Rccrwlr
New member
I thought Eddie just gave these rebuild kits away like candy. You may ask the candy man to see if he has more. Lol
--rccrwlr
".....and that's it baby!"
TeraFlex Long Arm Bracket Break
- Thread starter wayoflife
- Start date
I thought Eddie just gave these rebuild kits away like candy. You may ask the candy man to see if he has more. Lol
--rccrwlr
".....and that's it baby!"
rinkishjk
New member
Even though I see this more and more, I've been reluctant to post up about it due to the fact that all the fanboys come out of the woodwork and start to hate on me for "bashing" their beloved Teraflex products. Well, I just saw these posted up today and on the heels of dealing with several trolls yesterday and thought, what the hell.
As I always like to say, I simply cannot make this stuff up....
As I always like to say, I simply cannot make this stuff up....
SDG
Caught the Bug
Is that the new teraflex 3 link rear?
:cheesy:
In all fairness, looking at the pics, there doesn't seem to be as many welds as there should be and a good part of this could be install error. BUT, this wouldn't be the first time that I've seen that to be the case and it makes me question the instructions that are provided with the kit. Looking at their tire carrier instructions, there is or at least wasn't ANY information regarding what back spacing you needed to have in order to carry a spare safely and to this day, I still think that is the biggest reason why we've been seeing breaks with them.
SDG
Caught the Bug
I am going with china steel and poor design. Also the radius of their notch looks to be "suboptimal", especially in relation to the bolt hole. Just for shits and giggles I am going to show it to one of the ME's I work with and see what he says.
Showed this to one of the mechanical engineers and he asked "did you get your lift at Pep Boys"? Then asked, "made in china?"
He did say that radius looks too small based on whats left, radius of the cut should be no less than the thickness of the material (3/8" diameter), and as its L shaped there should be some support on the vertical tying it into the frame.
Showed this to one of the mechanical engineers and he asked "did you get your lift at Pep Boys"? Then asked, "made in china?"
He did say that radius looks too small based on whats left, radius of the cut should be no less than the thickness of the material (3/8" diameter), and as its L shaped there should be some support on the vertical tying it into the frame.
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I may be way late to the discussion on this, but I stumbled across a link to this thread in Eddie's discussion on the TF tire carrier over on Facebook. I apologize if the following has already been discussed.
I wanted to point out some things that are clearly evident in the OP's photos. First, that is a very poor installation of the older Teraflex long arm brackets. The were to have been welded in all spots that contact the frame, both front & rear. In the case of the front bracket the installer only welded the front edge to the frame, nowhere else. Because it wasn't restrained by welds, the resulting flex stresses allowed the bracket to snap in a place that most likely would not have had it been properly welded to the frame per the instructions. With regard to the rear bracket, again, it was to have been welded around the entire perimeter of the bracket where it contacts the frame. The installer negected to do so. Lastly, re: the old issue of the TF bracket cracking & pulling the frame at the rear welds, Teraflex became aware early on of these cracks. The frame material is quite thin in that area and Teraflex added a frame reinforcement plate to their long arm kit to eliminate the problem. Has been part of their kit for about four or five years now. They were also providing the reinforcement plate and new brackets FOC to customers. With regard to both the front & rear brackets, Teraflex updated their design some time ago, adding reinforcement gussets plus the reinforcement plate. So, if properly installed the newer Teraflex long arm kits won't experience these issues.
Just pointing out in general that "weld-on" long arm kits have inherent critical variables that depend upon the customer or their installer having expert welding skills. Not always the case. This is where "bolt-on" kits have a big advantage in some cases, all other things being equal. I've frankly expected all the JK suspension manufacturers to go bolt-on because of this, but in TF's case they've stuck with their design.
I wanted to point out some things that are clearly evident in the OP's photos. First, that is a very poor installation of the older Teraflex long arm brackets. The were to have been welded in all spots that contact the frame, both front & rear. In the case of the front bracket the installer only welded the front edge to the frame, nowhere else. Because it wasn't restrained by welds, the resulting flex stresses allowed the bracket to snap in a place that most likely would not have had it been properly welded to the frame per the instructions. With regard to the rear bracket, again, it was to have been welded around the entire perimeter of the bracket where it contacts the frame. The installer negected to do so. Lastly, re: the old issue of the TF bracket cracking & pulling the frame at the rear welds, Teraflex became aware early on of these cracks. The frame material is quite thin in that area and Teraflex added a frame reinforcement plate to their long arm kit to eliminate the problem. Has been part of their kit for about four or five years now. They were also providing the reinforcement plate and new brackets FOC to customers. With regard to both the front & rear brackets, Teraflex updated their design some time ago, adding reinforcement gussets plus the reinforcement plate. So, if properly installed the newer Teraflex long arm kits won't experience these issues.
