Tallahassee Bronco Club

I replaced my inexpensive mesh sunshade with the Ford canvas bimini top. This is actually made by Bestop but I couldn't find it on their site. I'm glad I was able to buy it at a discount because I'm not so sure it is much better than my cheap one. It is designed to cover the front without a gap. But realistically, it looks like driving around the air flow will push it up. But I will need to drive it around a little bit once the rain stops. The sunshade has a rigid brace in the front and also just about over your head. This is bolted through existing roll bar holes. The end of the shade has straps that bolt behind the speakers using the lower speaker mounting bolts. This was easy with the soft top folded all the way back. I think this would have been a pain with the hard top as you need to loosen the upper speaker mounting screws to facilitate install the strap. interestingly all the straps include clips to help keep the straps from loosening. Other manufactures that use straps instead of bungee cords as tighteners.

Yesterday, I removed the hard top (after the serious storms we had that morning) and installed my soft top. My 23BB came with dual tops. I've done this a few times and it doesn't seem to get any easier (well, except that I use electric winches so I can do it all myself. It still took me at least an hour each. I go slow intentionally to help ensure I'm not making a mistake.

Last night I saw a glimmer of the Northern Lights. Which is amazing so far south. Actually, I couldn't see anything but the camera could catch a wee bit of it.

You may recall I didn't like the stock rims on the 23 Big Bend. I really liked the look of the Black Diamond Steel Rims. Likely would have bought a Black Diamond if they were available March of 23. LOL.

Big Bend
- factory wheel + tire = 58.25 lbs
- factory tire 32" dia, Bridgstone Dueler A/T 255/75R17 = 35 lbs
- factory aluminum wheel: 23.25 lbs
- wheel offset: 55 mm

Black Diamond
- factory wheel + tire = 74 lbs
- factory tire 31.6" dia, General Grabber A/TX 265/70R17 = 44 lbs
- factory steel wheel: 30 lbs
- wheel offset: 55 mm

Big Bend (with BD steel rims)
- factory wheel + tire = 65 lbs
- factory tire 32" dia, Bridgstone Dueler A/T 255/75R17 = 35 lbs
- factory steel wheel: 30 lbs (some web sites say it weights 31 lbs
- wheel offset: 55 mm

What I hadn't noticed was what my spare tire looked like when it was mounted with the BB stock rim. Was there a 1 inch or so gap between the tire and the bump stop? No idea. But there sure was with the stock tire and the Black Diamond steel rims.

After trying to find some larger Bronco spare tire bump stops I came across a video by a Bronco guy that figured out that the Quadtrec bump stops for jeeps will work for the Bronco. You have to cut it to fit (just like for the jeep) and cut off the rubber pin and use your Ford push pin instead. Seems to work fine. At least now it touches the tire.

The Bronco Vs Jeep Day looks like it will be happening on May 4 in Perry, Ga. It's a bit of a drive from Tallahassee. It is 150 miles from my house and Google Maps says it will take about 2 hours and 40 minutes or there about. Last year was the first time and it still had a good turnout. There was only one food truck and several vendors, mostly nothing to do with Jeep or Bronco. One lady had some artsy stuff and I bought one of those aluminum cups with a copy of the artwork for the event.

In the event pictures attached, my 23 BB is behind the green Bronco with lights. That was when it still had the plastic standard front bumper and plastic standard rear bumper. There were a lot more vehicles then in my few pictures. We left early because of teenager burnout. Why are we here? What is there to do? There's no WiFi when the Bronco is off. Yada, yada, yada.

Another day and another toy for my Bronco. This time I went with the Mabett Cargo Sidewall Protector (for the 4 Door). I think these are made of the same stuff that their seat covers are made of...PU "Leather". Not sure how good it looks, other than it looks a lot better at the moment than my Ford cheap plastic insides that scratch from the wind blowing over them (okay, not really but they do scratch very easily).

These are easy to install and come with 29 pieces of Velcro. The hook part goes against the material and the glue is stuff to your Ford plastic. I used 75% alcohol to clean the plastic. Couldn't find my 99% until I was done, of course. I tried to use some adhesive enhancer but all of the little wipes were dried up. I guess because I keep them in conditioned air, inside a dark cabinet sealed in their individual pouches and inside a Velcro bag as shipped by the mfg.

