I just got under my Bronco to check bolts, again.. it's all my lift stuff, plus any bolts used in my engine crossmember, plus my motor mounts. The Bronco feels a ton better after doing it, but this is driving me crazy, tightening these things is exhausting.
Pivot arm brackets, radius arm brackets, the few crossmember bolts that are not rivets, then my motor mounts, the perches for the mounts, tranny crossmember, most of them loose.
I'm thinking about tack welding every single bolt head to the crossmember/frame just so I can tighten them more easily.
I'm not even sure if the bolts are loosening or if the chassis is flexing.. i dunno, it's just driving me crazy. Now every time I get in it I wonder how many fricking bolts are loose.
It also hit me today that with my double cardon out in my driveshaft that the vibrations probably aren't helping the matter. I'm picking up a new driveshaft in the next couple of days, hopefully it helps the matter.
Thanks for the reminder. Need to buy more locktight before I start working on the Bronco again, and I need to check everything the prior owner put on before I got it.
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2001 Excursion V10 4x4 Auto 136,000 miles 285/75/16 AT's on stock rims (Treadwright retreads)
Safari Rack with 2 off road lights, Brush guard with 4 off road lights. Added 2nd trans cooler and replaced regular fan with an electric fan (increased MPG by 1.1mpg towing) Trans temp gauge, Voltage gauge, and Vacuum gauge mounted in 3 gauge driver pillar pod
1978 Bronco 460/4speed 4x4 Ongoing "project"
I need to check my newer bolts as well and make sure they settled ok and are tight. My PO left a ton of bolts loose including the 4 bolts on the U-joint both front and back... Now my back u joints squeak like a dog chew toy....
don't always blame the PO, I did when I got my Bronco, then all the same bolts loosened themselves again. On my old 78' I use to replace every bolt I turned, I wish I had done the same with this Bronco.
Also, those driveshaft bolts are notorious for coming loose.. I have a flange so I can just tighten like crazy, and I'm suppose to tighten well beyond what you would expect from such a small bolt (like 70 ft lbs, PLUS locktite)
but with you using straps, you need to make sure you put locktite on them or use locking nuts.
They say you can oval out the ujoint caps overtightening the straps, but I've only found that to be the case on cheapy ujoints. I can whack a spicer cap with a hammer and barely damage it.
Another one I found was transmission to engine, those loosen on me a lot.
Oh i see, It just seems like these were loose along with all the other bolts. I am fairly sure it was the PO cause i think the tranny has been out before and i know a lot of the bolts that were loose were from things that would need to be taken off in order to paint the parts. But i could be wrong. It seems to fit the bill the PO lied about a ton of stuff with mine so i figured he just didn't tighten bolts or something. I will most likely have my tranny out tomorrow so we will see how bad those are.
I thighen mine when something starts to dangle...... or rattle.....
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2000 Excursion, 7.3L, 315 BFG A/T's, super chips 1705,EGT/boost/ trans temp. 4" lift, F250 Rough Country 2.5" front leveling springs, 2" rear F250 add a leaf
1988 Bronco 4.9L, I6, 5spd, 33" BFG A/T's...for the fire trails, Yes the 33's rub on tight turns.
This is a subject that has never entered my mind. Mine spent the first year on Long Island before the PO came to no rust area of Texas. All stock, a little rust for lock tight and nothing rattles.
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If your ignition control module is a black Motorcraft (CCD system) do not replace it with a gray one (Push Start system). The wiring harness is different.
FTE is great! Be a supporter to keep this forum going. 94 5.8 EB, towing package, K & N drop in, MSD Blaster, 9 mm Ford Racing Wires, mechanical oil and temp guages and the rest all stock.
That crossmember on mine sees a lot of oil, then of course the motor mounts. Added lubrication to help the bolts wiggle themselves loose?
I also had an issue with a radius arm that I had to tighten every few hundred miles. I finally gave up and put a nylon nut on it and it's staying tight. Weird thing is, same bushings and same nut on the passenger side and it always stayed tight.
I think the nuts just reach a point where they stretch or something and wont stay tightened, I dunno?
and the fasteners for my lift kit are terrible. They have those stupid chevy-type heads/nuts where they're totally different sizes, you know, because people don't own two of the same wrench? grr
Some are 11/16, some are 18mm, some are 5/8'', some are 7/8'', some are 19mm .. it's stupid annoying. if they all weren't in such TERRIBLE positions I would have replaced them all a long time ago.
You know? One side is 5/8'', the easy to access side, say on the outside of the pivot arm bracket, so I go and grab another 5/8'' out of the toolbox to hold the bolt head, climb under the Bronco, get the socket and wrench in that terrible, hard to get to position with the socket over the head of the bolt, go to tighten the easy access side and... surprise, the other side isn't 5/8''! So you go and dig through your toolbox for all kinds of sockets, starting with all SAE first, so you can test fit each one, then finally find out it's an 18mm, of course... so then you go onto the next bolt and nut that's right next to this one, and the easy access side is 18mm, so the other side must be 5/8'', right? Nope, 11/16''! Of course that other 11/16'' nut 3'' over has a 7/8'' head and .. ARGH makes me angry just thinking about it. Of course they're probably all Metric, but 18mm is like, the only Metric size without a close SAE equivalent.
Hahahah i have run into a few of those kinds of bolts. The ones fro my track bar are similar, one is 1 and 1/8 and the otherside i can't get and sort of wrench or socket on but i know it was slightly smaller. Then the top side of it was like 9/16 or something.... Confusing.
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