Bronco Blitz. Desert Thrashers 1 ton build up thread.

[Justafordguy]

The new tires and wheels look awesome.

 

[Desert Thrasher]

I had been wanting to upgrade to 2.5” coilovers so I ordered some Fox Factory Series race coilovers. Now I should have done better research, because there are differences between Fox Performance series and Factory Series. Better quality parts and most importantly the mounting width is 1.5” vs 1.25” and the lower Heim is 2” longer making overall length longer. So I had to cut out my shock mounts to fit the new coilovers. Not a big deal just a pain in the butt that I hadn’t planned on. So for the front axle I cut a tab off the front side of each knuckle and fabbed a new one set at 1.5” width. Luckily the extra height wasn’t an issue on the front. But the reservoirs were an issue. The new hoses are way to stiff to bend the way I had them before. So my best option was to mount them along the frame. Eventually I might run them up in the engine bay across the shock tower brace. But for now this works fine.

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[Desert Thrasher]

The rear was just as much work. But before I started installing the shocks I took the time to notch out my rear truss where it contacts the frame. This was a ton of work but needed. Now I can achieve full up travel without hitting the frame. Mostly this useful for higher speed travel. When Articulating the truss never seemed to hit the frame.

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[Howard2x4x4]

Awesome! Built, not bought, love it!

 

[Desert Thrasher]

After notching the truss it was time to install the new 2.5” x 16” Fox coilovers. With the previous 14” coilovers I had room to go to a 16”, however I didn’t factor in the extra length these Factory Series race coilovers had from the bottom Heim being longer. I would have just stayed with 14”, but I already bought the 16”s. I had to cut the shock mounts off the truss anyway so I designed a new mount that moved the coilovers a little father outward to hopefully fit the 16” better. I made them out of 1/4” plate and added two mounting options just because. One is approximately where the original mounts were and the other is a little more outward. Once they were mocked up I buzzed them on. I then added some cheap poly bump stops that are hopefully only temporary until I can afford some nice hydro bumps. Finally it was time to install the new coilovers. Only after getting them installed did I notice I needed to trim the tops of my shock mounts, so out came the shocks again. I trimmed the mounts and reinstalled the coil overs hopefully for good this time. The reservoirs will be mounted like before, in the bed across the shock tower brace. I can’t wait to see how they ride and perform.

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[Desert Thrasher]

Mounted the reservoirs. The new ones are quite a bit larger than the older ones. So I had to mount one on front side of the cross brace and the other on backside of brace. Still looks good I think.

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[Desert Thrasher]

So after 4 yrs of good hard abuse the China knock off Johhny joints in the front arms got so slopped out that the Bronco was unsafe to drive. I found this out by driving it to and from the Desert last month. It was a scary ride.

When I built the arms I made them for the Flex joints I had, which had about a 5” threaded shank. I first went to replace the bad flex joints with Heims but they were too short, I would have only been holding onto about 3/4” of threads. So I searched and found the Teraflex Monster Flex joints had the same length threaded shank so I ordered them up.

While I had the arms out I decided it was a good time to weld on the Ruff Stuff tube reinforcements I bought several months ago. These are 3/16” thick and made my .250” wall thickness a killer .4375” thick. Now the arms are way over built which is just perfect.

I also decided that I’m not happy with the high ride height so I swapped front coilover springs for lighter springs and I hope see about a 1-2” drop in ride height. I also have a triple rate spring kit for the rear coilovers to adjust the rear ride height that I still need to install.


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[Desert Thrasher]

I got the Bronco to sit where I wanted it finally. I changed the front springs again, now I’m at 200lb lowers and 150lb uppers. Coilovers are sitting with about 5” shaft exposed. This gained me about a 3-4” drop in ride height.
In the rear I was able to adjust the preload to get the coilovers to sit lower. Now it sits nice and level with the front. I still plan to relocate the rear coilovers to behind the axle but for now this will work. Much happier with it at this ride height.

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[Desert Thrasher]

Added some limit straps to the rear of the Bronco.

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[Desert Thrasher]

Been over a year since I’ve updated this thread. And as usual I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I decided to rework my 4 link for better geometry. With the 37s and 14” coilovers it was great, but going to the 40s and 16” coilovers it changed the geometry quite a bit. So I went back and forth on what all I wanted to do. I needed to mount the coilovers up higher and make my upper links longer. I had originally planned to move the coilovers to the back side of the axle, another idea was to just raise the coilover towers and keep them on top of the axle. Then while browsing the RuffStuff website I came across their URC trailing arms for single coilovers. They just happened to be 40” long, the exact same length as my current lower links! It was like fate right?
So I formed a plan. I ordered the trailing arms and some upper link frame brackets from RuffStuff. Since the coilovers were now going to be on the lower links, a tower would not work so I ordered shock hoops from TMR because they were the tallest I could find.
It took me several days to build the trailing arms, so much work and welding goes into them it’s no wonder why they charge so much to build them for you.

