Front Drive Unit Swap (M190 to M210) - In Depth DIY Video

[Dusty]

Hey guys if you're thinking of swapping your Front Drive Unit or just wondering about the work involved in doing it yourself, here's a video my wife and I just completed that documents the process. This video is part of our series on re-gearing and axle-swapping our '21 Ford Bronco Base. This video covers the process, in-depth, of removing the factory M190 Front Drive Unit and replacing it with a used or aftermarket M210 FDU. In our case we swapped in a used Badlands FDU that we had already re-geared and freshened up. But the process would be the same for those considering installing a brand new M210 FDU assembly from Ford Performance or Dana.



This is a fairly long video because wanted to capture the entire process for anyone considering doing this work themselves but might not be sure what it entails. Experienced mechanics might find it a bit basic and ponderous so it won't hurt our feelings if you choose to find something more brief to view for your Bronco entertainment. But for those considering this as a DIY project, it's all in there so grab a beer and follow along!

The tl/dw for those who would rather not take the time to watch it is that swapping the FDU is a fairly long, complicated and tedious process. I am a fairly OK shade tree mechanic but definitely not a pro, which I'm sure comes across in the video. But I'm old, fat, and bent from arthritis so if I can do it, just about anyone can. I do have a lift in my shop which makes doing something like this possible for someone like me. I myself wouldn't even attempt this job without the lift, but it would be entirely possible for someone younger and in better shape to do it on the floor with jack stands.

Two things we found out: 1) it's possible to R&R and M190 without removing the steering rack, but not possible to install the M210 without removing the rack. And 2) installing the steering rack is a MAJOR pain the butt, just from trying to shoehorn it in there with the FDU already in place. We explain the struggle and what finally worked for us, in the video, but it simply boiled down to struggling with it until it's done, with lots of pushing, pulling, prying and cussing. I'm not looking forward to doing that again, though I will have to soon because I bought the HOSS 3 rack (I didn't have it yet, when we shot this video).

In case you missed the previous installments, check out the gear swap (HERE for the thread on this forum, or HERE for the YouTube video) and the rear axle swap (HERE for the thread on this forum, or HERE for the YouTube video). The next one will cover buttoning up both ends, installing ProCal to defeat the FAD delete issue, wiring up the locker switches etc.

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[Snacktime]

The upper mount is a pain on a V6 Bronco, its got this thing called a catalytic converter in the way.

 

[Dusty]

The upper mount is a pain on a V6 Bronco, its got this thing called a catalytic converter in the way.

That sounds like even more of a PITA than what we encountered on the 2.3L. For us there's a plastic drip rail thingy you have to un-do, to get a socket onto the forward nut of the top diff mount. My regular 22mm socket was too short and my deep socket was too long to fit, so I had to dig through my random socket drawer and found a mid-length 13/16 socket that barely worked LOL.

 

[Snacktime]

Just for reference I installed Badlands takeoffs from a 2023 non-sas 4 door with 2.7 on my 2023 Base non-sas 2 door 2.3. $400 for the takeoffs. Perfect stance and rides great. Don't over think it.

That sounds like even more of a PITA than what we encountered on the 2.3L. For us there's a plastic drip rail thingy you have to un-do, to get a socket onto the forward nut of the top diff mount. My regular 22mm socket was too short and my deep socket was too long to fit, so I had to dig through my random socket drawer and found a mid-length 13/16 socket that barely worked LOL.

If you rip off the plastic drain you can get in from the top side with the right socket, combination of multiple extensions and wobblers.

I bought a 22mm crows foot and that didn't work on the V6. The easiest way was just to cut the bolt off with a small grinder.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

No time at the moment, on lunch break. I need to freshen up on your build process.
5.13s?
Are you jumping up to 37s?
Did you install the 37s yet?
Really interested in how the new lower gears would run out with the 35's.
Lol, curious how the 37s would roll with the old 4.46's and manual!

I look forward to catching up this evening!

