Steering rack bushings cheap options and alternatives. Reviews pending!

[da_jokker]

Talked to the guy at BB and he said that no should install a bushing on the passages side that under stress it could shatter cause rack failure at speed and cause a wreak. Haha. I drove hard and fast all week, drove 11 hour each way and all is good.

As soon as he came out with the driver bushing and entire housing for the passenger side, I wondered why not just a bushing for the passenger as well?

Maybe he did some Bronco bashing and found out something we don't know.

I'd be alot more concerned if I was running 37+ tires or lifts but I'm not so I'll find some comfort in my dual $50 bushing setup for now.

I will say when I watch jeeps slide down a rock ledge and their front wheels impacting the ground as they stop their entire vehicle.....I cringe thinking about all that pressure being placed on our steering components (unlike a Jeep where the pressure is on the knuckles and track bar).

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[BAUS67]

Is all I get is a haha? I would recommend to him is lean how to wheel correctly on rock. Do not use the gas peddle only, bring up the rpm's to 1,200 or more depending on the situation, all the while holding the break peddle firmly, maintain rpm's, use the break peddle to modulate the forward movement. The benefit is as one release the break peddle there is no jerky forward movement and with the breaks holding it will help keep the wheels from spinning. I not a newbie 61 years old. check my profile and see my threads. All the best E.

The 'ole 2 pedal driving. Have you tried out the Trail One Pedal Drive yet Norcal??? I have not used it in mine yet but was on a ride and drive at AOAA before I got mine and used it. Actually works quite well. It essentially holds the brake for you, all you need to do is modulate the throttle.

 

[broncorik]

My intent here is not to piss people off or even to get pissed off at someone I've never met on an Internet forum. I also will not apologize if I have pissed anyone off with a HAHA reaction or humorless response. My intent is to provide some explanation or an alternative point of view as to why I think someone would charge a certain price for a product, post some videos or information I have found on these subjects or products, and make the occasional joke when someone gets mad for what I can see as no real reason to get mad. I too get easily upset but can laugh at myself when someone points out that there is no real reason to get mad.

I have never bought anything from BB...even though he might be somewhat of a pioneer in figuring out what breaks Broncos, and he might make some stuff that actually works, the video that he put out trying to paint anybody who doesn't buy his product as un-American and contributing to "circling the drain" in and of itself made it a lot easier for me to continue not to buy something from him. I might be an outlier but I don't think that politics or religion should be brought up when we're discussing automobiles...too many exposed nerves for those kinds of discussions. Even more importantly, for me, is the fact that someone could put out a video like that and espouse the values of buying "USA USA," and then try to shame those who don't...and yet routinely use and endorse products that have their roots well outside of the US. Hopefully now that there are other players with semi-reasonably priced alternatives to his products, such as the bushing(s), tie rods, and even a complete housing, he will adjust accordingly (instead of posting another video meant to guilt those who choose other products). IMHO, the 50 dollar bushing kit (even if you use only one of them) is more appealing than the 300+ dollar one, and the Icon tie rods that are cheaper than the BB brace eclipse the BB brace...and even a 5k rack that is complete isn't all that far-fetched when it costs only 3800 more than only a fraction of a housing alone. BB will hopefully figure out that suddenly it is going to be a lot tougher to sell the single bu$hing and that there is zero reason to buy the brace when someone can have entire tie rods for less...that leaves the housing...and I would wager that folks may hold off on that waiting for the reviews on the 74weld. In the interim, he could probably bring sales right back up again if he charged maybe $100 for his bushing...for those that think that him saying his stuff is made in America means something (Even though the RC bushing also says made in USA right on the package) or for those who emotions were swayed by the appeals in the video for customers to support the family with their purchases.

 

[Ibuprofen3293]

Don’t crucify me, but…
Is there data somewhere showing that these bushings do their intended job better than the OE ones (and what side effects there are, if any)? I see the debate on if the BB single or the RC pair are the “right” fix, but I haven’t seen data showing that either of them help save the steering system during wheeling. I’m sure it’s out there somewhere, so thanks in advance.

 

[broncorik]

Don’t crucify me, but…
Is there data somewhere showing that these bushings do their intended job better than the OE ones (and what side effects there are, if any)? I see the debate on if the BB single or the RC pair are the “right” fix, but I haven’t seen data showing that either of them help save the steering system during wheeling. I’m sure it’s out there somewhere, so thanks in advance.

