2 Big Broncos Rocky Mountain Site
Body Damage
or, How to tell when it's been wheeled to death
After many years of running the Bronc over about any kind of terrain I could think of, I have learned many things about big Broncos. One of the more disappointing things I have recently learned is that the body does not hold up well to sever abuse. In fact, it's downright lousy. After much looking and head scratching, I have come to the conclusion that the problem is a basic engineering flaw. This isn't to say that the Bronco isn't build hell for stout, it certainly is. It's just that the way the frame flexes and the way the body is mounted just don't mix.
The problem first starts appearing as a crack at the drip rail at the back of the cab section just above and behind the doors. Ford even had a TSB out about this problem for a few years. I've heard that their repair left a lot to be desired, I've never seen it done myself. It appears that the B-pillar, or rear of the door opening frame, becomes a focal point for stresses in the body. The stresses are introduced when the rear of the frame moves with the suspension and transfers stress forward along the bed sides and into the B-pillar. This stress also attempts to spread the bed sides as shown in the pictures below. When these stresses dissipate through the B-pillar, the pillar tries to move separate from the cab section and causes the body seams at the roof, along the pillar, and at the floor pan to warp and separate. As the seams continue to degenerate, stress becomes distributed to the windshield frame (A-pillar) and back along the cargo floor seams. The end result, after years of severe abuse, is that the roof isn't held on by much any more, the windshield is leaking, the body walls move separately from the floor pan, and things are getting pretty unsafe.
Here are some pictures of the damage on the Bronc. I am sorting through options to heavily modify the body (remove the back and put on a flatbed) or to replace the body with a pickup cab and flatbed. The first option will require rewelding the body seams, which isn't too difficult to do, and I wouldn't have to give up my Bronco title by changing out the body.
Click on any image for a larger view
The first picture is the top of the driver's windshield post. Stress cracks here are bad. It's only a matter of time before the windshield breaks. The second picture is the inner seam on the B-pillar just above the seatbelt mount. The seam is completely broken and the upper panel moves separately from the lower panel.
The first picture shows where the drip rail is pulling away from the roof. This crack extends to the back of the cab as shown in the next set of pictures. The second and third pictures show the cracked body seam on the outside of the driver's B-pillar and how it extends to the back of the cab section.
The first picture shows how the infamous Bronco Crack progresses into an actual tear in the B-pillar panel extending toward the door fram. The second picture is the roof arch on the driver's side. The flange is tearing away from the roof structure and tearing towards the roof. The third picture shows how the damage is migrating to the inner roof panel.
The first picture shows the crack growing along the driver's rear cargo floor starting at the floor pan kickup right behind the driver's seat. The rusty bulge also appears on the passenger side. I cannot tell what is causing these.The second picture shows the driver' side rear seat reinforcement pulling away from the floor pan. The third picture shows the lower part of the B-pillar itself pulling away from the floor pan.
Passenger side A-pillar.
Passenger side outside B-pillar cracks.
Passenger side inner B-pillar cracks. These are much worse than the driver's side at this time. If you look closesly at the second picture, you can see that the upper panel has actually slipped down and over the lower panel.
Notice the misalignment on the passenger door.
The passenger side B-pillar pulling away from the floor pan.
The first and last pictures show the sidewalls of the bed bulging out from folding of the C-pillar. The center two pictures show how the bedsides have spread at the top.The right side has been pulled back in several times now to get the tailgate to latch.
These pictures have given me a new motto: If you aint tearing it apart, you ain't wheelin' it hard enough!