Oh, also, the mandrelbends.com place sells seconds. Apparently they're just fine, that would also be a way to save some $$.

If anything you'll gain power or at least a little better driveability with a single 3"because with a true dual exhaust and no x or h-pipe there is no exhaust scavenging, the engine will run smoother and be much happier with the big single, as for pump mounting put it on the inside of the passenger frame rail within a few inches of the tank, just close enough that the line does not kink

Get the 2 into 1 from BC, all you will need is about 3 feet of 3 inch pipe to exit out the back. I have a pipe bender if you need... Can even templet mine to make it easier


Then get the headers..... Then get EFI.... Then drop Dana 60's under it.... God it's fun to own a bronco!

So after further research, it looks as though the headers are not stock (no clue what they are). The BC stock exhaust kit has a 2-bolt flange pattern and mine is a 3 bolt pattern. I suppose I am back to square 1 in trying to figure out the best way to go about a 2 into 1 system.

Back open for opinions and suggestions....

I've got very similar headers to yours. You've got 3 options that I can see:

1. Get a kit from one of the vendors and either buy their matching headers or modify it to fit.
2. Have an exhaust shop custom make you a new exhaust, probably $5-600.
3. Build your own.

The other thing you could do is go to an exhaust shop and see if they can just re-route the driver's side exhaust around that area. It looks like the pipe runs very close to the tank. Mine isn't that way, I'll try and post some pics when I get home tonight. That might be the best compromise solution, and would keep you from having to totally re-do your exhaust given that this is a best-guess fix for your issue.

I know somebody that had an exhaust shop modify / convert their dual exhuast into a single by eliminating the driver's side after the header connection and splicing a new piece into the passenger side.

down and dirty, but cheap

I am going to take it to a shop just to get an estimate for what it would cost. It seems like if its gonna cost me upwards of $600 or more, it may make more sense to get new headers and an exhaust for only a couple hundred more?

Justin-- I would love to see a picture or two of one that doesn't have it routed that close to the fuel line. The stock tank had the fuel line coming out of the top of the tank and the aftermarket 23 gallon one put it right next to it. To me that is a design flaw-- could easily put it in the middle of the tank and then you would have the option to run it wherever you want.

I've got the same tank. It isn't a great setup. I'm in the middle of re-doing my fuel lines and will be making a loop that exits vertically and over the frame rail to the steel line on the outside of the frame.

Sorry, didn't finish the new lines last night, got the wrong size fuel filter. I'll be finishing it up tonight and will post up a pic. I think there may be a way you can route it that will get the hose away from the exhaust. How close is the routing to the headers as it passes by the H-block? That's another area that can cause problems. I'm taking my lines up and over the inner fender to prevent that part.

Can you get those brass fittings at any hardware store or auto parts store? I was going to take the Bronco to an exhaust shop this morning and realized last night that I needed new belts before I could take it anywhere... so that got done today. I took a couple more looks at the exhaust situation by the fuel exit point and took a couple more pictures. I could certainly have it take a hard 90 away from the exhaust and then run it up and over the exhaust to keep it away from the pipes as much as possible. Also, if I went with an electrical fuel pump, I would probably have to put it center on the cross member in order to keep it as close to the tank as possible.

Here are the pics-- any thoughts on whether it will still be too close if I take it 90 degrees away from the exhaust, then into the fuel pump (hoping the higher pressure pump would help too)?

Just eyeballing it, it looks like the exhaust is less than an inch from the guard on the fuel tank. Not sure you have an option other than modifying the exhaust if that's the case. Any hardware shop should have the brass fitting, if your tank is the same as mine you'll need 3/8".

it's too close to the fuel line and the brake line

Way too close! Even with a 90 I don't like where it is.

This begs the question. How far is safe? If I can somehow reroute it, how far should the exhaust be from any part of the line?

