Hey guys, long time no post...

I live here in the Denver metro area and looking for some advice on getting some work done on my bronco soon. I don't really have a large enough garage to work on it myself and my knowledge is spotty at best on certain aspects of the modifications i wish to install, so i'm looking for some brotherly advice or help in making them either myself with some local help or a place that is "economical" and trustworthy to take it in to have them done. i wouldn't mind compensating someone to help either, just don't want to drop a load on these mods as this is my winter/fun ride ;)

Some Info:

I have a 1994 Bronco XL with 33" tires, 88k (orig) on the odometer, its an old fire truck from Payson AZ i'm the 2nd owner...

The first thing i want to get done is have the gears fixed so that i can have my power back especially up in the mountains... it was also suggested to put in a rear end locker while I was at it...

the 2nd thing i want to do is raise the thing with a 4" suspension lift...

those are the first two of many mods and additions i want to make so any advice or other glimmers of knowledge all you gear heads have would be most welcome. I know its cold out there but would really like to get the gears in before too long...

Thanks in advance!

Chris

u can bring it up here to foco to do the lift gears I cant do but you may want to talk to scott at rio grande 4x4

For local Denver shops, if someone here doesn't chime in, check on www.colorado4x4.org. You can get lots of good recommendations there.

i thought i did chime in

Normally I'd recommend ORI Centennial, but they closed doors and auctioned off the building.

If ya need a hand turning a wrench, let me know! I have myself and a few buddy's who can lend a hand, have lift knowlege and so forth

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uh huh, don, I was being serious.

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Landshark99, I'm willing to help ya bud. I know enough about the basics of a lift to do one, and if I don't know the answer, it's as simple as making a phone call to get the answer.

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i'm always down to help! I put my lift on with "help" from my mechanic. (basically his lift and tools, and an extra set of hands, I did everything else)

if ud be able to get ur buddy to help again that would be his best bet dont get any easier than with a lift

I'm down to help..though I'm more of electronics. I dont know much about lifts....

I wish... that was when I was in CA... though, might have access to a lift. My old roommate out here owns a fab shop... builds drag cars. But he's pretty busy, so can't promise anything

This isn't that local, but predator 4x4 is a great shop here in the springs. I am pretty sure that they are locally owned and I have heard great things about them. They will do anything and do it right but they are a little pricey.:thumbup

http://www.predator4wd.com/

Hey guys thanks, was out of town this weekend to the mountains to enjoy some snow ;)

Well i went in to High Country 4x4 today to get the noise when i switched to 4 wheel drive looked at, turns out it's a common problem with the front auto hubs and the guy said i was lucky they lasted this long. They threw in manual ones for $200 inc labor so that wasn't as bad as i thought... probably could have done it myself but hey its done.

Got a quote for new gears and a lift with labor thought i would share it with you all.. this is from High Country Performance 4x4

Rear and front gears 4.56 (in case i want to increase tire size from the current 33's)

BDS 4" lift with radius arms and rear springs etc.

total with parts and labor $4741

not sure i was prepared for that amount.. lol guess i need to decide to keep the beast or let it go.. i really want to get the power back and get the lift.. but $5k right now, well.. decisions decisions...

bds? am i missing something here? I dont think i am familar with that one

Hey guys thanks, was out of town this weekend to the mountains to enjoy some snow ;)

Well i went in to High Country 4x4 today to get the noise when i switched to 4 wheel drive looked at, turns out it's a common problem with the front auto hubs and the guy said i was lucky they lasted this long. They threw in manual ones for $200 inc labor so that wasn't as bad as i thought... probably could have done it myself but hey its done.

Got a quote for new gears and a lift with labor thought i would share it with you all.. this is from High Country Performance 4x4

Rear and front gears 4.56 (in case i want to increase tire size from the current 33's)

BDS 4" lift with radius arms and rear springs etc.

total with parts and labor $4741

not sure i was prepared for that amount.. lol guess i need to decide to keep the beast or let it go.. i really want to get the power back and get the lift.. but $5k right now, well.. decisions decisions...


