BRONCO SEVERE DUTY STEERING UPGRADE KIT now available from Ford Performance Parts!

[gjptennis]

Sounds like its still worth waiting until things are smoothed out a bit more.

That being said, are folks happy with the upgrade?

I am - mine was done 2 weeks ago and only wish it was an option for me originally (delivered July '22)

Sponsored

 

[RobBob22]

Please keep us posted on the non-squatch badlands part number.

I'll keep for this package to be a recall / warranty item for 21-23 model years, too. That's the change we all need!

I’d put money on that 4-door badlands only limitation being wrong. If I already had procal I’d try it.

 

[BroncoBLCG]

Well I've had my Bronco on the rack for close to five hours now dealing with the Tuner.

I'm a early ProCal Tune with Performance. The instructions are setup for NON-Tune. I first delt with Voucher being used / invalid issues. This required Ford to issue a new voucher.

However, during that time I updated the ProCal unit per the instructions that were provided. My system has zero options to select the rack now.

This is incredibly frustrating I've been on the phone with Ford tech support multiple times a day and now Ford Engineering is trying to figure out how to roll back my tuner.

Buyers beware this is not a baked solution from Ford yet.

 

[RobBob22]

Well I've had my Bronco on the rack for close to five hours now dealing with the Tuner.

I'm a early ProCal Tune with Performance. The instructions are setup for NON-Tune. I first delt with Voucher being used / invalid issues. This required Ford to issue a new voucher.

However, during that time I updated the ProCal unit per the instructions that were provided. My system has zero options to select the rack now.

This is incredibly frustrating I've been on the phone with Ford tech support multiple times a day and now Ford Engineering is trying to figure out how to roll back my tuner.

Buyers beware this is not a baked solution from Ford yet.

So you had the rack update option on your pro cal and after an update from the PC it came off the Pro Cal? Did you already have the new rack installed?

I agree though, the instructions @Gene Dios and I saw from FPP were clearly a rough draft and had several steps that would be irrelevant for previously performance tuned broncos. There was also some wording that was, in my view, specific for the engineers knowledge of the system, but was not part of the user interface on the pro cal. I hesitate to share those instructions because I don't think we found them to be that helpful or clarifying.

The instructions for the already tuned bronco basically start with getting the rack update on the pro cal off of a PC.

 

[Migo]

Sounds like its still worth waiting until things are smoothed out a bit more.

That being said, are folks happy with the upgrade?

I am extremely happy with the upgrade. Even with city driving you can tell a difference with the larger motor in the new rack. Steering just overall feels more solid and controlled.

If anyone is weighing hoss 2.0 rack “upgrades” such as braces, bushings and housings, save your money and get the severe duty rack. Much better use of funds in my opinion. (Full disclosure, I did install both a housing and bushing, but I had those on hand already. I would not have repurchased).

 

[GB3]

I have probably a dumb question, had the 2.0 rack swapped out for the 3.0 rack on my 2023 BL, will the old tie rods fit onto the 3.0 rack? I know the boots are too small but was thinking they might get me back to town if I broke a tie rod so thought I would keep them for spares.

 

[BroncoBLCG]

So you had the rack update option on your pro cal and after an update from the PC it came off the Pro Cal? Did you already have the new rack installed?

I agree though, the instructions @Gene Dios and I saw from FPP were clearly a rough draft and had several steps that would be irrelevant for previously performance tuned broncos. There was also some wording that was, in my view, specific for the engineers knowledge of the system, but was not part of the user interface on the pro cal. I hesitate to share those instructions because I don't think we found them to be that helpful or clarifying.

The instructions for the already tuned bronco basically start with getting the rack update on the pro cal off of a PC.

I never had the rack update option on the pro cal. I just had a "update pro cal" option. Once I selected that option it didn't allow me to do any type of rack update. The end result was Ford engineering had to get on the phone do a screen share on the laptop and manually push the firmware to the hand held.

The end result is if you already have a tune on your Bronco you have to work with Ford every step of the way on getting the programmer to work.

 

[NORCALGXP]

I have probably a dumb question, had the 2.0 rack swapped out for the 3.0 rack on my 2023 BL, will the old tie rods fit onto the 3.0 rack? I know the boots are too small but was thinking they might get me back to town if I broke a tie rod so thought I would keep them for spares.

Yes they work just change the boot.

 

[RobBob22]

I never had the rack update option on the pro cal. I just had a "update pro cal" option. Once I selected that option it didn't allow me to do any type of rack update. The end result was Ford engineering had to get on the phone do a screen share on the laptop and manually push the firmware to the hand held.

The end result is if you already have a tune on your Bronco you have to work with Ford every step of the way on getting the programmer to work.

I'd say even regardless of tune everyone is getting FPP to push something manually. To recall my situation, I was trying to install the tune and the rack and I got the same Error 1 on the computer just trying to get the performance tune on my ProCal.

My guess, is that some update they pushed to the ProCal, probably for the purpose of the rack upgrade, corrupted the communication between the FPP severs and a seamless install.

You have the rack update now? So sounds like you're getting close.

