You know your vehicle is having fun when it's toes curl.

"Engineering didnt answer any questions. It helped in no way. And I have learned nothing. But I didn't die..." greatest quote of all time.

I was designing an extremely long hydraulic cylinder and I found out there's at least three buckling equations, the johnson, cosine and eulers with eulers being the only one they teach in school. Each equation is suitable for a particular slenderness ratio and investigating each one can save you from an overly optimistic result

When I almost broke my neck in 2nd grade, the whole class made "get well soon" cards for me, and one has stuck with me through the years. It said, "Dear A.J. Please Don't Die". So this is my message to you... Dear Matt, Please Don't Die.

@8:00, vultures instinctively begin circling in.

I work in the rack and pinion rebuilding business , they put those necked down sections as a "fuse" to control what fails.

There is a fourth way and my favorite way to calculate buckling. Have the DOD pay for material and just simply do destructive analysis. Makes the presentation very easy basically "too long, make it thicker because...this" "ooooh, how much thicke?" "thickerrr.....i can find out exactly how much more down to the gram so you can maximize strength, lower weight, and mathematically significantly lower cost. But that might be about 2 years of R&D with a 10mil budget....faster with more money...with what we currently know"

That 45 degree angle was tough to watch. I could have sworn it was going to roll over

Catastrophic Buckling was the first, and hardest, graduate course I took and our book was last published in the 1930s I'm pretty sure because no PhD ever wanted to dedicate their lives to such a difficult subject ever again. Because the tie rod end doesn't apply a load at the exact center of the tie rod axis it decreases the force needed to buckle significantly (there are some kind of maths on this) since it induces a small bending load.

“There it is!” That was genuinely funny. Glad you didn’t die. We would all be very sad.

I’ve gone through an evolution with my off-road damage response. It started with “oh fuck oh god I’m so fucked, this tire is fucked, my spare is inadequate, I don’t have the proper tools” but eventually developed to “ok, so my tires are perpendicular, I’m gonna have to hitch to town to get parts, this is gonna suck, but the victory beer I drink after getting this fixed will be the best I ever tasted”

I agree with your strategy of using the tie rods as your steering fuse. I've replaced a few sets over the years and it's for sure easier than replacing the steering rack. How do I know? I was the one that wrote that steering rack replacement article you referenced. It's not a fun job. I always carry a spare inner and outer tie rod with me when I'm heading onto the trail. Swapping them out is super easy trail side.

I hope you ordered a spare tie rod or two. If you intend a part to act as a fuse then you should carry a spare fuse.

I appreciate that you didn't stiffen the control arm. Keeping the failure point there instead of pushing it further up the chain is certainly much easier. Unless of course you're planning on doing more and more aggressive 4x4 trails, but it doesn't seem like that's the case. One thing to note is with the heading back down part and getting fairly, uh, tippy.... If you HAD started to roll, the human reflex to hit the brakes is the WORST thing to do, so instead try to just "let it go". Or even better, hit the gas hard while you're in reverse. That should keep you from rolling in the end, although it would make it a harder landing too... I'm not sure what frame of mind you were in at that point, but it's worth considering for future reference if you weren't already aware of that.

Please don't die. Its kinda hard to find youtubers who make funny engineering content about vehicle slaughter.

Back in the day we took tobacco advertising money. I am glad that Soylent green is giving you money.

It’s often a small oversight in my experience in college of designing things to fail in a specific way. It’s clever of them to have the cheap parts fail as a sacrificial layer to protect the expensive parts, hence the idea of a shear pin. Not only is the tie-rod relatively cheap, but it’s also easy to observe and easy to access should a failure occur. I remember in Mechanical Design class, my professor told us to design a nut and bolt assembly with specific dimensions. It was easy as we can get the factor of safety to like 30+ when under axial load. But then he told us to modify it to where you had to get that factor of safety down to 2.0, and it noticeably got a lot more difficult.

