Aftermarket Tie Rods Causing Rack and Pinion Failure

[waveslayer]

Ok guys, I have a question that I need some advice on.

I installed some Aftermarket Billet Tie Rods on my 2018. I have 13K miles and about 8K with these new tie rods. I won't say which tie rods as of yet because I'm hoping to at least get some help on this before throwing anyone under the bus.

It rained here for a bit and then we left out of town to ski for 2 weeks. My truck sat for 16 days before I started him up. When backing up I turned the steering wheel and it was a little stiff, some small resistance, nothing crazy at all. Then my truck made a grinding noise in the steering wheel. I will attach two videos, one from inside the truck and the other outside. Now on the outside video I'm turning the wheel one handed throwing it , that's why it sounds "bouncy".

So I took the truck to my local crapy dealer, they are terrible and they call me back and state,"since you have after market tie rods your warranty is void and you need a new rack and pinion , which is almost $2K to repair." He continued with how this is a common issue and he battled with Caneron Steele on this several times... well I happen to know him so I called Baja HQ and got one of the guys on the phone and he said, "yep, that's a known issue and that's why none of us run aftermarket tie rods! Sorry buddy not much that we can do but yes, we have had the same issues. One company sells inner tie rod sleeves to eliminate this same issue. I told him that the service writer said that with the aftermarket tie rods the boots will allow water to get in and ruin the electronic steering. He said that's what happened. Baja HQ confirmed that as well.

All I did was drive in the rain....... so guys what are your thoughts? Sounds like some rust on metal. There is no loss in power steering at all. I'm pretty bummed and Baja HQ said to just install OEM tie rods, I will be fine...
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5e1a751d0269d/20200111_170814.mp4http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5e1a762581f32/20200109_164355.mp4

Hopefully the links work.

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

 

[Rednose]

First of all you should go back to OEM rods and check if you still have the sound or resistant.

Second this steering is a big issue i jumped my truck once a very small tiny jump and it landed face first with the skid plate hitting the sand and it was not that bad but after 2 mins of the jump the steering was gone. I had to remove all my suspension to take it to the dealer.

Third thank for the post I was very close to pull the trigger and get me a set of tie rods.

 

[GLOCK26]

I haven’t had this problem.

 

[Dustan]

That sucks when you think you’re building a stronger truck and it causes damage to other parts.

 

[Aesconde]

I’m assuming you bought the aftermarket tie rods that replace both the outer tie rod and the inner underneath the boot.

I only replaced the outer tie rods and have not had any problems. They have been on for about 20k miles.

I bought my set from SVC. When I bought them, they actually advised against replacing the inner tie rods on Gen 2s because of water ******** up the electronic steering. Sounds like that may be your issue. Try putting the old ones back on and going to another dealer.


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[Truckasaurus]

This is a well known issue with the electric racks. Just take the hit and get it fixed and go back to OEM tie rods.

 

[coachhomer]

I’m assuming you bought the aftermarket tie rods that replace both the outer tie rod and the inner underneath the boot.

I only replaced the outer tie rods and have not had any problems. They have been on for about 20k miles.

I bought my set from SVC. When I bought them, they actually advised against replacing the inner tie rods on Gen 2s because of water ******** up the electronic steering. Sounds like that may be your issue. Try putting the old ones back on and going to another dealer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So does this mean Gen 1s won’t have this issue?


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[coachhomer]

Ok guys, I have a question that I need some advice on.

I installed some Aftermarket Billet Tie Rods on my 2018. I have 13K miles and about 8K with these new tie rods. I won't say which tie rods as of yet because I'm hoping to at least get some help on this before throwing anyone under the bus.

It rained here for a bit and then we left out of town to ski for 2 weeks. My truck sat for 16 days before I started him up. When backing up I turned the steering wheel and it was a little stiff, some small resistance, nothing crazy at all. Then my truck made a grinding noise in the steering wheel. I will attach two videos, one from inside the truck and the other outside. Now on the outside video I'm turning the wheel one handed throwing it , that's why it sounds "bouncy".

So I took the truck to my local crapy dealer, they are terrible and they call me back and state,"since you have after market tie rods your warranty is void and you need a new rack and pinion , which is almost $2K to repair." He continued with how this is a common issue and he battled with Caneron Steele on this several times... well I happen to know him so I called Baja HQ and got one of the guys on the phone and he said, "yep, that's a known issue and that's why none of us run aftermarket tie rods! Sorry buddy not much that we can do but yes, we have had the same issues. One company sells inner tie rod sleeves to eliminate this same issue. I told him that the service writer said that with the aftermarket tie rods the boots will allow water to get in and ruin the electronic steering. He said that's what happened. Baja HQ confirmed that as well.

All I did was drive in the rain....... so guys what are your thoughts? Sounds like some rust on metal. There is no loss in power steering at all. I'm pretty bummed and Baja HQ said to just install OEM tie rods, I will be fine...
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5e1a751d0269d/20200111_170814.mp4http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/5e1a762581f32/20200109_164355.mp4

Hopefully the links work.

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

So could the issue have been avoided if the boots fit properly?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zombiekiller]

So could the issue have been avoided if the boots fit properly?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No. No matter what you do, you'll never get the same caliber of seal with the aftermarket inner tie rods unless you do something crazy, like glue the end of the boot to the tie rod and cake RTV on it.

I see this problem a fair amount on the trail.

Everything is fine, then the driver hits a shallow puddle and the dash lights light up like a Christmas tree. sometimes you can clean it, try to reseal it and get it to come back to life by clearing the KAM, sometimes not.

As a previous poster stated, The SVC tie rod design retains the factory inners and maintains the seal.

And FYI- The steering rack SHOULD be about $1100 after the core return. It is literally 8 bolts and 2 plugs to swap it and it takes 20 mins.

It takes way longer to do the alignment and re-initialization of the rack than it does to swap the physical rack.

I know this because the EPAS rack is one of those lovely bits that I've had to replace.

Ford just released a superseding master rack part number that ends in N. Make sure that they aren't giving you something older and don't be tempted to buy an eBay rack bc they are $500 on there. the wrong PN will work mechanically, but the computer will fail the recalibration/re-initialization.

 

[Halo Raptor]

Funny that I was just looking into these when reading this new thread. Glad I stopped to read it. Holy shit that should be a sticky with ten red exclamation marks on it here. @zombiekiller so the SVC ones that just thread on vs going all the way in are the ones to go with if you want to retain the stock steering rack and remain under warranty ?