hey yall! so I have a 2.5" mrr dobinsons lift, with 10 mm coil spacers, which brings it to 2.89" lift. now i was under the impression while reading through the forums that i didn't need anything else. although i came across a post that stated that anything over 2" needed new front and rear panhards. Is this true? if so is there anything else i need?
80 series lift question (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter feralyouth
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None of this is strictly necessary but will get your truck closer to handling stock. If you're happy with steering feel, and not experiencing any crazy wobble maybe you can just leave things alone. I have a similar lift height with Iron Man springs and have done the following. The handling characteristics are undiscernible from stock after these modifications but I never drove it lifted without them so YMMV.
-Adjustable front and rear panhards would allow you center your axles. Good for aesthetics and clearances under articulation.
-Rear panhard brackets lift the axle mounting point so the panhard geometry is leveled out closer to stock, keeping the rear axle from moving as much throughout travel
-Caster correction bushings or plates will rotate your front axle closer to the stock angle allowing for stockish caster alignment values. Loss of caster when lifitng a SFA vehicle makes steering wonky and can cause what is commonly called death wobble. There's no factory caster adjustment so plates or bushings are the best way to get things back in the right range.
-Adjustable front and rear panhards would allow you center your axles. Good for aesthetics and clearances under articulation.
-Rear panhard brackets lift the axle mounting point so the panhard geometry is leveled out closer to stock, keeping the rear axle from moving as much throughout travel
-Caster correction bushings or plates will rotate your front axle closer to the stock angle allowing for stockish caster alignment values. Loss of caster when lifitng a SFA vehicle makes steering wonky and can cause what is commonly called death wobble. There's no factory caster adjustment so plates or bushings are the best way to get things back in the right range.
Box Rocket
SILVER Star
you might also consider extended brake lines if you wheel the truck and flex it out.
Adjustable front panhard is a good idea. A panhard bracket for the rear that levels the panhard is a better solution that an adjustable panhard but either will work. The raised bracket will just help the truck handle better.
Caster correction should also be on your list. Personally I'm not a fan of caster bushings because they get worn out quickly especially in a wheeling rig. Caster plates work great if you are keeping stock radius arms and you can still use the OEM rubber bushings in the radius arms for longevity and better flex.
Adjustable front panhard is a good idea. A panhard bracket for the rear that levels the panhard is a better solution that an adjustable panhard but either will work. The raised bracket will just help the truck handle better.
Caster correction should also be on your list. Personally I'm not a fan of caster bushings because they get worn out quickly especially in a wheeling rig. Caster plates work great if you are keeping stock radius arms and you can still use the OEM rubber bushings in the radius arms for longevity and better flex.
Here is an excerpt from Kurt @cruiseroutfit which i like.
Here is a link to a good discussion of the various methods for caster correction.
forum.ih8mud.com
We stock all of the popular caster correction options @ Cruiser Outfitters. OME, Dobinson & SuperPro (Poly or Rubber correction bushings), DVS (replacement arms with caster correction), SPC (caster correcting knuckle bearings) or Slee (caster correction plates). Yeah, we like correcting caster
Regarding the various Poly Caster Correction bushings. We've sold thousands of them and I've driven around the world on them (literally), they do have less compliance than a rubber bushing but they are still completely workable as proven by the tens of thousands of Land Cruisers running them for 20+ years. While they can/do transfer force to the axle, so can/does a factory bushing and we've repaired cracked control arm mounts on rubber bushing & aftermarket control arm Cruisers too. If you've got a high flex 80 with severe offroad use... correction bushings are the wrong answer, rubber or poly imo. You should be looking at plates or arms. Should you be using plates, we stock both OEM and aftermarket rubber control arm bushings and poly aftermarket bushings from OME and SuperPro. Options are king!
Here is a link to a good discussion of the various methods for caster correction.
Caster Correction for a 2.5" Lift
I've been reading all of the pro's and con's of correcting caster with bushings, drop brackets, and plates, and I think for my mild lift (2.5" OME) I'd be better off with the drop brackets in the long run. I'd really like to run plates, but it seems like they're all designed for 4"+ of lift and...
forum.ih8mud.com
- Thread starter
- #5
Right on, I appreciate it. i feel the steering didn't change much and the wobble is actually better than before. i do have a knock when turning so i assume i have a bad bushing... that being said ill probably do your recommendations just for the hell of it.
agree 100% on the extended lines, especially the rear one for any lift of 2" and above
CC Bushings - I have OME ones and theyre over 20yrs old showing zero signs of issues with regular off roading
There are lots of knockoffs being sold though.....
This also depends on the kind of wheeling you're doing. I've killed bushings each year for the last 3 years. One set of OMEs, one set of OEMs and one set of Dobinsons. But it took LOTS of hard flexing to do it and it's not hard to change them.
CharlieS
GOLD Star
Easy work with a 20 ton press and the correct press tools.
