I live in the Annapolis area of MD, and we just got 2 ft of snow here. I went out earlier and was surprised at how my Bronco tore through the snow. It was at the same height as the bottom of my doors, just under the bumper. While it wasn't easy I managed to make it through the mess and get home, even got out without digging.
I went out again later, after a few more inches came down. I parked it, and when I was leaving ended up getting stuck. (It was a turn-around in a cul-de-sac. With some help from friends I got out after some effort. During this time I noticed that the front wheels never spun. I've seen them spin before, earlier this winter, but this time nothin'. And after spending awhile getting out, I'm convinced there's a problem. Something just isn't engaging. I have a 96' with 130,000 on it and auto 4x4. I've heard the manual T-case and hubs are more reliable.. The axle code is H9. How should I go about locating the problem, and what would you suspect, and what's the solution.
By the way, if I was in 2WD the whole time I'm pretty impressed at what a stock Bronco with MT\R's can do. Real impressed.
Any advice would be helpful.

 

Hey man I just went through that same scenario about a month ago with my 95. I replaced my crappy auto hubs with Warns and the truck is as good as new.

 

Yeah my brother-in-law is at the Naval Academy there and he said there is sooo much snow right now. He is from MS. and has never seen that much snow. Anyways, more than likely it's your hubs. Do a search and it will tell you how to check and see if it is your hubs or something else.

 

Does sound like an engagement issue. If you can, swap over to manual hubs. The only way to fly for reliability.

As far as how well it did in the snow in 2wd, that is a factor of your rear-end and tires. Your diff is a Limited Slip 3.55 ratio, I believe, from the H9 code. LS makes a world of difference over an open diff.

 

It's most likely your auto hubs. They are easy to check too. With your Brono in 2WD, climb underneath (may be difficult in the snow) and turn the front driveshaft by hand. You should get less than 1/2 a turn before the front hubs lock, then you won't be able to turn it anymore. When you get to this point, use all your strength and try to turn it more. You may find the hubs lock with little force, but break free with more force.

 

I too agree that the auto hubs are the culprit and are very unreliable. My rig origannally came with auto locking hubs. I since switched them out for a set of Warn premium manual locking hubs. I havn't had a problem yet with them. I would rather spend about a half a minute to get out of my rig to lock the front hubs than to have to worry about those auto hubs failing, especially when you would need them the most.

 

Thanks for the help. On another note, this site http://www.bronco.com/technical/tabl...e_ratios.shtml
says I have 4.11 gears. I've never heard anyone mention a stock bronco in the forums with 4.11's, so I think it might be a mistake. Anyone know for sure? I'll be looking into those hubs soon as possible.

 

I have had two full size broncos, The first one an '89 and my current one is a '90. The stock gear ratio in both were 3.55 in rear and 3.54 in front. I believe most all other full size bronco would be the same, unless special ordered. But so far I havn't heard of it yet.
I currently have 4.10 ratio in both front and rear on my rig.

Hope this helps

 

4.11 gears come on some broncos with the towing package

 

All of the other sources I've seen say axle code H9 is a 3.55LS.

 

Allright, I'm going to switch to manuals as soon as some of this snow melts. What type would you recommend? I've read the Warn Premiums are a good choice. What's the best place to get them, and how simple is the installation? I think I have the 3 bolt setup, although I'll have to double-check that.

 

Warn or MileMarker are both pretty good products. I've got warn on all mine, and a buddy of mine have a set of MM's on his. neither have been a problem. In the meantime, about your auto-lockers. I had an '84 Bronco with auto lockers and was concerned with engagement. I was stuck in the mud, so I threw it into 4Hi to get out. Nuthin. Went 1 more click into 4Lo, and it engaged and crawled right out. Don't know wht it decided to lock when in 4Lo (and don't really care, seeing as how that was 6 trucks ago and NO MORE AUTO LOCKERS!), but it did. Just something to get you through until the snow melts.

 

I got a set of MileMarkers on my 91 Bronco and they where a snap to install.My wife and I did in the driveway in about half an hour(would of been quicker if I could have found my Needlenoise).I bought mine from summit they where the best deal around.