Ouch.

And that doesn't even include traction aids in the Diff? NO WAY.

the lift kit might be around $1k, what all is included?
Gears F/R and install let's just say around $750 or so.
labor for lift kit, well home spun it's pretty good with pizza and beer, but in a shop, say another $800.

Ouch.

And that doesn't even include traction aids in the Diff? NO WAY.

the lift kit might be around $1k, what all is included?
Gears F/R and install let's just say around $750 or so.
labor for lift kit, well home spun it's pretty good with pizza and beer, but in a shop, say another $800.

1k for the kit plus labor to install
I know when I was looking at install prices for f/r gears it was pushing 2k.

1k for the kit plus labor to install
I know when I was looking at install prices for f/r gears it was pushing 2k.


That's a crazy quote. If the gears are say $175 per set, that's $350, then add say $200 for 2 sets of install kits, and fluid/gasket. Now if the shop acually charged a full day (8 hours) at $60/hr (is $60 reasonable for a 4wd shop hourly?), let's just round that and call it $500.

kit 1k, gears and labor for gears 1050, lift labor install 800 (about 13 hrs charged). Total $2850. Even if you round to $3k, that is no where near $4700

I know when I was looking at getting my gears done, I was looking at around 2100. 700 per axle, parts + labor, plus 700 for eaten e locker, a little less if I went with the auburn ected. So without traction aid.. around 1400. That was in Reno, NV by a guy who gives a warranty.

That's a crazy quote. If the gears are say $175 per set, that's $350, then add say $200 for 2 sets of install kits, and fluid/gasket. Now if the shop acually charged a full day (8 hours) at $60/hr (is $60 reasonable for a 4wd shop hourly?), let's just round that and call it $500.

kit 1k, gears and labor for gears 1050, lift labor install 800 (about 13 hrs charged). Total $2850. Even if you round to $3k, that is no where near $4700

I agree it seemed real steep to me but I have heard a couple of people in the Denver area (from the customer end) say close to 2k and that is what a Boulder shop told me. Your prices seem good but I would expect shop rate to be 80-100 around here.

I agree it seemed real steep to me but I have heard a couple of people in the Denver area (from the customer end) say close to 2k and that is what a Boulder shop told me. Your prices seem good but I would expect shop rate to be 80-100 around here.

man, no wonder I never see the inside of a repair shop anymore....$80+ is a joke.

I agree, $4700 is not even in consideration... i was expecting around 3k inc labor... and for me that was pushing it, especially after this holiday season...

by the way, the hours they quoted were the following..

front and rear gear install: 11 hours = $993.30

lift kit install: 10 hours = $903

so around $90/hr...

I'm going to start pricing out kits and finding out what i will need for the gears and lift to do it myself, with a little help ;)

And for more info.. here is a scan of the estimate..

http://www.almostmadeit.com/media/estimate.jpg

yes its a "Fort" Bronco.. lol

Chris, if you're thinking of doing this yourself, have you thought about skipping the TTB kit and buying yourself a used solid D44, then regearing that with what you want, maybe a traction aid as well. buy coils, coil towers, cage or duff radius arms, and just do an SAS. You'd likely end up at that 3k range again with a much nicer setup.

I haven't, in so far as i'm not that knowledgeable in regards to what I should be doing vs. what i want to do..

the real stinker is that before i bought this bronco from a good friend of mine he tore off the rear wheel hitting a dirt berm in Arizona one night and replaced the rear axel... twice... the first one failed...

i wish he would have swapped it out then... but that's in the past...

where would i even start with a new rear? junk yard?

also i have a garage but its just not big enough to take the bronco apart unfortunately.. so not sure how generous or persuasive i can be with someone here to help out and ruin their pristine garages with my bronco... seems a bit more then i would be willing to ask. But as i said i would be willing to compensate where i can through help/money/beer/etc... i've been itching to do get these thing done to my ride for over a year and a half, but the labor costs alone have been a bit more then iam willing to swallow in most cases.. i have gotten 3 quotes for the lift and one for gears... i figured if iam going to get one done then i should get both at the same time....

any advice you have i'm listening. I appreciate the insights and suggestions that will save me time and money down the line as well as the experiences with the same things iam about to step into.

