Teraflex - Bad rep for a reason or isolated cases?

[WJCO]

I don't own a BDS kit. I have seen LOTS with control arm issues. they separate where the arms thread together.

not great for confidence on the trail.

I have the Zone 4 kit for my WJ which is either owned/built by BDS. Ride is definitely harder than stock, but it's tolerable. For me, this was the most complete kit for a budget price. It came with everything needed for the 4 inch lift. The shock bushings sucked and failed very quickly. Other than that, it has held up fine. The arms that came with mine were just the lowers and were longer and fixed to compensate for axle position/caster/etc. No adjustable arms with my kit. It drives fine around town and highway, but most of the time, we use this Jeep on forest roads and mountain travel trips.

 

[wayoflife]

This is like trying to convince a mechanic to buy tools from Harbor freight because you haven't had any issues. Sure they are good tool used once a month, but anymore use than that it falls apart like the proof above.

When I worked at Fulltraction we had a forum guy begging to get a discount on a lift kit, he was a moderator. Let's call him two Face. He promised to promote the hell out of us, so I agreed to give him a good discount.

In the end he went with a Teraflex long arm kit because they gave him the lift kit for FREE. First trip out to Moab, the first trail in Moab, he blew out a bushing.

It's cool though teraflex showed up at the condo with a free a BOX of replacements. At Fulltraction we didn't even bring that kinda shit to Moab because our parts lasted!

Yup. It's sad but you simply can't make this shit up.



Back when we were still running the TeraFlex 4" lift on Moby, we had the same thing happen right after installing it and out on the Rubicon. :naw:

 

[wayoflife]

BTW, here are a few shots that I took of their amazing rocker guards. This was on JeepCacher's JK right after we installed them. Again, when I told TeraFlex about the big dents on their rocker guards, they told me that my friend was "wheeling too hard". :naw:

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

BTW, here are a few shots that I took of their amazing rocker guards. This was on JeepCacher's JK right after we installed them. Again, when I told TeraFlex about the big dents on their rocker guards, they told me that my friend was "wheeling too hard". :naw:

View attachment 210151

That's some heavy duty armor right there :grayno:

They just need to stick to making funny youtube videos...seems that's the only thing they're somewhat good at LOL

 

[BenJKWrangler15]

That's some heavy duty armor right there :grayno:

They just need to stick to making funny youtube videos...seems that's the only thing they're somewhat good at LOL

Couldn't agree more

 

[SevenXL]

I only have two TF products on my rig.

D44 diff covers I was given by a friend that I had to grind over 1/2 off the bottom of the rear one to sit flush with the pumpkin.

The other is the hinge and carrier. I bought it after PS said they would not sell me their carrier separate to add to the Brawler I already had.

Three years now and no issues. I did get the updated carrier from them but I still make sure to inspect it every week.
So far, so good. I'm just glad I did not pay anywhere close to retail for it.

 

[BenJKWrangler15]

BTW, here are a few shots that I took of their amazing rocker guards. This was on JeepCacher's JK right after we installed them. Again, when I told TeraFlex about the big dents on their rocker guards, they told me that my friend was "wheeling too hard". :naw:

View attachment 210151

Yup. It's sad but you simply can't make this shit up.

View attachment 210147

Back when we were still running the TeraFlex 4" lift on Moby, we had the same thing happen right after installing it and out on the Rubicon. :naw:

The following thread is in regards to TeraFlex tire carrier breaks they have. I saw this happen in person and TeraFlex blamed my friend for not installing it correctly and also accused him of damaging it while wheeling. They conveniently keep this potentially life threatening problem quite rather than issuing a recall like they should have.

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?4740-TeraFlex-Hinged-Tire-Carrier-Break

The following is a thread highlighting the TeraFlex long arm bracket breaks I've seen. The pics you see are of Dennis' JK after his long arm bracket broke. Guess it was install error like it always is.

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?4743-TeraFlex-Long-Arm-Bracket-Break

The following thread is in regards to the TeraFlex track bar breaks I've seen. They conveniently keep this potentially life threatening problem quite rather than issuing a recall like they should have.

