Torque Spec. Thread

[CopperRanger]

I am almost finished putting the Bronco back together from doing ball joints. And of course everybody should know the torque on them is crucial when it's finished so they are not to tight or to loose when you do a pull test. This got me thinking maybe it would be good to have a thread dedicated to torque specs. and other numbers like the pull test I mentioned, It could be saved in your user CP and you could look it up pretty quickly when your working on your Bronco. I did some searching and couldn't find any threads, just some numbers here and there. This is what I found so far.

Ball Joints:

Bottom: 70 to 90 ft. lbs. Put a jack under it and apply pressure if it spins
Sleeve: 40 ft. lbs.
Top: 90 ft. lbs. Then tighten to align cotter pin never loosen
These should be done in this order.

Pull test: No less than 10 lbs. No more than 26 lbs. My Ford manual says no more than 40 lbs. but from what I read on here seems everybody goes with
26 lbs.

To do the pull test I tied a small rope through the tie rod hole on the knuckle
and used my digital fish scale to test the pull weight.

Wheel bearings: Tighten the bearing adjusting nut to 50 ft. lbs. While rotating back and forth. Then back off 90 degrees or a 1/4 turn. Torque the outer nut to 80 to 100 ft. lbs.

Tie rod ends: 45 ft. lbs. to 60 ft. lbs.

Spindle to knuckle bolts: 40 ft. lbs.

If anyone has more to ad please do, again I think this would be a good reference for us in the future.

 

[SeanT4x4]

Radius arm Caps, 90-110 ft lb
Radius arm to bracket 80-120 ft lbs
trac bar to frame 110-130 ft lbs
trac bar to axle 155-205 ft lbs
lower spring seat to radius arm 45-55 ft lbs
upper spring retainer 18-25 ft lbs
pitman arm 200-250 ft lbs

 

[Crush]

Yes!!! Should be ansticky or even in the tech section

 

[DirtDonk]

Thinking the tech section. Sticky would actually be better, but the top of the page is starting to get a little crowded for those that don't like too busy a top section.
That said, this is exactly the kind of thread that should be a sticky.

And Copper, if you don't mind going to the extra work, once you have a pretty good list going, they should all be added to the first post, and if you can, categorize them as well.
You know, like start with front suspension, then rear suspension, then engine, etc. With a title above each one so it can be easily found.

Yes, it makes for a lot of work (probably why many of us haven't done this in spite of talking about it over the years!) but much easier to search using just the first post and therefor won't matter how many replies you get.

What do you think of that?

Paul

 

[CopperRanger]

I like that idea Paul. I could get rid of some of my ramblings in the beginning and clean it up. I will have the wife give me a hand with it, she's pretty good at organizing.
I would also like to add somewhere a tips and tricks section. Everybody that works on there Bronco has come up with some cool and unconventional ways of fixing different things and it would be nice if we could share them somewhere. Hopefully I will get some more hits and I will get to organizing.

 

[CopperRanger]

Radius arm Caps, 90-110 ft lb
Radius arm to bracket 80-120 ft lbs
trac bar to frame 110-130 ft lbs
trac bar to axle 155-205 ft lbs
lower spring seat to radius arm 45-55 ft lbs
upper spring retainer 18-25 ft lbs
pitman arm 200-250 ft lbs

Thanks for these, that's a good start

 

[Crush]

Great idea paul

 

[CopperRanger]

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221027&highlight=u-bolt+torque+spec

U-bolt torque specs.

I've been really busy, when I get time I will clean this thread up.

 

[CopperRanger]

Another addition I just saw on here.

 

[lonesouth]

What is the spec on hard top bolts?

 

[DirtDonk]

Probably "just tight enough" would be best. If there is one, it's likely 15-18 or so, since by the time you get to 20lbs you're likely deforming the sheet metal.
Of course that's just guesstimating all the way. I've never used a torque wrench on these particular bolts.
Which means I'd sure be interested in hearing what anyone comes up with.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Sorry, didn't realize this was the "official torque thread" going on here! Should have held the guesses to myself and waited until I could answer legitimately.
I'll try to find a book listing, but I don't remember ever having seen one.

Paul

 

[Slowleak]

I checked my Ford Truck Service Specifications book. The only body bolts listed are for the seats. 12-20 ft/lbs. Nothing about the hardtop bolts.

 

[lonesouth]

good and tight is good enough for me. Thank you!

 

[Attac]

good and tight is good enough for me. Thank you!

Lonesouth
We are in FL.. We arent supposed to have tops
Chuck