Bronco Tie Rod Failures: Rarity or Looming Problem?

I'm not worried about it personally. Failure seems due to a specific loading use case that is related to extreme loading of the suspension and then releasing that load suddenly. Take it slow and easy through obstacles. Don't try to "send it": through washboards.
I made it through a pair of large fields of stones during the Off Roadeo in New Hampshire along with 5 other broncos and nobody broke a tie rod. Respect your vehicle.

I saw the dreaded tie rod snap on Top of the World in Moab on a Sasquatch a couple of weeks ago. I can't really comment on how the Bronco was being driven prior to the snap because I was a couple of vehicles back. Turns out our group had something like four spare tie rods, so it was a relatively quick trail fix - I provided color commentary and picked up lost caps and the like since I wasn't needed for mechanical use.

Talking to a friend who works the Moab Off Roadeo, just across the highway from where we were, he said they've never had one of those snap on Dome Plateau. I kind of get the impression it takes a special set of conditions to cause the issue.

I bought some of the Broncbuster stuff at Super Cel the week before last and will put it on for some of the weird Utah stuff we do, but I'd probably be about as good carrying a couple of spare inner tie rods. They're easy enough to swap out on the trail with a wrench and mallet. I do recommend a hose clamp until you can get back to civilization to reseal the boot. I've seen people have to weld tie rods back together at Easter Safari, so it's not really something limited to Broncos.

ChrisD

I saw the dreaded tie rod snap on Top of the World in Moab on a Sasquatch a couple of weeks ago. I can't really comment on how the Bronco was being driven prior to the snap because I was a couple of vehicles back. Turns out our group had something like four spare tie rods, so it was a relatively quick trail fix - I provided color commentary and picked up lost caps and the like since I wasn't needed for mechanical use.

Talking to a friend who works the Moab Off Roadeo, just across the highway from where we were, he said they've never had one of those snap on Dome Plateau. I kind of get the impression it takes a special set of conditions to cause the issue.

I bought some of the Broncbuster stuff at Super Cel the week before last and will put it on for some of the weird Utah stuff we do, but I'd probably be about as good carrying a couple of spare inner tie rods. They're easy enough to swap out on the trail with a wrench and mallet. I do recommend a hose clamp until you can get back to civilization to reseal the boot. I've seen people have to weld tie rods back together at Easter Safari, so it's not really something limited to Broncos.

You didn't see if they had a lift or size of the tires? Can't see the upper control arm in that photo.

mike8675309

You didn't see if they had a lift or size of the tires? Can't see the upper control arm in that photo.

It was a stock Sasquatch package on Badlands on the stock Sasquatch tires. Pretty much bone stock suspension. Again, I think it requires a specific set of conditions for this to occur.

ChrisD

It was a stock Sasquatch package on Badlands on the stock Sasquatch tires. Pretty much bone stock suspension. Again, I think it requires a specific set of conditions for this to occur.

Yikes. unfortunately with a part like that, they are strong but not so strong they are brittle. That means they can be overstressed in a situation and start to fail, but not fail completely. Then you do something you wouldn't think would fail and yet they fail. You have to analyze the part and you can see the signs if the initial failure was older than the final break.

Been doing research on this- have a 2021 4D Wildtrak (SAS), and like to overland/wheel occasionally. My plan is to follow "Off the grind" David's strategy: replace tie-rods with Icon's Bronco Tie Rods, and add 74 Weld End cap to beef up the steering rack. What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Should I be confident in normal off-road situations with this?

Lnashsig

Been doing research on this- have a 2021 4D Wildtrak (SAS), and like to overland/wheel occasionally. My plan is to follow "Off the grind" David's strategy: replace tie-rods with Icon's Bronco Tie Rods, and add 74 Weld End cap to beef up the steering rack. What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Should I be confident in normal off-road situations with this?

Lnashsig

Been doing research on this- have a 2021 4D Wildtrak (SAS), and like to overland/wheel occasionally. My plan is to follow "Off the grind" David's strategy: replace tie-rods with Icon's Bronco Tie Rods, and add 74 Weld End cap to beef up the steering rack. What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Should I be confident in normal off-road situations with this?

Yeah, this should be near bullet-proof for overlanding and occasional wheeling. I currently run the icon tie rods and Broncbuster’s bushing with stock wheels and tires. I’ll be adding the End cap when I go up to 37s early next year.