Even though I'm not an engineer of any measure, it feels like you might be way too comfortable with the phrase "it's probably fine" than you should be as an engineer.

The mechanical fuse concept often gets lost in the mission of making a machine tougher, but I am a big fan of making sure the weakest part is either easy to replace or cheaper than the other links in the chain. An old example was PTO winches with bronze sher pins in the drive. From factory they would have a spare pin for when it failed, that would get used and owners would get the shots with replacing them when they abused the winch, so it wasn't uncommon for owners to put in hardened pins. Not a good long-term idea.

All the new Bronco folks out there installing tie rod sleeves are going to start learning about rack replacement soon. I always thought of the TRE as a mechanical fuse and would way rather that bend out on a trail, can hobble it together or replace it right there.

This video had everything. It's like distilled essence of Superfast Matt. Ambitious, skillful yet sketchy and the "near enough is good enough" attitude. Amazinf.

Maths nerd here - I’m not interested in doing the difficult math either, I’ll just trust your method

Proper off-road mechanical fuse replacement procedure: 1. Identify the mechanical fuse through properly neglecting the spotter and finding a rock the hard way (as Matt did.) 2. Use a very sketchy method to return the vehicle to 90% of safe operation at the trail head. Possible methods include: ratchet straps, welding using jumper cables, two batteries and 10 year old muddy welding rods, nearby forest lumber, etc. 3. Buy and replace both right and left fuses despite only breaking one. 4. Throw old un-blown fuse into spare parts box in the back of the off-road vehicle 5. Go find new ways to come close to soiling your underwear off-road, knowing you're fully prepared in case of another blown fuse!

Thumbnail is just the 4Runner saying 😳👉👈

great story and lessons learned as always. that thin section definitely appears to be an engineered "failure" point to protect the rack to me , why else would Toyota spec out the time and cost to turn that section down with the lathe? Someone smarter than me probably knows.

This is one of the most honest and realistic depictions of hobby off roading that I’ve ever seen.

Matt, you have steel bars on the sides, when the car leaned to the left, someone should be standing on the right side to balance it (ofc it's dangerous, but in europe quite popular in offroading)

It's like he made that whole bit about the design of a steering rod just because he wants people to know how smart he is. I really want to judge him for it but can't, because he actually is this smart. A skill-set so wide and deep wtf, including communication. He knows exactly what his audience wants, which is detailed explanations on why steering rods are designed the way they are.

Order 2 identical tie rods and get 2 different ones in identical boxes... let me guess, Rock Auto? Been there done that!

Pro tip: Carry a few extra tie rods (inner and outer) in your 4runner, you can get them brand new online for less than $10. Literally everybody does that...I even have 2 in my 4runner for this reason. The tie rod was specifically designed to fail by Toyota in that exact circumstance and be easily replaced on the trail with minimal tools by one person in under 20 minutes.

You should consider doing a thorough check of your steering rack after that bump. The aluminum mounting points on those aren't very fatigue prone, but offroading like you do is a bit outside Toyota engineers design envelope. It would really suck if your steering rack desided to stop being mounted to your frame next time you stressed it.

Replacing the windscreen will cross cleaning it off the list at the same time. Efficiency.

I'm a new subscriber. I love the engineering prowess, and wicked dry sense of humor you bring to the table. Please keep the videos coming. Thank you.

Small diameter section => bend here. This reminds me of an engineer co-worker who drag raced in his youth and had an endless amount of stories about breaking something, replacing it with a stronger part, then finding the next weak link.

I believe that Mr. Clever, Funnyman Matt has his "off road vehicle survival math" correct: driving a motorcycle "intensely" off road will likely / eventually lead to damaging your motorcycle and / or your body. driving a truck "intensely" off road will likely / eventually lead to damaging your truck.

