MAF rear Drop bracket issue

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landtank

landtank

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Today I had a chance to install my MAF rear pan-hard drop bracket. It only goes in one way so what could possible be the problem , right. Well on my truck it doesn't do the job.

Attached is a pic and and while it drops the attachment hole it also moves it out to the right. When everything is assembled the axle is nowhere near centered. If fact there was no noticeable improvement over the stock location.\

I know others have used this bracket and posted how much they like them. Am I the only one with this issue?

I'm calling MAF to talk with them on this.
drop bracket 001.webp
 
Some thing about their brackets man :rolleyes:. I bought the 3" drop brackets for the control arms and the DS holes simply would not align with the holes in the tranny cross member. I had to grind that hole on the bracket to get the bolt go straight in. Yeah call'em. They should be able to help you out.
 
I called MAF and they are aware of the problem. Steve-O was ready to send me out a modified bracket.

After talking with him on the issue I went out and took another look at the problem. Basically if I could rotate the bracket 180* then the hole would line up where I would like it to. So I got busy with the bench grinder and in about 20 minutes I'm back in business.

Attached is a pic for those who have these brackets and might want to reverse the install to correct the alignment if they have the problem.

BTW, I did call Steve-O back and told him to not bother to send me out a new one.


I'll post up a completed pic when done.
drop bracket 011.webp
 
Looks good! That is basically what I was going to send you. Just so people know, all of the new brackets sent out will be fixed. :cheers:

Riad, sorry you had to drill out a hole, when we test fit them here, the clearance was tight, but they didnt have a problem fitting. I am glad to here your rig is running good now though, call or write me if you have any other problems or questions.

Steve
 
That's one beefy lookin' bracket!

-Spike
 
The pan-hard rod holds the axle in place from side to side. As you raise the truck this rod swings down. With this swing movement the rod horizontaly gets shorter because of the angle it is travelling, so the axle is now sitting to one side.

There is 2 ways to correct this, lengthen the rod or drop the bracket so the rod is sitting horizontal again. I personally like the bracket over the rod lengthening for the rear.


He is a pic of the finished product. Not perfect but close enough.

A couple of thoughts:

It's a bear to drill the 1/2" hole in the factory bracket as you need to do it on a lapped welded joint. I broke a bit and the accuracy of that hole is what influences the position of the bracket.

Also I think the OEM bolt for the pan-hard is a 16mm class 10.9 fine thread, what MAF supplies is a class 8.8 coarse.

Going out now to take it for a spin.
drop bracket.webp
 
My thinking is that there is less lateral movement in the axle as it travels so it holds the axles position better and is more balanced from side to side.

With a lengthen arm as you compress the DS of the axle it will move the axle further to the left than with the drop bracket.
 
JerryLX450 said:
Pardon me for stupid question, but whats the purpose to have the rear drop bracket?
Click to expand...
So you can have nice low dangling bits instead of spending money or building it yourself the right way.

No offense landtank.
 
Junk said:
So you can have nice low dangling bits instead of spending money or building it yourself the right way.

No offense landtank.
Click to expand...

Honesty, this is the one drop bracket I really like. If you manage to get yourself hung up on the rear panhard drop bracket, you are the king.
 
By dropping the pan hard you reduce the side to side movement in 1/2 on a lifted 80 as the rear end cycles. IMO you need the adj. pan hard also to optimize the rear end set up.
Adj pan hard to center the axle and drop bracket to reduce side to side travel.
 
why not raise the bracket on the axle rather than lower the bracket on the frame...this way there are no "dangly bits" hangin down. They use these brackets on Heeps and I have seen alot of bent/cracked frames from the added torque. Although this may be due to the thin material used on Jeeps compared to the 80.
 
Panhard equipped vehicles handle best when the panhard is parallel with the ground. The roll center is at the center of the panhard by lowering the frame side, the roll center is lowered, probably not the best thing for a lifted truck.:D
 
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The bracket worked out really nice. While there is a slight slope to it now, when loaded it will be pretty close to flat. IMO adding an adjustable pan-hard might be able to dial it in exactly but really not worth the money and effort.


I'd recommend this bracket to everyone with a lift height similar to mine.
 
Rick, have you bothered measuring how centered your rear axle is yet? Since your lift is 4" and the bracket is for that amount of lift you should be as close as one could expect.

Still, since the rear panhard rod is hollow you can do the M. Brodis cheap adjustable insert for under $40. Given that cost/benefit anyone doing this with a different amount of lift that does not re-center the rear axle should consider it.

Kevin, I think you got it backwards - but I don't have the ability to model it...
 
ats4x4dotcom said:
two words

A - Frame :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Come on, that's a dick swingers solution to the problem. Way over kill and over the top expensive.

The bracket in a form that works is exactly what is needed and provides the best reasonable solution to the problem.
 
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