Centering Axle with an adjustable panhard and driver side lean

[seajeff]

A couple of years ago I installed BP-51 with 2723 rear springs and with this modest lift, I noticed the both the tail-wag and the rear axle was shifted to the passenger side by about 0.75in. I installed a Dobinson adjustable panhard to re-center the rear axle. (The tail wag was still noticeable because the panhard bar remains too far out of horizontal and I understand why that is the case thanks to other threads and the really good illustrative video that others have shared.)

But about 6 months ago I noticed the truck was leaning lower on the driver side (left) by about an inch (which is opposite to the “KDSS lean” that I believe is usually to the right). I can’t remember if this lean began with the lift or when I adjusted the panhard bar. I took it to a shop to troubleshoot the lean and they said the panhard bar was adjusted out of spec and returned it to the stock length. The rear axle is once again shifted to the passenger side, but the driver side lean is much less pronounced- less than a ¼" lean now.

Has anyone else experienced a driver side lean that was introduced (or corrected) by adjusting your panhard bar? And, maybe a naïve question, but how important is recentering the rear axle after a 2”-ish lift with an adjustable panhard bar? (I'm trying to understand if it's better to live with the lean or an offcenter rear axle.) Ideally, I'd like to fix both, of course.

And maybe a “duh” (or a totally shot in the dark) question, but would cracking the KDSS valve before recentering the axle eliminate/reduce this lean?

Lastly, since the adjustable panhard bar doesn’t fix the wag, is a/the primary reason for the adjustable panhard simply to recenter the rear axle for a lift?

Here’s a couple of photos showing the shift of the rear axle to the passenger side with the stock length panhard bar.

Thanks for any ideas to help me understand this better.
jeff

 

[montegofd3s]

All good questions, and I am in the same boat. @eimkeith and his team will be releasing a panhard drop bracket in the near future and fingers crossed that is will help our "wag" situation.

Panhard drop bracket option?

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[fajitas21]

Newbie to LC200s but not newbie to Toyota Lifts, Tacoma leans, etc.

What's tail wag in this situation, can someone describe it? Currently stock suspension here, leaning toward keeping it that way lately it seems.

Thanks.

 

[montegofd3s]

Newbie to LC200s but not newbie to Toyota Lifts, Tacoma leans, etc.

What's tail wag in this situation, can someone describe it? Currently stock suspension here, leaning toward keeping it that way lately it seems.

Thanks.

This is how I described it in another thread which I feel is my best explanation... I can notice the "wag" especially on a bridge I drive daily that has pretty terrible expansion joints. Even though the front and rear suspension components are compressing/rebounding at the same time over the joints I still get a wobble feeling like the truck is teetering on 2 opposite corner (say driver front and passenger rear). If I have a decent amount of weight in the rear of the vehicle (like this morning pulling a trailer) the wag is almost non-existent, and I attribute that to the rear squatting and the panhard being closer to its neutral position.

 

[fajitas21]

Ok thanks for that explaination.

I've driven a lot of Tacomas and 4Runners that have that panhard non-symmetry due to the lift, I don't know if I've experienced that or not.

Have others mentioned this on the forums?

 

[montegofd3s]

Ok thanks for that explaination.

I've driven a lot of Tacomas and 4Runners that have that panhard non-symmetry due to the lift, I don't know if I've experienced that or not.

Have others mentioned this on the forums?

It doesn't seem to be everyone, but yes others have experienced it. If you search "wag" you can find some other conversations about it.

 

[seajeff]

I notice it mostly on a specific set of speed bumps I drive over every day in my neighborhood. They are longer speed bumps that you can take around 15mph- so they aren't a harsh bump, but the do cause the truck to compress and rebound in a way that I can feel my tail wiggle a bit left and right.

My original post above was in response to some other artifacts of chasing fixes to the wag having to do with the adjustable panhard bar.

A month or so ago I swapped out my 2723 rear springs for stiffer 2724 springs. (I am running aftermarket front/rear bumpers and an aux fuel tank as a constant load plus camping gear and shelves when I go out.) Maybe it's in my head, but I just completed a 3000 mile road trip from Seattle->Denver->Moab->Seattle and spend 5 days running trails in Colorado and Moab. Lots of shelves, ups and downs, etc... The wag was not problematic at all.

What I think this means is that (for me) is that I'm hyper attuned to it when driving on a normal road and everything is very controlled and then I can notice it in a speed bump. But when roadtripping on the highway or any offroad at all, I don't really notice it.

Or it might be the stiffer springs

Jeff