Prerunners B II under construction (finally!)

[prerunner]

RollinWOT: Its gonna be a trail crawler... someday.

Steiger Man: I actually stood back for a minute and wondered where the rest of it was. No wonder it felt anemic.

Rose2300: Funny. I'm yanking a good running 2.9 and A4LD cause the trans had issues (no OD) and really don't want to still need to replace a bad tranny after bolting another one in.
I'm not saying your wrong, but I'd prefer it if you were.

 

[prerunner]

Not much progress today. Motor mount nuts off. Some brackets and stuff. Tied stuff out of the way. Yanked the top of the intake manifold. Hope to have the 2.9 out tomorrow sometime if things go right.
More tools I need: Ford's fuel line tool. Never thought of it until I figured out what those goofy lines under everything else were.

I figure I'll spend some time cleaning the Bronco's engine compartment before tearing into the Exploder.

By the way, I'm going to apologize in advance for the many times I'm going to change my mind or do things out of logical order. I'm going to try some odd things on this truck just because I can and rules sometimes suck.
No photos today, they'd pretty much look like yesterdays.

Edit. Supposed to rain tomorrow. I hate wrenching in the rain so if it does, I'm postponing until its dry out. I might chase parts instead.

 

[prerunner]

Just ended up getting more tools yesterday. Its supposed to rain off n on for the next few weeks here so I'm going to have to improvise on that. Gotta keep going on this cause the gf probably didn't want two rides disassembled in her yard. lol

I'm a little choked that the '93 Exploder I really wanted to use for parts finally returned my emails nine days and another truck later. It was red with a grey vinyl (leather?) interior and has the wiring harness I need but can't find....

 

[prerunner]

Ok, I'm looking for opinions from you guys.

I can probably get the red '93 Exploder for $450. I paid $500 for the '96 and it needs tranny work and is missing one "deer hoof" wheel but otherwise its decent. The '93 has higher mileage and is rusty but runs well and has more of what I need to make this swap.
Should I sell the '96 to get the '93 or am I going the wrong direction here?

:icon_confused:

 

[jesse93]

get the 93 and build it..why have 3 trucks and swap this part to that truck..just build one, thats what i would do

 

[WNY964x4]

what is with all the hate for the red interior , i love red interiors , the new cab i am getting for my Diesel is black with red interior , my favorite combination

 

[prerunner]

Not hating.
In some vehicles, a red interior is awesome. Had a '69 Firechicken with a red interior that was cool. When I picked up the Bronco II I didn't mind the red cloth interior but after a while it felt like sitting in hells waiting room. Even after cleaning it as best I could, its still wore out. A hard colour to match too.
I'm leaning towards grey for the guts of this thing. But with my luck and shopping prowess it'll be all different colours.

I'm thinking about selling the 96 'sploder and putting the $$ into the Bronco II. I think the 93 'sploder is a far better swap candidate. Just my $0.02 .

What killed it for me was that the computer in the Exploder is in the firewall. If I can't find the proper wiring harness I'm going to have to splice this one together and I don't want to put a computer under the hood (cowl?) of my B II.

 

[prerunner]

Hey. I finally found a wiring harness for the 4.0 liter engine in a JY in a '94 Exploder. He said $150, I said 'no thanks.' This is a part they hack out to pull the engine. Still looking but not a great start.

The gf's been around a lot lately and I'd rather not explain why I'm pulling a running engine from an older truck in favor of the one in the newer nicer truck. With any luck, I won't have to. Its her place and I know she doesn't want two torn down vehicles in it so I'm treading lightly around her. Sorry for the delay on this build. I meant to be farther along by now but my life is much simpler by not having her mad at me.

I did find a used lift on Craigslist but I'm going to wait a bit. I already bought replacement springs (Moog) for an STX Ranger which should be about 2 1/2 -3" of lift for the front, though I might have to use washers to get 3" total. That plus the Exploder rear leafs (1 1/2 to 2") plus longer shackles or short blocks should get a little extra ground clearance. Down the road when my finances recover from the engine swap, I'll put more thought into that.

