Trac Bar specs......Fab Experts Help

GX4SEVEND

GX4SEVEND

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Ok so here is the story...............

I was told by nurmorous people to do the drop bracket instead of the extended bar. So I bought the bracket. We tried to install it tonight. It did absolutely nothing. Trac bar was in the same location it was without it so we ended up not installing it.

I really don't want to get into the drop bracket vs. extended bar debate but what I would like is some help.



What joints are used on the trac bar? Where would I buy them from if one were to attempt to fab their own out of .250 DOM?


I'm looking for specifics and what site to order from.
Thanks in advance.





Like I said.......I really don't want to hear that I should do the drop bracket. I tried it, it didn't work for me, so I'm going to try this route now.
 
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I'm not sure what you measured from, but the panhard drop makes the bar more level at rest. A level bar spans a longer distance than a diagonal bar. More distance = axle shifting towards driver's side. The laws of geometry make it impossible for a pan hard drop to do absolutely nothing. But, what I think is.. since you're so light with those 861s, that you probably have ~5-5.5" of lift back there and a panhard drop designed for a 3" lift just isn't long enough so the axle doesn't get all the way centered.

Here's the big problem...
If you build a new trac bar and extend it long enough to totally center your rear axle with that much lift, your driveshaft and u-joint will destroy your gas tank. In other words, you'll only really be able to extend the trac bar to shift your axle about as much as what the pan hard did for you. Any longer and I promise you'll have worse problems the next time you droop your passenger rear tire all the way.

All that said, if you do make a new pan hard, make it adjustable so you can shorten it back up when/if you poke a hole in your tank once you flex it out. I don't know what the measurement is, but measure your stock bar's bushings and call up Ballistic Fab or Ruff Stuff and they can make custom bushings at whatever length and bore you want. They can also tell you which heim joints + misalignment spacers will fit that length. I would either do a heim on the axle side and a bushing on the frame side or I would go with bushings on both sides. Dual heims will make noise so I don't recommend that. GL!
 
Another thought..
If you leave your rear sway bar on, you'll probably be ok with an extended bar because the sway bar will limit the travel as well as the driveshaft from hitting the gas tank. The only problem I forsee isthat sway bar links break under strain and you could still destroy your tank.
 
brian2sun said:
I'm not sure what you measured from, but the panhard drop makes the bar more level at rest. A level bar spans a longer distance than a diagonal bar. More distance = axle shifting towards driver's side. The laws of geometry make it impossible for a pan hard drop to do absolutely nothing. But, what I think is.. since you're so light with those 861s, that you probably have ~5-5.5" of lift back there and a panhard drop designed for a 3" lift just isn't long enough so the axle doesn't get all the way centered.

Here's the big problem...
If you build a new trac bar and extend it long enough to totally center your rear axle with that much lift, your driveshaft and u-joint will destroy your gas tank. In other words, you'll only really be able to extend the trac bar to shift your axle about as much as what the pan hard did for you. Any longer and I promise you'll have worse problems the next time you droop your passenger rear tire all the way.

All that said, if you do make a new pan hard, make it adjustable so you can shorten it back up when/if you poke a hole in your tank once you flex it out. I don't know what the measurement is, but measure your stock bar's bushings and call up Ballistic Fab or Ruff Stuff and they can make custom bushings at whatever length and bore you want. They can also tell you which heim joints + misalignment spacers will fit that length. I would either do a heim on the axle side and a bushing on the frame side or I would go with bushings on both sides. Dual heims will make noise so I don't recommend that. GL!
Click to expand...

Real good advice :)

but ill answer what you want. You can use heim joints for the ends, or rubber bushings or a combo. You will have an issue tracking down these parts in the metric oem bore size and width, so your best bet will be to drill out the stock hole to accommodate an american size.

if you want to use .250 wall dom which is wayyy overkill for this application you will most likely need 1.5" .250 wall. that will give you a 1" id and that is a common size for weld in bungs. You can expect to pay about $8 per foot for the tubing, and most places will only do 5-10-15-10 foot lengths. so expect $45 in tubing plus at least $60 for heims with jam nuts and bungs, and $15 for grade 8 hardware. so I would expect it will cost you just shy of $150 by the time you add in some spray paint etc.

please make it adjustable to the stock length because it will need to be that size
 
The stock trac bar is 32mm od. Inside diameter is 1". The bar is not DOM so there is a seam on the inside.

