F350 temporarily decommisioned

[mike.germann]

Hey guys. This is gunna be difficult to explain due to my lack of knowledge about steering components, but I'll try. So... this morning I pulled out of the car wash, and had to go over a small curb to make the turn on the way out. No big deal. I handled it just like any other big bump. I went over it pretty slow and made it just fine.

Well, I pulled out and started driving down the road in town (about 25 mph) and I realize I'm having to hold the steering wheel almost a full 90 degress to the right in order to keep the truck driving straight. wtf?

No vibrations or weird noises. Barely ANY steering. I illegally cut across 4 lanes of traffic, but I safely made it into a parking lot and shut the truck off to assess what was going on. (Thank you Jesus for keeping me safe. Could have been a wreck.)

When I got under it, I was shocked. My center tie rod/ drag link (I think) was almost completely separated. It made sense once I saw it, because I've worked with the front components before, like when I installed the dual steering stabilizer. (SEE PICS 1,2,3)


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Because that piece was like that, it was holding my driver's side front wheel partially turned, which explains why my steering was jacked up.


Maybe the bolts had come loose over time? Who knows. Maybe that little curb was all it needed to come lose? (at this point, that's trivial compared to what else I found).

Well, I walked a couple blocks down to the nearest auto parts store, and bought a bottle jack (I should own a jack, but I've had a hard time finding on big enough to actually lift my truck). I jacked it up just enough to get my driver's side tire just off the ground. I got the center tie rod back in place and secured enough to get it to the my shop and inspect it more thoroughly.

Put it on the body lift and got the front tires off the ground, and found a HUGE weld was busted and looked VERY fragile. I don't know what it's called, but I'll try to find a diagram or a picture to more accurately explain this.

What is the diagonal bar in this pic called?

View attachment 11263


If you follow that bar up, the piece of metal it's attached to. That's what I'm gonna need. It looks like it's just attached by 2 bolts and a bushing on the opposite side, BUT...a previous owner must have ran across this problem and just welded it, because it's welded across the entire seam. FANTASTICALLY CONVENIENT. The only thing holding it to the truck is one bolt, the one on top. And a bushing. YIKES.

I'm pretty sure (whatever this component is called...) pivots with the drag link/tie rods and the "diagonal bar" every time I turn the wheel.

This whole setup looks very fragile. No apparent other damage. However, my truck is down until I can fix both. Tie rods and center drag link won't be too hard. Can someone please help me out on what the other components are??

If anyone has a diagram or an explanation of what all the bars do under there, that'd be GREAT.

Thanks!

 

[mike.germann]

Here's a couple other good pics of it. I think this might actually be called the frame crossmember? Someone correct me if I'm mistaken. Either way, mine is busteddddd.

View attachment 11265

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Any idea where I could find a replacement one? Google didn't help me much.

 

[LonestarBronco]

The suspension link is called the track bar and your Track Bar Mounting Bracket is what is broken. Yours might not be stock, but rather part of your lift. I know several companies sell them and provide them with lift kits to correct for the geometery of a lifted vehicle.

Here is a link to a picture of on being installed as part of a Skyjacker kit.
2001 Ford F250 Super Duty Track Bar Brackets And Pitman Arm 3 Photo 11

And here is a "drop" bracket from a Pro Comp.
1999 Ford F350 Superduty Track Bar Bracket Photo 8

 

[mike.germann]

wow, thanks for the info. I wonder if I can buy that part separately.

Also, this might be a dumb question but I'll ask anyway. Could I re-weld it as a cheap fix, to get it operational again? A buddy said he could ARC weld it, and that it'd be a quick fix, and better than MIG. I'm not a welder so i didn't know.

Opinions?

 

[dpantazis]

depends on what you have on hand. stick welding would be better over one of the 110volt buzz box wire feeders because it will have more concentrated heat and better penetration. you are not lookign to lay down metal, you are looking to join them. a GOOD industrial MIG welder would be fine.

somehow you busted the adjustment tube too. or at least you broke the connection to the center link. i would look at those parts VERY carefully if i was going to reuse them. all of these are ford parts. -

 

[mike.germann]

i think the center link came apart because the weld broke up top. Does that even seem logical? Other way around maybe?


Nice diagram!

 

[Zmann ARGH]

I think they are seperate issues
and rust is the problem with the tie rod ,, there is almost no thread left hight on the bar for the sleeve to bite on ..
I would replace all that end to end .

then the track bar has a cra,p weld .. it was probably like that before your curb incident

order a new one ( any lift MFG will sell seperate) or have a real welder buzz it back on

 

[commanderjjones]

I agree that is probably two separate issues.

Knowing that you have a 4" lift, I can nearly guarantee that mounting bracket is not an OEM part and you should get a replacement from the company that made the lift. Since it has been welded once already, I wouldn't try re-welding it again. Whoever did the previous repair obviously didn't do it correctly or it wouldn't have broken again. They might have gotten it too hot which can make it brittle.....possibly rendering a re-welding job to be only a bandaid repair. For no more than that piece should cost, I'd replace it.

 

[mike.germann]

Agreed. Thanks fellas. Looks like a $100-150 fix for the trac bar mount bracket, and a hot minute to get the old one off. Yuck.

 

[tony4380]

the track bar locates the axle centrally under the vehicle. it allows for verical movement but not lateral. if that weld broke going up or down that curb.. the axle could have shifted laterally and therefore casue the separation of the tie rod end from the center link.