Mechanic's take on Ford Bronco

[onemanarmy]

Just open the hood and you'll see that they overcomplicated it and rushed it. A nice mid sized N/A engine would have done JUST fine. Less to engineer, less to test, less to break, less to warranty, less to gamble with and suffer more negative press.

Too small tie rods? I thought they did 'millions' of miles of testing and beat on them? Any car person understands the steering gear would need to be extra beefy on a truck that is advertised as super ruff and rugged. This has been true for 100 years.
Wonder what else was minimized and not thought out?

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Just open the hood and you'll see that they overcomplicated it and rushed it. A nice mid sized N/A engine would have done JUST fine. Less to engineer, less to test, less to break, less to warranty, less to gamble with and suffer more negative press.

Too small tie rods? I thought they did 'millions' of miles of testing and beat on them? Any car person understands the steering gear would need to be extra beefy on a truck that is advertised as super ruff and rugged. This has been true for 100 years.
Wonder what else was minimized and not thought out?

What about the TJ wranglers back in the day? You can’t tell me that jeep’s stock steering gear was up for serious offroading. You ever seen that toothpick of a tierod they put on it?


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[Regcabguy]

What about the TJ wranglers back in the day? You can’t tell me that jeep’s stock steering gear was up for serious offroading. You ever seen that toothpick of a tierod they put on it?


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Ford should have learned by now to overbuild some components considering their advertising and promotion of offroading.

 

[nickw]

Just open the hood and you'll see that they overcomplicated it and rushed it. A nice mid sized N/A engine would have done JUST fine. Less to engineer, less to test, less to break, less to warranty, less to gamble with and suffer more negative press.

Too small tie rods? I thought they did 'millions' of miles of testing and beat on them? Any car person understands the steering gear would need to be extra beefy on a truck that is advertised as super ruff and rugged. This has been true for 100 years.
Wonder what else was minimized and not thought out?

Why would you say they "overcomplicated" it....it's the same engine and drivetrain that has already been proven in other platforms. Are you suggesting they come up with a new engine unique to the Bronco?

The funny thing sometimes, I see if often, people look at a components which "seems" small and their perception of the issue may not align with reality given the complex nature of forces and stresses that our pea brains cant calculate by simply looking at something. Give it a few years and we'll see if it fails in practice or if Ford re-engineers the part....

 

[charlieaarons]

The way the world is going, nothing can be fixed, you need a new battery for your iphone, you have to buy a new phone. Cars the same thing, the manufacturers are doing everything they can to trash 5 years old cars and sell a new one. It will take government intervention and regulations to reverse this trend.

I don’t know about your iPhone, but I just had an independent shop replace the battery in my 6s with a “better than new” battery with 28% extra capacity. For $75 instead of $60 for a standard battery. A bit cheaper than a new phone, whose main additional attribute seems to be camera (I have the 128G memory of course). Sorry for the OT.

 

[2Jeeps&PatriotX1]

Last year I changed a couple 5s Apple batteries. It takes some finesse, but dont need to be a watchmaker. It was pretty easy.
Btw, its surprising how much empty space exists within an Applephone.
Anyway, back to Bronco.

Ha !
Advertising sells an image. Not reality. Everybody knows that.
Ford has hard EPA/DOT parameters to fit. Anywhere they can shave off weight they will, and dont want to overbuild a lifestyle/image vehicle which vast majority of are used as unstressed throwaway dailydrivers.

So thats why Ford didn’t install hood struts on the bronco and instead used a POS hood prop. My 4dr Badlands, 2.7, lux, tow w/ soft top comes in at 5160lbs (full tank, no occupants or cargo). Leaving me w/ 1020lbs for occupants/cargo/trailer tongue weight.


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[nickw]

Last year I changed a couple 5s Apple batteries. It takes some finesse, but dont need to be a watchmaker. It was pretty easy.
Btw, its surprising how much empty space exists within an Applephone.
Anyway, back to Bronco.

Ha !
Advertising sells an image. Not reality. Everybody knows that.
Ford has hard EPA/DOT parameters to fit. Anywhere they can shave off weight they will, and dont want to overbuild a lifestyle/image vehicle which vast majority of are used as unstressed throwaway dailydrivers.