 

[RobBob22]

2x the success on the rack install! @Gene Dios and I were able to get the performance tune, the rack update, and the rack installed on our broncos. Doing 2 broncos in 1 day + UCA's and trying our best to self align (don't bother) took all day (10-11 hours). Here and some pointers, starting with the biggest headache working down, read just the orange bits if you want the TLDR version:


1) The clearance on a 2.3L 2 door is enough less than a 2.7L 4 door to make sliding the new rack into position exceptionally difficult. I believe it's the 2.3L engine that made this job more difficult, but it could be a slight frame difference in the locations of the crossmember behind and forward of the front diff that make this a challenge. There is a small tab on the pinion section of the rack that makes significant contact with the front differential. In the end we had to remove the passenger side inner tie rod from the new rack. Remove the breather tube from the diff. and from the metal clip holding it in position, and bend that clip down. Lastly, once the rack is in a position where 1) the "pinion" tab is making significant contact with the diff, 2) the pinion (steering linkage) is making significant contact with a plastic electrical chase beneath the alternator, and 3) the rack mount bushing is also contacting the diff. and the front rail you need to push, very hard, to get the pinion cap (the part of the 2.0 rack that blows out in complete failure) to "notch" up and over the front cross member. The rack should then pop towards the driver side. This fight probably took us 1.5-2 hours to get sorted.
2) The 10mm bolt for the steering linkage to the racks pinion is hard to access. It is significantly harder on the 2.7L vs. the 2.3L because of the location of the oil cooler on the 2.7L there is little access from above to get at this bolt. Once the steering linkage is coupled, the the bolt is started, turning the steering wheel driver allows for slightly better access to the bolt using long extensions with a flexible joint through the wheel well. The new bolt with locktite will likely read over 22 lbs before it's fully seated. We continued to tighten till the collar was completely compassed and there was no play in the linkage. We would hit 22 lbs but this is essentially the amount of pressure on the bolt the entire time you're tightening.
3) Installing the rack in a 4 door 2.7L can be done with both inner tie rods on the rack. There was some effort, but in comparison this was overall probably one of the easier tasks., this was probably 15 min of effort.
4) Removing the electrical connections requires sliding back the red tab and then compressing the end of the tab in and pulling out. Of the 4 connections on 2 vehicles, some were easy, some we difficult. Be carful not to break the red tab (i knocked one off but was able to reseat and reuse w/o issue). The Christmas's tree zip ties are difficult to remove. We broke the same 1 of 2 on each vehicle with the proper tool.
5) As mentioned earlier in this thread there is enough cable length to connect the new rack up on stands before removing the old rack. We did this because we wanted to make sure all the programming worked before we put in all the effort.
6) The programming was seamless. For all the buildup with getting the actual programming on the pro cal, we had no issues here. There are 6 steps to the program, the first one takes the longest, in total it runs for about 5 min. We used a battery maintainer as suggested, but otherwise had no issues here.
7) The torque specs I posted earlier in this thread for the diff mount bracket are garbage (as I suspected). All the other specs, including the diff mount busing etc. make sense. I'm a firm believe that the bracket to frame torque specs here are just - tight.
8) The replacement bolts provide by ford are hit and miss. I did not get new tie rod end nuts, @Gene Dios did. Both 18mm bolts provided are fine thread where the 18mm bolts removed from the diff bracket are coarse thread. We reused the old bolts here and never looked back.

 

[Dusty]

Excellent information, thanks for writing it out! I feel vindicated for how hard it was for me just to reinstall the stock rack in mine after swapping in the M210. That's interesting to hear that it's more of a struggle with the 2.3L than the 2.7.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

Excellent information, thanks for writing it out! I feel vindicated for how hard it was for me just to reinstall the stock rack in mine after swapping in the M210. That's interesting to hear that it's more of a struggle with the 2.3L than the 2.7.

I'm sure you'll do your own yourself, but if you know of anybody in San Diegoland who can knock this out I'd be interested. I am NOT inclined to let my Ford dealer in Escondido do this as they stumbled around a bit troubleshooting modules already.

 

[Dusty]

I'm sure you'll do your own yourself, but if you know of anybody in San Diegoland who can knock this out I'd be interested. I am NOT inclined to let my Ford dealer in Escondido do this as they stumbled around a bit troubleshooting modules already.

Most of my mechanic friends and independent shops I know are great with the antique systems on Early Broncos, but I don't really know of anyone in my circle of friends and shops yet, who are doing their own work on the new 6G's. In other words, I know some great mechanics and shops, but these would still be Greek to them. I think if you don't want to tackle it yourself or have a buddy who has already done it, the Ford dealer is probably your best choice. Unfortunately I think most of those, too, would be at the bottom of the learning curve, looking up. You might better luck finding a Ford dealer that's also a Ford Performance dealer (no clue if Escondido is, but few of them actually are).

74Weld is somewhat local to you. I don't know if your plans include any of their steering rack products, and I know they don't work on customer vehicles anyhow. But they've done enough work with Bronco steering racks they might be able to recommend a shop close by.

 

[Myke98]

I'm sure you'll do your own yourself, but if you know of anybody in San Diegoland who can knock this out I'd be interested. I am NOT inclined to let my Ford dealer in Escondido do this as they stumbled around a bit troubleshooting modules already.

If you come across someone down here let me know. I have had this rack sitting in storage since it was first available. Kearny Mesa Ford said maybe El Cajon Ford may do it.

 

[Oldhippie]

I am taking mine in to a recommended local ASE shop tomorrow to get installed…hope to get the rack (with 74weld kit) programed and installed along with tune, tire size correction and ”Bambi” mode…wish me luck…

Sponsored