IVIaverick
Jr. Member
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2011
- Messages
- 125
It has been a long weekend to say the least. haha I just got home like an hour ago and we didn't stop working on the Bronco until it was too dark to see and we only had today to really work on it.
First of all, the gas mileage my Bronco is getting is beyond impressive to me. I was assuming 10-13 MPG at most with a V8 and larger tires + heavy roll cage as well as all of the rest of the stuff including the Hard Top. However, I measured it when I bought it and drove it home, when my dad took it from their house to his job and back, and during my drive over to their house and back and I'm getting around 18-20 MPG. Is that outrageous and unheard of? I would possibly call fluke but I've tested it on at least 3 occasions that I can remember and all landed in that area. My small, 2-seater V6 Crossfire struggled to stay in that range.....
To figure out what was causing the few mechanical issues I was having, my dad drove the Bronco to work on Saturday (~ 45 minutes each way) and back. He works with a guy who is crazy about old vehicles like I am and my dad said he knows everything you could possibly imagine about the 302 V8's. He listened to the Bronco run for a bit and upon trying to adjust the Carb, concluded that it needs to be rebuilt because it has an inconsistent, awkward sounding idle and he thinks that is what is causing it to occasionally die on me and not want to start back. I called Advance Auto and they have a rebuild kit for my stock Motorcraft 2-barrel Carb for $18 and the guy said he would happily rebuild it for me so not too shabby there.
They adjusted the clutch a bit so now it will actually hold in place on slight inclines (somewhat) and I haven't had those awful shakes/wobbles since they did it. However, my dad said they figured that (I'm not a great listener and was already seeing my money pouring down the drain thinking the carb rebuild was going to be super expensive) the problem was with the installation the PO did with the new clutch and something is wrong with the Pressure Plate on the Clutch. I checked and can't find those for sale by themselves. The entire clutch kits are $150+ so I hope I can just find that plate if it is needed.
The parking brake dilemma was easily solved. The main cable running from the brake pedal underneath the Bronco had a lot of slack in it and the cables connecting from it to the rear wheels were missing. I can get those at Advance Auto, also, but they are like $30-$35 each.
The fuel gauge issue was indeed in the wiring. It was also loose from the gauge in the dash in addition to the other problems I mentioned so we made sure everything underneath the dash was connected properly. I picked up some weatherproof butt connectors w/ heat shrink and we took care of the problems with the sender wire. Then, we scraped the mount spot for the ground wire down to the metal and remounted it. Turned on the key and up it went. It was a beautiful and relieving sight to see. lol
We tested the horn and the horn actually works fine. I grounded it and connected it to the wire running from the battery and it was loud and prominent sounding. However, when connecting it to the wire running from the horn relay, it doesn't work. Apparently, there is no power coming from the relay to the wire that connects to the horn. I can easily hear it clicking when depressing the horn button on the steering wheel, but it's not transferring any power to the horn's yellow wire. I am going to order a new horn relay. Will that fix it?
We removed the hard top in order to take out the roll cage since I hope to get our guy started on the rust repair within the next week or so. I honestly like it much better without the cage since there is much more room inside and it was badly in the way but I'm not sure if that was the cages' fault or the installers fault. With it in, the wiper arms scraped the cage every time they turned, you could barely open the glove box, you could barely get to the throttle knob and gas tank switch (which isn't a big deal but it made it difficult to get in), and couldn't use the rear vinyl inserts, sun visors, or dash pad.
I think that is the majority of what we took care of today.
However, I have a few questions that I need help with:
1) Is the Motorcraft 2 Barrel Carb Model D4BE-FA the original carb for a 1974 Bronco? A few people have suggested switching to a 4 Barrel for more power but I honestly have plenty already w/ excellent gas mileage and if the current one is the original as 99% of the parts are, then I'd rather stick with it. I'm either going to go 100% original or just do whatever I want to make it better. I honestly don't see too much of a point in keeping a few things original and changing everything else.
2) Is there a "shroud" for the 302? The PO installed an aftermarket aluminum radiator and a friend suggested it would help keep temps low if I found a shroud to cover the fan but I can't find the brand or model of radiator and I don't even know if they use them.
3) What is the small tank covered by a metal plate behind the driver's seat? It has 4 tubes running from it below the Bronco and has the "Ford" logo on it so it is obviously stock since it has a covering and everything. I have no clue of its purpose or what it is at all. lol I couldn't see it until we removed the roll cage so I'm extremely curious.
4) On the Sun Visors, do they have a bracket or anything that the ends mount to? I have the originals, as I said, which have two screw holes on one side and a metal bar on the opposite side but nothing to secure the free end into. Is it supposed to be like that or am I missing something?
5) Is it possible to buy the light cover for the tag light? I accidentally dropped and broke mine trying to remove it to replace the bulb today so I would like to snag a new one but can't find them anywhere.
