Bronco II 2wd to 4wd. how hard?

[BlackGT02]

I am possibly buying two BroncoII's. One is a 2wd with a good engine, the other is a 4x4 with a blown engine. If the 2wd is nicer, how hard is it to swap it over to 4wheel. I know the 2 wheel ones already hvae the transfer case in them from what I read so it is just as simple as moving the suspension and the shifter?

 

[Beanmachine7000]

All you have to do is swap over the 4x4 front suspension, and 4x4 t-case... On the front though, you'll also need to swap out the pass side beam bracket... BII is the easiest of all RBV's to do a 2wd to 4wd swap, followed by the Explorer (you need a new tranny), then the Ranger (most difficult, engine crossmember needs to be changed...)

 

[BlackGT02]

So the transfer case in the 2 wheel ones are just dummy cases? Meaning I will not be able to just put the drive shafts in it? Still not a huge obsticle I am just trying to figure the reasoning for having a dummy transfer case in them. Odd..

 

[Beanmachine7000]

Yeah, it's a dummy... ya gotta swap it out... who knows why Ford did that...

 

[BlackBII]

Yes, it's just a dummy case, so you'll need to swap cases.

 

[mjonesjr]

Here is the detailed over view I wrote after doing this swap back in the fall. It is super easy and takes roughly 5 hours if you have all the tools to do it.

http://www.broncoiicorral.com/2wd_to_4wd_conversion.htm

 

[BlackGT02]

Ok.. I am going to have to put some thought into how to work this. The 4x4 has a blown motor but it has a strait but ugly body. The 2wd has an excellent body and nice paint from the fenders back but it has been hit in the drivers front and the frame rail end is bent up. The person that has it started cutting away the nose in order to put the other bronco's nose onto it. I am going to have to see how hard it might be to cut the nose off the 4x4 and put it onto the other one so the fenders and bumper and stuff could be mounted. Either that or I am still looking at just swapping the engine to the 4x4. The body isnt dead or rusty, it just has faded paint and its the rust and tan colors which I like on the Eddie baur but not really on the ordinary model. I can pick them both up for $500 as they sit. The 4x4 needs the front hubs rebuilt or replaced because the splines are exposed on the hubs and are rusty looking. and right now the fendres, grille and headlights and all that stuff are removed. The spare tire is removed. It needs some TLC but the rear hatch isnt tore up. I would really like to find a more complete single one to work on.

Now two questions and forgive me because I am a Mustang guy that has had two 84 BroncoII's but just droven, didnt mod them.

First, Is the 4.0L the same engine physically as the 2.9. (will it bolt in as a direct replacment?

Second, The 2wd has the nice wheels on it. Are they the same as the 4x4 or does the 2wd have a different wheel that looks the same? The wheels it has are in the picture below.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

The 4.0 will physically bolt into a BII, including trans, but I wouldn't trust the trans in your BII to not puke out after a week or two (ie... you need a M50) The wheels are the same... The 2wd just has covers over the hubs...

 

[BlackGT02]

So the A4LD wont hold up behind a 4 Liter? I know they are not the strongest around but are they that bad? Will the Explorer engine and tranny bolt right in? I assume you have to use the 2.9L intake and electronics? I am not wanting to do this right away but I plan on keeping this thing for a while and making it a play vehicle.. but I want it to be reliable as well.

I think what I plan on doing is bringing the 2WD home first, pulling the engine and any other parts that might be useful including the tires and wheels then ditching the wrecked shell. After that I will bring the 4x4 home and change the engine and start putting the parts onto it. I may even work on teaching myself to paint.. lol.. That should go over well with the wife.. These are both 86-88's by the way.. Should be a fun project..

 

[Beanmachine7000]

The A4LD from the 2.9? I would say no, but there is one guy on here I know of that kept his 2.9 A4LD and it still works, but he claims to be really super easy on it... The A4LD from the 4.0 will be alot better, but pretty much (75%) of every Explorer you find will have a blown A4LD, they just were not that reliable... I would definitely use whatever tranny came behind the 4.0, and if it's an A4LD, just be prepared that you might have to rebuild it eventually...

Oh, and good luck!!! I'll be starting a 2wd to 4wd swap on my Ex pretty soon...

 

[BlackGT02]

Thanks.. I probably wont do the swap.. I wil probably just get the 4x4 going with the 2wd's engine and tranny since I dont know the condition of the 4x4's tranny. Since neither of them are rusted hulks it shouldnt be a big deal.. We dont rust that bad here in Oklahoma..

With any luck I will have a good running BII soon for $500 plus some misc minor expenses.