Panhard Rod - Is it bent or normal? + RTC (3 Viewers)

[Reedys]

Hey guys,

I was told while getting a RWC (Roadworthy Check) done that my panhard rod is bent, however I honestly thought it looked quite normal.

However, I did experience some form of death wobbles if I hit rough roads / aggressive potholes which stops if I slow down. (Which the panhard rod could explain).

Would love some advice / happy to move to an adjustable as have recently added a 3” lift so it probably needs one. Do we think RTC Dampeners are worthwhile as I could easily add one at the same time.

Please let me know your thoughts & recommendations.

Kind regards,
Reedys

 

[Reedys]

To be clear what can be seen in the picture is the drag link and panhard bar.
IMO the they are both bent.
Behind the axle is the tie rod/relay rod, it can’t be seen in the picture so no way to know if it’s bent.
If it is that would change the toe and effect how the truck drives.
All 4 tie rod & drag link end should be changed at the same time.
And if your having death wobble you should be looking at all the bushings in the front end.
You should also take a close look a the frame mount of the panhard bar for cracks.

Sound advice. I didn't look closely enough at first and thought it was the tie rod that was bent.

Hello,

You can use a center damper with the factory setup. The details are in the service manual under "steering linkage."

A regular damper is good enough.





Juan

Thank you all very much - here are some clearer photos.

FRONT:

 

[Reedys]

MORE:

 

[Reedys]

REAR:

 

[Broski]

Ok IMO the tie rod is fine, on visual inspection the tie rod ends look fine ( no torn boots ) That means nothing they can still be bad.
Best way to check them is have a helper move the steering wheel back and forth while you put your hand on each tie rod end. If there bad you will feel it.
If the rig is new to you for peace of mind just replace them all.
To really inspect the panhard bushings you to remove it and use a big screwdriver to tweak the bushing around. If it looks dried or you see any cracks in the rubber they need to be replaced.
I can almost stay with certainty That every bushing and your suspension front and rear needs to be replaced because of age unless somebody before you has already done it.
How to replacing all the bushings you won’t believe how much better your rig will drive. It will be a night and day difference.
It looks like your knuckle balls are too dry. I would say there’s not enough grease in your knuckles.
My experience comes from the 80s series which has the same exact suspension design as your rig. On an 80 there is a port on the top of the knuckle that you can stick and zip tie or something similar down into to see how high the grease level is if it’s low, you can also add grease from that port. It may just be out of view but I’m not seeing it on your 70 series knuckle.

 

[JuanJ]

Ok IMO the tie rod is fine, on visual inspection the tie rod ends look fine ( no torn boots ) That means nothing they can still be bad.
Best way to check them is have a helper move the steering wheel back and forth while you put your hand on each tie rod end. If there bad you will feel it.
If the rig is new to you for peace of mind just replace them all.
To really inspect the panhard bushings you to remove it and use a big screwdriver to tweak the bushing around. If it looks dried or you see any cracks in the rubber they need to be replaced.
I can almost stay with certainty That every bushing and your suspension front and rear needs to be replaced because of age unless somebody before you has already done it.
How to replacing all the bushings you won’t believe how much better your rig will drive. It will be a night and day difference.
It looks like your knuckle balls are too dry. I would say there’s not enough grease in your knuckles.
My experience comes from the 80s series which has the same exact suspension design as your rig. On an 80 there is a port on the top of the knuckle that you can stick and zip tie or something similar down into to see how high the grease level is if it’s low, you can also add grease from that port. It may just be out of view but I’m not seeing it on your 70 series knuckle.

Hello,

x2.

Your steering looks unmolested, except for the bent rods. The steering damper looks factory.

Chances are the components are tired and need to be replaced.

As @Broski said, for peace of mind you should replace them all.

Replace what needs to be replaced, get an aftermarket steering damper and do not look back.





Juan

 

[SNLC]

Caster looks way way out.

Cheers

 

[Reedys]

Caster looks way way out.

