Steering impossible while off-camber

[Hemisfear]

Do you know how many people have lifted their rigs without spending $1700 on BroncBusters kit? Virtually everyone. I’ve come across exactly 1 person on the trails with upgraded steering out of countless modified Broncos I’ve met. Tie rod sleeves are the exception.

The forums and the trails are two completely different beasts, my friend. The forum also spent a better part of a year convinced that every single 2.7 was a ticking time bomb after a less than 100 known failures. Remember when TFL had a leaky shock on their First Edition? Pandemonium. I can’t tell you how many times the sky has fallen because I’ve lost count.

I’ve done thousands of miles on trails with this steering rack and it’s had the issue long before I went up to 37s. If I upgraded every part that could fail when off-roading, there would be very little left that is OEM. This is a Ford we are talking about.

With that said, it’s more noticeable on 37s for sure.

As a general rule, I don’t take advice from people trying to sell me something, so the fact that FunHaver crew or BroncBuster say it’s a huge problem doesn’t necessarily convince me it’s a huge problem.. Remember Juicero?
Not a whole lot of reported cases of steering rack failure in the wild. Some, for sure.

Either way, this problem existed for me on the OEM 35s with the factory suspension so it’s not entirely down to lift or tires alone. Likely the solution will be that anyone off-roading a Bronco on 35s with the HOSS 1/2 steering will need to reinforce the bushing. It’s a shame the only aftermarket solution is $400 as it’s just a piece of plastic.

Otherwise, I think the steering rack is probably going to be a common point of failure right about the time everyone’s extended warranty runs out..

It’s clearly time to upgrade the steering as that bushing has seen better days. The rest of the rack is fine, so now just to see what the best solution is while avoiding rocks for the time being.

No issues with my Badsquatch...and no thank you on janky budget lifts and band aid solutions, but you go buddy, a fool and his money are easily parted... lol

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[Snacktime]

Did you and others figure out how to make the 3.0 rack work in a non-3.0 Bronco? I must have missed the fix.

@BigMeatsBronco figured it out, I got forced into the 3.0 rack due to breakage.

 

[NORCALGXP]

@SS Bronco and @NORCALGXP Remember when Eric tried to do Soup Bowl and said he couldn't turn the wheel. We had him try and go back and forth to get the steering to turn? I got a feeling this is the same thing. I wouldn't be surprised if a combination of front locker and angles causes the rack to limit steering torque.

I will also say there is no column lock on the bronco. Go outside and try turning the wheel to see what unassisted feels like.

I will be testing my 3.0 Rack out this weekend, but at this time I can't tell the difference. My last trip out was more of a pleasure cruise through the snow than testing limits.

I was thinking the same thing when I read the post earlier.

 

[Theherofails]

No issues with my Badsquatch...and no thank you on janky budget lifts and band aid solutions, but you go buddy, a fool and his money are easily parted... lol

Janky budget lifts? What are you even talking about?Always gotta be at least one reply guy in every thread..

Go do an actual trail and touch some grass. You need a vacation.

 

[SS Bronco]

Janky budget lifts? What are you even talking about?Always gotta be at least one reply guy in every thread..

Go do an actual trail and touch some grass. You need a vacation.

Exactly what I thought, when is Icon coilovers considered a budget lift? Great looking build by the way.

 

[LockedBronco]

I’m heading out to do some testing. If I don’t make it back, well at least I’ll leave a beautiful corpse.

How did testing go?

 

[kevin.gt]

Not sure if it’s the same thing, but my steering locked up the other day going down hill, teetering on my corner tires. I did not fight it, backed up to get the weight off the front passenger tire and it straightened right up and I took a better line

 

[Raptor911]

It is interesting that everyone wants the HOSS 3 rack. It is my understanding that the HOSS 3 rack is also used on the Warthog. The rack internal is identical. The only difference is the housing is beefed up and of-course the tie-rods are beffier. See below at the 30.52 min mark

 

[LockedBronco]

Not sure if it’s the same thing, but my steering locked up the other day going down hill, teetering on my corner tires. I did not fight it, backed up to get the weight off the front passenger tire and it straightened right up and I took a better line

Yes that is it.
In the pic to get the RF tire to turn it would need a awful lot of force. It is just not meant to do it.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

Yes that is it.
In the pic to get the RF tire to turn it would need a awful lot of force. It is just not meant to do it.