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[Desert Thrasher]

Once they were built I got to work on the Bronco. I set it on 12 ton jack stands and 6” wood blocks to maintain ride height. Removed the coil overs and started removing the old towers and upper link mounts off the frame. Lots of cutting and grinding got it all removed.
Next step was to make the new upper links and brackets. I decided to use the old lower links as the new upper links, that way the links would be the same length which would help keep the pinion pointing at the Tcase throughout the articulation range. I mocked them up so they were level while at ride height and tacked them on. I used my engine hoist to raise and lower the Bronco body to test for any binding. None at all. Even at extreme extension. So I buzzed the upper link brackets on the frame and started on the coilover hoops.

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[Desert Thrasher]

Next I plated the frame with some 3/16” flat stock and built some stand off tubes from 1 3/4” .120 Dom tube. I had to cut a lot more of the wheel wells out because now the coilovers will be close to the back of the front seats. To set the correct height for my 16” coilovers I made a simple mock up part. It came in handy for holding the hoops in place and lining everything up to tack in place. Next I went overkill on the gusseting. I built fully boxed in gussets for the hoops. Took way longer than necessary but I like overkill. Last piece was a cross brace between the hoops. It was a kit from TMR that includes the removable end pieces and the tubing. It went together easily.

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[Desert Thrasher]

After a coat of paint it was finally time to install the coilovers. And uninstall them and re install them several times to get the right spring rates. I ended up with 350lb lowers and 200lb upper springs. I didn’t expect the new position of the coilovers to change the spring rates that much. But I can easily change ride height lower or higher with spring rates now. Then I measured for limit straps and picked some up from ORW and welded on some double shear tabs for them.

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[Desert Thrasher]

I test drove it to a local place and flexed out a bit to test clearances. I had to cut even more out. But it sure looks good twisted up.

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[sprdv1]

Hell yeah.. got to love some Flex.. Looks great

 

[Desert Thrasher]

Hell yeah.. got to love some Flex.. Looks great

Thanks! It’s almost too much flex lol. It’s over 20”. I’ll be adding an anti rock sway bar to the rear next.


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[SteveL]

Back in the early days tonto moved his axle forward. He used the 4x4 box with the pitman aimed forward. Looked like it fit nice. He got out of broncos years back but there might be old threads in the archives.

 

[GWBronco]

Back in the early days tonto moved his axle forward. He used the 4x4 box with the pitman aimed forward. Looked like it fit nice. He got out of broncos years back but there might be old threads in the archives.

I did the same thing when I moved my axle forward 8". I used a 78-79 box from AGR that was ported for Hydro assist. It worked great. That box is also for sale as it is in my way;D

 

[sprdv1]

Thanks! It’s almost too much flex lol. It’s over 20”. I’ll be adding an anti rock sway bar to the rear next.


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I got faith you'll get it "just" right

 

[Desert Thrasher]

I managed to get it done “enough” in time to take it to the Socal Broncos Big Bear Bronco Bash in June.
I had planned to flat tow it behind my 2000 Excursion, but after a few miles it was clear the Bronco does not like to be be flat towed. It kicked and bucked and pushed my 9k lb Excursion all over the freeway. So I unhooked the Bronco and drove it the 2-3 hr drive up to Big Bear while my sister in law drove my Excursion. It drove quite well actually. Was able to drive at 70-80mph easily. I don’t know why it won’t flat tow, I need to get a trailer either way.

Big Bear Bronco Bash was a blast as usual. I ran John Bull and Holcomb Creek, two of my favorite trails in Big Bear. The Bronco performed awesome. It has so much travel, over 20”. The rear is a little soft and causes a lot of body roll. But never once did it feel unstable.
On John Bull I managed to rip the front extended brake line because of all the extra travel, I didn’t think about the front gaining more travel too. So I ran the trail with only rear brakes, wasn’t a problem until we were stopped on a steep part of the trail and the rear brakes couldn’t hold the bronco anymore and I rolled back a few feet into my brothers stinger on his Jeep. Oops!
My tire carrier pushed back into my tailgate and made a large dent at the top. Damnit.

After the trail I drove through town and found a cool jeep performance shop. They had the parts on hand to build me a new extended front brake line. So awesome and lucky. I was able to get the new line installed and bled the front brakes in no time back at the cabin. Ready for the next days Trail!
So after the event I have decided I definitely need a sway bar. So I ordered a Currie Anti-Rock sway bar, I’m going to install it in the rear and hopefully that will tame this wild beast. Even if I lose a little articulation it’s ok, I have more than plenty.

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