Because of a few complaints in the Amazon reviews, I went ahead and ordered about 10 or so feet of 3m backed Velcro. This was enough to do the top edge and the rear corner to bottom edge. Then I used 20 or so pieces that Mabett included. It didn't take long and at least from the point of view from scratches, it looks 100% better. Time will tell if the glue will hold.

Well, I've had Black Diamond steel rims for several months for my 23 Big Bend. Finally made an appointment with Minco's who swapped out the tires and TPMS for me today. I love me some steel rims. Likely an infection from my WW2 jeep (and Olive Drab Disease).

Once I got home, I jacked up each wheel, took all of the lug nuts off and installed the center caps. Then I torqued the lugs to 100 lbs. I need to remember to check them in about 100 miles.

I think my next project will be to expose the fake sub and amp and replace them with a real sub and amp. I purchased a Ford Fusion amp and a Kicker 6.5 as recommended by Krista at BuckleupButtercup Offroad. Also bought the Forscan dongle thingy so I can activate the amp/speaker.

84 Piece Bronco Tool Kit

If you are looking to blow some money on your Bronco, I really like the Bronco Kit from Ford. List price is pretty high but you can find it for less.

It has just about every tool you need to carry for those off road emergencies. I've added a larger gauge spool of wire. Likely add a larger adjustable wrench to service tie-rod ends should I ever break one, however unlikely. Ragnar Kon had some other suggestions. See his video on Youtube -

I'm claiming victory over the Fab Four Vengeance rear bumper sensor problems I've had. Ever since I bolted on the FF rear bumper, the sensor did not work. It was so annoying that disabled the sensors in the dash software. What changed? Well, I found a video on Youtube ( ) for the Premium version of the bumper. This video illustrated the orientation of the sensors. The plug end is not straight but bent at a 90 degree angle. So I took some screen shots from the video to compare with what I had previously done. Turns out my angles were off and not only that the two outside adapters were in the wrong places. I switched those and also adjusted the angles. Took it for a test drive. Backing up from the garage (it's on a down slope) the sensors do go off a bit. Nothing like before. Then I backed up toward my wife's RAV4 and the sensors seemed to perform well.

Earlier this week, I was watching a video on Youtube by Krista of Buckleupoffroad. She said that the Flashcal for Bronco is now updated for 2023. So I ordered and it came this morning. I plugged it in to my computer so that I could update it, if needed. It appeared to need it. Using it was very simple. I only removed the double honk and that seemed to work great. At a cost of $200 it is a lot more expensive then Forscan (not including the cost of a PC, if you don't already have one.)

While I like tech, I have found that sometimes it doesn't like me back. To many options to screw up with Forscan. With the Flashcal, you just plug it in to the OBD II port and follow the onscreen instructions. Mostly this means press start with your foot off the brake to enter accessory mode. Then follow the menu and instructions. Very easy to do. I already have a hardware solution for the start stop so I didn't fool with that. I will be able to update the tires, when needed.

I ordered the ASFIR Fuel Tank Skid Plate. This is a 1/4 inch thick aluminum skid plate made up of two plates and 6 hangers. It arrived very quickly from Israel via DHL. Installing this was surprisingly easy. Only took 30 minutes according to the instructions, however, I seemed to have suffered a time warp and lost three hours according to my watch. To be fair, the video showed a guy standing under his Bronco to "easily" install the brackets and the plate, allegedly by himself. Well, I'm not short enough to stand under my Bronco without it being lifted on a rack.

I squeezed under the Bronco until I'd had enough and lifted it with a jack under the rear differential. I had no real trouble installing the 6 brackets. One bolt off and then reuse the bolt for four of the brackets. Two brackets where added to the passenger side frame with holes already tapped by Ford. This was very thoughtful.

Thinking I was about to achieve victory after manhandling the 33 pounds into place, I found that the very front of the skid was not really compatible with my non-ASFIR transmission skid. You may recall that this was an aluminum skid plate made by Mabett to protect the cheesy plastic Ford transmission pan. So I took my saw and lopped off thine offending piece only to discover that another cut needed to be made to clear a bolt holding the Mabett. So off it comes. Dragged it to the side and cut off a portion to clear the bolt.