Cheers

Thanks, can you please elaborate, I’m new to 4wd’s/project car, so want to replace everything that needs to be replaced correctly.

 

[SNLC]

Thanks, can you please elaborate, I’m new to 4wd’s/project car, so want to replace everything that needs to be replaced correctly.

Google

Cheers

 

[Reedys]

Google

View attachment 3964395


Cheers

Thank you!

 

[SNLC]

Panhard & drag link bent badly, clearly from driving straight into a stump or large rock due to the matching dent under the bumper.

Lifted with nothing else done, caster looks well into the negative. To drive nice you want 3+* positive caster.

Bushings is suspension look old, dry rotted and plain worn out.

Steering looks old and in need of rebuild or servicing at the minimum.

Driveline contacts sway bar at full droop, again because lifted springs installed and nothing else.

What are tires, pressure for street? Last time balanced?

Lots of issues here. The bent panhard and draglink is just the beginning.


Cheers

 

[SNLC]

This looks like negative caster, ie the axle is rotated forward past the neutral (zero) point pushing it into negative zone. Picture is from rear looking forward.

This looks like tons of positive caster but can be deceiving because the tire is turned inward and not straight. Caster changes as the wheels are turned, straight ahead with the wheels is when it matters. This picture is from the front looking back.

Any alignment machine will give you accurate caster numbers so you at least know where it is in relation to where it should be.

So go it get an alignment and tell them you want the spec sheet too.

Cheers

 

[Reedys]

Panhard & drag link bent badly, clearly from driving straight into a stump or large rock due to the matching dent under the bumper.

Lifted with nothing else done, caster looks well into the negative. To drive nice you want 3+* positive caster.

Bushings is suspension look old, dry rotted and plain worn out.

Steering looks old and in need of rebuild or servicing at the minimum.

Driveline contacts sway bar at full droop, again because lifted springs installed and nothing else.

What are tires, pressure for street? Last time balanced?

Lots of issues here. The bent panhard and draglink is just the beginning.


Cheers

This looks like negative caster, ie the axle is rotated forward past the neutral (zero) point pushing it into negative zone. Picture is from rear looking forward.

View attachment 3964402

This looks like tons of positive caster but can be deceiving because the tire is turned inward and not straight. Caster changes as the wheels are turned, straight ahead with the wheels is when it matters. This picture is from the front looking back.

View attachment 3964403

Any alignment machine will give you accurate caster numbers so you at least know where it is in relation to where it should be.

So go it get an alignment and tell them you want the spec sheet too.

Cheers

Perfect, thank you very much for all this. This is exactly what I needed, so far I've been able to find the following:

2 x Front Radius Rod to Chassis Bush
4 x Front Radius Rod to Diff Bush
2 x Front Panhard Rod Bush
2 x Rear Radius Rod to Chassis Bush
4 x Rear Radius Rod to Diff Bush
2 x Rear Panhard Rod Bush
2 x Adjustable Panhard Bar (front + rear)
1 x Dobsons Steering Damper
4 x Tie Rod Ends

For a total of: $1,192 AUD.

No luck on the Drag Link so far (might have to get one fabricated).

 

[SNLC]

FYI poly bushings suck, not sure what you are looking at but you want rubber bushes like OEM or OEM.

A piece of DOM tube, .120 wall or thicker, tapped at both ends to match tie rod LH/RH threads + length and you are set. That’s what any after market is going to be. I don’t know availability of OEM Toyota Prado parts in Australia, definitely available out of Japan.

