It’s a good solution, but high maintenance!Let's talk tie-rods! One of the prominent issues among early adopters is the Bronco’s steering. When adding larger-than-stock rubber, it became commonplace to carry extra tie-rods for when the factory unit snapped while out exploring. Our Engineers went to work on a bullet-proof solution!
Tie Rod
The Tie-Rod itself is machined from heat-treated 4140, then protected with the same moly coating found on our legendary (Ram) ball joints. The heart of the Inner Tie-Rod assembly is a ball joint with machined grease-grooves and a drilled port through to the zerk fitting hole for easy greasing. The Grease-Port is drilled pre-boot ensuring the tie-rod remains protected and greasing the wear surfaces is quick and convenient.
Inner Tie-Rod Assembly
The Inner Tie Rod Assembly is simple, extremely strong and fully adjustable/rebuildable. The Tie-Rod is encapsulated with Bronze wear surfaces on both sides. The coating on the tie-rod, being moly-based, mixes with the redline CV2 grease to provide the perfect lubricant to polish the 4140 to the bronze races. If and when you achieve measurable movement, tighten the cap to remove the slack! This whole assembly is protected by the provided boot.
Outer Tie-Rod Assembly
On the other end, you’ll find the outer Tie-Rod machined from a solid chunk of 6061 Billet Aluminum. This rod-end is treated to a hard-anodized coating for longevity. We’ve added a billet machined bracket to provide double-shear support to the outer tie-rod end connection. The two lateral bolts secure in place of the upper two hub bolts providing unparalleled support while the the outer tie-rod is spaced between this bracket and the knuckle by the provided 17-4 Stainless Steel misalignment spacers to maximize the travel range of the system.
The outer tie-rod end attaches to the threaded tie-rod via the machined threads and secures in place (and adjusts toe alignment) via the 2 pinch bolts. The pinch bolt hardware is 12-point and threads into (replaceable) press-fit steel inserts to ensure maximum strength relative to small diameter aluminum threads.
The bearing assembly is made up of our CUB (Captured Urethane Bearing) joint. At the center, a 3/4″ Teflon Lined FK bearing which we encapsulate with our propriety races to dampen vibrations while extending the life of the heim. This assembly is preloaded into the housing and retained under-tension with a safety washer and snap-ring.
Forgot to mention the constant need for greasing at every oil change plus rebuild it at every 32,000 miles. I have been eyeing this product for quite some time and these are the reasons why I am still not sold on it.
One thing to consider, this Bronco is fully loaded with a bunch of goodies. A lot has been upgraded and dialed in to be as capable as it is. Like it was said in this thread, for those with lift running OEM rack and axle just upgrading the steering tie rod may stress the rack or other components.
I would be interested to hear feedback from end-users, as manufacturers will always say their setup is better.
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