 

[Dusty]

No time at the moment, on lunch break. I need to freshen up on your build process.
5.13s?
Are you jumping up to 37s?
Did you install the 37s yet?
Really interested in how the new lower gears would run out with the 35's.
Lol, curious how the 37s would roll with the old 4.46's and manual!

I look forward to catching up this evening!

Yeah we swapped to 37's at the same time. I actually had the 37's on there for about a week prior to doing the diff/gear swap. We did axle swap about a month and a half ago, I just hadn't time to edit the video until now. 37's with the 4.46 and MT was usable but not ideal. It pretty much rendered whatever usefulness 6th gear still had with the 35's, to nothing. The 5.13 gears gets it back into that sweet spot where all highway gears are once again usable, with first gear back to "just right" for taking off from a start without having to slip the clutch so much. And the lower gearing off-road is just about perfect too. We did the swap right before UBB so I got a lot of good seat time both on the trails out there and on the highway to and from. Plus several weeks of my daily commute on congested Southern California freeways.

 

[Dusty]

It occurs to me that this video (and the earlier one where we swapped in the M220 rear) are good enough arguments for opting for Sasquatch in the beginning rather than thinking "oh, I'll just save the money now and slap 'em in there down the road some time" LOL. For me, and the research we wanted to do when we first bought The Cheapest Bronco You Can Buy™, I'm still glad we did it the way we did. And I do think we proved that you don't "need" lockers for most of the off-roading that most folks will ever do (see our videos).

But if you know that you will eventually need lockers and bigger tires, just ordering it with Sasquatch from the factory is WAY easier, and cheaper, in the long run. I did this upgrade with every money-saving trick in the book, including waiting for used parts to pop up and buying them for a fraction, taking advantage of industry connections to get parts at very low prices (or free in some cases), and using a buddy for the only part of the labor I wasn't comfortable tackling myself (setting up gears). In hard costs I did save some money over the Sasquatch price, but anybody without the patience and connections I had will spend more just on parts, not even including labor, compared to Sasquatch. Yes, I did most of the work myself but if I paid myself the hourly rate I make for my regular job (not to mention the premium I would charge for using my "free time"), it would have been even more than what a shop would charge to do the work.

That said, it's a fun project if you want to tackle it. But if you don't enjoy shop work or the satisfaction of knowing your rig is "built not bought", then I don't really recommend tackling a job like this yourself. For me, the reason I work on stuff myself is because, despite the frustration things like this bring, and the fact that I'd rather spend my weekends out on the trail than in my shop banging my knuckles, I get great satisfaction from the knowledge that a job like this brings. Knowing how something comes apart and goes back together can bring you incredible peace of mind when you're out on the trail doing things that have the potential to break something. It takes the mystery out of that feeling of "what would I do if something goes wrong?" There's a lot of security in knowing you can actually fix something that breaks, if needed. And as difficult as some of that work looks in our videos, let me tell you, it's a LOT easier doing it in the shop, with full tools, a 2-post lift, air and electric power, and a fridge full of beer...than doing something for the first time out on the trail when something breaks.

 

[Felix808]

If you rip off the plastic drain you can get in from the top side with the right socket, combination of multiple extensions and wobblers.

I bought a 22mm crows foot and that didn't work on the V6. The easiest way was just to cut the bolt off with a small grinder.

Wow, I didn't have such a problem. Are you talking about the mount that bolts to the drivers frame rail? 1 bolt 1 stud & nut?

 

[Snacktime]

Wow, I didn't have such a problem. Are you talking about the mount that bolts to the drivers frame rail? 1 bolt 1 stud & nut?

Yes it was partially stripped, was most likely over torqued at the factory. I fully expect you to enjoy wrenching on @NORCALGXP bronco at the end of the month. His bronco seems to always have that one off pain in the butt thing come up.

 

[lakesinai]

It occurs to me that this video (and the earlier one where we swapped in the M220 rear) are good enough arguments for opting for Sasquatch in the beginning rather than thinking "oh, I'll just save the money now and slap 'em in there down the road some time" LOL. For me, and the research we wanted to do when we first bought The Cheapest Bronco You Can Buy™, I'm still glad we did it the way we did. And I do think we proved that you don't "need" lockers for most of the off-roading that most folks will ever do (see our videos).

