[pmctighe]

Well I have finally sourced a 4bt from a breadbox van to put into my '69 bronco so my project has officially begun.

My first challange is a blown head gasket or head? After getting it home I found water in the oil pan and have flushed the oil system with an oil/desiel mix and refilled with oil. In the process it appeared water was still filtering into the oil pan after the oil was drained so I drained the radiator, did one more flush and restored with straight oil and new filter. I did this to purge the system of as much water as i could until I can pull the motor and start tearing it down. The engine only has 75k on it and was suppositly only over-heated once. Does this sound like it is possibly only a head or head gasket or am I in for new sleeves as well?

Anyways I'll be scrapping the Van on the 4th and hopefully pulling the engine next weekend.

 

[DarylB]

Is it puffing white smoke after it runs? If so you probably got a busted head gasket/cracked head.

Does it have an oil cooler? sometimes those leak anti-freeze into the oil. I'm not familiar with the water jackets and oil valley in the engine but if you're getting oil in the water it could be a pitted sleeve or water jacket. Hard to say without digging deeper imo.

 

[BobS]

Anyways I'll be scrapping the Van on the 4th and hopefully pulling the engine next weekend.

You may want to consider posting the body for sale on:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/stepvan/ and on www.Craigslist.org
There are people looking for van bodies in decent usable condition and are willing to pay the scrap value there by saving you all that work.

 

[averagef250]

What are you planning to do for mounts and transmission in the EB?

 

[pmctighe]

What are you planning to do for mounts and transmission in the EB?

I've seen two different approaches for this , ironically both in your neck of the woods. One was front mounted the other liquid mounts adapted to the frame using the original mounting position from the truck. I havn't decided which I'm going to try yet.

 

[averagef250]

Early Broncos and 4BT swaps are very common here in the NW so I'm not suprised. I think the 4BT is fast passing the 5.9 up in popularity.

A neighbor is considering having me swap a 4BT and ZF5 into his EB. It's an uncut bone stocker with a 302 3 speed and 30 front.

I bought my '71 from him for $400 6 months ago. He seams to think he gave me too sweet of a deal on the truck, but I'm not sure he grasps how much of what the truck is now comes from the several hundred hours that went into it.

 

[redhedbronco]

All 4 and 6 have internal oil coolers dont they? pmctighe You'll want to upgrade from Dana 30s or 44s. Lots of torque. Have 69 with 60s F+R OXlocker front Detroit rear.

 

[pmctighe]

All 4 and 6 have internal oil coolers dont they? pmctighe You'll want to upgrade from Dana 30s or 44s. Lots of torque. Have 69 with 60s F+R OXlocker front Detroit rear.

I will be converting to the D44 have some of the parts already. I was planning on using the 9in rear with 31 spline axles and seriously considering adding Wild Horses anti wrap trap. I'm not sure I want to go to the added weight of the 60's. I think several of the other Bronco swaps are running similar.

 

[redhedbronco]

Reason I mentioned upgrade was Ive talked to quite a few people that ran D44's(with 4bt) and broke them several times before they changed them out. FYI, some of these guys arent wheeling hard just a little throttle at the wrong time and the 4bt torque takes your axle. Another bonus w/60s...lower center of gravity

 

[averagef250]

I think a guy'd have to try a bit to break anything in a 44 front with a 4BT. The '78 HP44 front in my '71 F-250 seams more than adequate for the little diesel.

If dodge used the 30 spline CAD 60 hunk of garbage low pinion 60 front axle under their 7000+ pound 5.9 trucks I'm not sure how I see a problem with a dana 44 under a 4000 pound EB

 

[pmctighe]

I am also looking at using axles that allow for the larger u-joints. That to me is the week link under a EB.

 

[redhedbronco]

I think a guy'd have to try a bit to break anything in a 44 front with a 4BT. The '78 HP44 front in my '71 F-250 seams more than adequate for the little diesel.

If dodge used the 30 spline CAD 60 hunk of garbage low pinion 60 front axle under their 7000+ pound 5.9 trucks I'm not sure how I see a problem with a dana 44 under a 4000 pound EB

Dont let 105 fool you, torque is different than hp. 44s wont last long unless your playing on the beach:happyfinger:

 

[averagef250]

There's more load on axle parts in sand than most surfaces.

I've always had to try a bit with a lot more than 4BT power before something popped in a stock ford 44. Aftermarket axles and U-joints cost a fraction of a cut down HP60 front and make a 44 one pretty tough cookie and a lot lighter.

A dana 60 is not an upgrade from the standpoint of all the unsprung weight it ads to a rig, especially one that weighs very little like an EB. A kingpin 60 is something to upgrade to if you're running big power and abusing a rig or running larger than 35" tires and would rather not have balljoints fail and a big tire rip your nicely painted fender off.

 

[redhedbronco]

There's more load on axle parts in sand than most surfaces.

fraction of a cut down HP60 front

A dana 60 is not an upgrade from the standpoint of all the unsprung weight it ads to a rig, larger than 35" tires

Depends on what youre doing. Why cut down? I'm poor, I do my own chit, cant "send off". Unsprung weight isnt necessarily a bad thing in a EFB. After body and susp. lift, 60 put center of gravity back down a little lower. All Im saying is if you have the opportunity or access to one, why not. I had a 79 F-350 that lost two valves in one year(400M),last one put hole in piston and head. So axles were free, somewhat. I think a lot of vehicles these days are engineered to just squeak by and last just so long. Overbuilt is good and why people are still using these old parts today. Long live cast iron.

 

[averagef250]

If Ford 60 fronts fall from the sky I don't see a reason not to then. Here in the NW, we're not so lucky. 78-79 60 fronts are made of gold.

 

[pmctighe]

I'm in Nor Cal and 60's will run well over $500.00, possibly over $1000. Then I have to modify it because I don't want to go full width. I am building a daily driver, not a rock crawler. I am using a max tire hight of 33". As mentioned earlier I plan on taking advantage of readily available full width axle parts to get a larger U joint then what came in the stock Bronco. I am currently in debate on wether to use a EB housing or other Like a jeep waggy housing; or get a reverse rotation HD D44 and narrow it. These are readily available and are fairly inexpensive to obtain. I appreciate the discussion, your thought are all welcome. I would love to hear from others especially jeep and bronco owners to hear about there experiences.

Patrick

 

[averagef250]

If you have above average skills and tools you can narrow a front housing yourself. 44's are not that hard. 60's on the other hand have taken every ounce of my 35 ton press to do. A BF press, a carbon arc setup and a 20" or larger lathe come in handy for the job. The 44 HP front housing work well, but if you don't have enough lift you may run into pan clearance issues with the 4BT.

 

[pmctighe]

I'm running at 2.5" probably 3.5" suspension lift plus at least 1" of body lift. I know alot depends on the motor mounts but I think I'll be fine for clearance.

 

[baddis]

why not locate a d44 out of 76 or 77 eb that would also have disc brakes?

 

[averagef250]

EB 44's are low pinion. They're fine, but if you have the room and the opportunity, a HP44 is a pretty good upgrade.