Fixing Eddie

[firefire]

 Hi. A picture from a little ride to Ålesund. The Bronco is a rare bird in Ålesund. But American cars from the 60s and 70s are very popular. Eddie runs very nice. Still very surprised over how much better Eddi runs now. I have never had a car like this before. Therefore I dont know what to expect performance vice either. The plan for the next days is to get the interior and seat in at the back again.

[Gary Lewis]

Eddie looks really good!  Glad he's running so well.  

[grumpin]

Indeed! Looks nice!

[firefire]

Hi. In the weekend I put back carpet and trimming at the back.  And finished.It got a lot quiter from the back after this. Then we visited som friends sunday evening. Today Eddie took the exam for his technical condition. Since I had to do this within one year after registration I thought I may as well do it now. Its not so easy to do it next year in march / april when it may snow. The mechanic was very pleased with Eddie exept one thing. The sloppines in the tilting / bearing / steering wheel. He said I must look into it. So I have to find out what is wrong and fix it within a week or two. Then I must go back to him again to get Eddie approved for the road. Tried to pull off the steering wheel this evening but my puller is to big. Have to get a smaller one tomorrow.  Ok. Thats it for today

[Gsmblue]

I have some slopiness in my Bronco steering tilt too. Looking forward to reading how you tackle it!

[firefire]

Hi. Gsmblue, read and see what I found  Nice collection of trucks you have.There is a very good description of how to tear down the steering column on Full Size Bronco Forum. Also mentioned in this forum under Steering Columns. I started with buying a cheap puller from Biltema. It was not cut far enough in on the sides. And of course out of senter. The new improved versionWith this the steering wheel came off.Thanks to Ford for using 8mm screws I dont have much of screws with american threads / sizes. Had to lower the column to split the electrical connection. You need slack on the wiring.After removing signal lever, ignition lock and its innards you can get the outer shell off. At the bearings there were only the tiniest movement. Close to nill. The tilt lock were without play too. But the two tiny bolts for the tilt had a lot of play I could pull them out with a 3mm screw. They were of steel and measured out exactly the same. The tilt housing is of aluminium and the holes have of course weared out. So I guess this is a common problem. Have to sleep on this.. Any suggestions for how to fix it ? Ok. Thanks for now

[Gary Lewis]

Stein - Are you saying that the holes the metal threaded piece goes into are worn oversized?  If so, since I have a lathe, I'd ream the holes out oversized and make new inserts to put in.

However, can yours be put back in using red loctite?

[firefire]

Hi. Gary. Do you suggest using red loctite as a filler ?  Today I will take off the outer part to see what the inner part holes look like. Filling up with chemical metall, or making oversized bolts. Have to look closer at the construction before I decide.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, I was thinking that if the insert is just loose you could use red loctite to keep the insert in.  But if the hole is wallowed out very much you'll need to do something else.  However, I'm confident that you'll handle that easily given what I've seen you do.  

[firefire]

Hi. The holes are oversized in both inner and outer part.There is a lot of wobble. New holes in 6,5mm and 7,5mm is possible. And new bolts. An other option is tapping the inner hole for an 8mm unbraco screw and the outer hole for its head 11,5mm. That might be more solid than 2 loose bolts. In lack of a lathe a drill and a file can do for minor adjustments.Its a little scary to start drilling in the parts. The problem will be drilling straight in. Greased up the bearings. The rear one slipped out of its cavity so it might be a little loose fitting. The little screw driver keeps the tilt lock in open position.  The big helper spring is really stiff. Too strong in my opinion.. Its a little challenging to put this stuff together when you have 2 strong springs working against you Now I have to start drilling. And see what comes out of it.
Greetings Stein.

[Gary Lewis]

That looks like a reasonable plan.  Good luck!

[Gsmblue]

Interesting! Looking forward to seeing how this all finishes.

