74 Weld Steering Rack (SAVE YOUR CASH)

[Gallopin]

So I just got back from the Rubicon. Did the whole trial, two days, not a single problem.
Then as I'm pulling into a parking lot at the end of the trail to air up all of a sudden I can't turn right, at all.
Jacked the front up to take the load off the front wheels and try again.
Nope.
It feels like a mechanical blockage as the wheel still turns left no problem. No lights on the dash.
So we finally hook a strap to the front wheel and use a winch to pull it while I turn, and after a couple of tugs it starts turning
After we used the winch to free it up I drive around the parking lot and it did it one more time, but this time I was able to just force the wheels right and after that it started driving like normal.
I have no idea what happened but had this happened as I was driving down the mountain on twisty roads doing 50-55 mph who knows what might have happened.
So now I have to pull the rack, again, ship it to 74 weld, again, probably pay another 2k to have them fix their "unbreakable" rack for the third time.

SAVE YOURSELVES $10K DO NOT BUY THE 74 WELD RACK.

I know what happened. You didnt save you money.

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[MadMan4BamaNATL]

So I just got back from the Rubicon. Did the whole trial, two days, not a single problem.
Then as I'm pulling into a parking lot at the end of the trail to air up all of a sudden I can't turn right, at all.
Jacked the front up to take the load off the front wheels and try again.
Nope.
It feels like a mechanical blockage as the wheel still turns left no problem. No lights on the dash.
So we finally hook a strap to the front wheel and use a winch to pull it while I turn, and after a couple of tugs it starts turning
After we used the winch to free it up I drive around the parking lot and it did it one more time, but this time I was able to just force the wheels right and after that it started driving like normal.
I have no idea what happened but had this happened as I was driving down the mountain on twisty roads doing 50-55 mph who knows what might have happened.
So now I have to pull the rack, again, ship it to 74 weld, again, probably pay another 2k to have them fix their "unbreakable" rack for the third time.

SAVE YOURSELVES $10K DO NOT BUY THE 74 WELD RACK.

Appreciate you sharing this PSA.

In the beginning, like 2 plus years ago, I actually gave the 74Weld rack some thought, then came to my senses and your first post here helped with that calculus a lot. The FP Rack is more than a great upgrade and the cost is reasonable.

Sure, Ford should have included the FP rack in all Badlands from the start and I wouldn’t need to burn any money, but ohh well. I have a 23” and will need to upgrade my rack as well as new shocks which sucks after waiting for 3 years for my delivery back in 23, but it’s the price we pay to play on the trails and in the rocks.

Wonder if you had something lodged in there or something? Who knows. They should also fix it for free.

 

[telenerd]

Dam. I will continue to use my Hoss 2.0 rack with 35s and stock tie rods and no mods to the rack.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. My goal is to eventually do the Rubicon trail and will be rocking the stock rack. My money will be spent other places like bumpers and control arms.

 

[ScLeCo]

Dam. I will continue to use my Hoss 2.0 rack with 35s and stock tie rods and no mods to the rack.

Sorry to hear about your troubles. My goal is to eventually do the Rubicon trail and will be rocking the stock rack. My money will be spent other places like bumpers and control arms.

Hey, let me know when you make it out. The trail is an hour and a half from my house.

 

[telenerd]

Hey, let me know when you make it out. The trail is an hour and a half from my house.

Will do. I’m thinking fall when there isn’t any people and the weather is cooler. I’m in Wyoming and hate the heat. I’m hoping this fall but depends on how this summer shakes out with work or it will be fall 2026. I think we should all do a Bronco6g meet up!

 

[Broncolander]

Interesting perspective and probably true for 95% of us.

Now that said, if one really wants to wheel/crawl hard and doesn't want to replace any parts (almost ever), the 74W system and upgraded tie rods makes sense. Of course as long as you have deep pockets.

Perhaps an even better solution would be a new tie rod design that instead of being nearly indestructible (RPG, FMI) but rather scales up in strength along with the 74W rack so that it still remains a "fuse" for the new system. That might be the absolute best setup. Any upgraded system should absolutely have such a fuse.

Also, FYI, the RPG Raptor tie rods are not double shear . Here is the Carli Bronco (non Raptor) double shear system. A thing of beauty.

*EDIT* - I see that with 74W portals there is a dual shear option for RPG tie rods. But again outside of this special case, Carli makes the only dual shear system and unfortunately, not for Raptor.

Ok so trigger alert:
I run Carli’s tie rod system for over two or three years now and it has been an absolute huge PITA. Even to think about them makes me grind my teeth. I have to retighten both the outer and specially the inner tie rods every two weeks because of faulty design. No matter if you off-road or just city drive like a F’ing grandma that mofo will get loose even when slowly driving over speed bumps. Ive spoken to multiple people with this product and we all have the same issue. One of them contacted Carli and they said “thats normal, it’s a well known thing”. We are waiting to see if they will come up with a solution. After every trip (even just roadtrip) I have to work on these tie rods, remove boots, re tighten them, grease, and do an alignment again. No matter if I had offroad or not. I have to do it. It’s so painful I’m claiming their warranty to see if I can get my money back. I still can’t phantom how much money, time, and resources I spent on this. I will go back to hoss 3.0 or a simpler aftermarket tie rod design maybe doorman or teraflex with a beefier rack. It’s too bad because the promise of Carli’s product really is amazing. I guess they simply forgot some calculations before throwing into the market.

 

[TruckCamper]

Ok so trigger alert:
I run Carli’s tie rod system for over two or three years now and it has been an absolute huge PITA. Even to think about them makes me grind my teeth. I have to retighten both inner and outer tie rods every two weeks because their design is faulty. No matter if you off-road or just city drive like a F’ing grandma that mofo will get loose even when slowly driving over speed bumps. Ive spoken to multiple people with this product and we all have the same issue. One of them contacted Carli and they said “thats normal, it’s a well known thing”. After every trip (even just roadtrip) I have to work on these tie rods, remove boots, re tighten them, grease, and do an alignment again. No matter if I had offroad or not. I have to do it. It’s so painful I’m claiming their warranty to see if I can get my money back. I still can’t phantom how much money I spent on this POS. I will go back to hoss 3.0 or a simpler tie rod design maybe doorman or teraflex with a beefier rack. It’s too bad because the promise of Carli’s product really is amazing. I guess they simply forgot some calculations before throwing into the market.

That's the way of aftermarket... go OME for longevity.

Most aftermarket only focuses on strength with little real world testing with claims to be the best or indestructible. Problem is they don't know what they don't know. Often parts are noisy and wear out quickly regardless of use. Big trade off even before you consider the cost.

 

[telenerd]

This forum has saved me a ton of money on multiple products.

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