www.ColoradoClassicBroncos.com

Ok, I've heard of people "smoking" their motor to find vacuum leak.

How is this done ?

It's not a vac leak. That would effect it more at idle when the vacuum is high.

This is probably off base but could you have an O2 sensor issue? I had an O2 sensor wire that got up against the header on mine and it was intermittently shorting out and it caused some similar issues to what you describe. Yours sounds like it is a more extreme version of what mine was but it would certainly be worth looking at. On the fuel tank, would it be possible to temporarily, run an external pump to see if that changes anything? I don't know if the in-tank pump would allow fuel to be pulled through it by an external pump but if does, that might allow you to trouble shoot the tank / pump without dropping the tank again. With the number of fuel delivery issues that you have had, I would be tempted to set up a temporary fuel cell and an external HP pump. It would be a pain in the ass but at least you would know if the problem is in the tank again or if you should be looking elsewhere.

Rob's idea of pulling a data log is a great idea. While it may not tell you exactly what the problem is, it will certainly help narrow it down. It will show if you are going lean on 1 bank or both. It's also super handy for finding electrical gremlins since the value of the culprit will usually bottom out or spike during intermittent conditions.

What's the word Jeff? Any progress on the diagnosis?

casadejohnson wrote:What's the word Jeff? Any progress on the diagnosis?

No real progress as I have been trying to recover from a chest cold and had to go to KC.

I did change out the spark plugs on drivers side and they were all still correctly gapped and looked to be in good shape, etc. I will change the others today or tomorrow.

More encouraging is that the cavalry is coming over to help troubleshoot it further.

I think I will be sitting in the engine bay watching the fuel pressure gauge while Phil dies the test driving.

I wish I had the data logging stuff to work with as I agree it would be enlightening.

Rox Crusher wrote:I wish I had the data logging stuff to work with as I agree it would be enlightening.

Give me a shout this evening. We'll sort out the logistics to get you going.

Rox Crusher wrote:

casadejohnson wrote:What's the word Jeff? Any progress on the diagnosis?

No real progress as I have been trying to recover from a chest cold and had to go to KC.

I did change out the spark plugs one drivers side and they were all still correctly gapped and looked to be in good shape, etc. I will change the others today or tomorrow.

More encouraging is that the cavalry is coming over to help troubleshoot it further.

I think I will be sitting in the engine bay watching the fuel pressure gauge while Phil dies the test driving.

I wish I had the data logging stuff to work with as I agree it would be enlightening.

Viperwolf1- The one man cavalry ... Weird, I thought he was an Air Force man.

casadejohnson wrote:

Rox Crusher wrote:

casadejohnson wrote:What's the word Jeff? Any progress on the diagnosis?

No real progress as I have been trying to recover from a chest cold and had to go to KC.

I did change out the spark plugs one drivers side and they were all still correctly gapped and looked to be in good shape, etc. I will change the others today or tomorrow.

More encouraging is that the cavalry is coming over to help troubleshoot it further.

I think I will be sitting in the engine bay watching the fuel pressure gauge while Phil dies the test driving.

I wish I had the data logging stuff to work with as I agree it would be enlightening.

Viperwolf1- The one man cavalry ... Weird, I thought he was an Air Force man.

Well, the cavalry just doubled in size.

EFI Guy is bringing his quarter horse data logger to help with the troubleshooting.

This problem doesn't stand a chance !

I hope you figure it out and it's something simple. When are you guys gonna work on it?

ZOSO wrote:I hope you figure it out and it's something simple. When are you guys gonna work on it?

Saturday mid-morning

I hope it isn't embarrassingly simple

Maybe its not the engine or fuel delivery.. maybe its the driver?

Well it seems te be running very well but not sure what cured it.

Things we did today:

- finished installing new spark plugs. Removed plugs all had proper gap and looked good.
- cleaned air filter
- cleaned MAF sensor
- cleaned IAB
- cleaned throttle body
- adjusted throw on throttle so it would open up further
- took for a 15 mile test drive

Came back and ran codes, got a couple weird one during KOER
- 18 which = "SPOUT circuit open or spark angle word failure"
- 96 which = "Fuel pump secondary circuit failure. The EEC did not sense battery voltage on the Fuel Pump Monitor circuit."

We should have run and cleared codes before test drive but didn't think of that at the time.

So, I will put some miles on it in next few days and see if it keeps running well and if codes return.

Any insight on the codes anybody ?

Big thanks to Phil for coming out to help and also to G ary for being on standby.