That's all I can think of for now. I will be sure to post more as they come to me. ;D haha I am extremely tired so my brain is struggling through this.
Thank You, once again, for all of this help.
First of all, the gas mileage my Bronco is getting is beyond impressive to me. I was assuming 10-13 MPG at most with a V8 and larger tires + heavy roll cage as well as all of the rest of the stuff including the Hard Top. However, I measured it when I bought it and drove it home, when my dad took it from their house to his job and back, and during my drive over to their house and back and I'm getting around 18-20 MPG. Is that outrageous and unheard of? I would possibly call fluke but I've tested it on at least 3 occasions that I can remember and all landed in that area. My small, 2-seater V6 Crossfire struggled to stay in that range.....
To figure out what was causing the few mechanical issues I was having, my dad drove the Bronco to work on Saturday (~ 45 minutes each way) and back. He works with a guy who is crazy about old vehicles like I am and my dad said he knows everything you could possibly imagine about the 302 V8's. He listened to the Bronco run for a bit and upon trying to adjust the Carb, concluded that it needs to be rebuilt because it has an inconsistent, awkward sounding idle and he thinks that is what is causing it to occasionally die on me and not want to start back. I called Advance Auto and they have a rebuild kit for my stock Motorcraft 2-barrel Carb for $18 and the guy said he would happily rebuild it for me so not too shabby there.
They adjusted the clutch a bit so now it will actually hold in place on slight inclines (somewhat) and I haven't had those awful shakes/wobbles since they did it. However, my dad said they figured that (I'm not a great listener and was already seeing my money pouring down the drain thinking the carb rebuild was going to be super expensive) the problem was with the installation the PO did with the new clutch and something is wrong with the Pressure Plate on the Clutch. I checked and can't find those for sale by themselves. The entire clutch kits are $150+ so I hope I can just find that plate if it is needed.
The parking brake dilemma was easily solved. The main cable running from the brake pedal underneath the Bronco had a lot of slack in it and the cables connecting from it to the rear wheels were missing. I can get those at Advance Auto, also, but they are like $30-$35 each.
The fuel gauge issue was indeed in the wiring. It was also loose from the gauge in the dash in addition to the other problems I mentioned so we made sure everything underneath the dash was connected properly. I picked up some weatherproof butt connectors w/ heat shrink and we took care of the problems with the sender wire. Then, we scraped the mount spot for the ground wire down to the metal and remounted it. Turned on the key and up it went. It was a beautiful and relieving sight to see. lol
We tested the horn and the horn actually works fine. I grounded it and connected it to the wire running from the battery and it was loud and prominent sounding. However, when connecting it to the wire running from the horn relay, it doesn't work. Apparently, there is no power coming from the relay to the wire that connects to the horn. I can easily hear it clicking when depressing the horn button on the steering wheel, but it's not transferring any power to the horn's yellow wire. I am going to order a new horn relay. Will that fix it?
We removed the hard top in order to take out the roll cage since I hope to get our guy started on the rust repair within the next week or so. I honestly like it much better without the cage since there is much more room inside and it was badly in the way but I'm not sure if that was the cages' fault or the installers fault. With it in, the wiper arms scraped the cage every time they turned, you could barely open the glove box, you could barely get to the throttle knob and gas tank switch (which isn't a big deal but it made it difficult to get in), and couldn't use the rear vinyl inserts, sun visors, or dash pad.
I think that is the majority of what we took care of today.
However, I have a few questions that I need help with:
1) Is the Motorcraft 2 Barrel Carb Model D4BE-FA the original carb for a 1974 Bronco? A few people have suggested switching to a 4 Barrel for more power but I honestly have plenty already w/ excellent gas mileage and if the current one is the original as 99% of the parts are, then I'd rather stick with it. I'm either going to go 100% original or just do whatever I want to make it better. I honestly don't see too much of a point in keeping a few things original and changing everything else.
2) Is there a "shroud" for the 302? The PO installed an aftermarket aluminum radiator and a friend suggested it would help keep temps low if I found a shroud to cover the fan but I can't find the brand or model of radiator and I don't even know if they use them.
3) What is the small tank covered by a metal plate behind the driver's seat? It has 4 tubes running from it below the Bronco and has the "Ford" logo on it so it is obviously stock since it has a covering and everything. I have no clue of its purpose or what it is at all. lol I couldn't see it until we removed the roll cage so I'm extremely curious.
4) On the Sun Visors, do they have a bracket or anything that the ends mount to? I have the originals, as I said, which have two screw holes on one side and a metal bar on the opposite side but nothing to secure the free end into. Is it supposed to be like that or am I missing something?
5) Is it possible to buy the light cover for the tag light? I accidentally dropped and broke mine trying to remove it to replace the bulb today so I would like to snag a new one but can't find them anywhere.
That's all I can think of for now. I will be sure to post more as they come to me. ;D haha I am extremely tired so my brain is struggling through this.
Thank You, once again, for all of this help.