2021 Bronco snaps both tie rods valiantly on extreme obstacle (Queens Throne obstacle on K2 trail)

[goatman]

...also, a tie rod failure is a good thing. it is a weak link for a reason. it keeps you from doing much worse damage. it is like a crush zone on the body, it is sacrificed so the damage is not worse to the vehicle or the occupants. if there is anyone who tries to fault ford, they are the errant ones. this failure is an engineered safety.

if you are looking for a specialty rock crawling vehicle, the prudent method would be to build a dedicated purpose vehicle. there is a reason for trailers...

Where the heck is this line of thought coming from? Sorry, man, this is just silly. Think about it. You are actually saying that the Ford engineers designed the STEERING to be a weak link for safety reasons. There are plenty of things that can break and you can limp out, or get towed out. But you can't go anywhere with broken steering. So, you're saying that if I'm in my SaS'd Wildtrack hauling ass through the desert and I accidently hit a rock at speed that the steering is designed to break first as the weak link for safety reasons. Really, not trying to be difficult here, but think about it, the steering being a designed weak link makes no sense at all.

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[Tonka Bronka]

Where the heck is this line of thought coming from? Sorry, man, this is just silly. Think about it. You are actually saying that the Ford engineers designed the STEERING to be a weak link for safety reasons. There are plenty of things that can break and you can limp out, or get towed out. But you can't go anywhere with broken steering. So, you're saying that if I'm in my SaS'd Wildtrack hauling ass through the desert and I accidently hit a rock at speed that the steering is designed to break first as the weak link for safety reasons. Really, not trying to be difficult here, but think about it, the steering being a designed weak link makes no sense at all.

Being able to steer is useful.

 

[Lcubed]

Where the heck is this line of thought coming from? Sorry, man, this is just silly. Think about it. You are actually saying that the Ford engineers designed the STEERING to be a weak link for safety reasons. There are plenty of things that can break and you can limp out, or get towed out. But you can't go anywhere with broken steering. So, you're saying that if I'm in my SaS'd Wildtrack hauling ass through the desert and I accidently hit a rock at speed that the steering is designed to break first as the weak link for safety reasons. Really, not trying to be difficult here, but think about it, the steering being a designed weak link makes no sense at all.

could be worse. the older land rovers used the half-shafts as the mechanical fuses. you could steer but have no drive. of course, the folks who put into heavier duty half shafts ended up destroying differentials

 

[Lazerus]

My suggestion for those wheeling their DD, put a sticker on your dash that says “Remember…you have to drive this home!”

My vote for 'best common sense advice guys let testosterone overide'

My Jeep is my DD and sometimes work truck. It's lightly modded (Rubi suspension, disconnects, winch, on board air & 33's) and taken wheeling regularly. I am always aware of both my, and its, limitations. If I spend more than 30 seconds debating if I should try something...I auto default to 'I shouldn't do that'.
Better to 'wimp out' than have to call S.N.O.R.R. to pull me out - or to be without my DD while it gets repaired.

Know your skills, know your vehicle, and for god's sake know everything you can about the trails your about to take. There's plenty of great resources for that last bit (Trails Offroad being my go to for info - with Gaia gps on the screen while wheeling). And if you're new to the dirt, find a good, low agro group to show you the basics....

 

[rdass623]

Where the heck is this line of thought coming from? Sorry, man, this is just silly. Think about it. You are actually saying that the Ford engineers designed the STEERING to be a weak link for safety reasons. There are plenty of things that can break and you can limp out, or get towed out. But you can't go anywhere with broken steering. So, you're saying that if I'm in my SaS'd Wildtrack hauling ass through the desert and I accidently hit a rock at speed that the steering is designed to break first as the weak link for safety reasons. Really, not trying to be difficult here, but think about it, the steering being a designed weak link makes no sense at all.

because if the a-arms are the weakest point of failure the results are more catastrophic.... also, when the tire rods break people usually think stop is the next logical answer. which suspension component would you suggest to be the sacrificial lamb to tell someone you pushed it too far.

 

[Ricky_gibbs]

I’m gonna call that driver error. The 37s didn’t help but you can’t just point and shoot on an obstacle like that…takes some finesse

Thats someone with too much money and not enough knowledge. There are so many things wrong with the video. I guess if they can afford it more power to them for the attempt

 

[foremi]

because if the a-arms are the weakest point of failure the results are more catastrophic.... also, when the tire rods break people usually think stop is the next logical answer. which suspension component would you suggest to be the sacrificial lamb to tell someone you pushed it too far.

Exactly. If you take a hit hard enough to break something it's better to let the tie rod break than a ball joint or upper or lower control arm or knuckle or possibly transfer that energy into the frame and bend something you don't want to bend. In most situations if you are moving and the tie rod snaps you will still maintain some control because the 1 wheel will still steer unless you do something really stupid and the broken corner will likely "follow" the direction the car is going. Even if you broke both and were moving you could still brake and stop in a relatively controlled manner.

It's better to come to a barely controlled stop than a completely out of control wheel gone flying frame hitting the ground kind of stop. That's why tie rod ends are "sacrificial", Anything else breaks and you have zero control of that wheel.

