1982 Bronco 351 4x4 - Code name Esperanza

[ArdWrknTrk]

Pretty!  🤩

Listing shows a 5/16 male inverted flare which is 1/2-20 thread line nut.
I would guess 5/8 wrench....

[Gsmblue]

Thank you on both counts!

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, that IS pretty!

Good luck with it.

[Gsmblue]

Ok, I have found crows feet wrenches. I could not find line ones, but I do have a set of flare wrenches, so I can crack them with that then use crows feet, I see minimal risk of damaging anything.

ATF-F aquired.

Should start tackling later today :)

[ArdWrknTrk]

You can get it with a regular crowfoot.
The line wrench helps keep it from slipping off.
There's really no room to swing a wrench, even with deep offset.

[Gsmblue]

Cheers Jim. I look forward to starting this.

In other news - I am taking the Bronco back to the transmission shop 10 am tomorrow..

[Gary Lewis]

Good luck on both issues!

[ArdWrknTrk]

I wish you luck, and satisfaction.  👍
But I spoke my piece way back when you first had problems...

[Gsmblue]

Thanks Gents.

I am over this transmission BS I am meeting the owner tomorrow. My plan is to be a pest to them through to the end of the warranty in August. Then order a built transmission and do the swap myself.

I will then take this POS to their shop and push it off the back of my truck in the middle of their parking lot.

[ArdWrknTrk]

.... This doesn't bode well for Mrs Blue this summer.  ☹️

[Gsmblue]

The wife is distracted by the horses, it has bought me some time!

Good news:

THE STEERING BOX IS IN AND WORKING!!!

Some notes for others that may be looking at doing this.

I used a 33mm socket to release/remove the nut on the steering box end of the pitman arm. The first socket I had was a 1" and I had to use adapters down to 1/2". Problem there was with 2 adapters and the breaker bar it hit the front diff housing. I popped out and bought a 3/4" socket and only needed 1 adapter and I had enough clearance. This is with the front of the car in the air and wheels off the ground.

I think it was jim that recommended not taking the nut all the way off, great advice, it POPPED! thankfully I followed the advice and it didn't fly into my face.

The lines into the steering box are secured with 2 nuts, the high pressure one is 5/8 and the other smaller, 1/2 I think. Using a crowsfoot adapter was very helpful, I had about 20" of extensions.

I "bought" the rental pitman arm remover from Autozone. Apparently if you take it back within 90 days you get your money back. This version, as opposed to the one on the shop floor, lets you use a 19mm - 3/4" socket/wrench on the end. The shop floor version has a hex fitting.

The pitman arm has 4 indexing marks on it. They take the form of wider splines on the arm and wider grooves on the steering box shaft. So you can only fit it a certain number of ways, 90degrees offset at a time. This meant when I had the splines lined up on the pitman arm shaft and the blue indexed lines on the input shaft my steering wheel was straight but the car would steering significantly to the right as the wheels were all goofy. I will book an alignment for this week.

I bought a gallon of Castrol ATF-F. I have a ton left over, I think 2.5-3 quarts would be plenty.

Honestly, the hardest part about this job was moving my heavy trolley jack around on the gravel. I am so over it!!!

The second hardest part was getting the high pressure line nut to line up and threaded. I ended up loosening the 3 bolt holding the steering gear in place to get a better angle.

I am not sure photos really help here, but I will post some from my phone after dinner.

Thanks for all the help as always!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Congratulations!!!!.      🎉🥳🎊

[Gsmblue]

Thank you! Here are a couple of pics, more for proof than anything else

Stupid gravel.



Bluetop! You can see the blue alignment marks on the input splines of the box.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It's better than a muddy paddock!  🤷‍♂️

I can see how they use the marking to orient the steering shaft (rag joint in most cases)

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  

Now for the “here’s how well it works” report.

[Gsmblue]

How on Earth did I forget that piece of information..

Well, I took her for a spin around the block so I can report back on initial impressions. I have the Borgeson 980 intermediate shaft that does not have the damper built in and a rebuilt upper column. The tie rod ends have been rebuilt in the last year. There is a new steering damper mounted up front too.

My initial response is very favorable. It all feels very connected and very direct. The slop has been reduced to negligible levels. This was a very worthwhile investment.

The only thing I would do different would be to get the Borgeson 985 intermediate shaft as that has a built in damper in the bottom end of the shaft.  

My plan is to do the same upgrade on the F150 later in the year and I will probable use the 905 in that and put a 985 in the Bronco as I think my wife would prefer the feel of that.

If the rest of your front end is tight then this is a slam dunk upgrade.

Once the alignment is done and I get a few more miles in I will try to report back. I don't expect anything to change though, very happy with this :)

[Gary Lewis]

That’s great news. Glad it really feels good.

[Gsmblue]

Good news: Alignment booked for tomorrow.
Bad news: Transmission shop proved to be useless yet again. No surprise to me or anyone here...

[firefire]

Hi. I enjoy reading your thread. With all your ups and downs 🙂. And right now we are involved with the same issues. I got my Bluetop today. Will mount it in the weekend.
I unfortunately have some trouble with my AEM AFR.
Stein.

[Gsmblue]

Stein - I enjoy your thread too you have done some great work.

This has been a rollercoaster for me. I have never done anything like this before, I learn a lot from the problems and I enjoy the successes.

The bluetop installation should be very easy for you, having seen the work you have done.

I am going to tackle the wiring for the AES AFR tonight and have the bung welded in later this week..