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?5169-TeraFlex-Front-Track-Bar-Breaks

I could go on and on about their rocker guards getting smashed in and TeraFlex blaming their customers for "wheeling too hard" or their bushings blowing out after one run - I simply can't make this shit up.

Clearly, we all have our own ideas as to how often we think we wheel our Jeeps and just how hard, "hard" really is. BTW, welcome to WAYALIFE.

Glad you came along Eddie. Thanks for all the pics & report of breaking. It is a sad, sad company with great great marketing but shitty shitty parts.

In the end, this makes up my mind and conclude this thread, for my part. Hopefully other forum members will stumble upon this load of info and intel on Teraflex's products and avoid them, at all cost, when they start playing in the 4-digits $ kits.

Thanks a hell lot everyone

Happy & safe wheeling! [emoji1]

 

[trailraider]

BTW, here are a few shots that I took of their amazing rocker guards. This was on JeepCacher's JK right after we installed them. Again, when I told TeraFlex about the big dents on their rocker guards, they told me that my friend was "wheeling too hard". :naw:

View attachment 210151

maybe they go with a "crush can" style design. use it once, then replace it when finished.

 

[WJCO]

BTW, here are a few shots that I took of their amazing rocker guards. This was on JeepCacher's JK right after we installed them. Again, when I told TeraFlex about the big dents on their rocker guards, they told me that my friend was "wheeling too hard". :naw:

In all fairness, I mean, those aren't actually suppose to hit rocks right? I mean when I look at buying 'rock sliders' I would never imagine actually scraping them or hitting them. I thought they were just there to look cool.

 

[Thegreenmachine12]

Yup. It's sad but you simply can't make this shit up.

View attachment 210147

Back when we were still running the TeraFlex 4" lift on Moby, we had the same thing happen right after installing it and out on the Rubicon. :naw:

Was this back in 2007? First kit that was on Moby?

 

[wayoflife]

Glad you came along Eddie. Thanks for all the pics & report of breaking. It is a sad, sad company with great great marketing but shitty shitty parts.

In the end, this makes up my mind and conclude this thread, for my part. Hopefully other forum members will stumble upon this load of info and intel on Teraflex's products and avoid them, at all cost, when they start playing in the 4-digits $ kits.

Thanks a hell lot everyone 

Happy & safe wheeling! [emoji1]

As is the case with all Chinese made products, the problems people encounter are typically in regards to quality control. Sure, a lot of their stuff is okay and you may never have any issues with it. The problem is, the odds of you getting a poorly made part or one that is manufactured with a low grade steel is pretty high. Even if it were just a 1 in a 100 chance, that's more than I personally would prefer to take a risk on. Over the last 9 years of the JK and beyond if you count the TJ too, I simply have seen too many TeraFlex products be substandard in quality or flat out fail. And really, I might be okay with this if they actually cared about their customers and at least issued recalls on poorly designed/manufactured parts especially if they could really hurt someone. Stand up companies like Quadratec have done this with faulty floor mats that could potentially jam up under the accelerator and brake pedal. Daystar has recently done this with control arm brackets that they make for the Renegade. Unfortunately, TeraFlex would rather hide problems, pretend they didn't exist and BLAME THEIR CUSTOMERS for "installation error". It is this more than anything that got me to no longer do business with them.

With all that said, you asked the question and the most I can do is answer it as truthfully as I can, based on my personal experiences over the years and back it up with proof. If you found my information helpful, I'm glad to hear it.

maybe they go with a "crush can" style design. use it once, then replace it when finished.

:cheesy: Now that's funny :crazyeyes:

In all fairness, I mean, those aren't actually suppose to hit rocks right? I mean when I look at buying 'rock sliders' I would never imagine actually scraping them or hitting them. I thought they were just there to look cool.

Apparently, that's exactly all they're good for. :rolleyes2:

 

[wayoflife]

Was this back in 2007? First kit that was on Moby?

