Panhard adjusting (1 Viewer)

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T Y L E R

T Y L E R

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Mar 27, 2003
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I was reading up on what all is needed when you go with a higher lift on Slee's site .. and I came across the panhards he sells . He also has the weld in adjusters . I understand they're function , but being fairly new to intermediate suspension material , I don't know how you would 'adjust' these panhards ... :confused:

Thanx ,

TY
 
I just installed them. To adjust, you unbolt one end, screw in or out, then bolt it back in. It made an immediate improvement in the handling especially left turns. Prior to the install I hadn't noticed any problems, but as soon as the wheels were lined up, I could tell it was better.
 
So what did you do to your 80 in terms of mods ? 4" ? 6" ? WHat else ?

Thanx

TY

PS : So you just adjust till your wheels are straight ?
 
I think Cruiserdrew has J springs with spacers of some sort. Of course I really don't know since I don't think he even has an 80. All I've even seen is a nice 60 and talk about an 80 :D
 
The panhard doesn't really adjust the wheels, per se, but rather centers the axle under the vehicle left to right.

(====)
....../
..../
../
+-----+

A weird diagram, but quick and workable, where the "/" are the pahard bar, the "+---+" is the axle, and the "(=)" is the vehicle. Ignore the periods. In the above diagram (were the panhard bar is at a far greater angle than in actuality), you can see that the more you lift the vehicle, the more to the right the axle will move. Lengthening the bar would move the axle back to center.
 
Awesome shocker, thanks. now i get it.
 
The better way to center the axle would be to drop down the frame mount for the trackbar to the bar is level again, when it's level it gives the most movement up and down with the littlest side-to-side movement. Most liftkits for 4Runners have a rear trackbar drop-down piece, surprised no-one has made one for the Cruiser, granted it'd need to be a bit bigger and beefier, etc, but certainly do-able.

As far as adjusting, when I did my 80 just measure from the frame to the inside of the tires, I was only adjusting the rear trackbar, so just kept adjusting it till it's about the same measurement on both sides. Catch there is for it to be centered while wheeling you need all the crap in there that you have while wheeling, since what you're measuring changes with ride-height.

This is what I did on my '97:

http://www.colorado4x4.net/tech/rear_trackbar_lengthen/trackbar.html

Good Luck...
 
How about a live or dynamic system that corrects as the suspension cycles ?

Thanx for the diagram .. :D . Also got a great description from CDan on the phone this afternoon . Not only great service , but wonderful 'technical' inservices as well ...

:cheers:

TY
 
Darwood said:
I think Cruiserdrew has J springs with spacers of some sort. Of course I really don't know since I don't think he even has an 80. All I've even seen is a nice 60 and talk about an 80 :D
Click to expand...

Funny Darwood. Look for it on the Death Valley trip! My wife asked me yesterday why I work so much on the 80 when all I drive is the 60. Check out my pictures of my 60 and get a sneak peak at my 80 in the background:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=30255

For Tyler-My set-up is J springs, 1 inch spacer up front, 4.88 gears, and 35 inch tires. The Bull Bar and winch lowered the front a bit and the 1 inch spacer leveled the truck. With the 1 inch spacer the steering was getting really light. I did the pan hards about 2 weeks ago and installed the Slee Caster plates yesterday. This made a huge difference, it now handles like it did when it was stock.
 
For it to correct as the suspension moves then a trackbar is not what you want, instead you want a 3-link so a ball-type joint above the diff keeps it centered side-to-side so then as it comes up or down that thing will always keep it centered.

That is exactly what Land Rovers have and also what Ben Swain had put on his '91 FJ80 (I can't find a picture of his rear A-arm though), but what he did is connect to the frame where the two upper rear control arms attach, and connect to the axle housing where the two upper control arms attach there, but it was not just arms there. It was a tube thingy with a big joint in it so it could flex as the axle articulated but would keep the axle centered side-to-side. I guess the same style of device would work in the front, I don't think I have ever seen one like that in the front, the Rovers just have a trackbar like the Cruisers, Jeeps have a trackbar...but a balljoint technically would work...
 
mabrodis said:
The better way to center the axle would be to drop down the frame mount for the trackbar to the bar is level again, when it's level it gives the most movement up and down with the littlest side-to-side movement. Most liftkits for 4Runners have a rear trackbar drop-down piece, surprised no-one has made one for the Cruiser, granted it'd need to be a bit bigger and beefier, etc, but certainly do-able.
Click to expand...