Just pointing out in general that "weld-on" long arm kits have inherent critical variables that depend upon the customer or their installer having expert welding skills. Not always the case. This is where "bolt-on" kits have a big advantage in some cases, all other things being equal. I've frankly expected all the JK suspension manufacturers to go bolt-on because of this, but in TF's case they've stuck with their design.
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cozdude
Guy with a Red 2-Door
Welcome to wayalife! stop by and give us a wave and introduce yourself.
http://wayalife.com/forumdisplay.php?11-Give-us-a-Wave
yes it has been discussed that there was some install error possibly involved but i believe if you go and look at a few post before yours, we mentioned the possibility of lack of install instructions that teraflex provides.
Thank you for posting this up here. I'm curious what guys like Highoctane has to say about this being that he's gone through a few revisions and still had issues. Would you be suggesting that all his breaks were due to him not installing things correctly?
Honestly, this is maybe the first time I have ever heard of "bolt-on" being some kind of "big advantage" even if all things were equal. But hey, that's just me.
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
I wonder if the factory will start bolting on the frame brackets because of teraflex using a bad design. Nope! Not a chance in hell!!
Would have to hear about whatever issues he had with the newer brackets. This thread shows on one of the earlier pages has a photo of the newer, gusseted bracket properly welded to the frame. WRT 'bolt-on" brackets, I'm only saying that a "bolt on" bracket will have fewer potential install fail points vs a weld-on, which is going to depend upon the expertise of the guy with the welder in hand. We've all seen suspension welds that couldn't survive a pothole. Not recommendng one type over the other, just pointing out the facts. FWIW, most if not all of the newer long arm kits, even EVO's, use bolt-on brackets. Some buddies installed a Synergy LA kit a year or so ago on a '13 Unlimited and the owner mentioned to me a while back the install was a breeze, and he's had no issues whatsoever with the brackets working loose. I'd go for the welds, but....
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Might want to try welding it on next time, like the instructions say to do...just sayin'
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
Evo made a bolt on kit for the home installer that does not have the ability or money to have it welded on. Call them, they will tell you to weld it on over bolt on any day of the week.
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
I get the feeling that you read the forums a bunch, Then repeat what you have read. You sound like you have knowledge but you really don't.
Am I close ?
Am I close ?
I smell a fanboy
I smell a metallurgist. Something about bolt on is stronger than welded on? Is that ringing a bell to anyone? :idontknow: I maybe crazy today because I have been reading a bunch of crap on the internets.
Edit; I cannot find the Prime8 converstation where he stated bolt on was better. The previous post is almost verbatime I think.
Edit; I cannot find the Prime8 converstation where he stated bolt on was better. The previous post is almost verbatime I think.
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Funny, of all the long arm kits that are out there, nobody else seems to have this problem. But of course, when in doubt, TeraFlex will always BLAME the customer. Sure, they'll still help you out but the failure will still be the customers fault. just sayin.
jmatta33
New member
they are so adamant its installation error they updated their product to make it stronger...? hmmm lets see, if its installation error why did they attempt to revise and strengthen the brakets...? couldnt be a flaw in the initial design, that would be just ridiculous...
RLTW!!!
piginajeep
The Original Smartass
Seems like the product testers don't really use their jeeps enough to test the strength. If they did these issues would have came out.
The problem is when you have parts made over seas it's not easy or cheap to change the design.
JAGS
Hooked
Good point. Even "if" TB wanted to do something about it, it may be more cost effective to replace then fix any underlying problems.
Let's say 5% of any installed item will have QC issues and/or actually get wheeled hard enough to demonstrate said QC issue. The additional R&D/production costs on "all" units is probably much more than just eating the costs of 5% with a replacement.
Above is just a theory and I obviously have no sound basis. But kind of makes sense.
TB just didn't account for heightened visibility of that 5%.
- Jason