You could cut your stock bar, use 1" bungs (some fitting will be necessary but not much because of seam) and threaded rod and make an adjustable bar. It would utilize the oem ends for rattle and noise free use.

M14601266.jpg


Or you can cut your stock trac bar, get tubing with 1 1/4" id and sleeve it. Just make sure of the length that you need before final welding. I like this method only because it is strong, and inexpensive. In reality, once set, the trac bar does not need to be adjusted unless you remove your lift.
 
Hey guys idk if this was answered or brought up, but i am doing the 7 rap LC coils, so total lift is 3-3.5inches, do i have todo a diff drop, and i alot of flexing if that makes a difference. i just dont wanna run into problems when im offroad. And if there is a slite chance i might, then let me know bc i wanna be sure on this.
 
A diff drop is only for the front and this thread is talking about the rear suspension - just wasn't sure if you realized that. but, to answer your question, a diff drop is a good idea to help out the angle of your CVs. I see it as cheap insurance. The pan hard drop or extended pan hard bar isn't critical especially with 7 wraps, but your axle will just be a little offset to the passenger side. Mine is and it isn't a big deal IMO. Read my post above about the dangers of extending the trac bar and hitting the gas tank with your driveshaft - especially if you remove your sway bar for more flex.

A pan hard drop (instead of an extended bar) will not make the driveshaft hit the gas tank anymore than it would stock.
 
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Man, What's with all the people wanting to build their own panhards? How about someone doing what it seems no one (or no one here at least) has done and raise the axle side panhard mount. That should be the best solution to this problem anyway.
 
Because cutting a piece of tubing, welding in some bungs and screwing hiems is much easier than dropping an axle, cutting off origional mount, fabbing new mount, welding new mount, reinstall axle. And, there is nothing cheap or free about that.
 
scoobydann said:
Because cutting a piece of tubing, welding in some bungs and screwing hiems is much easier than dropping an axle, cutting off origional mount, fabbing new mount, welding new mount, reinstall axle. And, there is nothing cheap or free about that.
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Yeah, it's harder, but it's a better solution, and I don't know that it would be that expensive. It depends on how you design the new mount, but it doesn't need to be expensive.

Plus it would be more innovative.
 
Supertrooper4 said:
Hey guys idk if this was answered or brought up, but i am doing the 7 rap LC coils, so total lift is 3-3.5inches, do i have todo a diff drop, and i alot of flexing if that makes a difference. i just dont wanna run into problems when im offroad. And if there is a slite chance i might, then let me know bc i wanna be sure on this.
Click to expand...

You don't need to do a diff drop because you don't have CV's. Your 4runner is 2wd and you use a diff drop for lower the angle of your CV's.
 
Nelsonmd said:
Yeah, it's harder, but it's a better solution, and I don't know that it would be that expensive. It depends on how you design the new mount, but it doesn't need to be expensive.

Plus it would be more innovative.
Click to expand...

The best option is to cut all of the panhard oem brackets off and may a new one that is about 6 " longer, and sits level at rider height. You can accomplish this by making new brackets and moving them outwards on the fame and axle.

But if your going through \all of they why not just keep going and triangulated three link the rear setup :)
 
Supertrooper4 said:
ok so since mine it 2wd i dont need todo anything about the panhard bar, dropping it and what not with a 3inch lift?
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...... There is no difference between 2wd and 4wd on the rear suspesion. Obviously you cant do a diff drop because you do not have a front diff. But either way 2wd or 4wd its not worth it to mess with the trac bar
 
Supertrooper4 said:
ok so since mine it 2wd i dont need todo anything about the panhard bar, dropping it and what not with a 3inch lift?
Click to expand...

This thread is about pan hard bars (aka trac bars) - not diff drops. Not sure why you're confusing the 2, but they are not the same thing. You don't have a front diff so you never need to worry about a diff drop - it's a 4x4 only thing.
 
Seriously either start a new thread or search. I started this thread about what parts are needed to fab your own trac bar. It has now turned into what is needed for a 2wd.

Not to be a **** but I've let the thread hyjack go long enough.
 
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