Trackbar lowering bracket for an 80 is just around the corner. They will be available thru Man-A-Free built by 4 plus. He is a picture of the prototype if you look hard.
4plus bumper.jpg
 
I agree that the only way to avoid the tires rubbing under full articulation is to drop the trackbar and I look forward to MAF's new product. In the mean time TYLER this is what I did after installing Slee's 6" coils and welding in the DIY joints.

I had the vehicle on 4 jack stands as I was doing the front and the rear at the same time. With the rear on stands I took the tires off so the axles weren't under any load. The trackbar is removed. I then used a floor jack under the axle to load the springs to simulate the loacation of the axle at normal ride height. You need to make sure the axle is located evenly under the vehicle. I used string and a plumb bob taped on the outside of the fender flares and measure from the axle flange to the string. I also had to use a ratched strap to pull the axle in the direction it needed to go and to hold it in place.

Once I had the axle an equal distance from the string on both sides I measured and adjusted the trackbar accordingly. Put tire back on, lower the vehicle and recheck. It may take a couple of times to get it exact, I settle to within an 1/8", but you'll get it sooner or later.

The drop trackbar mount is by far a better option. When will these be available and does anyone know the price?
 
Grunt, did you notice a difference in how it drove after the bar adjustment? Or is this mod mainly just to keep tires from rubbing at full articulation?
 
MSGGrunt said:
The drop trackbar mount is by far a better option. When will these be available and does anyone know the price?
Click to expand...

Yes, it could be, but then it would have to have holes for positioning for different amounts of drop. Or you have to make one for 4" and 6" lifts.
 
I have never had a complaint about how my Cruiser handles but, I can only compare it to stock as about a month after I bought the beast I installed Slee's 6" system. Not only does adjusting the trackbar reduce the rubbing on the frame and inner fender but, you also have to consider that the rear axle was designed and is suppose to track with the front axle. If the trackbar is not adjusted the axle will be shifted to the passengers side. The more lift, the more it will shift. This has got to effect handling.
 
So, the net effect is the same - lowering panhard mounts vs lengthening the bars? It seems to me that extending the bars give you infinite adjustments and more flexibility (using Slee's design).
 
The net effect is only the same when the suspension doesn't have movement but as the body moves up and down, lowering the panhard mounts is the way to go. The further away the panhard bar gets from horizontal, the greater amount of lateral movement you'll get per inch of suspension compression.

Below is actually an illustration of a four link suspension. Nevermind that but imagine the upper horizontal bar to be a "lengthened" panhard bar and imagine the lower horizontal bar to be a "dropped" panhard bar. You can see how much lateral moverment the top bar has compared to the bottem even though they are moving up and down the same distance.

4linkSC.GIF


Notice the top bar has much more lateral movement than the bottom one.
80high.jpg
 
Last edited:
alia176 said:
So, the net effect is the same - lowering panhard mounts vs lengthening the bars? It seems to me that extending the bars give you infinite adjustments and more flexibility (using Slee's design).
Click to expand...
You're WRONG!! :flipoff2:

You're right on the more adjustment thing, and the net results on a static suspension is the same (vehicle axle is aligned), but how that aligned axle moves side-to-side with up-down suspension movement is the key.

With the trackbar level a lift or droop of the axle causes it to shift side-to-side, however because of the small angle involved the side-to-side movment is minimal (the angle would be zero then a bit positive, then a bit negative, etc).

But, when the trackbar is at an angle already, then the ratio of side-to-side movement versus up-down movement is higher (co-sine function is not linear, it changes very little near zero degrees, but at higher angles it changes more with less angular change).

Ali, you know this stuff, you're an engineer!! :D
 
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