My Bronco is a full-size 1981 model with a 302 V8 and a manual 4 speed transmission.
I have spent the last year getting it road-worthy and now I am getting serious. The following pictures were taken on May 8th, 2004...I was swapping out the tired old 9" axle and replacing it with a freshened up 10.25 1-ton axle that came out of a 1986 F350 that I parted out a few months ago.
My Bronco:
This is the Dana 60 axle that will go in the front. I cleaned it up, painted it, replaced the wheel bearings, u-joints, brake pads and rotors; and I rebuilt the kingpins. The seals in the carrier were also replaced as well as the pinion seal. I also reset the pinion bearing preload by removing one shim. The gears and bearings inside the carrier were perfect, so I left them alone. The diff has open gears now, but I plan on installing a locker in the future.
Engine compartment, I cleaned this up last year:
Rear_Axle_Swap...the 10.25 rear axle did not need much work; just cleaning, paint, and new brake parts:
Adjusting the pinion angle to match the driveshaft:
Rear Axle in final position...ready for welding in the spring pads, notice how tight the brake hose is in the second picture...I plan to fabricate a bracket to elevate it 4 inches off the axle.
The spring pads have now been welded into place by a professional welder. I tightened down the u-bolts to 100 ft/lbs of torque, installed shocks, and added oil [about 4 liters]. I also made a little bracket to raise the flexible brake line. This solves the problem of the hose being too short, the vent hose also got a short extension too.
