Details & update for 2021 Bronco Badlands with steering rack failure on King of the Hill K2 Trail

[tmason10]

A few weeks back Bronco6G posted this picture of my Bronco having catastrophic failure while on king of the hill K2 Ketemcy Ranch in Mason Tx. Here is the update and caution.

#1 I did exactly what’s stamped in the fender wells “lift me baby” and added 2” lift.
#2 I added 37” tires to my stock rims
#3 I wheeled this thing every weekend at some very difficult trails in TX. From trees ranch, K2, and hidden falls.

I’ll say this machine is awesome and did a lot of things others with similar features couldn’t. Three weeks ago when my rack and pinion, and inners failed I realized these components are really similar in size to that of a UTV and not a marketed off road vehicle. (Bought for this purpose and not a daily) I held on to it and didn’t initially take into warranty with Ford mainly because why put the same undersized parts back on to happen over and over again.

Once I realized there is no aftermarket solution and won’t be for a long time, I decided to take it in and let Ford warranty and fix with parts that are not the long term solution but at least allow me to use until new solutions come available. In the end Dealership (Northside Ford San Antonio Tx) turned down. Not for any reason but the fact I have scratches all over my skid plates. Yes they admitted they never dissembled anything just put on lift and declined for and I quote “ looks like a cheese grater went through the underside of your vehicle.”

I refuse to pay $2,200 for faulty design so now I’m left as the consumer to figure out a better solution. I have another Badlands coming in three weeks for the wife and would love better solutions. I attached pictures for reference of the undersized components. Not Whining just looking to help others and hopefully work together as a community to truly make the Ford Bronco the best off road vehicle on the market.

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[Felix808]

So you pulled the whole rack out instead of just replacing the inner rods

I would rather the inner or outers fail than the rack itself due to the outside parts getting beefed up as it would be an easier trail repair with parts on hand. YMMV

 

[tmason10]

So you pulled the whole rack out instead of just replacing the inner rods

I would rather the inner or outers fail than the rack itself due to the outside parts getting beefed up as it would be an easier trail repair with parts on hand. YMMV

No rack is stripped! Inners is an easy fix!

 

[Felix808]

No rack is stripped! Inners is an easy fix!

Bummer the rack stripped. Surprised that happened. Would have thought that would have been fused by the outer or inner rods. Thanks for explaining.

Edit,
hey pull the old unit apart when you get a chance & show the guts (plastic / pot meatal gears)

 

[Nobody]

Thanks for sharing. Do you have any video?

 

[Bison]

Sucks!! Good luck to you.

 

[P52Ranch]

Did both sides bend like this before they broke?

I’m wondering if the rack got stripped on the initial break or when the second tie rod got a huge amount of torque after the first rod broke.

 

[tmason10]

Did both sides bend like this before they broke?

I’m wondering if the rack got stripped on the initial break or when the second tie rod got a huge amount of torque after the first rod broke.

Not sure but I think the second sounds logical. It all happened pretty much at once but like anything I’m sure there was an order that led to the entire failure

 

[dweskamp]

There was a post here a while back. Someone is working on a steel octagon shaped rod. But one strong piece of the puzzle will not fix the weaker links.

 

[tmason10]

There was a post here a while back. Someone is working on a steel octagon shaped rod. But one strong piece of the puzzle will not fix the weaker links.

Yes without a rack those parts will be useless. I’ve seen a lot of future outers in the work but inners and the rack will fail long before the outers

 

[Nickl16]

I wonder how hard it would be to disassemble the rack. If you can get it apart you may be able to design up some gears and have a machine shop make some up. I also wonder if it a similar rack to some of the other Fords. Maybe able to get a temporary one cheaper till a more long-term solution is created.

 

[Raptor.Tremor.Bronco]

Looks like the gen 2 and 3 raptor all over again with weak racks and no alternative to fix them. Great

 

[Desert_6G]

I wouldn't give up getting this warrantied. Ford markets this vehicles as a capable off-roader. It was doing the same thing as what the engineers were doing at the Rubicon. I know when TFL was off-roading their Ram Rebel "I think it was" they snapped a front axel and Dodge replaced it under warranty, no questions asked. If Ford wants to have the same loyal customers as Jeep; then these are the things they need and SHOULD be fixing. It's not like you were abusing it or jumping it.

 

[BroncoBuckaroo]

These guys are making the tie Rod components for the Bronco, they already make them for the raptor

https://svcoffroad.com/collections/2017-ford-raptor-suspension

 

[SVTLightning]

Swap it all to the new one when it comes in and take it in to another dealer for warranty repair!

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