The previous owner was my Dad;
That's great! But now I can't blame the PO for anything either!%)
The good news though, is that you know at least some of it's history and can still check on at least some things and out any kinks from 30 years of use.
Did it sit for a long time before you started driving it?
Is there other maintenance that he might remember doing, or not doing? I'm thinking of wheel bearings particularly. Front ones especially from getting hot often(?) and rears just from age and mileage.
We've talked about it here many times, that the stock original bearings are usually good for 100k miles, but after that it's a crap shoot until after 125k when you really should just change them out no matter what.
Now we have "age related molecular degeneration" to deal with as well.
I just threw numbers out there, but I figured the original grease was good for 30 years, but by the time the bearings reach 40-50+ years, it no longer matters how many miles are on them. Just change them out!
Now back to the brakes...
however, he did most of this work in the 90’s and does not remember what or why he did some things. And before he owned it, it was a ranch/work truck.
Being a ranch truck might mean it was meticulously maintained, OR just as likely was rode hard and put away wet and fixed when it broke. But if it wasn't broke, it kept working.
Mine did hard time on a Montana hunting club, and was rusted through all the usual spots on the body before it's fifth birthday and the rear wheel bearings (large size) were toast at 90k miles.
Unfortunately I do not have a place to work on it at the moment. I could wipe it down like you said, unless I bleed them in the street and that is illegal where I live.
Yeah, I was thinking about that when I wrote about what you could do yourself and wondering if it was going to be possible.
Nothing for it then but to have someone clean the whole system. However they would normally do that.
I've never personally had brake fluid that looked like that, but to me it has moisture and boiling (aeration) written all over it.
It looks like it is not mounted on the frame, but right next to the headers so I believe this is the problem you mentioned with keeping the same mounting as the stock ‘76/77 location.
Correct. That is the stock later location for a "combination valve" is the proper term I believe. It's an actual proportioning valve, as opposed to the standard distribution block of the '75 and earlier Broncos.
And yes, it's a problem. Nice headers though, and not as close as some I've seen. So either the headers afford more clearance, or the installer moved the prop valve over a bit.
Funny, but it looks like a standard aftermarket valve, but it also looks very old and has some of the right fittings for stock. I wonder if that's one of the odd factory Ford ones that was like a machined block. All the original ones I've ever seen were rough cast, whereas the aftermarket were machined out of a block of brass.
Does the plastic switch with the connector on it have one wire, or two wires? Looks like an original with two wires from here, which would mean that this is a stock Ford part.
No matter, it has to be moved further away from the heat.
The easiest location is to take that existing valve and simply bolt it to the wheel well just below the master cylinder. Then custom make some tubing to fit.
The best place for a valve like this in my opinion is right on the master cylinder, using one of the common brackets that do just this.
Top of my list these days though, is to use the same mounting method, but utilize an adjustable proportioning valve instead. For a stock Bronco this is not much of a benefit I don't think. But one that's been modified with lifts and larger tires can benefit from the fine-tuning of an adjustable valve.
Here's what we offer, to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/category/s?keyword=proportioning+valve
Note the #3067 and #3069 for the setups I'm describing.
We stopped offering the type of valve you have because at least through the recent aftermarket they have a high tendency to leak. Big enough pain, and since most Broncos have been modified at least a little over the years, the manually adjustable valves seem a good fit.
Yours is working and does not appear to leak (though hard to tell) so if you're happy with the braking bias front-to-rear, I would be tempted to keep it in order to reduce the cost of new parts slightly.
It also appears that the steering shaft is rubbing on the steel braided brake line. I’m no expert but I believe that can become a big issue later on.
Consider yourself an expert!
That's bad news in the automotive world, even with things that don't spin or move in obvious ways. Just the vibrations inherent in a running vehicle are enough in many cases to wear something out that is touching another item. Just takes longer sometimes, but a spinning steering shaft on a brake line is bad news.
Is this the bad location you were talking about? I tried to get the best pictures I could.
they are excellent pictures by the way! Helps a lot.
See what you can do to move it out of the way, or just re-plumb the whole thing to keep heat away from the parts.
A heat shield of some kind is another viable option. Even Ford installed an insulated aluminum heat shield on most vehicles. Not sure the Broncos ever got them, but I've added some from other vehicles to keep heat down in the stock locations.
Good luck!
Paul