After all that's why i'm here ;)

u cant use my garage but i have acreage right beside the garage. Again i can help you with the lift and well maybe gear setup I understand it I just have never done it however my idea would be to pull the diffs and see how much gear setup would be if you took them the center chunks :shrug

u cant use my garage but i have acreage right beside the garage. Again i can help you with the lift and well maybe gear setup I understand it I just have never done it however my idea would be to pull the diffs and see how much gear setup would be if you took them the center chunks :shrug

I'm down to help as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, but... If he has an 8.8 you won't be able to take out the center section to a shop as the pinion is attached to the axle itself. The front Dana 44 has a removable front pumpkin that can be bench rebuilt, so that could be taken to a shop out of the axle.

ur probablly right fire I have never had to do an 8.8 I have 9"ers or d60 in all my stuff we could pull the axle out entirely and throw it in the back of one of my trucks though. My concern would be whether or not he can afford to have his rig down or not.

I know my 8.8 is not removable... but I wasn't sure if there were different variations between years, etc. I wish I had 9" or better in mine. Eventually... 10.25, 14 bolt, D60, something else? Not sure yet, but that's a ways down the road anyway.

im pretty sure al 8.8's are the same as far as that goes. 10.25 or 14 bolt for sure the 9" is only marginally stronger than the 8.8 and not enough so to justify the swap.

I do use it quite a bit during the winter, but depending on how much time its out is the only thing, it isn't my primary and i work from home. soooo...

to be honest i dont work that hard in the cold so it would need to be spring/summer

Holy cow that is a heck of a quote. Since you got a '94 I would throw a shaved 14 bolt in it and do a 8 lug conversion on the front while looking around for a solid D44. You should be able to pick up the 14 bolt at PnS some weekend. It will probably have 4.10 gears in it so you will have to figure out how big of rubber you will end up with. Your stock TTB probably has 3.55 gears so you could not wheel for a while. Gear setup in a 14 bolt is simple and a detroit for that pig is not all that much $$.

dc

hey if u get the stuff i would be glad to bring some snap on tools to help :) last time i used them was with my 6in lift let me know a date and ill drive down there to help out. ill be gone for a week in feb but i would help. (im a perfectionist :) send me a pm or call me 970 980 8716 names mitch

Hey guys sorry foe the disspearing act...

So been a bit busy with work (which of course is good) plus the weather is getting better - what happened to winter again? But iam ready to start wrenching on the beast.

I have really done some thinking and i even went to check out a few early broncos in the thought that I might just get one done rather then spend the dough to get it done, plus i have always love the old broncos, however as i had a nice couple of weeks to think things out I have decided to keep my FSB, love the room in it, more practicality and options in so much as parts, swapping etc... also I run on the highway to/from the mountains a ton and after driving a couple EB.. well the are friggin rad but man.. the FSB is a Cadillac compared to them... he he...

so... first things first.. i have decided after much thought and reading I have decided to go with a 6" lift (originally had a 4" in mind... but the price difference and the travel/look... why not) with extended radius arms, rear springs.. and probably a new pitman arm

most people say i can swing it without an extended driveshaft I guess i will find out.

So that means eventually I will be going with 35" tires after the gear swap.. running 33" now.

Next I will be re-gearing the thing.. i guess i will be going with 4.10's
however there has been some great advice you have passed along on here i need to digest... and research... also i see the gear get-together in May, this might work out well timing wise so we shall see!

Anyway, I still would like to do the work myself and have someone help out, would be happy to pay in beer, liquor or some cash ;) How about a website :)
if any of you are still out there and willing to wrench with me that would be great.

I'm still renting a house.. no back yard and only a one car garage that I do not think is wide enough.. let alone tall enough to work in however I have access to a couple of my friends garages here in denver proper.

I'm more then willing to drive to your location as well.

Well let me know thanks for the great advice and look forward to getting her setup for the summer!