[firefire]

Hi. Today ( monday ) Eddie got approved for the road. I ended up making bigger holes and new bolts for the tilting mechanism. First I drilled the holes in the stationary part up to 6,5mm. Then I tapped them for a 8mm screw. That went pretty well. In order to get the tilting part off the column I had to take all the wires out of the plug to be able to pull the cable out of the column. Remove the red locking part first, then use a little screw driver to open the small locks on each wire. But take some pictures first so you know were they belong. When it comes to drilling out the holes in the tilting part I will recomend a stationary drill. I tried first with a 8mm drill and a handheld drill. But I was not satisfied with my lack of control on the drilling. A sharp drill cuts very fast and is difficult to hold back and straight. Since I dont have a stationary drill or reamer I used a cutter made for making counter sunk holes. This cutter is cutting only as fast as you want it to and gives you time to check your angles. Use cutting oil. I used the 10,4mm size. The aluminium is pretty soft so I got 2 nice clean holes. Then I had to turn down the heads on the unbraco screws. From 13mm to about 10,4mm. I did it with my drilling machine and a file. Take it slow and carefully. You need a caliper to check that you are getting a uniform diameter fore and aft. And it is slow. When you are getting close its testing/ cutting / testing on and on for a snug fit. Last thing you want to do is making them to small. The finished bolts . And here assembled. All loosenes gone. Assembled it all and went for a ride. Only slight movement now is from the tiny bearings on the stearing shaft. Here from the gas station. Highest price is unleaded 95 Gasoline. Ok. Thats it for now. Greetings Stein

[Gary Lewis]

Wow!  I KNEW you'd do a good job, but that's exceptional.  Well done!  

And congrat's on the approval for road use.  

[grumpin]

Great job! Looks good!

[Gsmblue]

Impressive work, not sure I have the required skill level to do such work.

I have a “spare” tilt column so maybe I can practice..

[firefire]

Hi again. Thanks for your feedback. We have got very nice weather here now. Hot and sunny.  But there is always something to fix on Eddie. The tailgate was a little bit out of alignment. Resulted in the right fastener for the tailgate support cable being overloaded. The sides of the tailgate is thin sheet metal and easily bent. Reinforced with small steel plate. Then loosened the hinges to get the load even on both support cables. Its some adjusting, fastening and testing to get the hinges at the right place. Some spacers were cracked.Replaced them with new ones. Also moved the tailgate sideways to get it better centered. Glued a piece of water hose on the locking bolts. The old rubber was of course gone . So now the tailgate is centered and snug fitting when closed. Holiday is getting closer. So Eddie has to be prepared At last here is 2 pictures of the front wheels camber. This is the distance at the bottom of the tires to a level. Dont you think this is to much ?  After what I have read it should be neutral or only slightly leaning out at the top. Ok. Greetings Stein

[Gary Lewis]

Beautiful pic!  

Good job on the tailgate cables.  Your repair looks strong.  But I'm surprised that the washers, or spacers as you called them, would break that way.  Glad you got them replaced.

On the locking bolt, does the washer come off?  Some of them did, and on those a piece of 1/2" PEX water tubing is a good fit for the bolt and holds up well to the locking mechanism.  And if your washer won't come off you can get one from a later truck and those do come off.

On the camber, did you measure after backing it up?  If so try it after driving forwards a bit.

[firefire]

Hi. Washers 👍. Something sounded wrong.. Could not get the washers off the bolt. Split the hose. The camber was measured after Eddie was parked. So the wheels are in normal position.
Stein

[firefire]

Hi. Thought about your comment of moving the car back and forward before judging camber. I had also eased up the toe-in a little before I looked at the camber angle. The toe-in is 4mm.  There is even wear of the tires. So I moved Eddie back and forward again. Checked with a level. Left front wheel was level. Right front wheel actually leaned a tiny bit in at the top. So thats very different from my first test. So I will go with it as is. When the day comes for the ball joints I can also put in new caster / camber bushings. So I will have to find something else to do.
Greetings Stein.