Noah6615
New member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2015
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
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- Vehicle Year
- 1989
- Vehicle
- Ford
Hey yall,
I'm new here, and I'm trying to build a 89 Bronco II for some pretty specific uses.
Background about the vehicle:
89 as said
Open Dana 28 front and open 7.5 inch back, 3 something gear ratio (the second and third numbers worn off on all tags somehow)
Manual 5-speed
Manual transfer case
2.9l V6 with the annoying cylinder heads
Everything is stock.
So here's my list of projected uses:
Towing, but only 3000 lbs. and under
4 wheeling in Alaska with ice and snow and probably some fairly serious trailing. No floating across rivers or rock crawling, but I want to be competent on ice, in deep snow, and basic mud.
Highway driving
Driving around town in Alaska with ice and snow
So obviously I need the a balance between towing, 4 wheeling, and driving on the highway. Obviously not going to be optimal for any one thing, but competent at all.
Starting with diffs and gear ratio. I want to go lsd front and back, but the lsd I'm looking at for the rear is also an electronic selectable locker. Will I even use the lock, with my lack of serious four wheeling and rock crawling? I guess I'm just not sure when locking it in would be necessary. For gear ratio, I'm thinking 3.55 is a good ratio to balance towing and highway mileage, any thoughts?
Axles... I want to go 35 on the front (I am really attached to not doing a solid axle btw) and 8.8 on the back. Any other axles you know of that are better for what I want to do? I would like to just run 35 and 8.8 and call it a day because the 35 is bolt on. Will I really need anything stronger than that? I know tire size is very important in deciding, so that's what the next question is about.
Are 28s big enough for basic deep snow? I've heard that 28 inch tires are the biggest I can go without doing body or suspension lifts. I'm trying not to go higher than biggest without lifting, because I hear lifting causes all the big issues with the non solid axles. My highway mileage goes down with bigger tires as well obviously so big no-no.
On the transfer case, what is there on the market for upgrades? I want to do the 4.0 swap, will the current case be able to handle the power difference?
Any knowledge you could give me would be great, thanks in advance.
Noah
I'm new here, and I'm trying to build a 89 Bronco II for some pretty specific uses.
Background about the vehicle:
89 as said
Open Dana 28 front and open 7.5 inch back, 3 something gear ratio (the second and third numbers worn off on all tags somehow)
Manual 5-speed
Manual transfer case
2.9l V6 with the annoying cylinder heads
Everything is stock.
So here's my list of projected uses:
Towing, but only 3000 lbs. and under
4 wheeling in Alaska with ice and snow and probably some fairly serious trailing. No floating across rivers or rock crawling, but I want to be competent on ice, in deep snow, and basic mud.
Highway driving
Driving around town in Alaska with ice and snow
So obviously I need the a balance between towing, 4 wheeling, and driving on the highway. Obviously not going to be optimal for any one thing, but competent at all.
Starting with diffs and gear ratio. I want to go lsd front and back, but the lsd I'm looking at for the rear is also an electronic selectable locker. Will I even use the lock, with my lack of serious four wheeling and rock crawling? I guess I'm just not sure when locking it in would be necessary. For gear ratio, I'm thinking 3.55 is a good ratio to balance towing and highway mileage, any thoughts?
Axles... I want to go 35 on the front (I am really attached to not doing a solid axle btw) and 8.8 on the back. Any other axles you know of that are better for what I want to do? I would like to just run 35 and 8.8 and call it a day because the 35 is bolt on. Will I really need anything stronger than that? I know tire size is very important in deciding, so that's what the next question is about.
Are 28s big enough for basic deep snow? I've heard that 28 inch tires are the biggest I can go without doing body or suspension lifts. I'm trying not to go higher than biggest without lifting, because I hear lifting causes all the big issues with the non solid axles. My highway mileage goes down with bigger tires as well obviously so big no-no.
On the transfer case, what is there on the market for upgrades? I want to do the 4.0 swap, will the current case be able to handle the power difference?
Any knowledge you could give me would be great, thanks in advance.
Noah
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