 

[prerunner]

Okay. Finally a little more progress! I strung up a tarp to keep the rain off me so I could get a bit further on this teardown.

Then, of course, get sidetracked a few hours (damn life...)
lol
But got a few more hours into it today. :icon_thumby:

 

[prerunner]

So I ripped the hood off and about everything else I could find under there that impedes progress. Fuel lines, wiring, leftover AC crap (it was dead and I'm swapping in the AC from the '96 Splodey.) Still trying to not cut stuff up.

Fuel lines laid out.

 

[prerunner]

Odds n ends, like rear springs with a negative arch:

After 22 years, its time to replace the Motorcraft front shocks:

:icon_rofl:

 

[prerunner]

Crawling underneath its time to start busting stuff. Whoever thought up putting 10mm bolts on the T-case skidplate should be shot with a ball of his own $#!+. Broke two sockets and wound up grinding the things off. Didn't improve much after that, rounding off a nut on the crossmember. At this point I'm starting to lack tools again, like a 8mm (?) 12 point wrench for the front driveshaft bolts and a 18mm deep socket for the crossmember. Must be Miller time.

Innit purdy under there? :icon_rofl:

 

[4.0B2]

i have a love/hate relationship w/ those 12 point bolts in the driveshafts.. they are annoying b/c most of my sockets are 6 point (duh, buy good tools! lol) but i do like them b/c i've never had issues w/ rounding one off.

 

[prerunner]

I totally agree with you on that. They're a great idea, if you have quality tools. Which I already knew I didn't. Even with the right one for the rear driveshaft, I couldn't break it free at the axle end.
I think I'll invest more in PB Blaster too. lol

 

[4.0B2]

I totally agree with you on that. They're a great idea, if you have quality tools. Which I already knew I didn't. Even with the right one for the rear driveshaft, I couldn't break it free at the axle end.
I think I'll invest more in PB Blaster too. lol

ALWAYS have pb blaster ready.
that's one of the usually unspoken rules of the shop i work at... :icon_rofl: we buy it by the pallet. :icon_surprised::icon_rofl:

i've never had issues w/ my skidplate bolts tho.. but then again, i get better luck w/ stuff on mine usually.. mine is a southern born and raise b2.. never been up north. never in salt and crap.

 

[prerunner]

Heh. Salt. Theres a tow hitch under the front bumper on mine for launching boats. It lived on an island before I got it. Nevermind road salt, this things been in the ocean! :icon_rofl: :icon_thumby:

 

[prerunner]

Well, its getting there.

I'm almost to the point of yanking the 2.9, save for prying (or cutting) off the exhaust and disconnecting whats all connected to the A4LD. And the rear driveshaft, I bent up a good 12 point 12 mm wrench and can't get it off the diff. Front d-shaft is unbolted from the T-case but for reasons that escape me, the bolts are different at the D-35 from what was on the T-case. The crossmember is out, shouldn't be long now. Only had around 2 hours to put on it today. If I get that much tomorrow, I should get it out.

 

[prerunner]

Tomorrows tool of choice will be a Bernzomatic torch. I'm to the point of using heat. Brute force can only go so far in this instance...
Crossmember out:

 

[Steiger Man]

Keep it up.
Buy quality tools.
Snap-On
Mac
Proto
Craftsman.
in that order, NEVER buy Matco tools, they are crap.

When it comes to tools...Buy Once, Cry Once.

 

[4.0B2]

there are some people that would beg to differ on that list of tools...
depends on how you're gonna use them, but if you wanna get on that topic, start a different thread and we'll talk. lol. i have harbor freight tools that have served me well FOR THE PROPER USE...

but i agree, snap-on is where its at IMO.. and IR impacts.

to prerunner-- i like how i can see the PB can in the pic! lol..