fourwheelford
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2009
- Messages
- 397
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 0
- Location
- washington state
- Vehicle Year
- 2000
- Make / Model
- ford
- Engine Size
- 3.0 Flex
- Transmission
- Automatic
Ok first off this is a two parter so hang on for a ride, the truck was lifted before I bought it and im discovering more and more things they took shortcuts on. First off was the bump stops for the suspension, they put different ones on to make up for the lift but they only allowed for an inch of travel before they slammed into the lower arm. I figured that cant be good for the frame or alignment so im gonna take them off but I was wondering if its gonna allow the torsion bar to hit the cv joint when the suspension flexes. It looks like its designed to travel pretty far but I can't tell by myself. I never drive the truck in any extreme off road situations so will it matter if those bump stops aren't there?
Ok now for the second part, while I was jacking up the tire to see how far the travel was I noticed the mounting frame for the steering rack is cracked from top to bottom in the front on both sides the back on both sides are fine. Imagine where the inner tie rod is, it bolts to the end of a bracket thats shaped like a "J" on its side and runs the full length across to the other side. The inner tie rod runs through and bolts to the whole assembly, thats where the crack is. Its a serious flaw in the design with a tear point on top that caused it to rip. I had my wife get in the truck and rack the steering back and forth so I could watch what happened and I could see why it cracked. The passanger side has been that way for awhile because its all the way through and rusty, the drivers side isn't torn all the way but its flexing pretty bad and wont last long. Im a welder by trade so I can groove it out all the way and weld it up solid including the tear point. The tear point on the back is at the bottom so its not flexing the same way and I believe thats why its not cracked.
Does anyone think this a good idea? The rack is leaking and will need to be replaced soon so I can take the whole damn thing out then and repair it so it will never break again this would be a temporary fix so my steering doesn't fail while im driving. I don't know where to find the whole thing maybe a junk yard but this caught me off guard. Thanks everyone I welcome any input.
Ok now for the second part, while I was jacking up the tire to see how far the travel was I noticed the mounting frame for the steering rack is cracked from top to bottom in the front on both sides the back on both sides are fine. Imagine where the inner tie rod is, it bolts to the end of a bracket thats shaped like a "J" on its side and runs the full length across to the other side. The inner tie rod runs through and bolts to the whole assembly, thats where the crack is. Its a serious flaw in the design with a tear point on top that caused it to rip. I had my wife get in the truck and rack the steering back and forth so I could watch what happened and I could see why it cracked. The passanger side has been that way for awhile because its all the way through and rusty, the drivers side isn't torn all the way but its flexing pretty bad and wont last long. Im a welder by trade so I can groove it out all the way and weld it up solid including the tear point. The tear point on the back is at the bottom so its not flexing the same way and I believe thats why its not cracked.
Does anyone think this a good idea? The rack is leaking and will need to be replaced soon so I can take the whole damn thing out then and repair it so it will never break again this would be a temporary fix so my steering doesn't fail while im driving. I don't know where to find the whole thing maybe a junk yard but this caught me off guard. Thanks everyone I welcome any input.