Lnashsig

Been doing research on this- have a 2021 4D Wildtrak (SAS), and like to overland/wheel occasionally. My plan is to follow "Off the grind" David's strategy: replace tie-rods with Icon's Bronco Tie Rods, and add 74 Weld End cap to beef up the steering rack. What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Should I be confident in normal off-road situations with this?

74Weld makes awesome products. Did you lift your Bronco/add larger tires or are you planning to?

Laura

74Weld makes awesome products. Did you lift your Bronco/add larger tires or are you planning to?

Haven't lifted or added 37's yet, but that's something I may look to do after I get through the new set of Goodyear MT's I just bought (and sort of regret it, wish I had gone with Nitto Grappler instead). First set of Goodyear MT stock tires only got me 31k miles before falling apart.

Lnashsig

Haven't lifted or added 37's yet, but that's something I may look to do after I get through the new set of Goodyear MT's I just bought (and sort of regret it, wish I had gone with Nitto Grappler instead). First set of Goodyear MT stock tires only got me 31k miles before falling apart.

Other than the slight tire regret, that's awesome and good you're researching upgrades! If you were leaving it stock, I'd throw it out there how well the Bronco CAN hold up with good driving technique, but changing the geometry will weaken points.

Laura

Other than the slight tire regret, that's awesome and good you're researching upgrades! If you were leaving it stock, I'd throw it out there how well the Bronco CAN hold up with good driving technique, but changing the geometry will weaken points.

I'm planning to do MOAB in the Spring or Summer (buddy just bought a house there), and Merus sometime next yr. Just would hate to have a failure out there- so trying to sort it out. Question for you: if I do go to 37's, what else do I need to really address or add? I assume tires, wheels, lift kit, do I need to change out suspension? I have a 21 WT, assume thats Hoss 2.0. When you start changing stuff out it gets expensive!

Lnashsig

I'm planning to do MOAB in the Spring or Summer (buddy just bought a house there), and Merus sometime next yr. Just would hate to have a failure out there- so trying to sort it out. Question for you: if I do go to 37's, what else do I need to really address or add? I assume tires, wheels, lift kit, do I need to change out suspension? I have a 21 WT, assume thats Hoss 2.0. When you start changing stuff out it gets expensive!

I’m on the same path as you. You’ll need at least a 2” lift to comfortably clear the tires without rubbing. I went with the Eibach Springs that replace the stock springs (and continue to use the stock Bilstein shocks). I love them! The ride is almost identical to stock, but with a smidge more body roll on tight corners.

Next you’ll need to get wheels with at least a -12 offset, or else they may run on the crash bars. The alternative to different wheels is a JKS Tire Clearence kit that requires you to chop off the crash bars.

However, I’m a bigger proponent to new wheels since you can find many that are lighter than the stock Ford Wheels. This will save you some wheel weight which will help with the gas mileage hit.

Lastly, you may want a break light extension and tailgate reinforcement kit to hold the heavier tires.

Lnashsig

I'm planning to do MOAB in the Spring or Summer (buddy just bought a house there), and Merus sometime next yr. Just would hate to have a failure out there- so trying to sort it out. Question for you: if I do go to 37's, what else do I need to really address or add? I assume tires, wheels, lift kit, do I need to change out suspension? I have a 21 WT, assume thats Hoss 2.0. When you start changing stuff out it gets expensive!

That'll be great ... I hear Merus is fantastic. Some people are of the "wheel it 'til it breaks, then upgrade" mindset; I'm more like you where I'd like to prevent some failures first (especially if I'm the one introducing a weak point into the system lol). And yes, you're right -- you have the HOSS 2.0.
Let me just preface that I am not a suspension expert; I was just passionate about the tie rod issue having been over it with Ford engineers and people like Brad Lovell, Vaughn Gittin Jr., and Loren Healy who have off-roaded stock Broncos heavily. Most people will look at upper/lower control arms, steering rack, and tie rods depending on how they get larger/heavier tires to fit.

Lnashsig

I'm planning to do MOAB in the Spring or Summer (buddy just bought a house there), and Merus sometime next yr. Just would hate to have a failure out there- so trying to sort it out. Question for you: if I do go to 37's, what else do I need to really address or add? I assume tires, wheels, lift kit, do I need to change out suspension? I have a 21 WT, assume thats Hoss 2.0. When you start changing stuff out it gets expensive!