Back under and I had it all installed except of course for one single solitary bolt that secures the front of the skid to the cross member. All the bolts were loose as recommended by ASFIR. I got out a rubber mallet and allowed some pent up frustration to adjust the plate ever so slowly and ever so minutely and well, it just finally lined up. Success.

The pictures don't really show the blood, sweat and toil of the installation that really was easy. So for no particular reason then I like the photo I also included a picture of the front of my Bronco.

I'm thinking I may go with a rear differential skid next. Being Florida with no abundance of rocks as far as I know, I think the more plates I have I eventually will have enough places to store my new impending sand collection.

Oh, today, I will get back under to torque all the bolts to specs.

After adding the table to the rear door, I pondered what to do next? Well, why not try the Gearshade Limb Riser Kit. I have to admit I'm not likely to every be in a position to use the kit but I liked the look so why not be a poser? LOL.

Installing the US made kit is pretty straight forward. You do have to know how to remove the covers on the top of the windshield frame. I had to watch the good folks over at 151 Garage to understand how simple this is. Basically, at the top of the cover there is a "button", push the button in and at the same time pull from the top, and off it comes.

The 151 Garage pointed out, over a year ago, that Gearshade could improve this kit by including cable leashes so that you don't lose the pins that holds the thing together. This is important because to open your hood, you need to remove the pin and lower the cable and bracket safely to the said. The hood will otherwise catch on the limb riser, not open and possibly scratch the hood. Not good.

It is easy to make the pin retainer with a length of wire and clamps.

Another suggestion is to add those plastic corner protectors. These help to prevent any damage from the Gearshade components.

PS. 2/29/24: I added a picture that shows what the Gearshade looks like installed.

Added an inexpensive tailgate table to my Bronco. It is cheap at about $110. Has pretty good instructions, which could be a bit better. All hardware was provided. There wasn't enough rubber edging to fully follow the instructions. I made do. So far I don't hear any rattling.

I was going to add a short video but apparently at 292MB it is too large.

Ever since I bought my 23 Big Bend in March 2023, I've seen people ask about interior ambient lightning. I've seen items for sale. Well, I couldn't help but notice that the Bronco has ambient floor lighting. At least in the front. It was set to minimum and I moved it to maximum. Nice. 2.3L Big Bend with the mid package.

Well, my Fab Four Vengeance bumper came in on Monday, so yesterday I installed it. Fairly easy install. I couldn't believe how cheap and lame the plastic rear bumper was. There isn't any metal backing in it like in the front. One of the nutserts stripped out of the plastic. Cheap. Junk.

The FF came in a box that was beat up but the FF people package it well. The bumper was wrapped in a blanket!

Removing the old bumper was easy. I started by putting painters tape on the body near the rear bumper to protect the paint. Disconnect the wiring harness from both sides. Remove the tow hook (my BB only had one). and the two bolts from the other frame rail. Remove the two bolts in the back of the bumper. Lifts off, very light.

Take out the sensors and the wiring harness. This is also pretty easy. I used tape and a pen to indicate which sensor went where.

Install the sensor mounts. The two outside mounts leave overhang. I might try a heat gun to bend the plastic to match the bumper. The FF people included a small packet of epoxy to glue the sensor mounts into position. I guess with at least two types of rear bumpers, Ford has different mounts for each? I had to carve one of the tabs off so that the mounts would fit flush. The outside holes are just big holes so epoxy will certainly be needed to keep them from moving. You also have to expoxy the license plate light. I had to whittle some of the plastic tabs to get it to fit flush.

The wiring harness did not fit the bumper well. Maybe you are supposed to remove some of the tape to relax the wire? Well, I had an unused adapter wire from the front bumpers Rough Country winch mount. No sensors up front so this was a spare. Plugged in and that made it fit.

The bumper, I believe is said to weigh 80 lbs. Two people lift. I had me, myself and I...and a cart with a lift. I discovered at this point it would likely be easier if I removed the spare. So I removed it. I lifted the bumper up with the cart and then lifted up one side and then the other. Pushed up on the bumper and once I had one screw installed with out the tow bracket, it was clear sailing from that point.

I did not reinstall the black tow hook. I replaced it with two red Ford tow hooks. Now I have some symmetry. I need to find the torque numbers for the tow hook bolts.

This was much easier than the front bumper install.