No. We were running a 4" TeraFlex kit back in 2009. Before that, we were running a Full Traction 3" Ultimate kit. Before that, we were running a 2.5" TeraFlex kit. The screen shot you see above was taken on another Jeep I had the pleasure of working on years later. Of course, I still see this on Jeeps to this day and it is why I carry a rebuild kit in my tool bag.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

No. We were running a 4" TeraFlex kit back in 2009. Before that, we were running a Full Traction 3" Ultimate kit. Before that, we were running a 2.5" TeraFlex kit. The screen shot you see above was taken on another Jeep I had the pleasure of working on years later. Of course, I still see this on Jeeps to this day and it is why I carry a rebuild kit in my tool bag.

Wait, didn't you just have this happen and it was on film during the last MOAB Fork Yeah video, part 2?

Also, what is the name of the rebuild kit you used? That looks pretty slick.

 

[wayoflife]

Wait, didn't you just have this happen and it was on film during the last MOAB Fork Yeah video, part 2?

Also, what is the name of the rebuild kit you used? That looks pretty slick.

Yes, we did just highlight this in our recent video but that was filmed a couple of years ago.

The rebuild kit is actually made by TeraFlex. Back when I still maintained a working relationship with them, I told them about all the blown out bushings I had been seeing thinking they might try and do something about it. Instead, they gave me a case of new bushings and a few rebuild kits. :rolleyes2:

With that said, there are way better and easier ways to rebuild a bushing and I only use this kit if it's the only option I've got.

 

[BenJKWrangler15]

Yes, we did just highlight this in our recent video but that was filmed a couple of years ago.

The rebuild kit is actually made by TeraFlex. Back when I still maintained a working relationship with them, I told them about all the blown out bushings I had been seeing thinking they might try and do something about it. Instead, they gave me a case of new bushings and a few rebuild kits. :rolleyes2:

With that said, there are way better and easier ways to rebuild a bushing and I only use this kit if it's the only option I've got.

Good to know [emoji102]

 

[Clifford33]

I was definitely leaning towards teraflex solely based upon their videos until being educated in Wayalife.

Same here!

 

[H8ROADS]

As is the case with all Chinese made products, the problems people encounter are typically in regards to quality control. Sure, a lot of their stuff is okay and you may never have any issues with it. The problem is, the odds of you getting a poorly made part or one that is manufactured with a low grade steel is pretty high. Even if it were just a 1 in a 100 chance, that's more than I personally would prefer to take a risk on. Over the last 9 years of the JK and beyond if you count the TJ too, I simply have seen too many TeraFlex products be substandard in quality or flat out fail. And really, I might be okay with this if they actually cared about their customers and at least issued recalls on poorly designed/manufactured parts especially if they could really hurt someone. Stand up companies like Quadratec have done this with faulty floor mats that could potentially jam up under the accelerator and brake pedal. Daystar has recently done this with control arm brackets that they make for the Renegade. Unfortunately, TeraFlex would rather hide problems, pretend they didn't exist and BLAME THEIR CUSTOMERS for "installation error". It is this more than anything that got me to no longer do business with them.

With all that said, you asked the question and the most I can do is answer it as truthfully as I can, based on my personal experiences over the years and back it up with proof. If you found my information helpful, I'm glad to hear it.

Rumor is they are looking to bring some or all of the mfg back to the US to help with the quality issues...should be interesting to see if that move happens and if it does bare any impact on their quality. Not that we're going to be testing it... :icon_crazy:

 

[swampdog]

Now that I think about it, I would design my coils to be stiff as hell if had that juggy redhead in the passenger seat as well.

 

[Mike_JK_Houston_711]

Now that I think about it, I would design my coils to be stiff as hell if had that juggy redhead in the passenger seat as well.

:cheesy::cheesy::cheesy:

 

[Jk909]

I would run teraflex before JKS/zone/BDS

And I wouldn't run teraflex of it were free and I was paid to run it.

Just curious what do you dislike about BDS? I'm running their springs and they are nice and soft. I didn't buy any of their other parts because I want Johnny joints on the control arms