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Wristed Axle Housing
B.C. Broncos kit for improved articulation
Tech article by Merle Howard (Howiebilt)
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The first thing you have to do is get some help. You already know that you will have to cut your front axle housing in half and the darned thing weighs more than most mortals can lift by themselves. I have chosen to use a band saw, to do the deed, since it will do a much better job than I could do with a sawzall. I will TIG or MIG weld whatever needs it. If a special tool is called for or a different technique is used other than the ones described in the instructions that came with the WAH kit, I will make a note saying so.
The first thing I did was remove the tie rod and drag link. Then I took the track bar off. Removing the nuts from the radius arms is important at this point because I jacked the bronco up and placed jack stands under the frame directly behind the radius arms to support the weight of the bronco while the transformation takes place. There is no room for a wrench at this point so that is why I did it ahead of time. This places most of the weight of the bronco directly on or slightly in front of the jack stands. Make sure that the vehicle is stable. As a precaution, I put some tension on the front bumper with my high lift jack; to be sure that the jack stands weren’t alone in their task. Next I removed the shocks and the coil springs as well as the front drive shaft and the rubber brake hose that is attached to the frame. Be sure to cap off the steel line coming down to the frame as well as the rubber line. Once these things were completed, the whole front assembly was rolled out from under the bronco and I placed it on jack stands.
At this time, the spring perches and radius arms were removed. The calipers and brake lines were taken off as one assembly and then the lock outs and hubs.
The spindles and caliper brackets were removed as well. I then took the axles out and removed the bolts from the front cover and drained the lube from the differential. Since I plan to take the housing to the car wash and clean it up really well on the inside and out, I decided to remove the carrier and pinion. This is not called for in the instructions, but rather something that I wanted to do.
At this point, everything that needs to be removed is done and will be cleaned in a parts washer or washed at the local car wash, awaiting the WAH installation.
Cutting the housing is very easy and the instructions say to mark the tube 4 ½” from the passenger side differential housing and, using a pipe cutter, make a mark all the way around the axle tube.
I chose to use a band saw that is fairly precise and didn’t need to use the pipe cutter. If I had been doing this at home, my options would have been a sawzall or one of those little band saws they sell at Northern tools or Harbor freight.
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