What ELSE to do when doing suspension?

[trickyrabbit]

Greetings all, I am new here. I have owned a Stock 1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 for about 4.5 years. It has dealer installed brush guard, bug deflectors, and running boards. Thought about selling it to get something that will hold more children (Honda Pilot) but that was just too expensive so I decided to just make it a nice again.

The Plan:
17" FJ Cruiser Rims (bought a set for $200 w/o center caps)
Running board removal
OME suspension (ordered today)
Tundra big brake upgrade (plan on ordering tomorrow)
Deck plate mod (bought at boat store last week)

I Needs suspension so I decided to upgrade to OME. It has about 137k miles and I live in the mountains with snow and salt and took it airborne on the beach once. I plan on doing the OME upgrade myself and removing any rust I find under the truck in the process and prime/rubber coating it. What else should I check/do while I have the suspension apart? Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[steezemcqueen]

steering rack bushings and sway bar bushings would probably be a good idea

:cheers:

 

[trickyrabbit]

Thanks. I was planning on doing the stabilizer bar bushings but didn't think about the steering bushings.

 

[Spish]

SS adjustable trac/panhard bar

 

[trickyrabbit]

SS adjustable trac/panhard bar

I that necessary? I was under the impression OME tried to design the lift so you didn't need to do stuff like that? But hey, I am new at this. Thanks.

 

[Spish]

I that necessary? I was under the impression OME tried to design the lift so you didn't need to do stuff like that? But hey, I am new at this. Thanks.

From what I've read it is, here is some info from Steve at Sanoran Steel. He was using the drop bracket until he came up with the adjustable bar, talked to him and this is the best (and right) way to do it. Just look at how Jeeps do lifts.
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner 2.5" Trac/Panhard Bar Drop Bracket

 

[Mauzer]

Might as well do the upper and lower ball joints while you've got it apart, and you only need the adjustable panhard if your using LC coils and even then its still debatable.

And we drive yoters not Jeeps, its a whole different beast

 

[Spish]

Might as well do the upper and lower ball joints while you've got it apart, and you only need the adjustable panhard if your using LC coils and even then its still debatable.

And we drive yoters not Jeeps, its a whole different beast

Should have been more specific, most lift kits for jeeps use a adjustable or extended panhard bar. Steve at Sanoran Steel is the resident Toyota guru, just ask him about it he can steer you in the right direction. I always say do it right the first time, I mean we are talking about your suspension, don't half ass it.

 

[Mauzer]

Should have been more specific, most lift kits for jeeps use a adjustable or extended panhard bar. Steve at Sanoran Steel is the resident Toyota guru, just ask him about it he can steer you in the right direction. I always say do it right the first time, I mean we are talking about your suspension, don't half ass it.

I should have been more specific as well, the tracking on the rear axle is a cosmetic issue not a suspension issue. If you don't re-align the panhard your axle will stick out further on one side, to fix this you can use a drop bracket or the adj. panhard bar. Which is the better fix is the debatable part. I know who Steve Schaefer is and I use his products on my rig.

 

[Spish]

I should have been more specific as well, the tracking on the rear axle is a cosmetic issue not a suspension issue. If you don't re-align the panhard your axle will stick out further on one side, to fix this you can use a drop bracket or the adj. panhard bar. Which is the better fix is the debatable part. I know who Steve Schaefer is and I use his products on my rig.

Its more than a cosmetic issue, common sense would tell me if my rear is sticking out further on one side there is probably something wrong, pretty sure it would be a problem while driving, and multiplied with greater speeds.
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner 2.5" Trac/Panhard Bar Drop Bracket
Before adjusted

After bracket (adj bar a better fix)

 

[Mauzer]

No common sense tell you that your axle's geometry is shifted, so the rear MAY be a bit squirrely. Plenty of people run their rigs w/ their panhard in the factory position, but that's not what I recommend. I understand that Steve says to do it, but its not a MUST have part.

 

[brian2sun]

Its more than a cosmetic issue, common sense would tell me if my rear is sticking out further on one side there is probably something wrong, pretty sure it would be a problem while driving, and multiplied with greater speeds.

It not really a big issue with OME lifts. LC coils lift a lot more and make the panhard more of an issue. There's nothing "wrong", the suspension is designed to "scissor" out and offset to one side. My axle is 3/16" offset to the pass. side with OME 891s. Not noticeable by eye unless you stare and compare. It doesn't feel any different driving either. For all that $$, I just haven't justified welding new brackets or getting an adjustable bar. Not that it's not a good thing to do, it's just doesn't matter that much. If I had LC coils and 4"+ of rear lift I would though.

 

[theizzardking]

It not really a big issue with OME lifts. LC coils lift a lot more and make the panhard more of an issue. There's nothing "wrong", the suspension is designed to "scissor" out and offset to one side. My axle is 3/16" offset to the pass. side with OME 891s. Not noticeable by eye unless you stare and compare. It doesn't feel any different driving either. For all that $$, I just haven't justified welding new brackets or getting an adjustable bar. Not that it's not a good thing to do, it's just doesn't matter that much. If I had LC coils and 4"+ of rear lift I would though.

all that $$$ isn't like a $20-30 dollar part and maybe a 5 minute weld job any monkey can do? maybe like $30-50 in welding cost max?

if you spent 2k or more on a lift/shocks tires why not drop the $100 tops to get this put in and have everything lined back up to relative stock spec?

