Bent tie rods from minor rut G3 2022

[metroman]

Bending a tie rod because you hit rut at a poor angle traveling too fast doesn't make your truck a "lemon". Tie rod failures do not seem to be prominent at all on this forum.. Your Gen 3 has no where near the capabilities of your 2015 based on your build.

The lemon-vibe comes from front hub nuking when just spinning tires in snow, then transfer case making coffee grinder noises while I waited 6 weeks to get into service, shifter never seemed to align correct to markings, driver seat making a funny drop sensation and feeling like it was uneven, and last but not least both tie rods bending. I agree with the suspension guys I spoke with that someone this incorrect with the shocks/live value setup.

PS dealer emailed me. They are covering the tie rods and steering gear under warranty no questions asked. I sent them these same pictures. Unknown ETA from Ford on the steering gear part so God knows how long my truck will be at the dealer.

I am pretty sure there is a big tie rod bending issue with the Gen3 Raptors, Broncos and Rangers from what I am seen online, in convos with techs, and based on the fact all the aftermarket guys are making them for all three vehicles and they seem out of stock at most places.

I wasn't driving too fast. I expect more out of a 3rd generation design of a "specialty vehicle" (as Ford calls them) that costs $90K.

 

[metroman]

If you wouldn’t mind, what’s the diameter of the RPG tie rods in the middle? I’m curious how they compare strength wise on paper. Would maybe shed some light on steering rack strength concerns.

RPG or FMI Greg Foutz stuff won't break. But you MUST make sure you seal up the replacement boots really well to prevent water and duster from getting into the rack.

 

[metroman]

max compression wouldn’t be max stiffness, it would be the opposite. Baja mode, I believe, puts the suspension into a softer compression and my guess is you just hit this “rut” at a bad angle. Can these trucks jump? Yes. But they also will break if you misuse them.

Both tie rod bent to the same amount and both bent inwards. To bend out would be to break it. So the truck was pigeon toed. I am trying to envision how an off angle impact would bend both tie rods inward.

 

[metroman]

My theory is the tie rods are sized properly for doing these things with 35” tires but maybe a little undersized for 37s. I have a 35 and have hit larger things than that going faster than that with zero issues. Maybe it’s luck, but I have a feeling it’s tire size. The extra inch of travel can’t hurt either.

The shocks have a load sensing valve (they call it a boost valve). This reacts to large impacts even faster than live valve can. Essentially with enough flow the shock will make itself extra stiff at bottom of travel no matter what. It’s a good thing to have, but if the tie rods are already questionably sized for larger tires then an unusually high damping force could be the tipping point. That said still better than bottoming out.

It sounds like you have a bit of a lemon. It’s a shame this generation is lacking in quality. I feel like I’ve been lucky to only have warrantied all the shocks, the windshield wiper motors, exhaust installation, and needed a bunch of module updates. I would have said it was crazy to have all that for a truck that’s about a year old before.

All that stuff broke on a year old Raptor? What happened with your shocks?

 

[metroman]

Double Ewe.
Tee.
Eff.

would you run 40-45psi off road? That is going to transfer every imperfection into the suspension and frame. You probably still would have bent some hard parts but you can let the tires absorb some.


I agree, haven’t seen much by way of tie rods here.

Ya I agree. 32 psi is what we used on our prerunners. We are Offroad everyday so airing up and down is not practical. When I get the truck back I will run at 32 psi. Also depends on the tire make. The dealer set it at that and I never bothered to change it.

 

[taquitos]

Both tie rod bent to the same amount and both bent inwards. To bend out would be to break it. So the truck was pigeon toed. I am trying to envision how an off angle impact would bend both tie rods inward.

I wonder if the truck toes out much at full compression. If it were to be toed out enough, a hard square edge hit from front on while bottomed out would act to try and straighten the wheels out due to caster which would push inward in a way that could possibly do this.

All that stuff broke on a year old Raptor? What happened with your shocks?

Yup. There’s a whole thread on the shock clunk. There’s a SSM that covers a lot of 21 and 22 trucks making clunking noises. Sounds like a golf ball rolling around in the bed or something over small chatter. The first time I noticed it I thought my bed had come loose since I’ve had that happen before and it sounded similar. Hard to say if functionality is truly impacted by it and no word on what the culprit is that I’ve seen.

In regards to tire pressure, I can’t be bothered to air down unless I’m going to be off pavement for more than a full day. Airing back up just takes too long. So usually pressure is 38 psi.