But if you know that you will eventually need lockers and bigger tires, just ordering it with Sasquatch from the factory is WAY easier, and cheaper, in the long run. I did this upgrade with every money-saving trick in the book, including waiting for used parts to pop up and buying them for a fraction, taking advantage of industry connections to get parts at very low prices (or free in some cases), and using a buddy for the only part of the labor I wasn't comfortable tackling myself (setting up gears). In hard costs I did save some money over the Sasquatch price, but anybody without the patience and connections I had will spend more just on parts, not even including labor, compared to Sasquatch. Yes, I did most of the work myself but if I paid myself the hourly rate I make for my regular job (not to mention the premium I would charge for using my "free time"), it would have been even more than what a shop would charge to do the work.

That said, it's a fun project if you want to tackle it. But if you don't enjoy shop work or the satisfaction of knowing your rig is "built not bought", then I don't really recommend tackling a job like this yourself. For me, the reason I work on stuff myself is because, despite the frustration things like this bring, and the fact that I'd rather spend my weekends out on the trail than in my shop banging my knuckles, I get great satisfaction from the knowledge that a job like this brings. Knowing how something comes apart and goes back together can bring you incredible peace of mind when you're out on the trail doing things that have the potential to break something. It takes the mystery out of that feeling of "what would I do if something goes wrong?" There's a lot of security in knowing you can actually fix something that breaks, if needed. And as difficult as some of that work looks in our videos, let me tell you, it's a LOT easier doing it in the shop, with full tools, a 2-post lift, air and electric power, and a fridge full of beer...than doing something for the first time out on the trail when something breaks.

Your comment on starting with Sasquatch: back in early 2021, many of us were ordering our Broncos without having seen one, driving one, or having user data on SAS vs non-SAS, since we were the first to own. I ended up ordering a rear-locker 4.27 OBX, not wanting the expected low MPG and rough ride of the Sasquatch. If I knew then what I know now, I would have sprung for the additional $4,000 it would have cost to upgrade my High Pachage OBX to Sasquatch.

 

[Felix808]

Yes it was partially stripped, was most likely over torqued at the factory. I fully expect you to enjoy wrenching on @NORCALGXP bronco at the end of the month. His bronco seems to always have that one off pain in the butt thing come up.

Thanks for the heads up
Yeah I found you can get access from the engine bay with long extensions, but the best way was with a flex head ratchet and socket from below. I think I also ended up using a flex head ratchet wrench. I did have to take that mount off of the diff because I couldn't get the diff out when I swapped my 210 for the UFDU

 

[NORCALGXP]

Great video snacktime and I had to do it on our backs using jacks stands and a floor jack.
I'm glad I have front and rear lockers. At the time of ordering I had no real idea what I was even going to do with the Bronco nor were this adventure would lead me. New friends and back into rock crawling.

Major rebuild after breaking both fronts CVs in Moab back in November and getting ready for the trip to moab in three weeks.

Installed the "The Ultimate Dana 44™ AdvanTEK® Front-Drive Unit". Staying with the 4.70 ratio. Spicer Extreme™ half shafts. A new set of coil-overs from Procomp. Installed the Hoss 3.0 rack and program which I had for over a year but never need it. New Bay Area Metal Fab winch bumper. The old JCR winch mount just stuck out to far and hurt my approach angle. Worked fine held up to the pulls.

 

[Tricky Mike]

I'll have to bookmark this for the eventual regear or swap of the M210.

Really interested in how the new lower gears would run out with the 35's.

My gut says 5.13/35s would be perfect with the 7MT and I'd really like to learn what it's like before spending the money.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

My gut says 5.13/35s would be perfect with the 7MT and I'd really like to learn what it's like before spending the money.

Bingo!

 

[Leesnell91]

If any one is reading this I have a 4.46 gear ratio M210 and all needed parts for a m190 to m210 swap. It will include RCV axles.
https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/m190-to-m210-upgrade-kit.91374/

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