 

[Mauzer]

all that $$$ isn't like a $20-30 dollar part and maybe a 5 minute weld job any monkey can do? maybe like $30-50 in welding cost max?

if you spent 2k or more on a lift/shocks tires why not drop the $100 tops to get this put in and have everything lined back up to relative stock spec?

The adj trac bar is $175, the drop bracket is $50 plus a sixer to get your buddy to weld it for you. All Brian was stating is that it is not a life or death situation if you don't realign your panhard. Your rear axle isn't going to fly off and kill a family of four while you roll your rig and kill a puppy. Its just not that big of a deal, and since this debate can go on forever I suggest we stop hijacking the OP's thread and MOVE ON!

 

[brian2sun]

all that $$$ isn't like a $20-30 dollar part and maybe a 5 minute weld job any monkey can do? maybe like $30-50 in welding cost max?

if you spent 2k or more on a lift/shocks tires why not drop the $100 tops to get this put in and have everything lined back up to relative stock spec?

If I'm not mistaken, Steve's adjustable bars are well over $200 + shipping. If you don't own a welder and don't have a garage, once you spend the money on the parts, have them shipped, and then pay a welder to do it (most charge a minimum of 30 minutes) you're looking at over $100. I don't know about you but $100 is $100 bucks and my runner will still get over anything and everything that a runner with panhard mods can do and it still drives just fine on the freeway too.

 

[theizzardking]

dam i got my drop bracket and panhard bar for $80 total, gotta thank the bro-in-law for that one i guess, and again welders shouldn't be charging more then $50 an hour for such a job and this only takes like 10 minutes.

and all i was saying is if you got all that money tied up in your rig why not? this guy is asking what else should i do as if he has the money to take care of everything all at once, i agree it's not life or death but it is a good idea and if your doing all this other stuff and have the extra cash (i guess $250 now ((175 for bar $40 for bracket and shipping plus the beer)) .) why not?

i'm with you brian, i have all of this stuff sitting in my garage cause I'm saving for tires and don't want to put things on piece by piece, and the money $$$ does count in my case as well, I'm just saying if dudes got the cash and he wants to take care of everything in one shot he should do this and be done with it and not worry about having to come back later to sort it out, if money is an issue then leave it and come back and slap it on later.

i'm a stock nazi and like to keep things with-in stock ranges as far as geometry and such is concerned only doing a mild lift and stopping there as my rig is my DD as well and i drive about 30-50K a year (80 miles a day for work and some more for errands and lunch, plus a couple of hundred every weekend for camping/skiing/whatever) so things like tire wear and extra stress on parts do worry me. i guess bottom line is to each his own and do what is right for you and your uses.:reddance:

 

[brian2sun]

dam i got my drop bracket and panhard bar for $80 total, gotta thank the bro-in-law for that one i guess, and again welders shouldn't be charging more then $50 an hour for such a job and this only takes like 10 minutes.

and all i was saying is if you got all that money tied up in your rig why not? this guy is asking what else should i do as if he has the money to take care of everything all at once, i agree it's not life or death but it is a good idea and if your doing all this other stuff and have the extra cash (i guess $250 now ((175 for bar $40 for bracket and shipping plus the beer)) .) why not?

i'm with you brian, i have all of this stuff sitting in my garage cause I'm saving for tires and don't want to put things on piece by piece, and the money $$$ does count in my case as well, I'm just saying if dudes got the cash and he wants to take care of everything in one shot he should do this and be done with it and not worry about having to come back later to sort it out, if money is an issue then leave it and come back and slap it on later.

i'm a stock nazi and like to keep things with-in stock ranges as far as geometry and such is concerned only doing a mild lift and stopping there as my rig is my DD as well and i drive about 30-50K a year (80 miles a day for work and some more for errands and lunch, plus a couple of hundred every weekend for camping/skiing/whatever) so things like tire wear and extra stress on parts do worry me. i guess bottom line is to each his own and do what is right for you and your uses.:reddance:

I agree, it's better to just take care of all of it from the start. I didn't and because of that, I'll probably never get around to modding the panhard. For me it's no big deal, but if caused rubbing like the pics showed a few posts back, I definitely would.

 

[trickyrabbit]

I appreciate all the input. Money is an issue as I am married with 2 kids neither of which are in day care or school. My wife and I are both college students and we have no child care. That said, time is a big issue. Classes start next week and I won't have time to go back in and mess with something unless it is broken.
Do you need the adjustable panhard bar and the bracket or just the adjustable panhard bar. And if I get the panhard bar how long will it take to get to NC.
Thanks again.

 

[brian2sun]

Seriously, if money is the issue right now then don't bother. I've been running a lift for years and my truck isn't broken. It's not that important with an OME lift. Get it later if you need it, it takes a few minutes to install an adj. bar. And it's one or the other, bracket or a bar.