Bummer. I hope this locked steering & broken racks doesn’t become a widespread thing. My Tacoma (IFS) on a 3” extended travel coil over kit / UCA / whole 9 yards / on 35’s did this kind of move without issue for years. So if this binding issue becomes more common it’s a Ford thing not an IFS thing.

 

[‘21OBX]

It is interesting that everyone wants the HOSS 3 rack. It is my understanding that the HOSS 3 rack is also used on the Warthog. The rack internal is identical. The only difference is the housing is beefed up and of-course the tie-rods are beffier. See below at the 30.52 min mark

?? It’s beefed up in many ways according the guys that put them side by side mention almost everything being bigger including the electric motor.

 

[Arokcrwlr]

At this point I don't think one can categorize the BroncBuster mods as bandaids. They fix real issues with Ford's rack design. Sure we can be bent due to the prices, but unless you can fab your own, either bite the bullet or wait for the rack to fail. I went overboard and bought the bushing and billet housing before the HOSS 3.0 rack was available. Now that the pioneers in the group have cracked the code on the HOSS 3.0 rack, I have that coming as well - to be delivered Thurs. And I don't even have my Bronco yet. I'll run my factory rack with the BB upgrades and if/when it breaks, I'll have the HOSS 3.0 rack ready to go.

I like doing extreme trails - no other hobby gets my blood pumping like a 10 rated trail. I don't know if I will wheel my 6g Bronco hard - I have other rigs for the hardcore trails, but I also don't want to worry everytime I do take it off road. Call me paranoid...whats a few $$$ in the grand scheme?

 

[Theherofails]

Confirmed today that the steering failure I had was caused by overheating. The lift/tires likely attributed to it.

Went out and mapped a new trail at an abandoned mine that I’ll likely rate as a 5, and had zero issues with steering.. No issues with binding while totally flexing out in rutted out roads, so it’s not catching like I originally thought.

VERY rutted out roads. One has a solid 8’ drop that you have to sneak over. Absolutely terrifying. You can barely squeak by and it’s still a big tip.

 

[LockedBronco]

Confirmed today that the steering failure I had was caused by overheating. The lift/tires likely attributed to it.

Went out and mapped a new trail at an abandoned mine that I’ll likely rate as a 5, and had zero issues with steering.. No issues with binding while totally flexing out in rutted out roads, so it’s not catching like I originally thought.

VERY rutted out roads. One has a solid 8’ drop that you have to sneak over. Absolutely terrifying. You can barely squeak by and it’s still a big tip.

So are you making any changes or just finding better lines?

 

[Theherofails]

So are you making any changes or just finding better lines?

Undecided. This is an unexpected outcome. I remember telling my wife a few times that it felt like the power steering was going out on the rocks, but it didn't have the usual feel or whine like it was low on fluid or cavitating or something. It sounded completely normal but impossible to move. Try turning your wheels with the vehicle off and it was like that, but harder due to the angle I was at going over the boulders.

Once I saw the error code that showed an overheating steering box and looked up the code, I saw that the vehicle will first go into limp home mode and throw a code, but you get limited help from the power steering. After that, it'll shut down the steering completely and you have to strong arm it home. That was the stage I was at on the rocks until I got back to flat ground and let it sit a minute while composing myself and taking a drink of water. It was a lot of work getting the Bronco off 3-5 foot tall boulders without power steering. I am sore today!

The only solution I see right now is a beefier rack now that the HOSS 3.0 has been hacked into HOSS 1/2 Broncos. Perhaps the bigger motor and thicker casing will help with the heat build up that the factory rack is clearly doing to move these big tires. As I said earlier, this was a problem for me on 35s as well when going down some rough trails. There is a somewhat famous obstacle near Tucson called Three Feathers that I had the same problems with last fall. Got about half way down a line and the steering just getting heavier and heavier..

This obstacle is rated an 8 to 9 depending on the trail guide. Its an optional feature on a trail called Box Canyon in AZ.

Just a few previous examples of when I was on 35s and the same issue happened. All are fairly sketchy with no power steering.

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