Boy, breaking bolts isn't fun... On my 88 ranger we did the water pump gasket and pump and i broke one bolt. The torque was like 9 ft lbs and i wasn't even 3/4 the way there and it just twisted it up. As for the bronco the only one i was truly worried about was the Trac-Bar axle side bolt. That sucker was on there good and i was afraid of breaking my step dads ratchet by using the floor jack... But no harm no foul. Then when i tightened it i had to brace both feet on the ratchet handle and try to basically to a squat push...

 

You shouldn't worry about breaking a chases bolt. As ErrorS said, they were made to be much stronger then need be. Breaking a chases bolt also usually doesn't end up having to be tapped out.

 

Ya its a pretty stout bolt anyways. Like i said i was more concerned about the ratchet, it is a Craftsmen but it isn't in the best condition...

 

I've learned to put insanely crazy long breaker bars on the big chassis bolts.. I've had 6' long bars on my suspension before. Drove me crazy to see my leafs wrapping to the point I thought I would break them before turning the bolt for that dang shackle bolt. It didn't break, it wouldn't break, I could probably support the whole truck from that single bolt

Had to buy special hardened (expensive) steel blades for my saw to get through it, and still went through 2-3 per side.


good luck on the water pump bolts guys, those ones were not fun for me. Broke off, seized into the timing cover. I put a wedge between the timing cover and my block and got it in between the two without breaking the cover, then put a huge pipe on the end of it and pried and pried and pried and eventually it came off.

This was after about 3 days of fighting it. I dunno how many times I turned that darn 'stud' red with a torch, it just would not budge.

funny thing is, the bolts were easily loosened from the block with pliers once I seperated the cover. They really only seize into the cover. In hindsight, I wish I would have torched the bolt like crazy if it didnt budge without about 40ft lbs of torque (seriously, thats the breaking point.)

 

Mine came off easily it was putting them back on that broke one. And my step dad was going to use a reverse bit to try to get it to thread out but he couldn't get a grip on the stud, so he crammed a flathead screwdriver in there and found a small raised part of the metal to allow him to slowly turn it back out...

 

yeah, the same happened on my 78'.. used grade 5 bulk bolts, it's the last time I ever used them for anything. You should always retap those holes.. from that point on, I retap just about any hole that goes into my block.

Oh, one set of bolts I did break were the ones for my rear seat mounts.. they're huge but I wasn't even putting that much force on them when they twisted off.

 

Eh my ranger isn't exactly that important, we just found a matching bolt and put everything back together. So far it is working fine and with the way my brother treats vehicles i am surprised it has lasted. I learned early on when i used to fiddle with my bicycle that having a correct fitting socket prevents stripping, i stripped many a nuts doing that. Now with my vehicles i make sure it is snug so there isn't any room for slippage. This also helps against busted knuckles But other than the one bolt i have yet to break another. Who knows what will happen when i tear other stuff apart on this though.

 

May've ill just pick up another timing cover. Sounds like a smart idea. Plus I can sand it down and paint it....dang! As if I don't have enough extra parts laying around.

 

Last week when replacing my shackles and rear leaf hangers i sapped the heads off of notg shackle bolts with a 2' breaker bar. Just bought the vehicle only issue i really ran into was the 2 forward bolts on thr leaf hanger had limited access between frame and fuel tank so i beveld the leading edge and laid a thick weld down.... not looking forward to ball joints after reading much of this. tackling the coils springs this friday other than soaking the retainer nuts any experienced advise here?

 

The coil springs aren't too hard. Soak the bolt and make sure you have the wrench /socket extensions to reach the lower nut. Thia is a fairly quick and painless job if you soak the bolts for a few days.

 

Ok, I've been working on teh truck a bit tonight. Advance is supposed to finally get my delete bracket in shortly so I have been getting ready for that. I have removed the entire passenger side drive bracket. I am in the process of cleaing it off so it looks nice. I am also thining about replaing both the idler pulely and tensioner pulley as I have noticed a whine/squeak occassionally, plus the bearings weren't as smooth as I think they should be.

The bracket is only held on by three bolts, two of which are kind of blocked by the tensioner assembly. I removed the alternator prior to this since I will also be installing the 130 Amp Diesel alternator. I will update this in a bit and add pics. Hopefully my bracket comes in, I'd hate to have to do all this and then put it all back together for nothing.

 

Ok, got everything back together. I ended up having to replace the tensioner. I fought with the old one for close to an hour and then it just ended up stripping out. I hate that they used aluminum for something like that. I ended up having to run a different belt too. I may have been able to run the stock belt once I replaced the tensioner but o well. here's the size I put on: 1025K6

As promised, here are the pics:

Here's a pic of the bracket and pump off the truck. Also there is my old and new 130 AMP Alts.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583411/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583411/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here is a pic of the parts I got from advance (I ended up using one pulley and got a whole new tensioner which came with a pulley)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804580573/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804580573/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here's a picture of the engine without the passenger side accessory bracket in.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583511/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583511/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Here's a few shots with everything in place (I'll take more in the daylight):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804581391/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804581391/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583087/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6804583087/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

Till next time guys!

 

I can't see the clean sparkly bracket But still nice job, do you notice any difference with anything yet? I don't know if you would besides the Alt pushing more power I don't recall what amp mine is but i know it is higher than stock. When i first bought the alternator they gave me one for the ribbed belt style, even though i clearly stated it being from 78... I had to go all the way back with my old alt to get a v belt one and to return the ribbed one. Then i also turned my old one in for the core so it worked out in my favor. Was still a pain in the hiney

 

nice work edge u should put a lot into that bronco with all that sanding and carc paint, it definitely looks awesome im sure the pics dont do it justice

 

Ok, not too much to update. The Bronco is running like a champ. I have been focusing on getting things in order to get another car. I know its not a Bronco, but I can't wait! What do you guys think?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6830846567/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6830846567/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6830846993/http://www.flickr.com/photos/62639173@N03/6830846993/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/62639173@N03/, on Flickr