Anyone here have an ICON adjustable panhard bar

[Ol'Baditude]

Sorry for the dumb question but Im gonna throw it out there. If the track bar is installed backwards, are there any issues with the truck? Heim joint on the frame instead of the axle?

There is an factory bend in the bar intended to prevent contact with KDSS components on vehicles with that feature(or so I gather), so properly orienting the bar in that case would be important. On vehicles without KDSS, I'm not sure that it would make much difference performance wise, however, the frame side mounting pocket seems to prevent you from making on vehicle adjustments(as in wfo9's previous picture in this thread), so probably best to just make sure it's installed in its intended orientation.

 

[wfo9]

Quick follow up question. Can someone measure the ICON bar and see about how short it can go?

Reason I ask is related to my slight axle rub with the LT... I might need to adjust the bar to be a a little shorter than stock (depending on impact of bushing movement in this configuration).

This is the opposite of what adjustment is typically needed with a lift, so I'm not sure if they allow for shortening from stock length.

Eventually, I'll probably lower the frame mount or raise the axle mount (which is the proper fix), but I want a short term fix for the rub now.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Track bar alignment

... Reason I ask is related to my slight axle rub with the LT... I might need to adjust the bar to be a a little shorter than stock (depending on impact of bushing movement in this configuration).

This is the opposite of what adjustment is typically needed with a lift, so I'm not sure if they allow for shortening from stock length.

Eventually, I'll probably lower the frame mount or raise the axle mount (which is the proper fix), but I want a short term fix for the rub now.

I remember this discussion @wfo9. Your tie rod is contacting the gas tank skid plate in certain situations, when the left side of the rear axle is fully depressed.

I don't think you need to adjust the track bar when going from off-road to highway or vice versa. For most driving conditions the most important alignment is daily driving at normal speeds on smooth flat roads. For that you need the track bar to be adjusted correctly so the vehicle drives straight down the road. For off-road at slow speeds we don't care if the rear differential and axle alignment is off slightly when the suspension is fully extended up or down. It's not going to affect the track of the rear wheels very much compared to the terrain.

Yes, lowering the frame anchor point or raising the axle anchor point is the right way to align the truck with a lift and an adjustable track bar. And upon doing that we may actually need to shorten the bar. I don't know.

 

[wfo9]

I remember this discussion @wfo9. Your tie rod is contacting the gas tank skid plate in certain situations, when the left side of the rear axle is fully depressed.

I don't think you need to adjust the track bar when going from off-road to highway or vice versa. For most driving conditions the most important alignment is daily driving at normal speeds on smooth flat roads. For that you need the track bar to be adjusted correctly so the vehicle drives straight down the road. For off-road at slow speeds we don't care if the rear differential and axle alignment is off slightly when the suspension is fully extended up or down. It's not going to affect the track of the rear wheels very much compared to the terrain.

Yes, lowering the frame anchor point or raising the axle anchor point is the right way to align the truck with a lift and an adjustable track bar. And upon doing that we may actually need to shorten the bar. I don't know.

Thanks for chiming in captain obvious.....Not trying to be a jerk... but I'm very aware of what I'm attempting to accomplish...

My drive shaft hits my gas tank skid and makes a horrible noise while fully articulated with the drivers side tucked against the bump stop and the passenger tire fully extended. By slightly shortening the track bar (like 5mm) I can eliminate this without fabricating a new bracket (although that would be ideal, its a lot of work and brings strength into question)

Eventually, I'll level out the bar at ride height so that it will pull the drive shaft towards the frame mount on compression (passenger).

What I don't know is how much lateral deflection I'm getting from the stock bushings... A bar that is equal length to the stocker may give me the 5mm of clearance I need. This is why I want to be able to adjust it on the truck... and verify (before purchasing) that I can make it a few mm shorter than stock if necessary.

I'll dial it in on the trail to stop the rubbing and see how that lines up on the road. If it is OK, I'll just forget about it. If not I'll adjust it for daily driving and only mess with it on hard core wheeling trips... Follow?

 

[wfo9]

[MENTION=109391]st8rocks[/MENTION] or [MENTION=86748]Ol'Baditude[/MENTION] Could you do a quick min length measure for me center to center.

The pic st8rocks almost tells me what I need to know, but I can't quite make out the numbers.

 

[Ol'Baditude]

[MENTION=109391]st8rocks[/MENTION] or [MENTION=86748]Ol'Baditude[/MENTION] Could you do a quick min length measure for me center to center.