I think that certain data would be tough to obtain...I don't know of any rack failures personally from anyone who wheels their Bronco in stock form and who doesn't do anything that the Bronco really shouldn't be doing. When you push anything past it's intended limit, like running 40s and creating geometry that was never supposed to be happening, something has to give...and even fixing that something is going to stress something else down the road. Take a legitimate bomb proof 4x4 rock crawling rig, for example...more often than not The only thing left of what was originally produced is the body of a vehicle. Everything else underneath the vehicle is typically scratch built and all the original components are no longer even used (axles/coils/shocks/trailing arms/brakes/t-cases/etc.etc.). Most people just jack the vehicle up as high as they can with body lifts and aftermarket springs and shocks and blocks and slap giant tires on...and then wonder why things break. It was interesting to watch one of the earlier videos in which the BB rig with its giant tires was wheeling with a couple of other rigs that were just slightly modified...and the BB rig had trouble making it up one of the obstacles that the other vehicles seem to just walk right up. 40s might look cool but there are a lot of really capable rigs out there that run smaller tires and more conservative angles of components that get by just fine. Having replaced the bushings in my rack, all I can say is that the black bushings that come out don't appear to be made to support anything significant structurally. I believe that the biggest advantage of having a bushing made out of anything is to have the lobe that fills the space in which it is feasible for the shaft to migrate upward toward the front corner of the hood under load...but I can't help but wonder just what kind of force it would take for that shaft to want to go in that direction. I suspect that for anyone who lifts their vehicle higher than it was intended, it is more likely for that to occur...and for those folks a bushing from whatever manufacturer that is made out of something more robust than the black plastic OEM bushing may give them what they're looking for. For anyone interested in valid or reliable data, you would have to have a whole bunch of tests run under a whole bunch of the same conditions...not just some one-offs in which somebody was on various obstacles trying to break stuff. I can't fathom that anybody's going to want to tear up multiple Bronco racks by trying to gather such data or that someone wants to spend the time trying. For me, my 3.0 tie rods and my $50 RC bushings give me slightly more peace of mind than my OEM tie rods and my black plastic bushings.

 

[KompressorV12]

Hey all,

can someone link me the group consensus hose clamps to buy?

 

[broncorik]

If you want OEM ones cheap (exact matches) these are the ones:

 

[broncorik]

If you want OEM ones cheap (exact matches) these are the ones:

McMaster-Carr.

 

[da_jokker]

So finally got my new clamps installed. You can buy these at several places...they are for german cars and are 9mm wide with a clamping of 60-80mm.

(TORRO 60-80/9)

Some pics I took comparing the original clamp width, to the new one, to the "standard" width clamps..

And this is what it had looked like with the standard width clamp...

 

[broncorik]

So finally got my new clamps installed. You can buy these at several places...they are for german cars and are 9mm wide with a clamping of 60-80mm.

(TORRO 60-80/9)

Some pics I took comparing the original clamp width, to the new one, to the "standard" width clamps..

And this is what it had looked like with the standard width clamp...

An inquiring mind would like to know...if we can get the OEM clamps for just over 50 cents a piece, and they work as originally intended, and the company generally ships within one day (a bag of 10 clamps for just over $6) why do some folks choose to use other types of clamps which granted will certainly do the job but end up costing more than the OEM clamps (that don't leave any excess like a screw clamp does)? The Oetiker clamps in 69.5 mm have a built-in design that keeps them from being over-tightened, and with the proper tool that can be bought for 10 bucks on Amazon installing them and removing them is a breeze...even easier than using a long screwdriver.

 

[mcinfantry]

An inquiring mind would like to know...if we can get the OEM clamps for just over 50 cents a piece, and they work as originally intended, and the company generally ships within one day (a bag of 10 clamps for just over $6) why do some folks choose to use other types of clamps which granted will certainly do the job but end up costing more than the OEM clamps (that don't leave any excess like a screw clamp does)? The Oetiker clamps in 69.5 mm have a built-in design that keeps them from being over-tightened, and with the proper tool that can be bought for 10 bucks on Amazon installing them and removing them is a breeze...even easier than using a long screwdriver.

I don’t know that answer
I tried to mimic oem with the oetiker

 

[broncorik]

I don’t know that answer
I tried to mimic oem with the oetiker

The bonus is that the OEM one and the McMaster-Carr are both Oetiker 69.5...same same.

 

[Tex]

An inquiring mind would like to know...if we can get the OEM clamps for just over 50 cents a piece, and they work as originally intended, and the company generally ships within one day (a bag of 10 clamps for just over $6) why do some folks choose to use other types of clamps which granted will certainly do the job but end up costing more than the OEM clamps (that don't leave any excess like a screw clamp does)? The Oetiker clamps in 69.5 mm have a built-in design that keeps them from being over-tightened, and with the proper tool that can be bought for 10 bucks on Amazon installing them and removing them is a breeze...even easier than using a long screwdriver.

Reusability and not having to buy a tool for it

 

[V1Rotate]

An inquiring mind would like to know...if we can get the OEM clamps for just over 50 cents a piece, and they work as originally intended, and the company generally ships within one day (a bag of 10 clamps for just over $6) why do some folks choose to use other types of clamps which granted will certainly do the job but end up costing more than the OEM clamps (that don't leave any excess like a screw clamp does)? The Oetiker clamps in 69.5 mm have a built-in design that keeps them from being over-tightened, and with the proper tool that can be bought for 10 bucks on Amazon installing them and removing them is a breeze...even easier than using a long screwdriver.

My worm drive clamp is for life.. I can undo it and retighten it as often as I ever want to.. plus re-use it trail-side if I ever have to replace a tie rod without putzing with any additional tools/clamps.

 

[broncorik]

I like simplicity as much as many...but for me, having a couple extra Oetikers on hand (especially considering other clamps on our vehicles use the same 10 dollar tool) is not a big hardship. It takes me less time to use the same tool to squeeze hard enough to break the old clamp as is does to unwind a screw clamp all the way to remove it from the vehicle...and way easier to tighten the Oetiker clamp one-handed from beneath than to keep a screw clamp from rotating with one hand while turning the screw with another...and no long tail leftover. Screw clamps are particularly problematic on anything that expands and contracts, not an issue with our rack bellows but definitely on hoses...but Oetikers are meant to hold tension. Lots of good qualities with Oetikers (including low cost and durability). I tried to resist but I have multiple vehicles that use Oetikers so I learned to embrace them...

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