the heavy duty hitch which is bolted approximately where the tow hooks are bolted here?
I was under the impression that class II dictitated 1.25" square, not 2" That said I would like to think the bronco has a class III. For what its worth my F150 has a class IV hitch while only having a ~6k tow rating.
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Tonka Bronka

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I'm mostly concerned that the driveshaft flanges on the diffs look to accomodate CV style driveshafts like a JK or newer Wrangler. I'd much prefer actual U-Joints for the type of abuse that my Bronco will see. I'm thinking of cheaper, easier trail repairs, and more easily stored spares. I have broken a ton of U-Joints, and had them fixed in a half hour or less. CV would more or less mean I'd need an entire spare driveshaft. My 2017 Tacoma had greaseable U-joints, as well as all of the steering components, including ball joints and rod ends.
The Bronco will have my Taco beat as far as HP and capability, but looks to fall short for durability and long term maintenance. I may live to regret selling my Yota for this thing, but at least I'll look cool driving it, lol.
I‘m happy to let everyone know that my obsession with the new Bronco has ended today and some of you have moved up one spot. Thanks to the above post, I will drive my beater until I find an FJ that I want. Still some out there with under 20K on the clock. It’s been fun.
 

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Can't go wrong, however when I've looked into this, I was looking at $20k for examples with 200k miles, especially If I wanted any options and a manual trans. I'm sure the after market will respond with u-joint/yoke kits like they did for the JK crowd within 6 months, as well as greasable steering components. I don't mind replacing failed parts with better stuff, I guess. But I do notice when poor engineering from the industry leader leads to poor imitation from the competition.
I'm just hoping the better suspension, dual lockers, bigger tires, and 100 extra horsepower over my base model Tacoma makes up for the design oversights.
Uum, y'all realize that Toyota uses CV axles and has no grease zerks either. right? Have you ever done a double cardan joint?
 

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So, I just called my dealer and apparently the shocks are not Cyber orange like the pictures suggest, which leads me to believe they may clash with the paint. On top of that, I am concerned that it might not come with a transmission since some pictures don't show one and some do. Does anyone know if the body is included in the listed prices or will it be sold as an accessory?
 

K8GTH

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It's all conjecture without knowing the exact geometry and metallurgy of everything involved, I only expressed it in terms that most of us in the US could relate to. But to cater to the pendants, a M10 10.9 has a single shear strength of 31kN on (fine) threads and 51kN on the shoulder.
 

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MT/SFA

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It’s what I do not see that really upsets me. Big tough Bronco, no grease fittings on the ball joints or steering linkage. Why is this!? Can Ford not afford to do this? Or do they want their trucks to wear out before their time. I know what the front end of a “Super Duty” looks like at 150,000 miles and it is not pretty or inexpensive to repair. Thanks Ford for keeping up the great work by giving us less than the best available once again.
I will tell you what I have been told when I asked this question of someone in engineering years ago, they said that more joints fail from people pumping grit and dirt through dirty grease fittings than from not being greased. I'm not sure I agree with this, but that was the reason he gave. I always take a clean rag and wipe the fitting before pumping in grease. I also bought a hollow needle that has grease fitting on one end that you can pierce the boot with to add grease.
 

KyTruckPlant

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I went wheelin this morning with a couple of buddies w/ jeeps this morning in my f150. Before we hit the trails they jumped out and manually disconnected their sway bar links with just the pull of a couple of hitch pins.
Is the only easy way of disco going to be the electric disco on the BL? I'm not seeing in these pics if doing it manually is easy enough.

Forgive me please for my ignorance, I'm new to off roading, but I'm already hooked
 

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Metric Grade-10.9 roughly translates to Grade-8 in SAE. Keep in mind that the strength of the recovery point is mostly in tensile not shear. Tensile is many times stronger than shear.
 

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Yes, but CV joints are quite strong, smooth and efficient compared to a U joint, until they get water and grit in them. The joints on the Bronco's drive shat have a protected seal design that I don't see being too vulnerable for the majority of off roaders. I almost look forward to the smoothness and range this will bring without binding and causing vibrations.
 

