please be honest.bronco wheeling?

[famousguy_fsas]

so i have been going over tons of ideas for my bronco. and well due to job changes . i cant to the 1 ton swap at this time. so realalisically if i put a six inch lift on my 86 bronco. and some 35s. how far will i get before i snape a axle? or maybe a drive line. how strong are these things. is it going to be a somewhat capable rock rig? or am i gonna end up needing my spare axles and drivelines and just look like a fool on the trails. and does anyone recomend bigger tires than a 35 on my stock axles or am i really gonna snap somethin super easy with bigger tires

 

[Broncobill78]

how long it lasts with that setup is going to depend entirely on how you drive it. 35/36's are pretty much the upper limit for what stock 1/4 ton running gear can handle but drive it too aggressively and you'll surely break it. For guys with a heavy foot there are options like hardened axle shafts & pinion supports that will strengthen the stock axles. You might get away with running 38's if you're just driving around town or doing very light trail running but those tires are so heavy you'll trash your wheel bearings and/or an axle shaft if you try to throw it around off-road. While you're kicking this all around you might want to also consider what (if anything) you want to do about your gear ratio (since it sounds like you intend to use the thing off-road and will therefore be concerned with it's performance). Most Bronco's come stock with 3.50 gears, adding larger tires effectively lowers your overall gear ratio requiring a new ring & pinion to get the engine back into it's powerband. The best gearset for 33's is 4.11, for 35/36's it's 4.56, for 38's it's 4.88 and so on. Just something to kick around because a common question is "Hey, I just installed larger tires and now my truck is gutless. What gives ?"

 

[Justshootme84]

I do not recommend tires bigger than 35's on the stock Bronco axles. Even those will be harder on u-joints, axleshafts, balljoints and the steering. In 3 years of mostly mud and sand, I never broke anything on the 84 with a 6' lift and 35's. Of course, I've been accused of driving like a turtle, with a light foot. I prefer to let the rig do the work rather than beating it at full throttle.

I had the axles re-geared to 4.56's, put a mini-spool in the rear Ford 9" and a full spool in the front D44 TTB. After I started on my D60 SAS, I sold the lift kit and axles to a friend who put it on his 84 Bronco with 36" TSL Irok's. First time out in the rocks, he broke a front axleshaft and u-joint. He's now done the D60 SAS. Talk to Roadkill, who drives his 96 Bronco quite often in the rocks. HE has several broken parts stories to tell. Another friend runs 39.5 Boggers on the TTB, and can change the axlshafts in 10 minutes since he breaks them every trip.

My advice would be to run some 33's for now, and do some wheeling. Save your money while searching for a good deal on the 1-ton parts. It took me almost 2 years to find a complete, running donor truck. Your rig will be down for several months to a few years in many cases while swapping over the parts and fabbing new brackets or modfiying driveshafts.

My personal opinion is I don't like the TTB design compared to a straght axle. Not so much for strength but for alignment issues. I've broken two axleshafts on the D44 in my 78 with 38's, and have upgraded to chromoly shafts. It's been the rockcrawler while doing the work to my 84 since Summer 2005. JSM84

 

[famousguy_fsas]

ya i plan on doin some rock crawlin and hills and mud. a bit of everything. im thinkin a 6 inch with some 35 will hopefully hold me over till i can do the one ton swap. i made a huge misteak to. ur all gonna think im stupid. but i just quit my job at pick n pull which is l;ike the biggest car wrecking yard around. and i got 50% off parts. damn i should of got my parts first. but so u all think if i carry some spare parts and tools and know how to replace them i should be fine for a bit? i figure ill buy the hardened axles and carry my old ones for spares. also i think im gonna well up my axle tubes so i dont spin one on the trail. any other sugestions u guys have. u said something about hardended pinion? where can i get some cheap 456 gears?

 

[Broncobill78]

JSM84, how much the the moly shafts run ? I just picked up another 78' this afternoon and I'm already making my list.

 

[Justshootme84]

JSM84, how much the the moly shafts run ? I just picked up another 78' this afternoon and I'm already making my list.

The Dana44 front axleshafts and u-joints were $550 from a local vendor (Krawltex in Austin, TX). Too bad they don't make any for the Dana44 TTB, only upgrade you can do is go to stock ones from a Dana 50 TTB.

famous, you ca nstill have fun and do some wheeling without the 1-ton axles. Just expect to break and carry spare parts. Saves you from having to leave camp, drive an hour to the nearest town, hunt for parts, drive an hour back and lose half a day wheeling. Even if you break a front axleshaft, you can usually keep driving. At least back to camp or a place where you can do the repairs.

Last bit of advice if you plan to do the rocks is look into getting a rollcage put in.

