ICON XD Forged Tie Rods

[Inlinejohn]

I got mine installed last week. The Icon XD Forged Tie Rods are a lot beefier than stock and more stout than the HOSS 3.0 HD Tie Rods.

Install was straight forward and Toe alignment was done as well.

I have an Icon Suspension and there are no issues what so ever.

Looks great. Did you install the steering rack bushing mod kit as well at the same time? No hitting a full lock?

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[Tech Tim]

Mine showed up a couple days ago. Hopefully installing them in the next day or two.

We have them in stock in the warehouse:
https://www.northridge4x4.com/part/tie-rods/45212-icon-vehicle-dynamics-tie-rod-kit

 

[ChrisInSC]

Install done. Was pretty straight forward. Seems like a quality product and I have way more faith in it than a Jks/broncobuster sleeve. for the price point it’s hard to beat honestly. I’ll be upgrading the rack at some point when there is a good option. Threw on lower control skid at the same time.

 

[techdisaster]

I installed these today along with the BroncBuster Bushing. Took about 2.5 hours.

I have one suggestion that would make the install a little bit less confusing. The Icon tie rods are stamped with L & R which I assume was for Left and Right. But the Left Icon tie rod followed the contour of the passenger tie rod, and the Right Icon tie rod followed the contour of the driver side.

The Ford lower control arms are stamped L & R on the correct sides. I typically assume Left and Right is from the position of the driver, but Icon has them opposite. So I installed the L tie rod over the R lower control arm, and vice versa for the other side.

The instructions don’t mention this, but I can confirm from other install images in this thread that I have them installed correctly.

Everything else went in trouble free. I found it easier to remove the front skid plate so I could get leverage on the inner tie rods with my wrench. I carefully measured the length of the take-offs and matched the new pair. Seemed to drive fine after install, but I have an alignment scheduled next week.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

I installed these today along with the BroncBuster Bushing. Took about 2.5 hours.

I have one suggestion that would make the install a little bit less confusing. The Icon tie rods are stamped with L & R which I assume was for Left and Right. But the Left Icon tie rod followed the contour of the passenger tie rod, and the Right Icon tie rod followed the contour of the driver side.

The Ford lower control arms are stamped L & R on the correct sides. I typically assume Left and Right is from the position of the driver, but Icon has them opposite. So I installed the L tie rod over the R lower control arm, and vice versa for the other side.

The instructions don’t mention this, but I can confirm from other install images in this thread that I have them installed correctly.

Everything else went in trouble free. I found it easier to remove the front skid plate so I could get leverage on the inner tie rods with my wrench. I carefully measured the length of the take-offs and matched the new pair. Seemed to drive fine after install, but I have an alignment scheduled next week.

Wait…what? The shop that installed my tie rods put the “L” on the driver side and the “R” on the passenger. Are you saying that’s incorrect?
Edit: That (as in the markings are backwards) can’t be correct. I’m laying under my Bronco now.

@Dusty at ICON - care to wade in here please?

 

[techdisaster]

L on the driver side seems incorrect to my install.

I had a friend with me who has done the BroncBuster Bushing install and he double checked. Following the countour has them swapped.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

Well shit. That doesn’t make any sense, but I never compared prior install. Plus I had a local 4x4 shop install mine.

My install is:
L = driver
R = passenger

Can any other owners please step forward and comment here? Now I’m worried. I just looked at the online install instructions and there’s no mention of this. Also looked at my OEM tie rods and the designation is all parts code, no clear markings that call out driver / passenger, so I’m unable to compare.

 

[Ramble_Offroad]

So you think this is incorrect? This is the drivers side, right side of the image is the front of the truck. Icon tie has “L”.

This looks right to me, but I’m no expert. Your theory would mean that Icon’s L & R is incorrect….that can’t be…

 

[mspeter]

PHOTO above by ramble makes sense. Mine installed the same. It provides most clearance for Icon’s coilover when the steering tie rod is hard-over (retracted). May be irrelevant if not using Icon coilovers (which have a low spring bucket mount)

 

[Inlinejohn]

PHOTO above by ramble makes sense. Mine installed the same. It provides most clearance for Icon’s coilover when the steering tie rod is hard-over (retracted). May be irrelevant if not using Icon coilovers (which have a low spring bucket mount)

Does this pic help? Try at full lock and see if tie rod hits before you expect

 

[techdisaster]

So you think this is incorrect? This is the drivers side, right side of the image is the front of the truck. Icon tie has “L”.

This looks right to me, but I’m no expert. Your theory would mean that Icon’s L & R is incorrect….that can’t be…

Edit: It has been confirmed that the L & R were not stamped correctly by foundry.

 

[techdisaster]

I need to check the Ford parts list for OEM tie rods. Based on this picture, I think my factory tie rods were installed incorrectly by MAP. The factory rod outer sections are stamped with U and T. I need to verify which are driver and passenger.

I verified in the Ford Parts Site that my OEM tie rods were installed correctly. T - Driver, U - Passenger. I verified that the bends follow T with R and U with L.

Is it possible one of the molds used for the Icon tie rods have the L and R backwards?

 

[techdisaster]

I’ve spent more time on Ford’s parts catalog this morning, and I think @Ramble_Offroad’s install is not correct. The bend should be facing towards the rear of the car, not the front. Pictures of the schematics on Ford parts seems to confirm this.

 

[rguest3]

I installed these today along with the BroncBuster Bushing. Took about 2.5 hours.

I have one suggestion that would make the install a little bit less confusing. The Icon tie rods are stamped with L & R which I assume was for Left and Right. But the Left Icon tie rod followed the contour of the passenger tie rod, and the Right Icon tie rod followed the contour of the driver side.

The Ford lower control arms are stamped L & R on the correct sides. I typically assume Left and Right is from the position of the driver, but Icon has them opposite. So I installed the L tie rod over the R lower control arm, and vice versa for the other side.

The instructions don’t mention this, but I can confirm from other install images in this thread that I have them installed correctly.

Everything else went in trouble free. I found it easier to remove the front skid plate so I could get leverage on the inner tie rods with my wrench. I carefully measured the length of the take-offs and matched the new pair. Seemed to drive fine after install, but I have an alignment scheduled next week.

If you follow the contours of the original Ford Tie Rods the Icons would be installed R - Driver and L - Passenger side. I had these installed at FORD prior to delivery and the Tech questioned the "L" and the "R" as well.

When installed this way, the inner tie rod is close but does not touch the Coil-Over when that side wheel is turned out. I also have the Icon Coil-Overs installed.

EDIT: I just compared to my 2-Door which has the Ford HD Tie Rods. The curve or contour of the Icons as I have installed matches how the Ford Tie Rods are installed.

 

[Dusty at ICON]

Wait…what? The shop that installed my tie rods put the “L” on the driver side and the “R” on the passenger. Are you saying that’s incorrect?
Edit: That (as in the markings are backwards) can’t be correct. I’m laying under my Bronco now.

@Dusty at ICON - care to wade in here please?

After looking into this yes it does appear those markings are incorrect. We didn't include L/R markings on our CAD drawings or models, and the first articles didn't have them either. But apparently the foundry decided to add them to the production units, and of course got them wrong. The marks aren't mentioned in the instructions because we didn't intend for them to even be there.

We're updating our instructions now and will have the markings corrected on future production runs. But for now, yes please just ignore those marks. The tie rods are correctly installed with the bend pointing rearward. The bend is there for clearance at full turn with high offset wheels (which is probably a moot point for most of us). I went out in the parking lot to check the ones on my own Bronco, which were installed here at ICON, and they are installed correctly. Our apologies for the confusion.

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