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I went wheelin this morning with a couple of buddies w/ jeeps this morning in my f150. Before we hit the trails they jumped out and manually disconnected their sway bar links with just the pull of a couple of hitch pins.
Is the only easy way of disco going to be the electric disco on the BL? I'm not seeing in these pics if doing it manually is easy enough.

Forgive me please for my ignorance, I'm new to off roading, but I'm already hooked
we'll have to wait until we get one in our grubby hands for examination, but if it's up-armored
with the front bash plate, and we have to turn the front wheels to access the ends,
i don't think that it's a job i want to do on uneven ground.

the badlands will use a hydraulic SBD instead of an electric one (a la FCA)
 

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Thechief86

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Yes, but CV joints are quite strong, smooth and efficient compared to a U joint, until they get water and grit in them. The joints on the Bronco's drive shat have a protected seal design that I don't see being too vulnerable for the majority of off roaders. I almost look forward to the smoothness and range this will bring without binding and causing vibrations.
They may be fine, I've never had an offroad rig with CV driveshafts, only U-joint and double cardan, but I have seen friends with JK's throw on a 3" lift kit and by the time they made it to the shop to get an alignment, their stock driveshaft was smoking from being driven with too much angle. I have seen these same guys break their driveshafts wheeling lightly, then having to drive home with just the front wheels pulling because they didn't have a spare shaft and there was no way to repair the old one.
I have done all of the same stuff on my rigs with U-Joints, and broke out the spare joint, a few sockets, and a BFH, and been back on the trail in about a half hour. I probably won't do more than a 2" lift on my Bronco, and it looks like by the time we get these, they will have already proven whether or not the extra joint angles will be an issue, so I'm not terribly worried, but the somewhat extreme offroad use my Bronco will see on a regular basis may necessitate a spare rear driveshaft. This will add weight, and take up space, and could be hazardous bouncing around in the rig if not secured well enough. All problems I am equipped to address, and don't mind doing so. I really think the thing will work fine, or I would not be buying one.
But I really don't want the only answer to having a tough offroad rig to be the jeep that I already own, and having to be extra cautious in the Bronco. The new rig needs to be tougher than my Subaru Forester, let alone the perfectly good Tacoma I just sold to get a down payment....

These concerns are why I'm glad Ford is doing such extensive offroad testing on so many tough courses across the country, however, I wish they weren't putting them on haulers so often. My Bronco will be expected to drive from TN to Oregon, then have the snot wheeled out of it, then drive back home, stopping along the way to have the snot wheeled out of it some more.
If I can't hold it to the same standards as my 30 year old, $800 Jeep, then it won't be worth the money to me.

I have reserved a Base 2 door, Will be getting ManSquatch and likely tossing the front swaybar in the nearest dumpster on the way home from the dealer. Yes, I'm serious.
 
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Fordboi

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It’s not that nobody cares, it’s that for a lot of us the things we like about about our Jeeps, and the reasons we’re excited about the Bronco, have nothing to do with big lifts or rock crawling.
you... you have a jeep? GET OUT! /s
Great now fuel tank under gf?
cue the EJECTO SEATO CUZ! gif

wait, why will it be metric?
I‘m happy to let everyone know that my obsession with the new Bronco has ended today and some of you have moved up one spot. Thanks to the above post, I will drive my beater until I find an FJ that I want. Still some out there with under 20K on the clock. It’s been fun.
well, at least it was only a newbie /s
 

Jamesgang

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what a beautiful sight, cant wait to oil spray it.
That's my biggest concern is rust rot with the box framing. I live in the rust belt. What's the best way to make this thing last more then 10 years? I've done undercoating before. after time it just hides a problem you can't see until it's to late. I know the old timers would spray old motor oil on them and ride down a dust road. wonder if that's better then undercoating? I once know a guy that took vaseline an put it on the body like wax and left it on all winter. That old truck lasted a long time, but he put it on the painted outside.
 

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A couple of observations;

The flush rear frame horns will make bolting on a minimalist bumper, that maximizes the rear break over angle, a wrench-and-go job.

No permanent frame cutting, like on the competitor.

-----

The tie rods are really close to the inner sides of the rims on the deeper backspaced beadlock wheels.

We already know that 15" rims won't clear the brake calipers.
It doesn't look like deep backspace 16" rims will fit either.
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