The pic st8rocks almost tells me what I need to know, but I can't quite make out the numbers.

I'm afraid mine's already on the truck - which isn't here at the moment.

 

[DesertCanyons]

drive shaft contact on skid plate

... My drive shaft hits my gas tank skid and makes a horrible noise while fully articulated with the drivers side tucked against the bump stop and the passenger tire fully extended. By slightly shortening the track bar (like 5mm) I can eliminate this without fabricating a new bracket (although that would be ideal, its a lot of work and brings strength into question)

Eventually, I'll level out the bar at ride height so that it will pull the drive shaft towards the frame mount on compression (passenger).

What I don't know is how much lateral deflection I'm getting from the stock bushings... A bar that is equal length to the stocker may give me the 5mm of clearance I need. This is why I want to be able to adjust it on the truck... and verify (before purchasing) that I can make it a few mm shorter than stock if necessary.

I'll dial it in on the trail to stop the rubbing and see how that lines up on the road. If it is OK, I'll just forget about it. If not I'll adjust it for daily driving and only mess with it on hard core wheeling trips... Follow?

I got the point right away. I was surprised to see so many replies without addressing the idea of adjusting the bar every time you go from highway to off-road.

If the new bar is the same length as the stock bar nothing will change. The bushing may be a very small part of the drive shaft location change on compression of the suspension. I believe with any of the aftermarket bars mentioned you'll still have a bushing. Yes, if at all possible get the pan hard bar to ride level on flat ground. This was discussed at length (pun intended) in the previous thread.

I think you have a bigger problem with the drive shaft or the skid, not the track bar. You're the only person I've heard from here that has this condition. How is the rear axle alignment now with the stock pan hard track bar? Is the diff' and axle centered? Again, tracking straight on the highway is much more important, your rubbing condition not withstanding.

Good luck with it. :lookout:

 

[jrandom]

You ever considered loosing a little bit of tuck and adding a larger bump stop on the offending side to keep from clipping the tank skid? Or would it need to be too big to be effective? Seems like a much simpler solution garnering you don't lose too much travel in the process. Just a thought.

 

[wfo9]

I got the point right away. I was surprised to see so many replies without addressing the idea of adjusting the bar every time you go from highway to off-road.

If the new bar is the same length as the stock bar nothing will change. The bushing may be a very small part of the drive shaft location change on compression of the suspension. I believe with any of the aftermarket bars mentioned you'll still have a bushing. Yes, if at all possible get the pan hard bar to ride level on flat ground. This was discussed at length (pun intended) in the previous thread.

I think you have a bigger problem with the drive shaft or the skid, not the track bar. You're the only person I've heard from here that has this condition. How is the rear axle alignment now with the stock pan hard track bar? Is the diff' and axle centered? Again, tracking straight on the highway is much more important, your rubbing condition not withstanding.

Good luck with it. :lookout:

My truck drives perfect on the road. There are very few people running my setup. In fact, there may not be a single person. The axle rubbing the skid is a very common problem. (even without Long travel). Trimming usually resolves it, but I have trimmed all I can.

I had it 100% resolved until I went with bigger tires and got more leverage...

I already have extended bump stops and don't really want to limit up travel any more, but a small additional spacer on that side is not a horrible idea.

Again, we are talking mm of clearance here. That is why I want a track bar that can be just a tad shorter with less bushing deflection. Seem perfectly logical to me, but I don't want to buy one if it can only be stock length or longer.

I would not adjust it each time I go on and off road. If I run a rear sway bar... it does not rub.... So I would only adjust it for extended days offroad where I removed the rear sway. Like moab or a weekend of camping and wheeling at the local offroad park. My truck does fine offroad with the sway bar on in the rear. But if I want to do crazy stuff, every inch of articulation helps.

 

[wfo9]

You ever considered loosing a little bit of tuck and adding a larger bump stop on the offending side to keep from clipping the tank skid? Or would it need to be too big to be effective? Seems like a much simpler solution garnering you don't lose too much travel in the process. Just a thought.

I'm afraid that extending the bump stop a small amount would not make that much of a difference in up travel at full articulation (which is the only time I have this problem). They make a huge difference for vertical travel, but I would have to experiment out on the trail with different extensions. That would be a PITA. Adjusting a collar to shorten the track bar small amounts until the problem went away seems much easier.

I need to go see If I can make this happen on a loading dock/RTI ramp.