1986 bronco

[dtbback]

How dificulet was it for you to mount the 16" coilover? I am looking at maybe getting a setc of bilsteins already valedictorian for a bronco but I am worried about loacting the upper mount.

[Wrightracing.net]

The 16in coilovers have been done on the Bronco's but it gets a little tight with a second bypass shock and the Oem AC Heater box and the master cylinder vaccum booster.

To cycle the 16" shocks properly you need to kick them back.

I have fox 2.5×16 coilovers and 2.5×16 dampening shocks for my 86 but I have removed the stock AC/heater to make more room in the engine compartment. Also I am converting my Bronco to hydro boost brakes, so the vaccum booster will be gone and I will be relocating the master cylinder with a custom 180° bracket.
I have not got that far on mine but I have seen it done before and that is the direction I am going with mine.

It has become a snowball effect. The never-ending project.

[dtbback]

Wright- Thanks for the info. If I dId get them, my plan was mounting them on the front of the beam and have the lower spring cup just above the top of the beam. I spoke with Mark Sr. a while back and he said that on their set ups they found a bypass to be of negligible benefit compared to a smooth body with resi. So if I needed more dampening that's what I think I'd be looking at that instead of a bypass. What are your thoughts?

[Wrightracing.net]

I agree with the smooth body shock. Unless you are racing or just have money to burn, the bypass is overkill. They do let you tune the setup quicker but once set, you don't need to keep re adjusting them. On my Bronco, I have already picked up a set of Fox 2.5×16 threaded body resivor shocks that I am going to use as my dampening shock. I will be setting the dampening half as much when using a single coilover. That way the shock oil does not heat up as fast and helps stop shock fade.

I have done enough shock adjusting the shims out doing shake down for racing, it will not be a big deal playing with the shim stacks out at Plaster City for a day. I need to get a Nitrogen bottle to recharge them when out there.

On my rear shocks they are 3.0×18 Kings, that are smooth body resivor ' s, but a friend has offered to put bypass tubes on them for me. I will do them because it will not cost much to do it and it will save some time tuning the rear. The 18's were hand me downs from a friend I pitted for in Baja, so can't beat the price.

[dtbback]

Yea, I was thinking of mounting the reservoirs on the opposite side of their mounting loati I need to help reduce temperature increases. I wanthink to pick up the new McQueen hood and have the resis mounted right near the vent holes so they get direct airflow.

Speaking of shock cooling. Havery you ever seen anyone use one of those extruded aluminum Trans coolers inline? Read a thread about ahock cooling on race dezert, and that was my first idea for a cheap and easy mod. If they could withstand the pressures.

[dtbback]

You can't beat free when it comes to shocks!!

Yea, I was thinking of mounting the reservoirs on the opposite side of their mounting location to help reduce temperature increases. I want to pick up the new McQueen hood and have the resis mounted right near the vent holes so they get direct airflow.

Speaking of shock cooling. Have you ever seen anyone use one of those extruded aluminum Trans coolers inline? Read a thread about shock cooling on race dezert, and that was my first idea for a cheap and easy mod. If they could withstand the pressures.

[dtbback]

Sorry for the double cpost. Phone was going a little crazy.

[Wrightracing.net]

No problem on the double post.

Good idea on the placement of the reservoirs.

In Baja we have not had any major issues with over heating the shocks with running lower compression per shock to keep the heat down. High compression heats up the shock faster. By distributing the comp between the 4 shocks up front, makes a good setup.

As for the trans cooler, good idea, but the pressure of the shock is way past the trans cooler limit.

The way to go is the new finned Fox reservoirs and also the larger ones if you are having that much trouble with heat.

If you have the shocks setup properly, the heat is not as much of a problem.

[Broncotough]

sup wrightracing, what are some challenges you faced putting coilovers onto the chassis? this winter i have a custom rear bumbeer build and i wanna do a better lift with possible coilovers.

[Wrightracing.net]

Hey Broncotough,
First off, you have to determine what kind of setup do you need and want? What size of tires you are going to run? How high of a lift you want? What kind of off roading do you do? A mud truck is a different setup than a desert go fast setup.

If you are going for longer travel to go fast in the ruff stuff, you will want to get TTB beams that are cut and turned to give you the proper angle back with the lift over stock.

Also the placement of the front coilovers will be affected if you go wider. Going wider will help the drive line angles and give you cleaner wheel travel.

On my Bronco, I am not trying to fit huge tires like 39's or even 37's. I prefer a squatter setup with 35"×12.50"×15". With this setup it makes the Bronco a little more durable over one running heavier tires. Less stress on suspension components. I like the look of the 37" tires but I am kind of hard on my Bronco.

There are several ways to add coilovers and the budget you have and what you want to do will dictate which way you go. Also, you Fabrication capabilities will make a big difference.

[Broncotough]

Really diggin the interiorset up tower, Ilike the shifter and steering wheel, howed ya make the center consol?

[Wrightracing.net]

dtbback,

I was looking into the fox and King shock resivors that are finned. King is coming out with a retrofit kit to add fins to older shock resivors.

Also there is the fox Cactus Cooler for Fox. The price is a bit high at $500 each.

[dtbback]

Yea I saw those. That price is definitely way too high for what I'll have the stones to do. I think opposing mounted reservoirs with some good air flow will be plenty for my application.