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Safety Recall 22S27 Rear Axle Bolt Fractures

Cruising68

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Here is a photo of the rear diff with two bolt holes for mounting to the rear subframe


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My 22 also came with a two bolt diff cover and a one bolt crossmember. I opted to replace the crossmember and add the bolt. Piece of mind for me.


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FORZDA3

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My 2021 came with the 1-bolt rear support as well, so I bought the better 2-bolt subframe that’s still in my shed. I also bought the AWR support bracket as I think it will provide plenty of support. I’m thinking of selling the new subframe now…
 

Boss240

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Finally got my Explorer back on Tuesday since it's been at the dealer since late October.

Ordered the ID Speed rear diff brace while I was waiting for it to be finished. Had it installed today. The mechanic said one bolt was a little difficult to get in at the top so he loosened the main axle bolt to allow some room. He told me the main axle bolt seemed a little bent. Wtf it's only been 2 days and it could possibly be bent already. Is it possible the Ford mechanic somehow bent it or is it me taking off quickly a few times quickly that may have caused it. I didn't brake boost/power brake at all since I've picked it up just stomp and go a few times. If it's already bent and even with the brace in there it will most likely break again right?

What about a stronger tensile strength bolt like the bolts used in the ID Speed brace kit that replaced the axle cover bolts. They are supposed to be much stronger bolts. Anyone know or could provide a link to the main rear axle bolt that could replace it that's a stronger steel? Has anyone even looked into doing that?

Definitely don't want to be waiting months again for my Explorer. Hopefully someone has already done an increased strength bolt. If I missed it somewhere in here someone point me in the right direction please. Thanks.
 

Boss240

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So I brought my Explorer back it to the dealer to have the bolt checked. The tech confirmed that the rear axle bolt is definitely bent and they ordered a new one. As he was loosening the bolt you could see the rubber grommet moving up and down as he was turning it. The tech says Ford claims it's an upgraded bolt but he says that's bullshit and seems like the same crap they used prior.

Wonder how many of you have a bent bolt right now and don't even realize it. Can't tell it's bent while it's in unless you start to loosen it. You guys should have it checked so we can get Ford to get a proper bolt or even replace it with the 4 bolt setup.

I contacted ID Speed to see if they had an upgraded bolt but they said they didn't and hadn't heard of the issue before.
 

Cdubya

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Boss240, if they listed part numbers with your work order, can you post the part# for the upgraded bolt? Someone else also reported that the fix now included an upgraded bolt
 

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For sure, I would like to replace the bolts on mine with the stronger ones.
 

Cruising68

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Iirc when I swapped to the two bolt crossmember, the one bolt I removed was slightly bent as well.


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TheNorth

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There was a post on Facebook a while back where someone had a custom bolt made by ARP to replace the factory bolt and mentioned that there may be a small production run of them. I contacted ARP about it, but nobody ever got back to me. Maybe they will make some if enough of us reach out. Here is a picture that was posted

ARP bolt 1.png
 

R2D2

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October built 2022, have two bolts.
IMG_20230102_171037.jpg
 

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There was a post on Facebook a while back where someone had a custom bolt made by ARP to replace the factory bolt and mentioned that there may be a small production run of them. I contacted ARP about it, but nobody ever got back to me. Maybe they will make some if enough of us reach out. Here is a picture that was posted

View attachment 15844
Man I would love to get my hands on one of those. appears to be a stud/nut design though.
 

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What is a stud/nut design?
Its hard to tell from the pic but to me it looks like a stud/nut and not a bolt. Not sure that would matter.

 

Dale5403

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Its hard to tell from the pic but to me it looks like a stud/nut and not a bolt. Not sure that would matter.

Look closer, no sign of a stud. Pretty clear that it is a bolt.
 

bobter3

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Look closer, no sign of a stud. Pretty clear that it is a bolt.
I believe that they're referring to pic in post #472. That looks like stud/nut.
 

FORZDA3

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Look closer, no sign of a stud. Pretty clear that it is a bolt.
Sorry Dale, but this pic shows 4 studs and 4 nuts. Me thinks your definition of “stud” is incorrect.
 

Cajun Heat

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There was a post on Facebook a while back where someone had a custom bolt made by ARP to replace the factory bolt and mentioned that there may be a small production run of them. I contacted ARP about it, but nobody ever got back to me. Maybe they will make some if enough of us reach out. Here is a picture that was posted

View attachment 15844
Did your ever get a reply back from APR? I would be interested.
 

TMac

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Sorry Dale, but this pic shows 4 studs and 4 nuts. Me thinks your definition of “stud” is incorrect.
Y'all need to reread the posts! #472 shows a custom ARP stud setup. #473 was posted right after showing a 4 bolt diff with bolts. Then people started getting confused between comments on the two pics.
 

Dale5403

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Sorry Dale, but this pic shows 4 studs and 4 nuts. Me thinks your definition of “stud” is incorrect.
That picture is studs. I was commenting on the pictures of the rear end that are posted. Those are clearly bolts and not studs. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.
 

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When I first brought up the stud/nut. I was referring to the picture of the black ARP 3 bolt. If you zoom in you can see the end of the stud looks to have an hex indent to tighten and it also appears you can see threads protruding above the nut.
 



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