 

[downforce137]

If you wouldn’t mind, what’s the diameter of the RPG tie rods in the middle? I’m curious how they compare strength wise on paper. Would maybe shed some light on steering rack strength concerns.

i believe they are around 7/8th inch at the smallest diameter, aluminum rod..

 

[FordTechOne]

The lemon-vibe comes from front hub nuking when just spinning tires in snow, then transfer case making coffee grinder noises while I waited 6 weeks to get into service, shifter never seemed to align correct to markings, driver seat making a funny drop sensation and feeling like it was uneven, and last but not least both tie rods bending. I agree with the suspension guys I spoke with that someone this incorrect with the shocks/live value setup.
PS dealer emailed me. They are covering the tie rods and steering gear under warranty no questions asked. I sent them these same pictures. Unknown ETA from Ford on the steering gear part so God knows how long my truck will be at the dealer.

That makes absolutely no sense. Bent tie rods are the result of damage, not a warrantable defect. None of that damage is covered under warranty, not sure why the dealer would be willing to commit warranty fraud on your behalf.

I am pretty sure there is a big tie rod bending issue with the Gen3 Raptors, Broncos and Rangers from what I am seen online, in convos with techs, and based on the fact all the aftermarket guys are making them for all three vehicles and they seem out of stock at most places.

I wasn't driving too fast. I expect more out of a 3rd generation design of a "specialty vehicle" (as Ford calls them) that costs $90K.

There is no “big issue”, you were running 45 PSI in your tires off road and bent your tie rods. That’s not a defect, it’s your own fault. It doesn’t matter what the vehicle costs or how capable it is, if it’s abused something will end up breaking, that’s not the vehicle’s fault.

 

[smurfslayer]

I am pretty sure there is a big tie rod bending issue with the Gen3 Raptors, Broncos and Rangers from what I am seen online, in convos with techs, and based on the fact all the aftermarket guys are making them for all three vehicles and they seem out of stock at most places.

Cite to evidence? I’ve not been privy to this widely known phenomenon.

I wasn't driving too fast. I expect more out of a 3rd generation design of a "specialty vehicle" (as Ford calls them) that costs $90K.

I think you’re probably correct here. Raptor Assault covers much more rough terrain than this, and at higher speeds.
Assuming you are being (completely) honest about the course taken, and impacts along this trail.

Ya I agree. 32 psi is what we used on our prerunners. We are Offroad everyday so airing up and down is not practical. When I get the truck back I will run at 32 psi. Also depends on the tire make. The dealer set it at that and I never bothered to change it.

That last part is a little careless. I’m not ruling out that something else, but, suspension is complicated and the tires play a part. Definitely take this into account going further and if you can’t take the time to air down / up, roll with a more forgiving psi.
I’ll only take minor stuff at street psi without stopping / airing down, but I’m not doing it every day.

That makes absolutely no sense. Bent tie rods are the result of damage, not a warrantable defect. None of that damage is covered under warranty, not sure why the dealer would be willing to commit warranty fraud on your behalf.

Eh... the bent tie rods are definitely damaged but from some kind of abuse? We buy the trucks to do Raptor things, not cruise starbucks parking lots - the exclusive domain of the Jen Juan Rap. Maybe there was preexisting damage from previous shenanigans and this trip pushed both beyond what they could handle. But I think before going to ‘this isn’t warrantable’ I’d like to see full pictures, because to me; a Raptor End User, I don’t see abuse or neglect in the pictures.

 

[FordTechOne]

Eh... the bent tie rods are definitely damaged but from some kind of abuse? We buy the trucks to do Raptor things, not cruise starbucks parking lots - the exclusive domain of the Jen Juan Rap. Maybe there was preexisting damage from previous shenanigans and this trip pushed both beyond what they could handle. But I think before going to ‘this isn’t warrantable’ I’d like to see full pictures, because to me; a Raptor End User, I don’t see abuse or neglect in the pictures.

Bent suspension components are the result of an impact; impact damage is non-warrantable. It’s no different than landing badly and bending your bumper corner, the bumper is not defective because it bent from an impact.

We all know the risks when off-roading, things can and will get damaged, that doesn’t mean they were defective; far from it. OP needs to take accountability for the damage that resulted from his driving and stop trying to act like it’s some kind of defect. As you mentioned, there is no widespread phenomenon of bent tie rods, just bad drivers who want to blame the vehicle for their poor driving skills and failure to run appropriate tire pressures off-road.