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Tricky Dick

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*Edit* Results on page 7!

Link: https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/exploring-off-the-shelf-tie-rod-upgrades.42228/page-7

I ordered a spare inner tie rod and once I can pull measurements off it am going to be doing some investigating on heavier duty tie rods that will interchange. Once I have the thread and length specs it will just be a matter of matching up to something else out there. The tapered stud of the outer TRE is somewhat standardized and some mix and matching can be done to make the inner/outer combo the right length.

Some vehicles with notoriously crappy tie rods (looking at you GM trucks) already have inexpensive HD aftermarket tie rods available. Once I find out what the inner tie rod thread size and pitch is, it's game on.

Rockauto is a great resource for looking up part specifications. For example I found that the 11-19 GM truck inner tie rod has a M20x1.5 end at the rack and is 304mm long. A 2004 F150 has a much smaller M16x1.5 thread and is 325mm long. Based on pictures my gut says Bronco is going to be M16, it looks smallish.

Stay tuned for my findings.

Edit #2:

Triceratops learned the hard way that a 04 Crown Vic outer will work in a pinch. It appears the Broncbuster saved his inner but transfered the force to the outer. This has me mentally revisiting reaming for F150 outers. Of course now we're back to risking the rack doing that.

OK, so hereā€™s the story and fix. Off-road park in Florida, pretty easy, they dig out the trails a little bit to provide some extra fun since thereā€™s not elevation changes. I was down in a hole with a small amount of mud in the bottom, the hole is big enough for all four wheels to be on the bottom. I spun up to get out of the hole once I got out hard on brakes, but the turbos were spun up and kept pushing even not on the accelerator and hard on the brake. Went too fast and the next hole was just on the right side of the trail dropped the front tire in and hit the far side and snap.

Completely user error, I shouldnā€™t have spun up that much, but I was trying to throw a little mud as well.

Anyway, now weā€™re blocking the trail. Have to remove the wheel, takeoff the outer so that we can at least somewhat maneuver it. put the wheel back on, Essentially parallel park it on the side of the trail with multiple people turning the wheel for me.

There were multiple holes both for the rest of the trail and to get back to a bypass. No real way of getting it out unless you connect that Tie rod. No dealers within an hour can get it for two days. So off to the parts store with the broken one. The 04 ranger outer is way too short. People use the inner as a replacement, but the outer wonā€™t work. Guy at the parts store said it looked similar to a a 2004 crown Vic outer he had recently sold. Now the tapered fitting would not possibly fit, but at that point, I just needed some thing hard to attach it so I can get it off the trail and probably just trailer home. The taper on the crown Vic part is very very wide so wonā€™t possibly fit down in it but it will center itself and it has a long stud so I wasnā€™t worried about not showing threads on the other side. We checked to make sure it had the same threading as my outer.

Long story short, it worked perfectly. We were able to install it and do a hillbilly eyeball alignment in about 15-20 minutes. Drove it out from the trails and a short distance to dinner.

The drive to dinner felt good with a surprisingly fantastic alignment. Check to make sure nothing was loosening. It drove so well decided to back roads it 140 miles home. Made it home without issue. The real outer will be here in two days. My only real problem now is I bent the mounting bolt for the upper control arm making my camber look pretty bad. As long as the bolt comes out will be OK but removing a long bent bolt is going to be a pain in the ass. Thatā€™s the only other damage I can see.

Just for info Iā€™m up about 2 1/2 inches on king coil overs with Camburg billet upper control arms. Now I will say I use broncbuster braces, and my inner was straight as an arrow.

not a lot of pictures during, but Iā€™ll take a couple pictures of the damage and the parts in question for yall

I always wondered if I carry too many tools on the trail, and is it ridiculous to bring a full size impact wrenchā€¦ it is not.

@Tricky Dick
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Tricky Dick

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Grr! They cancelled my order, it's on national back order. I'm going to have to pull apart my own Bronco to get the thread size.
 
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Tricky Dick

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ICUGAZN

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Tricky Dick

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Why not? I guess I don't understand what heims is or what it means.
They have no business on a road driven vehicle. They get full of grime, wear out, and get sloppy. You can get boots for them to keep them greased but it's still a compromise.

61HrXvGbrBL._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 

ICUGAZN

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They have no business on a road driven vehicle. They get full of grime, wear out, and get sloppy. You can get boots for them to keep them greased but it's still a compromise.

Ford Bronco Exploring off-the-shelf tie rod upgrades 61HrXvGbrBL._AC_SL1500_
Gotcha. Thanks for that info.
 

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I don't understand why you would steer away from heims? They are far stronger than any tie rod. You can get safety washers for them when ran as a single sheer application. I ordered a spare inner as well and will build a set of tie rods sourcing the parts. I have literally driven thousands of miles on steering that has heim joint ends with 40" tires and hydro assist.
 

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From the guy who designed the BroncoBuster fix:
#2 please please please reconsider adding any form of Hiem tie rod!!! 3/4 of my failures in initial testing have been using Hiem joints. My own build, and then another manufactures. There is not enough articulation in the Hiem and itā€™s like an over stretched rubber band! It will break something!! I wonā€™t mention who due to confidentiality in what I do but I personally know of two blown steering racks this last week due to Hiem tie rods.ā€

Now Iā€™m not a fan of BroncoBuster. I think heā€™s gouging for both parts, so TIFWIW. I do also think he knows what heā€™s doing to a degree. Iā€™m adding JKS tie rod sleeves, at $50 per pair. Hopefully they are enough. Still donā€™t know what Iā€™ll do with the rack.
 

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Hmm... that is a cheaper option then a lot. wonder how well it works.
We expect you to purchased and test. And report back. Now get to it!
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