OK, finally got a chance to take a pic. I haven't found the perfect fuel filter yet so the lines aren't run, but this at least gives you some sense of how close my exhaust it. I'll be going over to a single 3" since I need to redo my exhaust this winter, but I've had my rig up over 13,000 feet with no vapor lock issues. A couple of inches of clearance is all I've got. I'm going to loop the fuel tubing up to a filter placed horizontally on the crossmember, then over the frame rail to the steel line on the outside.

I agree with the others. The exhaust is just entirely too close. I realize it's a chunk of change to get new exhaust, but this really is a safety issue and I'm surprised your fuel filter hasn't melted and started a fire.

ACE hardware would be a good source for the elbow. But that is a band-aid fix really. Keep in mind that if you do this, hot air raises and if you go above the exhaust, you're putting it in the heat coming off the current exhaust.

It's a delicate balance between keeping the exhaust high enough for off-road, but not in the way of brake/fuel lines. My exhaust doesn't go back that far, but I am sure others would have ideas for you.

Thank you everyone for helping me out with this...the Bronco Gods have at least reached out of the heavens to touch me today. I took it to a place somewhat close to my house as I was weary to drive it too far with the issues I had been having. I took it to Exhaust Pros on East Colfax and they recommended just tying the two into 1 by modifying the existing setup. $135 to do everything and they started it as soon as I got there.
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newexhaust1.JPG

The neat thing is, the owner of the shop owns a 1975 Bronco. His name is Ron Moench, and I did give him an ACB card and also wrote the CCB website on it. He seemed very reasonable and had a nice shop. If anyone needs exhaust work done-- I would at least recommend giving them a call. The tech that did my estimate and work was, Howard-- did a real good job.

Now I just need to order the Carter P4070 and a fuel pressure guage and I will hopefully be set. As you can see, I have a lot more room to mount the pump closer to the tank.
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Took the Bronco out for some errands to give it a test run. Guess what?! Same damn thing happened again. I am really hoping that adding a Carter electric pump fixes the issue. Ordered that and a fuel pressure gauge today. Hoping to install it this weekend. Man is it frustrating, inconvenient, and sorta nerve racking to just lose power!!

Bummer that the exhaust didn't fix it, even if it needed doing anyway.

Something else to consider is isolating the heat from the engine to the carb.

http://www.jegs.com/p/Mr-Gasket/Mr-Gask ... 5/10002/-1

I don't know much about them, but way back when I had similar issues, I was looking into it.

J.D.

lots of fixes for vaporlock. if you search here you'll see many posts about it. Im vaporlock free and recommend what I did to everyone. I can drive my bronco in this heat in stop n go and not have any issues.

Gotta get me some wooden clothes pins

I've already got a spacer on the carb so I guess that isn't it. I have noticed when it gets real hot, it seems to "drip" fuel off the carb somewhere-- I am just assuming this is either boiling or vaporizing fuel finding its way out of some path of least resistance.

Zoso-- I have been doing a lot of researching/reading on trying to figure this one out. Their seems to be a ton of "unique" fixes for each "unique" Bronco out there. Everything from changing the fuel filter to converting to EFI (I would love to convert to EFI). I am hoping that following some of the suggestions (moving the exhaust, installing a higher pressure electrical pump, changing the in-line filter) that I will see improvements. The strange thing to me is that I was not having this problem AT ALL before I swapped in the 23 gallon tank and added solid stell fuel lines. I don't know if the tank and lines have anything to do with the amount of pressure the system is getting with a mechanical pump, but let's hope this will fix it.

Steel is a better conductor of heat than rubber, so not only does it heat up faster, but it could also cool off faster.

There certainly doesn't seem to be a one-fix-fits-all unless you are ready and willing to do EFI.

Is the tank vented? Just throwing ideas out there.

If you are running a sealed gas cap, and there is no way for air to replace the fuel you are pulling out, you could cause a vacuum of sorts in the fuel tank. It could make it difficult for the pump to pull from. Have you tried opening your gas cap when the truck won't run?

Just trying to tie the problem to the change of equipment. It could/probably is vapor lock, but I'd hate to see you chase the wrong problem.