Need some solid advice...

[Copperhorse73]

74 Weld has just the housing and driver side bushing for 1k. You don’t get the stronger motor but it will prevent rack breakage

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[Silver-Bolt]

I seriously doubt that you will find a dealer will to swap out the factory steering unit for one that was not designed to be in that rig. Huge liability for a dealership.

 

[da_jokker]

Definitely do not make your decision solely based on the rack. Remember the 3.0 rack is not the end all be all solution. Instead you can get the bushing and the passenger side housing installed on your 2022 steering for less (74 weld) and basically be just as strong as a 3.0 (maybe more).

What you should be looking at are any differences between 2023 and 2024 other than the steering rack. If those make the $2,000 price increase worth it then maybe it's still a consideration.

 

[Jdyount]

The rack is only an issue IF you upgrade to 37s and IF you wheel hard. My "Solid Advice" is to upgrade (several options to do so) when you need to (when you upgrade to larger tires).

 

[userdude]

So as far as SOLID, it's a bit overrated and long in the tooth at this point. Most developers-

Wait, this isn't a programming question.

A bird in the hand. You can upgrade the rack to whatever level you prefer. The only real upside on getting the factory rack is the warranty, something which under off road use, you may have difficulty getting covered.

Get the rack you want, or wait longer, hassle more over price, hassle over a warranty coverage that's probably denied. Choose your own adventure.

 

[mcinfantry]

My.02
cancel the order. Order A 2024. It has some changes that are important. Mid 2024 or later we should hear about changes on 2025. Cancel the 2024 and order the 2025. It also has changes that are important. Keep doing this every year as you grow older rand life passes you by.

also interest rates should be better (higher numerically) so thats always a plus… although real B6g members only pay ‘cash’. Real big head hun-dogs

 

[KDWright5407]

I don't know about your build, but when I compared similar builds that I was looking at betwen 23 and 24, they came out about the same price, if not a tad cheaper. HPR Badlands, 2.7L, Sasquatch, Tow, Lux, MIC Hardtop, MVG seats, Modular bumper (now included). Still more $$ than a 21 or 22 equivalent, but that's the games we play, I guess.

 

[userdude]

The rack is only an issue IF you upgrade to 37s and IF you wheel hard. My "Solid Advice" is to upgrade (several options to do so) when you need to (when you upgrade to larger tires).

To the OP:

It's worth pointing out the conditions where racks fail. Spinning bigger, heavier tires over rock gardens or in boulders, where binding while sliding into an immovable object or falling into a crack while steering (at higher speeds), you're gonna get more opportunities to bend or break a tie rod. If you go slow and stay outta the yellows/reds, you're dramatically limiting your bending/breakage scenarios. You accomplish this risk lowering by hoofing it to checkout trails and avoiding those areas you could bind.

Stiffening the steering rack (not just the tie rod but the whole assembly) will help in these scenarios, but losing a tie rod on a few occasions is cheaper and less aggravation for most casual wheelers than wholesale replacing the rack. You get the rack to mitigate eventualities while "wheeling harder" in more difficult situations.

If it worries you, get spare tie rods and a toolkit from Tricky Dick's outfit, watch some videos on how to fix, and see if it happens. That's $300-380 w/Ford parts.

 

[BlueBronco]

It's being upgraded as it's been a problem and has been more than noted here and other forums...this is why Ford is making the upgrade going forward.

So the forum that has threads that are hundred of pages long dedicated to MIC 1.0 issues, dropped valves faulty fuel pumps and snapped tie-rods, somehow missed the boat on the huge steering rack issue that is causing Ford to upgrade only one model.

Again, what are you going to be doing in your Bronco that demands the new rack? But I digress, it is your money and you are free to spend it as you want. If you need the new steering rack that badly then I suggest you wait. The rest of us 220k+ Broncos owners with the old steering rack will keep the trails ready for you.

 

[Bmadda]

I'm gonna agree w/most everybody else here and say "bird in hand". W/all the production delays, and price hikes, better to take the 2023, then take a risk on an even more overpriced 24, which, who knows when it would get built! When order banks open theres gonna be a pretty big rush of orders. Steering upgrades can be done if needed!

 

[indio22]

Is the current rack an issue? And why does it have to go? What do you plan on doing with your Bronco that you have to have the upgraded rack so badly? Plenty of members wheeling their Broncos hard without any steering rack problems.

This. "What do you plan on doing with your Bronco that you have to have the upgraded rack so badly?"

It's kind of academic if the OP has no legit real world use for the uprated steering (or for that matter some of the other functionalities)?

 

[huey]

Will be curious to see what the OP does. This thread has an overwhelmingly singular direction.

 

[Zstngz]

I agree with this, keep your order and get the bronco. Ford is increasing prices on them to cover loses on other vehicles.

IMO they're already priced above their value and I wouldn't buy mine again at todays msrp. Instead I'd get the new landcruiser.

I thought the same thing

 

[Arrowbear Rider]

I'm gonna agree w/most everybody else here and say "bird in hand". W/all the production delays, and price hikes, better to take the 2023, then take a risk on an even more overpriced 24, which, who knows when it would get built! When order banks open there's gonna be a pretty big rush of orders. Steering upgrades can be done if needed!

OP, this is from a man who wheels his shit hard, but also knows how.

You really haven't answered what kind of wheeling you do, are you a hard core rock, boulder field wheeler and have you broken more than a few parts before?

Due to a number of guys having tie rods break, I was really concerned about the ties rods before I got my Bronco, after a good amount of wheeling I think some that broke were just bad production parts, one I suspect was used as a tie down during transport, it had bends in it that appeared that way (broke in driveway), and the rest were damaged by user error, sending it when care and throttle control was needed.

 

[BlueBronco]

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