I've read and heard so many horror stories about the top being so tough to remove. I even had some guys tell me it was 400+ pounds and took 5 guys to remove, and I definitely trusted what they had to say.

Anyways, me and two girls just took it off with little issue, one has back problems and the other just had surgery on her stomach.

I think I figured out that you don't need strong hands to move it, just 3 people (would have been near impossible with two). If you have one person at each rear corner, and one in the bed of the truck lifting from the center front, it's easy to move.

So don't be afraid to remove your hard-top, it's really not that heavy or difficult, you just need 3 people to do it.

 

the shell weighs 120lbs and is very easy to remove. i used to take mine off by myself. but it was a lot easer with 2 people. just 1 person on each side, lift it off the rails and walk it off the back.

 

I back the BKO in the garage and use some tiedowns at 4 corners. I slower raise each one at a time until I've got the top off. I have to be careful not to get one corner way to high or it will roll over. It takes me about 30 minutes by myself to get it off.

 

I leave the top on. That way it won't leak later in the driving rainstorm.

 

broncos don't have much of a leak problem with there shells, thats blazer's

 

took my top off 4 times and hadnt had a leak. two times i took it off by my self but yes alot easier if there is two people.

 

I've had the top off every Bronco I've ever owned...many many times... ANYONE who tries to scare you into not removing the top by telling you it will leak obviously knows NOTHING about the way the top and the seals are designed. Keep the top seal across the trailing edge of the steel portion of the roof in good shape and you will NEVER experience a Bronco with a top that leaks. (There is a rather unfortunate youngster on another site who has been trying valiantly to remove the top on his, and is still met with his father's obstinate ignorance claiming father knows best and "the top will leak once it has been removed" yet dad has never owned a Bronco himself). Lets be at least slightly rational here folks, Ford designed these trucks to have the tops removed... what on earth gives ANYONE the notion that it would be a detriment to remove it then? They built the Bronco for 12 years with a fully removable top that didn't leak. Why would they jeopardize the reputation of such a well-received model by suddenly making the full size incapable of having the top removed without causing leak issues? They left that failure to GM who took up the task and ran with it quite well...

The K-5 Blazer model came through with flying colors on that shortcoming... when the success of the Bronco in full size format launched a new wave of utility vehicle fans and potential buyers, GM (in typical "General Mistake" fashion) raced to adapt the Chevy full size pick-up into a model that might throw some competition into the market. Remember, until the Bronco came out in a full size model, GM hadn't bothered to offer any kind of competition in the utility vehicle market. So, they slapped this cheesy copy of the Bronco together with little to no real thought about anything but putting some kind of competitive product on the market. They fell utterly short as many K-5 owners quickly discovered. Even Dodge wasn't bungling enough to try to duplicate the Bronco's removable top when they introduced their offering in the Power Wagon. They left it with a full steel roof and stuffed as much horsepower under the hood as they could.

Ok, I'm done with the subjective history lesson. Take it for what its worth folks. But certainly don't even bother to give ANY credence to the idea that removing a Bronco's top will cause it to leak thereafter.

 

stupid weathermen.. 30mins of thunder and lighting and up until the first raindrop fell, we had forecasts of "clear blue skies".

they lied, now it's soaked.. I even had all my fishing gear loaded in the back

stupid nature

edit:

oh, and with both of my Broncos the top leaks, when the top is only being held on by 3 bolts. I bought both in the same condition, one bolt in the top center and one in each of the bottom centers.

might be where the myth comes from.. I've heard brand new tops are OK without all of the bolts holding them in, but in either of my Broncos I have to have all of the bolts for the top in for it to not leak in a high pressure car wash.. when it's tight, I get no leaks.. the weather strip even looks pretty poor on my 1990 Bronco, like the top at some point was sitting on it wrong and chewed it up.
The other one is a 1980 Bronco with no leaks if all the bolts are in, if that SOB doesn't leak, I don't see why any of them would.

 

Had mine off twice no leaks. My buddies had his off several more times than that and no leaks.

"with both of my Broncos the top leaks, when the top is only being held on by 3 bolts."

That sounds like it could be kinda dangerous.

 

I run four bolts... two long ones in the top corners and two at the very rear corners. never a leak. If you don't hold it down on four corners (since it is essentially a box anyway) I can well imagine it will develop a leak. you have to ensure that top seal across the roofline stay in contact with the top once its bolted on and a single bolt it the midpoint isn't much holding power across the nearly 60 inches of width that the top has.

 

you're right.. and as a matter of fact, now that I think about it, the 1990s Bronco's top was just being held in with two C-Clamps on the side. the top actually slipped an inch back on me on the interstate. I put the 3 bolts (that I could find) in afterwards.

having trouble finding the right bolt size, but I think I might just find a nice soft-top. It's like a whole different vehicle with the top off.. the best of an SUV with the best of a truck, loading fishing gear is so easy...

and I can't wait to take this to a drive-in with the top off and the highend polk system I put in.

 

if your missing bolts for your top the easiest thing is to find one in a salvage yard and steal every bolt from it's top, at least thats what i did for both mine and my brothers broncos

 

Guys I have hardware from four different tops floating around. Tell me where to send it!

ErrorS, you say the top slid back? Ok, so now I'm intrigued... all of my 92+ Broncos have a pair of guide pins between the second last and last set of bolts that go into the bed rails at the rear corners. To get the top off you have to lift it first to clear the 1" guide pins and even then you can't slide the top until they have cleared the rear corners of the truck unless you want them to gouge the heck out of the bed rails as they slide back. Is this something that does not exist on models that don't have the third brake light and the shoulder harness rear seat belt mounts? My inquiring mind wants to know.

 

I don't think my 1990 has them, I'll take a look tomorrow.

I have a metal rod sticking out of one rear corner, which I assumed was just a bolt broken off in it? if that's it, it definitely wouldn't keep the top from sliding around a bit while driving.

edited in:

I'm an idiot (it's 4am, give me a break :P) yeah, one of them are broken off but that is a guide pin.. the top still slides back a bit, the hole in the top is elongated. Was definitely enough to scare the heck out of me when it happened.

I found this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wASA0raK4hs .. this is pretty much how I did it. that's a pre-87 and it has the guide pins as well.

the guy is right about ride quality with the top off.. in some ways the bronco seems quieter with the top off.

 

1978/79 Bronco: The roof bolts can be found in parts stores, the U shaped clips are another matter. These have been hard to find for decades.

45267S101 .. U Clip / 1/4" -20 x 1" / Obsolete

ANTIQUE AUTO SUPPLY in Arlington TX has 8 = 817-275-2381.

BOWMAN SALES & SERVICE in Bowman ND has 10 = 701-523-3257.

MCCROCKLIN FORD in Middletown IN has 10 = 800-354-2261.

GREEN SALES CO. in Cincinnati OH has 155 = 800-543-4959.