Comments/Dislikes? Well, my Bro-Flaps no longer fit. No place that I can see to put them. Just running with the front flaps for now. Sensor mounting holes seem generic and you have to cut your own mounts to fit on the two inside mounts. The two outside mounts are just a big hole, so the mount can move around. Thus the glue they give. The glue is not much. You are supposed to glue before installing the bumper but I wanted to make sure the sensors seemed to work before gluing them down. I think that's about it.

Got the new tires and wheels on today. They're stuffed in there until Monday when I'll get the suspension work done. Just taking it easy on the turns and bumps until then, which is no prob. Tires are Milestar Patagonia MT-02 37x12.5r17, and the wheels are delightfully cheap GFX (a Discount Tire in-house thing, I believe) TR-16 17x9 0 offset. Suspension work should tidy it up, but I'll still have a close look at the clearance once it is done.

I bought Black Diamond 17 inch rims and the Bronco caps to go with them. Now my plan is to have the tires moved off the current rims along with the TPMS. Anyone know a tire place that will be willing to do the swap? The first place I tried was Tires Plus and they "don't do that any more". I like the tires on the Big Bend so I'm not ready to purchase new tires as these have less than 5000 miles on them.

@BobN - USAF would you have any need (or would anyone else in the group) for the sasquatch wheels & tires? I'm considering replacing my tires with 37s and the wheels would need to be changed to some with 0 offset.

Edit: Didn't think about it before, but I will also (definitely) be replacing the sasquatch suspension. I've got new coilovers, front UCAs, rear arms, links, and track bar all to be installed on the 25th.

Wanted to Buy- 4 Black Diamond 17 inch Steel Rims with the caps and one without the cap. Total of five. Anybody in Tally with a BD and changed out their rims. Not really interested in the tires but I would consider them as well. I can get the rims on eBay as "new take offs" for about $90. Would prefer to buy local if available. Thanks! Bob N>

The Tally heat wave sure make me know I'm not 30 anymore, not 40 or even 50. I tackled the 23 BB ugly bumper (plastic - standard). It was very light weight something like 30 or so pounds. I installed my Chinese copy of the HD modular bumper. It's a lot heavier to fool with (100 lbs?) It's pretty good but I changed out the d ring mounts for red Ford jewels. Then I read about the weakness of the frame rail horns and how people with a winch high mount and damaged their frame horns. So I bought a kit from TD-Distributing and it is a very good kit. Emphasis on kit as it involved a lot of grinding on the kit pieces to get it to find my Bronco. Once I got that installed, I installed the Rough Country High Winch mount and a Warn winch. It's been a not so fun few days. Tomorrow I will finish the install by hooking up the electrics to the winch and the 20 inch light bar under the winch.

The fog lights work with the stock set up. I had fogs in the plastic bumper. So I bought some new fogs and plugged them into the stock wiring harness that I moved form the plastic bumper to the HD Mod. Sweet!

I have skid plates except for the transfer case and the fuel. I've ordered an ASFIR transfer case skid. It's being shipped from Israel via DHL. Should be here in a few days. After that I will give the fuel tank skid a go.

Seems like another day and another topic. No idea if an oil catch can is really necessary but in my 2.3L engine it was an easy plug and play. I used the J&L Oil Separator Co.'s can. Only $159 through Amazon. The company also sells director and offers a military and first responder discount. Anyway, I will report back after 500 miles or so on its function. Anyone else have one?

Another fun day here in Tallahassee. I got tired of trying to find an OEM HD Modular Bumper to replace my hated plastic front bumper. Finally found a Chinse copy on Amazon for less than $800. Received it. Not a bad copy. I had a problem with one of the mounts. The seller was in the process of sending me another one. The copied mounts are not true copies as they don't have a hole machined so that you can attach them to the bumper. This is only to facilitate assemble has nothing to do with how the bumper functions. Just easier to move one piece instead of three when installing the bumper.

I told the seller to cancel as I had decided to purchase the Ford OEM Red mounts. To my surprise they refunded to me the cost of the replacement mounts. The red mounts were purchased through CJPony. Received this morning and mounted the bumper after lunch! The bumper came with the plastic covers but I will be adding a Rough Country winch mount with a Warn winch as soon as the winch comes in.

