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Badlands
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Putting beefier rods is not the answer, like said before they are like a fuse... You beef something up, it's the next thing inline that will break, and that could end up more expensive. Only solution is to respect the limits of your truck if all the major components are still stock.

Beef the rods, the rack is next, beef the axles the Dif. is next...
 

goatman

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The tie rod is intentionally the weakest link in the IFS system, usually because it's the cheapest item and the easiest to replace. If you're breaking tie rods, take it as a sign.
And what engineering evidence do you have to back up that statement? Lot's of things I'd rather have break than the steering. I agree, if you're breaking tie rods, it's a sign that you need stronger tie rods. Without stronger parts, more finesse is needed, as has been said. I question your "intentional weak link" statement. Does that mean with IFS that we should NOT upgrade the steering to make it stronger, since it's "intended" to be the weak link by the engineers who design IFS? So, all engineers who design IFS agree that the steering should be the weak link? Sorry, not trying to be a dick here, but statements like this are easy to make, but please back it up.


Watched it at normal speed and it looks like when the left wheel slipped off the rock and shot him to the right, it pinned the right wheel against a rock, forcing it in and snapping the tie rod. Not sure why the driver's side broke as well. Maybe the kick back snapped both simultaneously...?

But, yeah, that obstacle needed a bit more 'crawl' and less 'Banzai!'....
Agree. As people start to wheel their Broncos, and most will wheel more than they originally intend, it's good to be remined that it's the unexpected exception that breaks parts. Binding is the big thing. Binding a tire up against a rock or in a rut is what most often breaks an axle or the steering. Usually this binding is unintended. Same with rock rails. It's that "oh shit" slamming up against an unintended rock that smacks the rock rail or step. This is why the M210 over the M190 will be important if you're going to run big tires, and why real rock rails, instead of pretty body mounted steps, are important if you're actually going to go on trails.

And, it looks like we'll be looking for aftermarket steering upgrades. Any Jeep with 37's also should have upgraded steering. Stock steering on 37's is an accident waiting to happen on a Jeep, and looks to be on a Bronco as well. I think many of us thought those tie rods looked kind of wimpy anyway, and wondered how it would go. Evidence is starting to come in. 😊
 

goatman

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I guess I just don't understand the point of just driving up stuff just to do it. The 4 x 4 exists to get me where I want to go. I'm not going to just take a truck out and flog it to see if I can drive over something. I think of it kind of like going to the gym and doing crazy ballistic powerlifting to see if you'll get hurt or not.
It's the sport of 4 wheeling. It's the enjoyment of the challenge and overcoming and being successful. Just like in many other things that we do. It's like the guy who does tricks with a drone, or jumps off the highest rock into the water, or climbs the hardest mountain, or races anything to win. It's a sport, just like any other sport. The mountain biker who tackles the toughest trail, the skier who goes down the toughest route. It's all the same. We do it because it's there. No one has to do that stuff, and not everyone does. But some of us do.

And, just like with Jeeps, many Bronco owners who initially think they won't, in the end will.
 

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goatman

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Putting beefier rods is not the answer, like said before they are like a fuse... You beef something up, it's the next thing inline that will break, and that could end up more expensive. Only solution is to respect the limits of your truck if all the major components are still stock.

Beef the rods, the rack is next, beef the axles the Dif. is next...
So, based on this logic, no vehicle should ever get upgraded with stronger components. Umm....that's far from real world. Driving within the limits of your vehicle, or at least making a good effort to do so, is important. Myself, and many others, will choose to beef up our vehicle components and then drive within those much higher and stronger limits.
 

BroncoAgain

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He probably went over many things before this failure. Feeling good that it will go over anything, hitting it harder till it didn't go any more. Now he can fix it stronger and find the next thing that needs to be stronger. That's what we Jeepers do. D30 to D44 to D60 to D80,,,, Then Hyd ram assist. 2 1/2 ton solid alu tie rods and DL's. Some Wrangler guys are up to 40's and dreaming of 42's. The Bronco will get there but the IFS will slow it down some. Who knows where other weak links are hiding. It's only money.
 

rutherk1

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Putting beefier rods is not the answer, like said before they are like a fuse... You beef something up, it's the next thing inline that will break, and that could end up more expensive. Only solution is to respect the limits of your truck if all the major components are still stock.

Beef the rods, the rack is next, beef the axles the Dif. is next...
I was just about to post this. If you upgrade the tie rod, you just find the next weakest part.

Best option. Learn how to replace the tie rods on the trail and carry extras.
 

Pressurized

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Well, that is discouraging... That is not an extreme obstacle in my world, difficult maybe but not extreme. I haven't seen the video in real time, being sped up like that is stupid to watch. We do that stuff with mostly stock Rubicons on 33's. My wife in the LJ would say, let's go and walk right up it.

But, it's fair to say... I'm not buying the Bronco to do that, I already have the Jeeps that can.

Now, as for the tie rods, someone will make stronger ones and they will continue until something else breaks and then stop there and begin working on what breaks next... That's how this goes.
 

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Probably lucky they didn't get over the crest of that monster rock - then they would have started trashing the high priced stuff in the no return situation. Get an extreme side by side and a winch for the Bronco to recover the lighter wreckage.
 

VoltageDrop

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FWIW, your F-150 and the new Bronco do both have serviceable nner rods AND Outer tie rod ends.
It may exist, but I’ve never seen a steering rack that didn’t have both with serviceable parts.

F-150
383E91B6-9F0F-4169-BB5E-F2375A8957A8.jpeg


Bronco
814F6902-9D2D-4ECE-9883-B8A3F2DA4CDE.jpeg


should not require removal of the EPAS rack in either case.
Are the part numbers the same for the L and R rods? That would cut down on spares, though it sounds like somehow he broke both sides. I think I'd rather beef up the rods and carry a spare rack in the off chance it should break. At least there's no hydraulics to deal with.

While I don't think this should've happened on what I consider expected usage, it is not exclusive to IFS. My brother and I snapped the tie rod on a Dana 44 solid axle we put under a Toyota truck. It was just the perfect size boulder to fit between the tires and force them outwards. Very luckily for us, a high lift jack was the perfect length so we stole a couple bolts off something else and bolted the jack to the knuckles. Yet another use for a Hi Lift jack! o_O😛
 
 


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