Cheers

 

[Reedys]

Ok IMO the tie rod is fine, on visual inspection the tie rod ends look fine ( no torn boots ) That means nothing they can still be bad.
Best way to check them is have a helper move the steering wheel back and forth while you put your hand on each tie rod end. If there bad you will feel it.
If the rig is new to you for peace of mind just replace them all.
To really inspect the panhard bushings you to remove it and use a big screwdriver to tweak the bushing around. If it looks dried or you see any cracks in the rubber they need to be replaced.
I can almost stay with certainty That every bushing and your suspension front and rear needs to be replaced because of age unless somebody before you has already done it.
How to replacing all the bushings you won’t believe how much better your rig will drive. It will be a night and day difference.
It looks like your knuckle balls are too dry. I would say there’s not enough grease in your knuckles.
My experience comes from the 80s series which has the same exact suspension design as your rig. On an 80 there is a port on the top of the knuckle that you can stick and zip tie or something similar down into to see how high the grease level is if it’s low, you can also add grease from that port. It may just be out of view but I’m not seeing it on your 70 series knuckle.

Hello,

x2.

Your steering looks unmolested, except for the bent rods. The steering damper looks factory.

Chances are the components are tired and need to be replaced.

As @Broski said, for peace of mind you should replace them all.

Replace what needs to be replaced, get an aftermarket steering damper and do not look back.





Juan

Panhard & drag link bent badly, clearly from driving straight into a stump or large rock due to the matching dent under the bumper.

Lifted with nothing else done, caster looks well into the negative. To drive nice you want 3+* positive caster.

Bushings is suspension look old, dry rotted and plain worn out.

Steering looks old and in need of rebuild or servicing at the minimum.

Driveline contacts sway bar at full droop, again because lifted springs installed and nothing else.

What are tires, pressure for street? Last time balanced?

Lots of issues here. The bent panhard and draglink is just the beginning.


Cheers

Would love a second pair of eyes as I'm a little lost looking at this diagram. It looks to me as if the steering damper is between the panhard/draglink. But on my actual rig it's behind the front axle? Perhaps I'm reading the diagram wrong.

Am I correct in saying that the panhard rod is #45450 (as per diagram). The draglink is #45461? The steering damper is #45700 (I might get an aftermarket one instead of the OEM - open to OEM if we think thats the better option)? I plan to replace all the rod ends while at it for peace of mind.

To me the tie rod behind the front axle looks quite straight and untouched. So I'll probably just replace the ends / bushings. Unless I should just go ahead and replace it while doing the other parts? Very open to anybody opinion on this. I daily this so am trying to bring it back to it's former glory as best as I can moving forward.

I just want to make sure I'm not looking at this entire diagram wrong, thank you all very much sorry to keep hassling with a million questions. Trying my best to better understand this.

Kind regards,
-R

 

[AirheadNut]

The diagram you posted doesn't include the panhard rod, it is just steering components with no suspension components shown. 45450 is the relay rod assembly, 45460A is the tie rod assembly. 45700 is the steering damper, one end of which attaches to the tie rod and the other end attaches to the axle using the bracket 45721. The annotations you put on your photos are correct.

This is the front suspension diagram showing the panhard rod (48740A):

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

The diagram shows a slightly different position of the steering damper for clarity's sake. This is because your diagram is a parts diagram.

This is a diagram from the service manual. Note the position of every component.

This is the removal and installation procedure.

Hop this helps.





Juan

 

[Reedys]

48740A

Oh got you, thank you very much. Just for clarification as per those diagrams,

#45450 - Panhard Rod (As pictured - Red Line)
#48740A - Draglink
#45460A - Tie Rod (behind the steering damper) - Mine actually isn't so bad, I may just replace the nuts/bolts/ends/bushings on this.

 

[Reedys]

Hello,

The diagram shows a slightly different position of the steering damper for clarity's sake. This is because your diagram is a parts diagram.

This is a diagram from the service manual. Note the position of every component.

View attachment 3965714

This is the removal and installation procedure.

View attachment 3965719

View attachment 3965720

Hop this helps.





Juan

Makes sense, this is great, thank you very much.

 

[aztoyman]

Looks like he has the red and blue marked parts wrong. Pan Hard attaches to frame. Drag link attaches to pitman arm.

 

[AirheadNut]

Looks like he has the red and blue marked parts wrong. Pan Hard attaches to frame. Drag link attaches to pitman arm.

Didn't even notice that!