1991 Ford Bronco buildup

[AFBronco235]

I would say that board has seen better days. May be a pull apart might help you source one. Good luck.

I tired that, but it seems like someone swiped them all already. Besides, from what I hear, its happing to a lot of F series and broncos from that era right now. The capacitors in all of them are popping so its doubtful I could find one that works. The guy I'm getting my rebuilt one from does this for a living so I'm hoping I won't have any problems. Again, if it were as simple as swapping out new capacitors and leave it at that, I'd have done that, but I'm worried about damaging the board itself because of corrosion on the circuits, so I'm sticking with the professional job. Who knows, it may even fix my EVR problem.

 

[AFBronco235]

Finally got a proper roof rack installed. Its the universal fit Smittybilt rough rack. Some assembly required. haha. The rack itself needs some adjustments, but I'm happy with how its mounted. Turns out, it came with mounting blocks and u-bolts to mount it to a surface, so nothing complicated. I'm still going to add a rubber pad under the center of the rack, to keep the metal from flexing and rubbing on the fiberglass, but I'm complaining too much.

I also took an updated snapshot of my engine. Its come a long way from its stock origins.

 

[east_tn_81]

What gauge wiring are you using for your battery setup?

 

[Wyowanderer]

I tired that, but it seems like someone swiped them all already. Besides, from what I hear, its happing to a lot of F series and broncos from that era right now. The capacitors in all of them are popping so its doubtful I could find one that works. The guy I'm getting my rebuilt one from does this for a living so I'm hoping I won't have any problems. Again, if it were as simple as swapping out new capacitors and leave it at that, I'd have done that, but I'm worried about damaging the board itself because of corrosion on the circuits, so I'm sticking with the professional job. Who knows, it may even fix my EVR problem.

NAPA used to be able to provide ECU's, you might try them.

 

[AFBronco235]

I believe its 1 gage wire for the battery connections and 2 for the winch, but I'd have to look again.

Anyways, I go the new PCM yesterday and plugged it in today. Good news is I got rid of the old engine codes. Bad news is, I got all new ones I've never had before. All to do with the transmission. I know the tranny is working just fine, since it worked with the old PCM without any problem, so the new box must be faulty in some way. Its a rebuilt one so I'm not surprised. I gave the guys at Solo Auto Electronics a call and they're sending me another PCM at no extra charge. I'll just have to keep driving on the old PCM till the next one gets here.

I can't really blame SoloAutoElectronics for the problem. They rebuild these modules from old ones and this particular generation of computers are a mix up of old tech and newer tech. Makes them hard to match up since each one has to be custom built to the engine, transmission and emissions control of each vehicle. I may have to try rebuilding my old one myself if this doesn't work after all.

 

[AFBronco235]

I haven't updated this in a while, mainly because most of what I've been doing lately in maintenance.

I'm since developed a lean fuel mixture problem, and after several months of tracking down the problem, I've finally isolated it down to the fuel injectors, so I ordered a rebuild kit for mine and hopefully, I'll have them working beautifully by this time next week.

I also had to do a rebuild of my winch mounting after the control box got flooded. I'm currently in Indiana visiting family and it's has been raining off and on since I got here. I went out to re-tension the cable and all I got was a click-click. So I tore it all about and poured a couple ounces of water out of the controller. So after cleaning it all up and fixing a poorly crimped wire, I was able to get it all tensioned back up.

 

[AFBronco235]

Its been a while since I updated this build. Since this summer, I've added a few things. Mainly a 50 inch lightbar over the cab. Looks good. Took me a bit to figure out how to wire it up and had to do a lot of research to find the mounting brackets that would fit, but it came out nicely.

I know I have some hood glare to deal with, but I can fix that later.

Lightbar all lit up.

Fancy wiring circuit inside my center consol. I don't have the switch mounted up yet, since I plan on redoing all my old switches soon. I just have it kind of mocked up.

Ordinary headlights.

LED Light Bar.

Mount with wire into roof.

I also started work on replacing my original switch panel with something cleaner. I plan on using the original panel for mounting gauges and another panel that will be easier to reach for the switches. I'm going with ARB style switches too. Those should make it look more professional IMO. The new panel is also going to be bigger, for all the other goodies I'll be adding. Can't wait to get it all hooked up.

 

[tip]

Love your Bronco man! Some nice upgrades so far, love the winch install.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

I guess your in Midwest city?

 

[Rustlin']

Nice bronco, its a shame they dont get built up more often. Im on the fence between a bronco, cherokee and yota 4 bang as my expo build. With a stick, I should be able to get the same mileage, anywhere from 15-20 mpg, with maybe a 2-3 mpg hit on the bronco. However, I figure after I install expo mods, those mpgs might even out. I drive an '85 f150, 300cid, 4x4 w/ t18 (i think) 4 on the floor. I dont know who,what when or how, but I love Ford trucks, and Id really prefer the bronco. Your build is inspiring, thanks.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

what brand is that light bar?
im looking for good budget brands, rigid is a little pricey for me i have them in my bumper but they seem like they are nearly the same quality as the ones my friend has and his were much cheaper.

 

[AFBronco235]

what brand is that light bar?
im looking for good budget brands, rigid is a little pricey for me i have them in my bumper but they seem like they are nearly the same quality as the ones my friend has and his were much cheaper.

Its made in China and sold by Eyourlife on amazon. Here's the link.
The quality isn't as good as Rigid, but for the price, its still good quality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F4MQJ5O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[AFBronco235]

Time for another update. I started winterizing my bronco yesterday. Got about half of it done with the GF. (She wanted to watch.)

Biggest thing I did was swap out the vacuum booster and master cylinder with a set I'd gotten out of an F350 and rebuilt. New seals and paint all around and it almost looks brand new. Only took a few minutes in a blasting cabinet to clean up the booster. Got to say, I love how the bronco stops now. Plus I don't have to constantly check the fluid level for the slight leak it had developed. I realize I probably could have just rebuild the current one, but I like the way this one looks better anyways.

Other than that, I replaced the heater fan, as the old one was dying. Oil change and wiper change. I was hoping to get more done, including a new spotlight and new wheel bearings up front, but the shop I was working out of didn't have the spanner socket to get the hubs off, so I'm gonna take care of that stuff next Saturday.

 

[AFBronco235]

I've been tinkering around with the idea of extending the cargo area of my bronco out a bit using some kind of tent or tarp to allow me to camp and sleep out of the back of my bronco. I'd been looking for years for a ready made solution and then I stumbled on a army surplus pup tent at my local surplus store. I actually bought it to use as a regular tarp and work mat, but after I got to looking at it, I realized it would fit perfectly on the back of my bronco, and so....

It still needs some minor refinements and improvements to make it perfect, but nothing I can't handle. A bar running along the back edge between the two poles to keep that edge rigid. Longer support poles to allow any rain to drain and not puddle on the canvas. And a couple of hidden tie down points to secure the tent to the bronco, but that's gonna have to wait till it warms up a bit. Even so, if it were summer, I wouldn't mind taking it out and camping with it as is. I may add some sort of zippered portal to the back panel for easier entry/exit, but that can wait.

 

[east_tn_81]

Very cool. I have seen a lot of Bronco guys do this mod. Good luck with your project.