Panhards and lift

[wagonteeth]

I need to get an answer about panhards and my truck.

Here's the details of my lift:
850J?863J springs, L shocks, Slee castor correction brackets, sway bar drops around 2-2.5" spacer on front springs. IT amounts to about 5" lift.

I have a lot of shake in the front.

My steering box is leaking and the drivers side of the panhard is wet with sterring fluid, so that bushing might be shot, but...

I'm at a crossroads with the lift. I either need to finish it, or drop the truck back down some to eliminate some driveline issues and shaking.

Do I need to replace both panhards with adjustable ones, or will just the front resolve some issues with shaking. If I leave the rear, aren't things out of line front to rear?

What about a panhard drop bracket? I read about them but don't know at what point they come in to play.

If I were to drop the truck back down some, I've been thinking of losing the front spacers and getting new rear springs to match the front lift, but I don't know which would be needed. If I did that, would I need to loase the Slee brackets?

Upcoming work is to rebuild the front end and install some Longfields, reseal the oil pan (rear arch leak) and resolve the PS leak.

 

[inkpot]

Panhard change will do nothing for the shaking. Sounds like you need more caster correction than you have so far. Have you also done all the usual checks for bad/worn TRE's, wheel bearings, trunnion bearings, toe in, etc???

 

[wagonteeth]

I've checked the wheel bearings, but not the trunion bearings. TRE's feel good and can't say about toe in.

Odd thing is, I didn't have the shimmy I have now until I had the gear swap. I am wondering if it might be a worn spindle because I had not preload on the drivers side wheel bearing (the nuts were less than hand tight). I've got a front end rebuild including all bearings coming shortly- next week hopefully. That mgiht tell the tale.

 

[Tools R Us]

If you have a bad panhard bushing, it can/will cause a wobble. Don't need new panhards, simply press in a new bushing. Also, check the torque on the panhard bolts, have seen several that were loose causing this issue.

 

[wagonteeth]

I didn't check torque on mine, but I tried to tighten it and couldn't budge it.

At what point (how much lift) do adjustable panhards come in to play? I saved a thread with a parts list to make your own and will go that route if they're needed.

 

[Tools R Us]

I didn't check torque on mine, but I tried to tighten it and couldn't budge it.

The torque is pretty high, (127ft/lb) with a standard wrench it's possible to think it's tight, but isn't tight enough. Have seen this a couple of times, the inner sleeve slips/moves in the mount.

At what point (how much lift) do adjustable panhards come in to play? I saved a thread with a parts list to make your own and will go that route if they're needed.

IMHO, they aren't needed, purely aesthetic, centers the axles for a better look, does nothing for the handling. When setting rigs with adjustable panhards up for big tires, best flex, etc, they have always ended up very close to stock length. Mine has ~5" of lift J's, spacers and stock panhards.

 

[wagonteeth]

Well that's good news. I'll check with a torque wrench and will plan on replacing the bushings due to the oil/grease on them when I fix the leak. It can't be good for them.

That leaves more money for the longfields.

 

[jynx]

IMHO, they aren't needed, purely aesthetic, centers the axles for a better look, does nothing for the handling. When setting rigs with adjustable panhards up for big tires, best flex, etc, they have always ended up very close to stock length. Mine has ~5" of lift J's, spacers and stock panhards.

Well that stinks, I got mine for the rear because I thought it would help with rubbing when the rear flexes out since I am not running the rear sway bar.

 

[Camino]

My wobble and shake was the front rotors. My panhard bolt (the one that goes into the spring perch) was stripped and loose. I moved the mount which effectively lengthens the bar, and now the axle is centered. My rear is off by one inch (you can measure the distance betwen the tire and the inner fender). So I am getting rub on one rear inner fender but not the other. The adjustable panhard bars will get everything centered, but I don't think it will fix your shake. L.B.

 

[SiRaDuDe]

I would say Panhards start becoming an issue at around 4" +

But not too extreme, depending on your tires I have 35x12.50 on some extreme articulation the rear might run more on one side than the other, and with 1.25" and + wheel spacer the problem becomes more present.

I've had my 4" lift with no panhards for a while now and wheeled in mud frequently and with good allignment ti behaves well on and off road.

With the addition of wheel spacers you will really notice the need, estetically and functionally.

I also have these doubts, maybe some of you can clear this up for me.. If you are at 4" + and running caster bushings, with NO panhards, wouldnt the constant off center of the axle put a higher strain on all the bushigs on the front and rear control arms? and if they are old to beging with would this just lead to a failure on a higher rate? I mean these things are 2"+ off center, thats got to be an added staring on all bushings that they were not necesarily designed for.

 

[Delancy]

I've had my 4" lift with no panhards for a while now

What linkage configuration?

 

[Camino]

SiRaDuDe,
That makes sense. We have 4" springs + 1.3" spacer +3.5" bushings, and after a Rubicon Trail trip, we were getting "loud clanging" suspension noises. We took it to Carnage Off Road in placerville and they discovered that the back of the front control control arms (single bolt mounts) had worn out openings (enlarged the mounting holes). They welded patches to the sides of the mounts to correct the problem. L.B.