I used to offroad in a jeep cherokee 2001. That thing had limped off the trail flooded, oil/coolant spewing out, on a donut, in FWD with the rear taken apart. The best part was you could goto pull a part a get basically OEM spares of anything out of the street queen 2wd cherokees. Plus it was a very light car with all kinds of upgrades you could literally pull out of other cars.

My wrench-turning buddies got me a tee-shirt with "It should be fine" on it. Apparently, it's my go-to engineering assessment.

I just came back from a fun weekend. One buddy cracked the frame on his pathfinder, I smashed my skid plate into my t case oil pan into the gears inside, and buddy #2 tried an obstacle, blew up one CV in his pathfinder, figured it’s already broken tried again and grenaded the other side. Then packing camp anti-theft tried to lock him out. All around a good time and many obstacles were conquered. Now time for “maintenance”

At least he has the old (unbent) one to take along as a spare. This will prevent the new ones from ever failing, because the law of spare parts works that way.

Carry spare CV axles and tie rods, Offroading IFS 101. Keep your old tie rods when you change them out as they can save you in a pinch like this. Takes less than 10min to replace a tie rod on the trail. Also if you can afford it, avoid Moog like the plague.. Get some Sankei 555 stuff or OEM.

This channel is the perfect amount of geeky, no shouty hyper youtuber personality, and features little snippets of great music. Easy sub 👌

Man you need an off-road toy that is not your daily driver... You should build an off-road viper!

Your maintenance intervals on your 4Runner are kinda like my maintenance intervals on my FJ. I'll worry about it whenever it breaks. I carry 4 sets of tie rods because I know if I bend one I'll bend more immediately after.

Every windshield failure I have had was from hauling lumber. $60 in free wood has cost nearly $1200 in windshields.

I love your maintenance mentality!!! It inspires me to......watch another video!!!!🤪 I'll work on my truck later!!!!

you know its gonna be bad when matt uploads a video named "sketchy...."

Love the video! Hope to see you do the Land Cruiser 200 steering rack swap. Although you probably don’t want to add more to your list…

I sent a new viewer to your channel for landspeed streamliner content. Any idea when you'll pick that back up? Hopefully the salt dries out this year.

I've had the same issue with buying parts off of Amazon - guessing you got a "return" where someone subbed a cheaper part for the return. I found RockAuto to be good for actually getting the right part. But they are slightly more expensive and don't have free shipping last time I checked.

Looks like the tie rod is the same for both sides. If it's a fuse in the system, carry a spare. I carry spare U joints in my Old Bronco. Same deal.

Yeah, the 100 series Land Cruiser / LX470 has an 8 inch reverse cut ring and pinion in the front axle; it's a know weak point. (especially if going in reverse, as you wind up running on the coast side of the gear)

I love the raptor shadow circling your near-death moment …

You're deadpan sense of humor helps make my day! Love your channel

I really enjoy this channel, it's always a double feature. First the main video, which is great and then you get to enjoy the comments! Love it all!

Great video man! Pronghorn is a fun hill. Stay safe out there. Hope to see ya out on the trails one dsy

Gorman! Sandstone! I did that with my 1st gen Tacoma without a locker. It was a bit of a challenge.

Excellent as always and I didn't fast forward during the ad. Thanks Sir Matt!

I was out wheeling with a 1st gen xterra when something like this happened. They bent the pitman idler arm (I didn't realize 1st gen Xterra's had recirculating ball steering) and the wheels were point into each other like yours. We bent a few tools trying to get it a little better and eventually sorta did and he drove it a good 50 minutes home.

Good stuff and a really good video, thanks for sharing 👍.

Was laughing most of the video, you crack me up! Stay safe Matt 😎👍💪✌️

Glad you didn't die and thanks for sharing your stories. Have fun, be safe, stay dangerous :-) PS - did you keep the old tie rod for just in case? Also the title should end with "So Far" as you are putting together an off road Viper LOL

That tie rod is an absolute hero. good call not beefing up the tie rod. i think youre right about the smaller diameter section, its most likely a designed failure point to protect the rack

Your videos make my day better. Way better.