 

[famousguy_fsas]

ya the roll cage for sure. i already almost flipped it the other day going down a ravine. was on two wheels but saved at the last min. im gonna look into havin my friend build one. hopefully for cheap

what do u all think about a exo cage on a bronco? or should i just do it on the inside

 

[shift1313]

I dont mean to rain on your parade but since you used the word cheap several times i would seriously be careful how you drive the thing and where you spend your money. You dont need a 6" lift and 35s to have fun off road. You are running an 86 so 32s will fit just fine in your wheel wells. 33s fit but will definitely rub without some fender cutting. If you are easy on the gas and dont try to go Wide Open and put everything in a bind you should be fine. I would say if you are trying to be careful where you spend the money this is the list I would make.

Upgraded ujoints, stock spare drive shaft and ujoints as trail extras

Mini spool for the rear

Manual hubs if it doesnt have them up front

Skid plates(home made or purchased)

A receiver based winch, and receivers on the front/rear

33s, stock lift, cut fenders

single or dual steering stabilizer

35s are only going to give you 1" of clearance over 33s.(in the rear) the 6 inch suspension lift will put the CG higher than running 33s(or 35s if you cut a lot). The lower the cg the better you will be for steep ascents/decent and rocks. No lift will mean you dont have any camber issues, dont need longer brake lines etc.

 

[rubberdust]

With too much right foot you can break pretty much anything in the drive line. I've snapped forged rear axles by being stupid.

That's not to say that they are not stronger, just that how hard you hammer your rig will have a greater impact on what you break than the parts you've spent money on. Any time you get the wheels spinning & suddenly get traction that's a lot of load placed on all the parts. A locker or limited slip diff will help reduced that. The bigger the tires the greater stress that you place on the parts. Think of increasing tire diameter is like increasing the length of a breaker bar by slipping a piece of pipe over it, you are able to generate more force, instead of loosening or snapping off a stuck bolt, you are snapping an axle.

4:56 is a great ratio for 35"

a 33X10.50R15 will fit on a 15X7 wheel & not rub

 

[famousguy_fsas]

ya i run stock suspension right now with 33s and its not enough for me. im light footed as i do drive this truck as a daily driver. i do say cheap. but i dont mean to cheap. i just mean not the thousands of dollars and hours it would take to do the one ton swap. that will be done when i buy another daily driver. i want the 6 inch lift for the extra flex. and the 35s for that extra clearance. even if it is 1 inch. cause sometimes one inch cam make all the difference in the world. i was happy with just 33s and no lift till i hit bumper and fender when wheeling. so i decided i need more hight and clearance. and i hit both front and rear bumper and i wasnt even doing very aggressive wheeling. i basically want a some what capable rig that i still drive on the street for now. i figure ill get some rock gaurds and skid plates. gears. lift and tires. and spare parts and i should be good for a while. thank u guys for all the help. this web site has been awesome since i got into broncos

 

[Yardape]

You can do the 1 ton swap for cheaper than regearing 1 axle. I did mine for free, had the front and rear axle given to me for helping a friend strip the truck they were in. The best plan would be get a donor truck. If you find the right truck you can get the engine, tranny, and front and rear axles for the price of one of those items from the auto wreckers. Keep your eyes open for a late 80's to late 90's F350. I bet you should be able to find one for under 1000.00

 

[famousguy_fsas]

ya getting the part isnt the problem. its doing the work. i dont have any of the right tools and right now i dont have the place to do it or i would. i wish i could. also to the other guy who said i dont need a lift. cause its not giving clearance and i can just cut fenders to fit 35s. well i know what u mean but the lif will give me better frame clearance. but thanks

 

[shift1313]

ya getting the part isnt the problem. its doing the work. i dont have any of the right tools and right now i dont have the place to do it or i would. i wish i could. also to the other guy who said i dont need a lift. cause its not giving clearance and i can just cut fenders to fit 35s. well i know what u mean but the lif will give me better frame clearance. but thanks

You are right it will give you frame clearance, and a little front cross member clearance as well. Only thing ive ever hung on my bronco was the rear diff when i had 30" tires on it. If you need more clearance than 33s can give you than you are right you might need something a bit more, but also keep in mind that 6" lift puts you that much higher and unless you have pretty soft suspension could potentially want to roll you easier than with the stock stuff.

Id probably loose at least the front sway bar, sway bar disconnect in the rear if not loose it too(really depends on what your daily commute is like). I couldnt tell any difference with the front off.

Also for anything over 33s id start thinking about brake upgrades as well. Id set aside $500 or so for brake upgrades including lines.

 

[famousguy_fsas]

yeah for sure. i run the 33s now and have already had frame clearance issues. and when i lift it im for sure getting the best lift possible so i have good suspension as to not roll. but before i get any where near rolling ill have a exo cage. and ya break upgrades are gonna be done for sure. thanks everyone. just now its gonna be a little longer cause i just got fired. damn