Alrighty then, got the engine in and discovered it was sitting up so high the fan was hitting the top of the shroud. So much I couldn't mount the shroud. Some muscle and a new transmission mount cleared that up.

There was a bit of chatter from the rockers while I was breaking it in. Was a little conservative on the initial preload and another 1/4 turn on each quieted it down. Got a bit of an exhaust leak too. I was sort of gentle with the intake/exhaust nuts and will hit them again this evening. Plus I had to jack up the transmission/transfer case to change the mount and that may have jostled something.

My driveway where the Bronco sits is in an almost perfect axis with the sun, so between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. when the Texas sun is above the trees it's just too damn hot to fool with it.

Anyway, it ran real nice during break-in other than the timing was retarded enough there was a slight miss. Only let it idle long enough to check the timing. Just changed the oil before withdrawing inside for a while so I'll be able to play with the timing and idle speed tonight. The distributor cap looked a little ratty so hopefully the new one will help with the misfire too.

Once I can get the new clutch slave bled she's ready for a test drive. I've run a quart of brake fluid through the clutch and there are still bubbles coming out and the clutch feels way soft.

 

Glad to hear things are coming along! I bet it feels good to get the engine back in there.

How goes the progress on it?

 

I have also had trouble with bleeding a clutch system. I finally got the clutch to work in a mediocre but functional way so left it at that, and the pedal eventually got to working fine through daily driving.

 

I'm going to try again at bleeding the clutch during the evenings this week. There's less urgency now...I went and bought a 2014 Tundra 4x4, so transportation to and into the deer lease is 100% covered. I like my Ford six, but that iForce 5.7l in the Tundra is a freaking monster. The Bronco will make a sweet camp truck.

 

Traitor....

 

Ha! Yeah, maybe. Not giving up on the Bronco though, just just giving it the benefit of being finished up at a leisurely pace. It'll get to play while the truck is hauling corn and firewood.

 

And a leisurely pace it has been.

But this damned Bronco is getting fixed. After another season freezing my nethers getting around the deer lease on an ATV (and now that deer season is essentially over) I am committed to having it on the property in the next sixty days.

Since it sat, I'm draining the fuel tank and clearing the lines. The dadgum vent in the fuel filler hose must have dropped because it pukes when filling it up, so while the tank is empty I'll drop it and fix that.

Never got the clutch slave figured out so I'm just going to have a shop come fetch it and fix it. F it.

More to come.

 

Been a long time since an update!

I had terrible fuel venting issues with my Bronco for years, as it was always belching out fuel and I'd have to fill it at a super slow rate with the pump held "just right".

I finally fixed it by swapping the filler hose to one from an 87+ Bronco. Wow, it made all the difference in the world. Highly recommended. About the only "extra" you'll need is it requires a newer style gas cap.




You can buy the whole setup new if you would rather. But, it's about $100+.
I got mine from a junkyard for about $5.

 

Yeah, about a month after the last update I took a flyer off the back of my ATV and tore a rotator cuff. I had it repaired in January, which left me with basically one arm for six plus months. So the Bronco has just been sitting.

You get your engine squared away? What's the verdict?

 

Great tech tip!

 

Yeah, I know, right?

Am I seeing correctly that fuel goes through the hose on the newer neck? So theoretically I wouldn't have to drop the tank, just change the neck and go?

 

Ringing in the new year right with new battery cables and a new mini starter.

Battery cables for F150, Bronco, Mustang and other Ford applications

https://www.dbelectrical.com/product...3-sfd0012.html

I like the newer style starters and cables, they take a ton of the electrical load off the starter solenoid so it should last forever. Plus better cranking and less crowding the exhaust.

 

Woot! Now some new guts for the tailgate. The current tailgate is rusted at the bottom and I picked up a *new* tailgate a couple of years ago...so since the window is painfully slow to open and the motor sounds like it's taking a dump on me it's time for the swap.

 

I did! I have around 3500 miles on it by now. The thing's a beast. I can push the gas at 80mph and feel it push me back in the seat.

Not sure if you saw, but I got rear ended pretty badly a few months ago, and my Bronco was "totalled" (still driving it, but it's jacked up and now has a salvage title). I picked up another Bronco and will be doing a heart transplant. When I do, the 300 will be getting fuel injection in one form or another.

Once I have that all done, I'm going to have it dyno tested and see what it's putting out.

Theoretically, yup. But, it's a really tight fit and you may need to loosen the tank and drop the one side down to get the neck off and on. I used just a hair of Vaseline on the lip of the rubber hose to help it slide off and on easier. Made a huge difference.

 

Well, Broncos are hard to come by at the salvage yards here in Dallas but I did manage to find two places with a couple on the lot. Will know in the a.m. whether there's a neck to be had.