HRG Lift Caution

tburner

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UPDATE

I installed an HRG Lift on my Badlands earlier this year. I've since put about 4,000 miles on it with some light offroading here and there. About a week or so ago I developed an occasional clunk while turning. It seemed to come from the front wheel on the inside of the turn. At first it only did it when going over a bump, but now it does it more frequently and on smooth ground. I took off both front wheels to check fasteners and look for evidence of parts hitting each other, but didn't find anything. So I'm still not sure what's causing it.

But I did discover something else. The sway bar end links will scrape against the body when you turn the wheel at full droop. I hadn't experienced this until tonight when I had both corners up in the air investigating the clunk. I had the wheel off and was turning the knuckle to look/listen for the clunky culprit when I noticed the link hit the body. For science, I kept turning it to see how far it would scrape. It's several inches. With the suspension compressed, the link travels along some relief molded into the body, so this only happens at full droop.

The HRG links are a lot thicker on the ends (comparison photo below). So I pulled the shortened HRG links, touched up the bare metal, and put the OEMs back on. Maybe this somehow resolved my clunking, too. I reached out to HRG just a few moments ago to let them know, but I wanted to also give everyone here a heads up. Don't steer very far if one of your wheels is airborne! Or just be careful. The interference may require both front wheels to be airborne. In which case, keep that in mind when you're doing front end work.

Ford Bronco Sport HRG Lift Caution 20220715_213332


Ford Bronco Sport HRG Lift Caution 20220715_213503


Ford Bronco Sport HRG Lift Caution 20220715_213352


Ford Bronco Sport HRG Lift Caution 20220715_214247
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Escape2Bronco

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Thanks for post with pictures. Hopefully that helps others understand.
 

RiotfunK

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Mines not even close. Almost an inch static and then probs good 1/4” on droop. Also if you tighten the bolt it shouldn’t touch lol
 
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tburner

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Mines not even close. Almost an inch static and then probs good 1/4” on droop. Also if you tighten the bolt it shouldn’t touch lol
That's interesting that you have more clearance. I wonder what the difference is. Mine was scraping with the nut fully tightened, I just didn't think to take a picture until I was removing it.
 


jkbronco

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I have the OBX with the HRG kit and my link is not even close like yours. Was something damaged during an off-road encounter?
 

RiotfunK

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You figure this out yet? I’d think the stock links would rub also since where it’s rubbing
 
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tburner

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I have the OBX with the HRG kit and my link is not even close like yours. Was something damaged during an off-road encounter?
Not that I'm aware of. I'd be pretty surprised if both sides were damage symmetrically.


You figure this out yet? I’d think the stock links would rub also since where it’s rubbing
Nope, I haven't gotten a response from HRG yet. The interference is slight. Just enough to carve paint off but not enough to displace metal. The OEM links are shallower on the edges of each end, providing just enough clearance to avoid scraping.
 

RiotfunK

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Did you get the right lift for the BL?
 


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tburner

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Update:

Tldr; the issues I reported in this thread are likely unique to my 1 of 1, ultra limited edition BS.

After almost 1000 miles, I haven't had any noises since swapping over to the OEM links. I also heard back from HRG (a while ago, I was just too lazy to post an update on that here). Their development BS didn't have any clearance issues. They also said I'm the first to report one. So I guess my BS was just built different. Or maybe the Ford dealership did something wacky when they performed my alignment. Who knows...
 

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Even though this thread has some age I saw HRG install and he mentions the difference in thickness and grinds in down just a smidge.
 
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tburner

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Even though this thread has some age I saw HRG install and he mentions the difference in thickness and grinds in down just a smidge.
Evidently mine is the only documented case of interference from the thicker link ends.
 

Victorsen

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I recently had some issues as well with clunking and found out that my lower control arm bolts had completely come off one wheel , the clunking was the control arm hanging lose and there was significant loosening on the other wheels. Trying to figure out if this was an install issue or loosening as the suspension settled. Any advice would be appreciative
 

Meanderthal

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I recently had some issues as well with clunking and found out that my lower control arm bolts had completely come off one wheel , the clunking was the control arm hanging lose and there was significant loosening on the other wheels. Trying to figure out if this was an install issue or loosening as the suspension settled. Any advice would be appreciative
IIRC the control arms are not removed or loosened during the install. Could just be something missed at the factory. I would retighten them and then keep an eye on them to see if they loosen again. If you want to be extra careful, put some loctite on the bolts before retightening them.
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