Colorado zr2's (I have one) are also known for weak tie rod ends. Its not surprising to anyone with a little experience in off Roady vehicles. You can upgrade them if you want but it's generally a sign that either you need more experience or you are doing stuff that you know will exceed oem parts.

 

[goatman]

because if the a-arms are the weakest point of failure the results are more catastrophic.... also, when the tire rods break people usually think stop is the next logical answer. which suspension component would you suggest to be the sacrificial lamb to tell someone you pushed it too far.

I asked for engineering info to back up your statement. You said it was designed that way. All you gave was opinion, which opinion I strongly disagree with. You are looking at a slow speed incident. If the steering really was DESIGNED as the weak link (which you have no evidence for) and it broke at speed there would be a very dangerous situation. I understand trying to justify your comment, however I believe it is not correct. Unless you can provide solid info.

Exactly. If you take a hit hard enough to break something it's better to let the tie rod break than a ball joint or upper or lower control arm or knuckle or possibly transfer that energy into the frame and bend something you don't want to bend. In most situations if you are moving and the tie rod snaps you will still maintain some control because the 1 wheel will still steer unless you do something really stupid and the broken corner will likely "follow" the direction the car is going. Even if you broke both and were moving you could still brake and stop in a relatively controlled manner.

It's better to come to a barely controlled stop than a completely out of control wheel gone flying frame hitting the ground kind of stop. That's why tie rod ends are "sacrificial", Anything else breaks and you have zero control of that wheel.

Colorado zr2's (I have one) are also known for weak tie rod ends. Its not surprising to anyone with a little experience in off Roady vehicles. You can upgrade them if you want but it's generally a sign that either you need more experience or you are doing stuff that you know will exceed oem parts.

A broken ball joint can be wired together, especially since the weight of the vehicle on it. Axles can be removed or just driven out on in 3 wheel or 2 wheel drive, getting towed by another vehicle if needed. A arms are pretty beefy and rarely break, not really a good analogy, and an A arm wouldn't break in a slow speed obstacle situation it would take a hard hit at speed. Break it so you can't steer, and you're fixing it to get out. Having a tie rod break and loosing steering at speed isn't something the engineers designed into the vehicle to make it safer. That is a ridiculous thought. Show me some engineering data that steering is designed to be a weak link, otherwise it's just your opinion. My opinion is that I disagree.

In the end, this is a pointless discussion, since it changes nothing. If you want bigger tires, and if you want to wheel hard in a Bronco, just like on many other vehicles, it might be a good idea to upgrade the steering.

 

[North7]

I've heard of others breaking tie rods and rack/pinions get shot when putting 37s on... So I don't think this is driver error... Ford needs to look into this... As it seems it only happen s when getting these rigs with big shoes offload and doing what they are meant to do! They definitely don't make them like the classics anymore.

This is the owner's fault, not Ford's, the Bronco was not designed to take 37" tires from the factory. This was a stock Badlands, non-Sasquatch, the factory tires are 33" (285/70R17). Ford never said you could put 37" tires on a factory stock Bronco and not break things.

Should Ford consider strengthening the tie-rods in the future, maybe, but drive outside the limits of the design and you will break stuff, standard off-roading, pay to play.

 

[TeocaliMG]

You are looking at a slow speed incident. If the steering really was DESIGNED as the weak link (which you have no evidence for) and it broke at speed there would be a very dangerous situation.

I just want to point out that NO ONE designs the "steering" to be the weak link. ever. But you ABSOLUTELY want to design certain parts of the steering to be a week link in the system. Others have already pointed this out but perhaps not clearly enough. Tie rods are not the steering (as in the only steering) If you break a rack, a knuckle, a ball stud, a control arm (heaven forbid) you are SOL. Those, and more, are all "steering" not just the tie rods. Tie rods are practically the simplest and safest part of your "steering" to see catastrophic failure.

That said, I don't fully agree with everyone saying that you must never upgrade you tie rods. Aftermarket has shown you can beef up tie rods quite a bit before you find trouble elsewhere. But if you are upgrading tie rods you certainly should be considering upgrades across the board eventually.

 

[WuNgUn]

This.
Although i would not want to tackle a inner tie rod on the trail.

I had to replace an inner on my SVT Focus once... The OE rod did NOT have any flats on it to wrench it off! Had to use a pipe wrench FFS.
My Ford replacement rod DID have wrench flats on it.

 

[WuNgUn]

because if the a-arms are the weakest point of failure the results are more catastrophic.... also, when the tire rods break people usually think stop is the next logical answer. which suspension component would you suggest to be the sacrificial lamb to tell someone you pushed it too far.

All steering systems, whether car, truck, motorcycle or shopping cart, have "trail" engineered into it...
I'd rather break a tie rod than an A-arm all day long.

 

[Hillyard]

I had to replace an inner on my SVT Focus once... The OE rod did NOT have any flats on it to wrench it off! Had to use a pipe wrench FFS.
My Ford replacement rod DID have wrench flats on it.

I've got an SVTF too! I did a complete suspension rebuild last summer.

 

[WuNgUn]

I've got an SVTF too! I did a complete suspension rebuild last summer.

Cool! I did a full polyurethane bushing rebuild on mine. I'll never do that again!
I was in the middle of an RS conversion before I sold it.

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