Ah... having all that fresh, new suspension, hardware pressed in, brakes etc. is always a good feeling! Nicely done.

 

what is that some kinda abs ring on the rotor?

 

@Skip1970 Yes I believe so, the truck does have ABs but it's not working, sensors need to be replaced but It's been liked that for most of the time I've owned the truck. I actually cut the ABS wire to get the knuckle out because the sensor would to budge trying to remove it. So I didn't want to waste my time with it.

@AbandonedBronco Hell yes! The last thing will be new tires and an alignment. Being excited to drive it again is helping me stay motivated with this project.

 

Update time! Didn't have a whole lot of time to get stuff done but I got the old coil bucket out and the new one installed.

I didn't realize how rusted the old bucket was until I took it out. Took my time compressing the springs because the bucket was so weak. I hit the frame with a wire wheel to clean all the flaked rust. I also used 3M undercoating, this stuff is my favorite. It's asphalt based so it's thick and tar-like. I sprayed the frame and the new brackets with this stuff.

To remove the rivets I just use a combination of air hammer with chisel and grinder. Probably take longer than a set of torches which I do not have. I did have to drill one rivet out that would not budge.

 

That is fun to see!

The before pic on your shock mount just makes me quiver. I can't imagining seeing that on my Bronco.

 

ooftahhh! that wholy bucket.

 

Yeah that scared me, glad I stopped driving it.

So I also have a question, I have adjustable Moog Camber bushings installed, they are probably 6 years old with a little surface rust on the inside. Should I completely replace these as well or just leave them and clean them? I suppose if I replace them I could match the position of the old one and have it checked again when I get new tires + alignment.

 

Another smaller update...I finished up the passenger side suspension and buttoned that all back up. I do need to replace the tie rod end. If I have time I'll do that this weekend and start tackling more of the pass. side body mounts.

I hit my coil spring with a big wire wheel to remove the flaking paint and rust. Then did 2 coats of 3M Undercoating.

I decided to not replace the adjustable camber/caster bushing. I cleaned it up pretty well through with a ton of WD40 and a wire brush.
Ball joints were tightened in order - lower 50 ft/lbs, upper 110ft/lbs, lower 100ft/lbs
Spindle bolts nuts are normally supposed to tightened to approx. 60ft/lbs. I just made sure they were pretty friggen tight.
New Spindle seals installed (not in pictures) Inner + outer. The outer is a rolling diaphragm seal that slides onto the end of the axle shaft and buts up against the spindle. The inner spindle seal (not sure if thats the technical name) is press into the back side of seal against the spindle bearing.

New outer + inner bearings. First spindle nut is tightened to 50-60ft/lbs while spinning the hub+rotor, then backed up quarter turn. Lock ring next then final spindle nut with joins the lock ring with a pin. This is tightened to 150ft/lbs then adjusted so the pin lines up with the lock ring.

Then put the Warn manual locking hubs together with some fresh bearing grease. I do need though to replace the hub cap screws, unfortunately I stripped 2 hex screws when taking them out.

No flying coil springs when re-installing so that's a plus

 

Alrighty we got some more stuff going on...I moved into the engine bay now. Power steering fluid was leaking pretty good so I decided it was time for a new pump and gear box. I didn't do saginaw or readhead just did re-manufactured. The gearbox is Cardone, once I return the core I'll end up getting it for pretty cheap. New hydraulic lines as well. This all went it pretty smoothly, I'll be curious to see how center I got the gear box. I know it's pretty close. I thought it was pretty funny seeing the original pitman arm all cleaned up, looks like I just bought it, it was so caked in sludge.

So there is something else going on here besides the power steering equipment, I pulled the ABS hydraulic pump and old brake lines. I remove the ABS pump because I have worn threads in the unit, I can't get a new brass brake line fitting to screw into it tight. So after doing quite a bit of research I decided to just get rid of it and create my own system. What I'll do is run a new line from the rear outmost port of the master cylinder to the union for the rear brake line. This has a control valve screwed into the port which regulated the pressure to the rear lines. The forward port I'll run a new line and add a brass T connector down by the crossmember to split the line to passenger and driver side, and will use OEM brake hoses to calipers. With that being said as well, I'll probably remove the ABS hydraulic control unit and jump the pins on the connector so my speedo and transmission still function correctly. I'll of course post pictures of all of this as well.

 

u gotta have leaks to keep the rust away.

 

Maybe I'll keep a spray bottle of oil with me just so I can soak the underside

 

that might not be a bad idea, usually doesnt take long for another leak of some sort to show up tho.

 

Little update...had some personal things come up so haven't had a whole lot of time but now getting back into it.

I left off working on some brake lines, I don't have to many photos of that but started tackling another major rust issue, what I believe is what's left of the worse.

So I'm bypassing the ABS pump and just running the lines directly. The one already there connect to the MC goes to a splitter and will split to both fronts. The rear most I'm leaving the control valve in which apparently regulates pressure to the rear lines. We'll see, if the rears tend to lock up first I'll put a new P-valve in. Most of the brake work has been relatively easy. I've got all the body mounts removed from one side and have made a new U shaped bracket to replace the gaping hole, show in the last photos.

So in the process of removing the rear most body mounts I noticed the frame rail where they mount were pretty much gone, so with that being said I decided to remove the whole rear cross sill. I'll be replacing it with a 3x5 3/16" square tube that will bolt to the frame then I'll weld some support brackets to the inside of the body to tie the fenders back together. I'll obviously have to weld in some new plates on the frame rail. I'll have to do some more clean up of the old rear cross sill, but otherwise we're moving right along.

 

Looks good. I was looking at starting a project like this on mine but having 3 kids in 4 years, moving twice and an Alzheimer’s diagnosis for my dad kind of put all of my projects on hold. Now that things are settling down again seeing threads like this has me itching to start working on mine.

 

I understand, that's a lot to handle. I hope you get back into it and post your project. I've been having a lot of fun with this, been learning so much more especially welding now. I miss driving this truck everyday but yet I'm glad it's not longer a daily driver because I can really put the time and dedication it deserves. Just taking my time and making it right, this was my first vehicle and is very sentimental to me.