Last summer I finally bought my first Bronco. I got tired of having to ride shotgun whenever my buddies went offroad. Unfortunatly the new project came to need more than a new clutch and the body has more holes in it than I thought.

It's an 81 bronco with the 5L 300ci straight six and a 4 spd manual tranny.

A friend of mine is selling me his '83 which is in much better shape, and I intend to swap my engine (he blew his 302 apart) into his body. He has a C6 auto in it, which I think I will keep (never liked a manual for offroading, only racing), but the 8.8 rear axle in his I think I will replace with my 9".

My question is, is there anything that I should be aware of during this swap? Also does anyone know if the 81 Bronco's 9" rears were made with Trakloc, or if they're supposed to always slip? My right rear has a tendency to spin in the mud while the left is stationary. If it's a tracloc and just a matter of replacing the clutch paks, then I guess I will, otherwise I guess I will be needing a new rear differential, I think. Some kind of posi because I can't stand having a 4x4 that's only 3 wheel drive.

Any comments on all this are appreciated. Thanks.


~Ravage42~
I hate running slow people over, but someone's gotta do it.:-staun

 

You should have the info about whether or not your rear end is a traction-loc either on the door sticker, or if that's gone, I believe there should be a tag on the rear end itself. Find the codes, and someone here should be able to tell you what you have. Also, you don't necessarily have a traction-loc in the front either. Quite likely, you could have 2 open diff's giving you essentially 2 wheel drive.

Last, Ford calls the 300 I-6 a 4.9l, not a 5.0l.

 

Also, "posi" is the GM name for limited slip. What you probably want is a "locker", but you should also consider a "torque biasing" diff like the Tractech TrueTrac or the Zexel TorSen. They're much smoother and don't eliminate true differentiation like a locker. Lockers cause accelerated tire wear & affect steering slightly.

You shouldn't have too much trouble swapping engines or rear axles if you read the Haynes manual a few times and have plenty of tools, jack stands, and helpful friends.