With the Mod bumper I had to cut off my front tow hooks or fork out about $60 a piece for the two brackets with out the tow hooks. Saws all works metal magic. Some Rustoleum and don't look back.

I have yet to install the Broaddict Front & Engine Skid Plate Kit. I already have the Mabett transmission skid plate installed. I wanted to protect that plastic pan from road trash!. Now I'm on the lookout for a transfer case skid and then a fuel tank skid. I'm leaning toward ASFIR 4X4 plates for those. The Broaddict front and engine plates are better than the Big Bend plastic but at only 3.3mm thickness (or slightly less than 1/8 inch) I don't expect much. But hey they are light! I don't do much rock crawling. But for road trash I think I will be covered for the front, engine and transmission.

I see we have/had 9 members, one of them is lined out? Maybe it's time to have a meet up? Where? I've only lived in Tally for 26 years or so so I don't know where anything is. LOL

So I really do not like plastic bumpers. I do not like them on my Bronco. So today I did something about it. But as with some experience with foreign produced parts, a part was missing. Which part, you ask? The D-ring that helps to hold the bumper and allegedly supports thousands of pounds of pull with three bolts. While I'm complaining to the sells people, I had intended in ordering the Ford RED D-ring mounts to replace these. However, I'm adding a winch mount and these replace the D-ring mounts anyway. So for a few days I will sport about town without one of the mounts.

Also, didn't realize that the plastic bumper with its plastic shield does not fit the modular bumper.

In the pictures you can see my original plastic bumper with fog lights. Never got to use them. LOL. Just unplugged the line that connects the bumper to the vehicle. I've ordered the Mabett raptor style fog lights and was pulling to wire the white light portion to the stock switch. However, my electric skills are still pending development so I might just go to the recommended AUX switches. I don't really want to splice the harness or even cut the plug off the departing lights (but I might)

Parts laid out shows I'm missing one of the D-rings.

Two person job or one determined old guy and a 5 gallon bucket and an empty hard plastic cooler. Fairly easy.

I measure the front fender height before and after and there was no change. Will try again when the winch mount arrives and then when I add the winch. I had a Warn in my 2020 Colorado ZR2 Bison. but honestly I never used it. So I might just get a Harbor Freight Badlands 12K with a two year warranty and call it a day.

One of the small irritants of modern vehicles for me is the auto stop/start. Just reminds to much of a stall. Is it harder on the starter? I don't know but I don't like it. The first kits to solve this that I saw required you to open up the dash to access a plug to plug and play. Alternately you can use software (Forscan) to stop this. Well, I received the plug and play module that goes just above and to the left of your left foot. Fairly easy to install with pretty clear instructions. Of course, the Ford module you plug into required me to move the drivers' seat all the way back. Remove the floor liners (only because they were dirty). Then I had to stand on my head to see the module and then twist my hand around to unplug the original harness, plug in the new harness to and then plug the new harness into the Ford module. Ten minutes tops. Seems to work just fine.

Well, these Mabett Cargo Shelf Side Covers came a day too late for installing by the instructions. Instructions say remove the top and then remove the screws from the top. Also this is not for the hard top. So I modified the instructions and installed it with the top in place. The screws pop up in the holes but obviously don't help to hold it down. Also didn't crack my paint like others have said. It is held in place by what looks like 3m tape. Slide into place. I like the more finished look.

What I didn't like is that the package was delivered by UPS opened with the parts loose and flopping out. Lazy Amazon didn't put the items in a box and the original box was not really designed for shipping.

My daughter was married on July 8th. So I had switched from the soft top to the hard top. Added a half rack on top of the Bronco. Good thing too. Wifey took three boxes of stuff for a wedding shower. I think normally the shower is held way in advance of the wedding. However, many of the guests were coming from overseas so events where squished together.

I can say that after several hundred miles and many miles in stop and go traffic, the auto stop/stuff switch box is worth it. I think it was only about $50. One thing less I have to remember!

Picture of my daughter and I, just before leaving for the wedding in Orlando.

Yesterday, I removed the hard top and put the soft top back on. Was a lot easier to remove the soft top then to put it back on. I think I will be getting another winch to help remove/add the soft top. The manual pulley system is okay but with 4 pulleys/ropes it can be a bit of a struggle. LOL.