ajh Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 I've extended my panhard rod bracket up so that the rod is now completely parallel with the axle housing which is great, no more getting blown around by the wind and so much more stable on the highway. However as you know this makes the steering rod and panhard rod different lengths and on different angles which I'd also like to fix. Is there a 'standard' way to do this? Is it better to fabricate a bent rod, modify the swivel or the drop arm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Or, does anyone know if the splines on the Adwest box shaft are a standard, would any of the other drop-arms out there work? Things like on; http://www.jackit.com/handling/steering-and-accessories/steering-info.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 There really is no way to fix it. A bent rod will have zero effect. The pivot points need to be parallel to the panhard rod pivot points. About the only solution would be a custom drop arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Red is right. It matters not what the path is; if the ends of the drag link are at different heights, you're still going to have bump steer with the panhard rod out of parallel. You need to either lower the ball joint at the steering box end by having a swan-necked drop arm or lowering the box down, or raise the opposite ball joint up so that the rod is horizontal with some sort of adaptor/extender block on the swivel housing arm, which would be very difficult to make robust. I think the best you'll get is to use a P38 steering box, which is much taller, with new bolt holes drilled in the chassis and a new lower bracket welded to the chassis, possibly in conjunction with a modified drop arm to crank the arm lower. Frankly, I think you'll find very little benefit for all the work and would be best returning everything to standard. Are you sure it's not new panhard bushes rather than geometry which reduced wandering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Yes, I'm sure. Sounds like raising the arm on the swivel is the way to go. Will have to look at the best way to do this. Lowering the other end just results in issues with steering guards etc. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 In that case, just make sure the raised rod can't foul the engine or chassis on full spring compression. I suspect it'll be very tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Indeed, the panhard bracket is just shy of the bumpstops at full level now but the effect has been great. The main drive west out of Ottawa to where my place is regularly gets high cross winds (40-70kph) and it no longer gets pushed around at all which is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 20, 2016 Author Share Posted June 20, 2016 Mostly I'm trying out things to see how much of an effect they have. I'm considering setting up a set of D2 axles for it, and want to fabricate all the brackets in the right place from the start. (my D2 is being parted but has lockers etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 It would be very, very complex to modify the swivel end and make it strong enough. Remember, if this fails, you die and probably take other out with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted June 20, 2016 Share Posted June 20, 2016 Indeed, be better modifying the chassis and/or changing steering box IMHO. Or not doing anything at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 As long as the panhard rod and drag link are parallel, you'll avoid bump steer. A small incline should have no effect on wandering. I'd be inclined to fit stiff poly bushes, anti-sway bars and firmer dampers and see if that tighten everything up for you. Unless you have an incredibly high suspension lift, I really can't see how all this work can have any significant benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Surely the panhard and drag link will be flat anyway, unless as Snagger says you have a ridiculous suspension lift Mine are very slightly under flat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 No crazy lift, but it had to come up about 2in on the axle end to flatten it out. The discussion and a night of actual sleep has me thinking there is an easier way that'll also fix another issue, I'd been planning on switching to a D1 HD steering rod at some point because of repeated issues with the Defender style ball joint on the arm.. I'm coming to think my arm is worn on the inside though... So, I looked and I should get the required drop if I took the ball joint out of my Defender arm, welded it up, then machined it out to take a standard top-end ball joint as fitted to all the other solid axle models except bolted it upwards through the arm instead of down from the top. The panhard bracket mod fixed the wind and snow type issues, but the wandering I've since discovered (after doing maintenance on EVERYTHING ELSE) is the ball joint on the arm... it felt good, looked good, but then something shifted and now it's clunking and wandering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 I'd still be wary. By orienting the panhard rod and drag link slightly high at the chassis end, LR have set up a system that will give minimal axle lateral movement for very large spring compression, the rods moving either side of horizontal (and the trigonometry resulting in tiny effective length increases). If you set them level at rest, big compressions of the springs will result in the rods being well off the horizontal, and that will give a strong lateral tug on the axle. The static inclination is quite deliberate to account for suspension movement; LR could easily have set it statically level as you are trying to. I think it's a bad idea. I'd recommend you fit a better condition drop arm and ball joint of standard nature, be it Def or Disco spec, and use the standard panhard mount and see if the fixed ball joint cures the handling problem. I really can't see how the standard rod inclination is responsible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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