I just loveee your videos! Amazing, and I am glad you didnt die, good job 👍🏼

Super cool to see how you are able to apply your understanding of engineering to real world problems. Keep it up 👍👍👍

Glad you survived. We need as many of us named Matt in the world as possible :-D

Today's award for "Random Obscure Place I've Been to Mentioned on KZfaq" goes to Matt bringing up Gorman, California. I lived briefly in Frazer Park. Anyway love the content.

10:54 Nobody is going to talk about how you have your wheel turned 45° but the 4runner is driving straight.

Love your work 👍

Part of me wants to try doing this with my dodge, but like you say, you break everything. love the vids Matt!

Matt, I work on steering racks for a living, and the part of the tie rod that failed is designed to buckle so it does not damage the steering rack.

Thumbnail gives me "When you need a oil change but you are shy " Vibes

This is the best superfast matt video in quite some time, and I appreciate you for creating this content for me to consume for free. Thanks, Matt

From where I sit it's astonishing to see people pour time and money into a "project" that is designed to be abused until failure, when the whole thing can start over again. At first blush, one might think rock crawlers like to go out and, you know, crawl over rocks. And that is no doubt the section of the whole loop that sells the idea, but what makes it stick is a personality type that likes to generate more problems. My only remaining question for the kind of person that does this is whether you are peripherally aware of this or whether part of the loop is to avoid looking closely at why you like it/do it.

Videos like this make me glad that my front axle is live/solid and my steering components are long, sturdy tubes.

Great job on the video Matt! Thanks for making it. Those new Tacomas look sick. Makes me really hopeful about the 6th Gen 4Runners. Trailhunter version? Factory-installed snorkel? Front sway bar disconnect? Yes to all the things, please!

Great stuff. Love it. Congrats on not dying too.😂😂😂

You make some really good content. So I am more or less happy that you didn't die 👍

Screw it, I'll still buy it if you sell

Haha that scene where you drove straight on the dirt path with the steering wheel turned halfway was hilarious, thanks for the good laughs

So what you actually learned is the inner tie rod and required tools should be with you on off-road adventure

As a fellow 5th gen owner I really appreciate these detailed maintenance videos. I plan on owning it forever so I feel like I'll end up here eventually.

the lesson learned here is to get your moneys worth out of your windshield by not cleaning it until it miraculously fails all together.

Congratulations, best segue ive ever seen

I replaced the steering rack off my 03 Tacoma about a month ago. The point of failure was the input shaft seal. It's pretty much completely unprotected from sand. When I put the new one on I gave the hat above the seal a generous helping of thick sticky marine grease.

oh dude -glad you're still alive!

Love your narratives … have you ever thought about a secondary career doing audio books?

You sir, are my hero.

Dammit Matt, I love this channel, please never stop.

Always entertaining, always educational

Nice video presentesion i agree with you that thus is an expensive hobby... Hello from Off Road Adventures Greece 🇬🇷

Your solution to your Fourrunner problem is simple: buy a Deux Chevaux. It will go everywhere off road the Fourrunner will, it will suffer much less damage (and use far less fuel) because it weighs less than a third as much, and if it does break it will be much cheaper (and much easier) to fix. All automative problems come down to power to weight ratio, and less weight is always a better answer than more power.

I see you installed one of those new 90 degree tie-rod ends. That's some cutting-edge technology!

Love that alignment.

If I learned anything in my decades of Toyota 4x ownership it’s: buy OEM parts! The important ones anyway. Never install reman or aftermarket, particularly steering rack and related items.

A mechanical "fuse".... what a clever idea. But one as old as Engineering. I agree you made the best choice considering the lack of good information. Love or Hate Toyota as a company, but in my experience, their Engineering has always been top-notch.

I Love your Channel!

This is content I come back for

Appreciate you showing us your fail...journey.

Your narrating and editing has gotten so good over years