Yesterday at 3:22 pm
So I off-road, relatively hard, typically once a month or more but I have a 2023 Badlands with Sasquatch so why would I not? On my last outing I had an incident in which I damaged my steering quite severely. I fully expect this would not be covered under warranty so I took it to my mechanic who regularly works on modified and off-road vehicles. I ended up needing to replace the axle assembly, knuckle, hub assembly, lower control arm, steering rack, etc. Sounds like a great opportunity to upgrade the weak steering rack for the Ford Performance BRONCO Severe Duty Steering Upgrade Kit. I've been wanting to do that any way. Two of the parts I need are backordered so I gotta sit for 3 weeks for Ford to make parts for a vehicle that's allegedly built for off-roading. One of those parts was the steering rack. Well that sucks, but ok. I'm the one that broke my truck and three weeks is my penance for having a bad day on an obstacle I've done 50 times before.
Three weeks pass and my mechanic informs me that the dealership could not get us one of the racks from the latest batch so it'll be another 3-4 weeks. Meanwhile, my wife and I have been sharing one vehicle, her Jeep that she also off-roads with me, because the Bronco is/was my daily driver. Unfortunately we don't have the resources to have 3-4 vehicles so we drive our off-road vehicles to work.
I can't wait another 4 weeks, but I guess what choice do I have? So I resign myself to waiting 2 months for a replacement steering rack. About 3 days later I get a call from the shop telling me they may have found one sitting in a dealership on the other side of the country. Apparently someone ordered an upgrade and backed out at the last minute. Yay me! I agree to pay to have it shipped so I can get back on the road.
This is when it started to get frustrating. Rack arrives, everything is installed on the Bronco and it's time to program the new rack. Well, apparently the original factory rack was so damaged the original programming could not be recovered so we're talking to Ford again. After 8 days going back and forth with someone from Ford Performance and ordering a SECOND ProCal they managed to get the Rack programed, time for a test drive.
While test driving it before having me come pick it up, the shop owner felt the steering binding on right turns so they put it back on the lift to take a look. Apparently one of the shafts in the lower coupling is bent and is causing the entire coupling to flex when turned. Well, dangit, lets order a replacement and get this fix behind us.
Any guesses on who currently has that part in stock? NO ONE! This one is backordered as well. The expected manufacture date for the next batch, which I may or may not be graciously able to purchase a piece from is 7/23/26, 3 weeks from today.
For a year, my wife and I have had a trip planned to visit some trails in Colorado and then to Moab. We've been schedule to leave Friday, 7/24.
When I get the Bronco back, I'm seriously considering getting rid of it and getting an off-road vehicle I can get parts and service for without months-long wait times.
The pictures show what was left of my tire after being bounced into a tree on a climb in loose gravel(ish) rock. The rim sheered in two right where it bolts on to the hub and the inner half folded under the vehicle. The steering assist was shattered and hanging so we disconnected it and it sits in the middle of the tire in the back of the Bronco. I was bounced to the left, completely missed the bumper and hit a tree with the factory tire/rim aired down to 14 lbs. I was 'sending it' a bit, but nothing too crazy (I thought). I have done this climb about 50 times. My wife made it in her Wrangler Sport (for the fifty-first time), I had to be towed out and trailered to the shop.
Three weeks pass and my mechanic informs me that the dealership could not get us one of the racks from the latest batch so it'll be another 3-4 weeks. Meanwhile, my wife and I have been sharing one vehicle, her Jeep that she also off-roads with me, because the Bronco is/was my daily driver. Unfortunately we don't have the resources to have 3-4 vehicles so we drive our off-road vehicles to work.
I can't wait another 4 weeks, but I guess what choice do I have? So I resign myself to waiting 2 months for a replacement steering rack. About 3 days later I get a call from the shop telling me they may have found one sitting in a dealership on the other side of the country. Apparently someone ordered an upgrade and backed out at the last minute. Yay me! I agree to pay to have it shipped so I can get back on the road.
This is when it started to get frustrating. Rack arrives, everything is installed on the Bronco and it's time to program the new rack. Well, apparently the original factory rack was so damaged the original programming could not be recovered so we're talking to Ford again. After 8 days going back and forth with someone from Ford Performance and ordering a SECOND ProCal they managed to get the Rack programed, time for a test drive.
While test driving it before having me come pick it up, the shop owner felt the steering binding on right turns so they put it back on the lift to take a look. Apparently one of the shafts in the lower coupling is bent and is causing the entire coupling to flex when turned. Well, dangit, lets order a replacement and get this fix behind us.
Any guesses on who currently has that part in stock? NO ONE! This one is backordered as well. The expected manufacture date for the next batch, which I may or may not be graciously able to purchase a piece from is 7/23/26, 3 weeks from today.
For a year, my wife and I have had a trip planned to visit some trails in Colorado and then to Moab. We've been schedule to leave Friday, 7/24.
When I get the Bronco back, I'm seriously considering getting rid of it and getting an off-road vehicle I can get parts and service for without months-long wait times.
The pictures show what was left of my tire after being bounced into a tree on a climb in loose gravel(ish) rock. The rim sheered in two right where it bolts on to the hub and the inner half folded under the vehicle. The steering assist was shattered and hanging so we disconnected it and it sits in the middle of the tire in the back of the Bronco. I was bounced to the left, completely missed the bumper and hit a tree with the factory tire/rim aired down to 14 lbs. I was 'sending it' a bit, but nothing too crazy (I thought). I have done this climb about 50 times. My wife made it in her Wrangler Sport (for the fifty-first time), I had to be towed out and trailered to the shop.
Attachments
Velocity Blue 2023 Bronco Badlands Sasquatch 4D