Same can be said, for, well pretty much all sim vehicles over the last 50+ years, Jeeps, Scouts, vintage Broncos, etc. are all "lifestyle" rigs not specifically designed for offroad, some have some HD components leftover from the pickups, but many don't. I'd say this Bronco is reasonably HD and (unlike many of the other ones) is specifically to work well offroad factory. It has a solid proven drivetrain, fairly HD front and rear diffs.

Looks like Spicer also has a series of axles upgrades for the new Bronco's also, Dana 60 rear, HD front Dana 44 (I think this is a 220mm vs 210mm front diff) and HD stub shafts:

2021+ Bronco | Spicer Parts

spicerparts.com

 

[nickw]

Nice upgrade on a base model with 33's if that stuff will fit!

 

[FordGuy1]

Same can be said, for, well pretty much all sim vehicles over the last 50+ years, Jeeps, Scouts, vintage Broncos, etc. are all "lifestyle" rigs not specifically designed for offroad, some have some HD components leftover from the pickups, but many don't. I'd say this Bronco is reasonably HD and (unlike many of the other ones) is specifically to work well offroad factory. It has a solid proven drivetrain, fairly HD front and rear diffs.

Looks like Spicer also has a series of axles upgrades for the new Bronco's also, Dana 60 rear, HD front Dana 44 (I think this is a 220mm vs 210mm front diff) and HD stub shafts:

2021+ Bronco | Spicer Parts

spicerparts.com

I believe those are available because it is what Ford is going to use in the Bronco Raptor with 37".

 

[phsycle]

I’ve not kept up on this. Had no idea Bronco Raptor was in the works. I’m sure crazy high MSRP.

I wouldn’t mind a basic Black Diamond 7-sp on 35’s with those Spicer front axle upgrade.

 

[FordGuy1]

I’ve not kept up on this. Had no idea Bronco Raptor was in the works. I’m sure crazy high MSRP.

I wouldn’t mind a basic Black Diamond 7-sp on 35’s with those Spicer front axle upgrade.

It's pretty cool. 3.5L, 10spd with a 4-link rear and 37" inch tires. It looks incredible. I am sure it will be 120k

 

[plainjaneFJC]

The Everglades model with a snorkel and winch looks pretty cool

 

[redthies]

To be clear, the Bronco Sport and Bronco are COMPLETELY different vehicles, with zero overlap, completely different engineering teams. The Bronco Sport should have just been named something else. It's pretty confusing for people.

Most people are easily confused, and the Bronco “Sport” has as much to do with the new Bronco as the Bronco ll did with the OBS Broncos. I agree they should not have used the same name at all. Obviously they were hoping to catch some “cute-ute” buyers with the name recognition.

 

[redthies]

I am pretty happy with the factory soft top on my BL. Almost 2 months and has been tight. I did put the Bimini top on underneath mine and that made a difference I was not expecting. Warmer and a little quieter. Go figure.

That’s good to hear. They are delivering hardtop rigs with soft tops now (at least in my area), with a “you’ll get your hard top asap note.

I’m still hearing that tow packages are delaying production on orders. I want to be able to tow with mine, but I’m sure Reese or Curt will have a class 2 hitch available soon, if not already. I’m assuming orders placed now will be 2022 models? Hopefully if the 4 month wait time is true, they will address some of the early glitches.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That’s good to hear. They are delivering hardtop rigs with soft tops now (at least in my area), with a “you’ll get your hard top asap note.

They piled them up in a big dirt lot for months until they had time to redesign the hardtops last summer/fall because the bill to ship new hardtops would be astronomical.

You can get a hard top prep kit for your soft top which means you get the provisions for the rear wiper and defrost... so YOU can buy a hardtop when they become more accessible down the road and have it shipped on your dime.

You can't get your Bronco until you get YOUR Bronco. They can't switch tops on you and give you a note about getting something else other than what you had when you signed on the dotted line and financed the thing.

Ford is not giving out free soft tops with notes about getting hardtops... and they couldn't if they wanted to.

I already have a Curt receiver on hand for ours, like $500 cheaper than the factory tow package. Same tow rating and whatever, we just wanted it for the recover point and hardpoint for like a hitch hauler or bike rack.

They are done building 21's, if you don't have a 21 yet you won't be getting one unless you snag a mannequin, orphan or a used one.