We did Merus, mostly did the medium trails And wheeled Katemcy in a bone stock Everglades with no issues. I have recently purchased the Tie rod repair kit https://td-distributing.myshopify.com/products/bronco-6g-tie-rod-repair-kit cheap insurance and piece of mind. It’s a pretty easy trail fix. If I was going to slap a lift and 37” I would definitely go the 74 weld route. So far the 35” have been all I needed so I am just waiting out the warranty before I get the lift and tires.

Trying to get out to Moab this spring or Summer and if you plan a Merus date let me know, that place is worth the 7 hour trip.

Jakob1972

We did Merus, mostly did the medium trails And wheeled Katemcy in a bone stock Everglades with no issues. I have recently purchased the Tie rod repair kit https://td-distributing.myshopify.com/products/bronco-6g-tie-rod-repair-kit cheap insurance and piece of mind. It’s a pretty easy trail fix. If I was going to slap a lift and 37” I would definitely go the 74 weld route. So far the 35” have been all I needed so I am just waiting out the warranty before I get the lift and tires.

Trying to get out to Moab this spring or Summer and if you plan a Merus date let me know, that place is worth the 7 hour trip.

You in TX too? I'm in Houston

Laura

Some people are of the "wheel it 'til it breaks, then upgrade" mindset;

I’ve been very methodical in my purchases. Nearly every purchase has been based on a need that my driving the Bronco has made evident while taking it offroad. I feel like the Bronco with SAS really needed a 2” lift to get its fat belly over a lot of obstacles without scraping. And the stock tires (Load rated C) just don’t have enough side wall to air down to 20psi without sacrificing another half inch of clearance.

There have been times that I chose not to air down on a really chunky trail just because I wanted the clearence over comfort or grip. (It was a wet creek bed and grip wasn’t going to happen anyway)

A 2” lift with 37’s will be the absolute sweet spot for what I want to do.

TechnicalDisaster

I’ve been very methodical in my purchases. Nearly every purchase has been based on a need that my driving the Bronco has made evident while taking it offroad. I feel like the Bronco with SAS really needed a 2” lift to get its fat belly over a lot of obstacles without scraping. And the stock tires (Load rated C) just don’t have enough side wall to air down to 20psi without sacrificing another half inch of clearance.

There have been times that I chose not to air down on a really chunky trail just because I wanted the clearence over comfort or grip. (It was a wet creek bed and grip wasn’t going to happen anyway)

A 2” lift with 37’s will be the absolute sweet spot for what I want to do.

That makes sense. I have complete skid plates (ARB) and control arm skid plates (DV8), and rock slide engineering rock rails, so I've been fine with scraping those off road.

TechnicalDisaster

The alternative to different wheels is a JKS Tire Clearence kit that requires you to chop off the crash bars.

Do you know if Sasquatch wheels work with 37s with the JKS kit? I can never get a straight answer.

Lnashsig

Been doing research on this- have a 2021 4D Wildtrak (SAS), and like to overland/wheel occasionally. My plan is to follow "Off the grind" David's strategy: replace tie-rods with Icon's Bronco Tie Rods, and add 74 Weld End cap to beef up the steering rack. What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Should I be confident in normal off-road situations with this?

I agree that replacing the tie rods and end cap is a smart move, but doesn't that leave the steering rack as the weak point? That wouldn't be something you would want to change on the trail and who wants to carry an extra rack with them. So, my question is does someone make a better rack and how expensive is that? I'm driving a 2023 Badlands with the SAS and new 10 ply 35" tires and I do go to Moab a couple of times a year, so I really don't want to deal with a broken tie rod down there.

roosaj

I agree that replacing the tie rods and end cap is a smart move, but doesn't that leave the steering rack as the weak point? That wouldn't be something you would want to change on the trail and who wants to carry an extra rack with them. So, my question is does someone make a better rack and how expensive is that? I'm driving a 2023 Badlands with the SAS and new 10 ply 35" tires and I do go to Moab a couple of times a year, so I really don't want to deal with a broken tie rod down there.

I saw a few from 74 Weld on their site. You are looking 4-5k for a new rack. Easily the most expensive option you can go with.