I know this is going to sound pretty stupid. So I guess I'd rather sound stupid in front of you guys than my wife...

I purchased a 1986 Bronco a little bit ago from a fella. It has 4wd. I've not ever owned a 4x4 and the only ones that I've driven had nice little cute buttons on the inside that you push to make it engage. My Bronco doesnt have that. It has a transfer case shifter stick in the floor and something you manually do outside the truck on the front hubs. I was going to ask the selling fella how to lock in the 4wd, but wife wouldnt walk away..
So I don't know how to lock in the 4wd and it's raining outside. A lot of rain. Here in Louisiana, that means a lot of mud. That means that since we're both off all weekend, wife suggested we trailer (no tags yet) the Bronco out to the farm tomorrow so she can see what a lift and 35" tires can do.

Can someone please tell me how to lock in the 4wd? I really don't want to look like a fool in front of my wife. We've been together for almost 8 years and she doesnt know (yet) that I don't always know what I'm doing.

Also, would it be the fact that it's lifted pretty high and on big tires that makes it tend to be a little shifty when driving? By shifty, I mean that it seems to kind of wonder around a little when driving? Keep in mind that for the last years, I've been in a Mercury Cougar and wifes camry. So I'm pretty used to tight steering. My old F-250 has been down for a while waiting on me to get the engine right... But I don't recall it being so shifty like this Bronco is.. But the 250 isnt 4wd and has normal sized tires on it...

Thanks for any help/advice.

 

Boy is your wife in for a surprise one of these days, lol. To engage the manual hubs:
in the center of the hub there is a crossbar, put thumb on one side and fingers on the other and rotate (if it does not turn one way, turn it the other way). To engage the transfer case: From 2-High to 4-High or back; while rolling slow or stopped (with foot off of accelerator) pull/push shifter into desired position. Shifting into and out of 4-Low, "STOP VEHICLE", put transmission into neutral, shift into or out of 4-Low.

As for the "shifty" feeling, large tires with aggressive tread grab the road and try and walk back and forth. They are also hard on the front end parts, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. Check all of your front end parts. You may also need to adjust your steering gear box, it could be loose. You may want to invest in a steering stabilizer system to help with the "shifty" feeling.

Someone else should be along to offer more suggestions in reference to the lift kit and stability.

Remember, even a 4X4 can get stuck. Have fun.

 

Thanks Plowhand. I figured it was something simple, but I wasnt real sure. I figure better to ask than screw something up.
I would have to assume that shifting into and out of 4wd could be done with the truck in the "park" position since it's an auto.

Getting stuck. Yeah, I had a friend that buried his chebby in our back field.. We had to end up putting a chain with large tractor attatched on the front and another large tractor pushing from behind to get it out...
That little lesson is why we are taking it wheeling out at the farm instead of around the house. The only tractor I have here is an old Ford 2000. Much to small to do anything usefull and Bronco doesnt have a winch. YET.

I'm going to be looking at steering stabilizers over the next few days... I didnt see any on the truck when I got it and figured that might have something to do with it. I knew the tires would.
Odd thing. The bronco has Maxxis buckshots on it. My dads _odge has them on the back and his truck is shifty feeling at higher speeds. My old chebby has Coopers on the back and it never felt that way. Not at any rate of speed. I chalk it up to the type of tires and the size, and of course, the _odge.

Wife went for a ride around the little gravel roads here with me earlier. She is in love with the truck.. A good thing... She asked me what would happen if the engine fouled up since we are on a tight budget lately. I tell her I could prolly take the engine (351M) out of my old "donor" truck and use it. She says, well if that one would work, wouldnt the engine out of the white truck work? I just smiled and knew that God had really sent this woman into my life for a reason. The white truck has a 460 in it.. haha.. She says for me to make sure I do my best to make the current bronco engine last until she gets her masters degree (1 year) and then we can see about having the 460 built up and placed into the bronco and we can get something for me to toot around town in...
I love this woman...


One more quick question. My trans shifter has Od, D, and 1. What trans is that? I'm used to everything either being a stick or a c-6. Ok, the Cougar had that "whatever it was" in it, but I mean in the trucks.. Every Ford I own has a c-6 except the one with the 4 speed manual.

Thanks again. We should be in the mud by noon-ish tomorrow. We'll have the tractor on stand-by because I already know what's going to happen..hahaha...

 

With auto transmision, shift to 4H below 45 mph or stopped. Then Stop, put in NEUTRAL, then shift to 4L.

Reverse the sequence to get our of 4wd. You have the best set up, manual hubs and manual shifter on transfer case.

 

I locked it all in today. WOW!!! I was completely floored. The little 302 appears to be bone stock. But good GOD the power it seems to have. I was on some solid packed ground and just hammers the long skinny pedal. The bronco promptly responded by tilling up 4 nice spots. We had a good time. I didnt get too crazy with it because I didnt feel like having to walk the mile back to the barn to get the tractor out if I got it stuck. But we did sling a little mud around and stuff.
When the truck is in 4Lo, it will really put you against the seat if you hammer down on the throttle. I'm not real sure what I was expecting, but it sure wasnt that... I only had it in 4Lo for a little bit, we were climbing up a fairly steep pond bank and I was just curious about some stuff. But for the most part, I kept it in 4Hi and was still impressed.
I'm hooked for sure now. I told my wife there would be no coming back from a 4x4. She agreed and said that she wanted one now.
She asked me on the way home if, for a 1 year anniversary, we can go camping. I havent taken her camping in many years. Now she is demanding it. I suddenly found myself in shock. I have a woman that WANTS to go camping for an anniversary. How often does that kind of thing happen? My buddy told me that if he even suggested something like to his wife, he's no longer have a wife...



I was looking online last nite at steering stabilizers... I was thinking that there seems to be no real reason to use the same brand as my suspension and lift kit. I'm wondering why the Superlift steering kit is so much higher than the Skyjacker. Wife suggest today that I use the money left over from getting the bronco to get a steering stabilizer kit if I think I need it. I think I do. I mean, I need a winch too but I tend to think that steering stability is a little more important right now as I will have this truck on the road more often than not for awhile...

 

do not engage 4wd on dry pavement, this will cause the transfer case to bind up and possibly fail. if you need a steering stabilizer i would first make sure that the front bearings, tierods and ball joints are all in top shape. if they are worn a stabilizer will do little help and really on temporarily fix the problem

 

Kemicalburns. That's a good idea about the tie rod ends and all. Thanks to a gm product, I've had to do all that stuff before..I was going to go over all that real well before I took it out on the street anyway.


Curious here. Why not engage 4wd on dry pavement?