I'd think the spout code could contribute to a problem, if it is intermittently having connection issues it could cause timing problems, I'm not certain on that as I don't know what codes are considered false codes in early ford efi, also a voltage issue to the fuel pump could cause issues to, you might do a volt drop test on the signal wire to the relay after it's been driven for a few, check from the ecu to the relay, and on the ground circuit of the relay check from its pin to the neg. post, if there is a resistance issue in the power or ground circuit to the pump relay, it will show up in this test
Also, if the spout code is a valid code, check the connection for the spout for corrosion or loose pins, with ignition off check resistance across the connector on each wire, if that's good, connect a timing light, rev it up to see what total advance is, then while revving it up wiggle and move the harness to the spout, and flex on the connector, if the timing retards back down to base or a code sets while doing this you may have a poor connection or a chaffed wire

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Finally got around to installing my Meyers 7' snowplow.

Looks tough, but controls aren't working yet. Gotta do some troubleshooting in the morning.

Nice work! You can make a little extra money in your neighborhood now.

76fordbronco wrote:Nice work! You can make a little extra money in your neighborhood now.

First order of business is to plow my drive so I can get out of the dog house.

Looks great

Needs an LED lightbar now! Yeah, does look great. I loved plowing with my dad's 60's power wagon!

Jesus_man wrote:Needs an LED lightbar now! Yeah, does look great. I loved plowing with my dad's 60's power wagon!

You must have read my mind, one of the current lights is kind of wonky (broken) and I am looking into different lights which is why I didn't even hook these ones up.

If I get one as bright as crawlercreations.............it will just melt the snow !

Sounds like a win/win!

Phil and I re-arranged a couple electron hiways and got it functioning. Turns out the Meyer solenoid is uni-directional.

Too bad the plow is so flippin' heavy that I have to redo / fortify the plow hanger mount so it doesn't snap off.

The front springs are so compressed that it is causing clearance issues for tires / fenders and the rear tires are wanting to leave the ground.

So, looks like new springs up front and some extra weight behind the rear seat will be the next order of business.

I was likely going to pickup some air springs, I've only found them new at the Graveyard, http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-129 ... 0-4x4.html.

I'm guessing I'll have to add some small blocks to make up for the suspension lift. Want to split shipping?

kinder wrote:I was likely going to pickup some air springs, I've only found them new at the Graveyard, http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-129 ... 0-4x4.html.

I'm guessing I'll have to add some small blocks to make up for the suspension lift. Want to split shipping?

Ad says free shipping. Regardless, my B Ronco piggy bank is empty at the moment.

Must have missed the free shipping thing. How about you order a pair and sort out all the install issues, then I'll order mine.

Rox Crusher wrote:Howdy guys,

As we learned a few things specific to 76/77 model Bronco, I thought I would share results of my TieRod Over conversion using Roughstuff TieRod End components in combination with knuckles off of a 78/79 Bronco.

The tie rod attachment points on the 78/79 knuckle are about 1" lower than the stock knuckles used on 76/77 Broncos. So in theory, the 76/77 knuckles would be better in terms of achieving maximum trail clearance for steering linkage.

Unfortunately, the attachment points on 76/77 are about 1" closer to the wheels preventing use of any of the heavier duty steering linkage components available which is why I elected to use the 78/79 knuckles.

On to the good stuff, since the 76/77 Bronco came stock with a longer track bar bracket, you don't have to use a drop pitman arm or an axle riser bracket to achieve nearly perfect geometry between trac bar and drag link. Mine ended up being within 1 degree of each other.

When I did this I used a steering arm I borrowed from Kirk since I forgot the reamer. Even though it was only 3/8" longer than my original, it was somehow causing a very loud clunk in the steering.

Today, Phil gave me my stock arm back after he had reamed it to the correct size to match the new tie rod ends. I just installed it and it no longer clunks at all.

Thanks again guys for all the help !

Yesterday I mounted the plow up again to see what else I need to do to strengthen up the mount.

Thought I would share a couple photos.

Looks like I need to lower the cutting edge back down by a smidge.

How much lift are you running? I wonder if a set of old f-150 coils would help with the extra snow plow weight? I remember when I was building my '74, the F-150 coils were cheap and gave a couple inches of lift. You sacrifice ride, but you could swap back for the summer??

Jesus_man wrote:How much lift are you running? I wonder if a set of old f-150 coils would help with the extra snow plow weight? I remember when I was building my '74, the F-150 coils were cheap and gave a couple inches of lift. You sacrifice ride, but you could swap back for the summer??

I'm running 3.5" springs but have been planning (read, procrastinating) to go up to 4.5" to eliminate the slight rake it has always had.

This gives me more reason to do this and I think I will also add some of those inflatable bags that go inside the springs. Deflate them when plow not in use.

I'll see how that works and then consider adding sand bags in the back as counterweight.

Did I mention I'm getting ARB's front and rear ?