2" suss lift kit - panard rod, extended break lines or axle spacers also required?

[stewcowie]

hello there,

have this evening ordered the 2" lift kit from roughtrax for my 2nd gen KZN130 (rear coil springs, front and rear shocks and uprated torsion bar). wondering if also going to need or would gain any benefit from the ordering up the following:

- adjustable panard rod
- extended brake lines
- front axle spacer

have spent a lot of time reading through various threads and there seems to be some debate as to whether or not the above three items are also required. any advice out there from previous lifters in the know?

after the lift, my surf is still going to be spending the majority of it's life on road commuting, but will have a proper play off road from time to time at the likes of close by drumclog. off road nut mechanic friend of a friend is fitting the kit.

cheers,

stew

[lord_flashart]

Welcome to the forum!
You don't NEED any of those things but you may find the rear axle slightly off centre with out the panhard rod which isn't a problem, the brake lines need to be checked but mine are fine so yours should be no different and which angle spacers do you mean? If it's the diff drop spacers then you probably should fit them to save some of the extra wear on your CV joints but I haven't as yet and again, no problems.


Thanks,


Ray.

[Diezel Weazel]

hello there,

have this evening ordered the 2" lift kit from roughtrax for my 2nd gen KZN130 (rear coil springs, front and rear shocks and uprated torsion bar). wondering if also going to need or would gain any benefit from the ordering up the following:

- adjustable panard rod
- extended brake lines
- front axle spacer

have spent a lot of time reading through various threads and there seems to be some debate as to whether or not the above three items are also required. any advice out there from previous lifters in the know?

after the lift, my surf is still going to be spending the majority of it's life on road commuting, but will have a proper play off road from time to time at the likes of close by drumclog. off road nut mechanic friend of a friend is fitting the kit.

cheers,

stew

Hi n welcome Stew, if ya can't get a swift reply to these questions they may best be answered by speaking to Kerrsurf (Alan) Yoshie (Brian) Andy (Albannach), "SMC" Clog Locals ...
www.scottishmudclub.com

Personally my standard Truck has KL71 (muds) on standard rims, Locking front hubs a "Surfenstein" adjustable Panard rod, no probs with the Clog so far ..
Awaiting fitment 2" Body lift kit, extended brake lines..n Arb's to come off soon.
Good Luck n happy Cloging
The techies will be along soon

"Cos short cuts cost more in the long run"

[blakarm]

hello there,

have this evening ordered the 2" lift kit from roughtrax for my 2nd gen KZN130 (rear coil springs, front and rear shocks and uprated torsion bar). wondering if also going to need or would gain any benefit from the ordering up the following:

- adjustable panard rod
- extended brake lines
- front axle spacer

Adjustable panhard. Waste of money if you ask me. Axle will be a little off centre, and will cause no probs. You can permanently adjust it by cutting it in half, and welding a sleeve over it.

Extended brake lines. Not needed. you can put a spacer between the axle and brakeline to give a bit more play. jack the front slowly by the crossmember, till full extension, keeping an eye on brakelines as you go. check its ok with the steering turned too. Should be ok. New lines will always be a good thing to have tho.

Axle spacer. Ball joint spacer? Will give you a bit more travel and ride height if you need it.

[stewcowie]

hi guys,

thanks for the welcome and the replies.

have seen what i think is the spacer i'm meaning referred to as a few different things - axle spacer, diff spacer and cant at the moment remember what else. seems to be a spacer to to stop excessive wear on CV joints due to the angle of driveshaft changing with the 2" lift - think you are talking bout the one I mean lord f.

if the existing un-modded panard rod results in the rear axle being off centre, is this going to adversely affect the drive/ride - i.e. will i no longer be able to go in a straight line :-)

i'll ask my mechanic to run your brake line test blakarm. ta for that.

basically, i'm not wanting to have the lift kit fitted to find i have a whole load more repairs to do in the long term due to the change in alignment.

cheers,

stew

[lord_flashart]

The standard panhard rod will shift the axle across slightly but it won't effect your ride quality, mine's been like it for about 6 months now.

If you think about it, if your current springs are suffering from the dreaded ass sag (that these puppies are known for!) then your rear axle will have been pulled across anyway as at the 'proper' height the panhard rod should sit flat.


Thanks,


Ray.

[surfenstein]

the front brake lines are coiled up on either side just above the chassis.you can just pull on the brake lines carefully to extend them to suit.adjustable panhard rod is not needed if your doing a 2" body lift as the rod is attached to the chassis and not the body.+2 rear spring will just slot in and you can adjust the torsion bars to suit no need to replace with heavy duty items,unless you plan on going more extreme with the suspension lift.

[stewcowie]

thanks boys - music to my ears. yes, have the saggy ass and will pass on the note to uncoil those lines.

only had the surf since sept & prepping it for some offroad adventures. will be selling my pocket rocket and keeping it as my sole vehicle - hence wanting to avoid it needing much ongoing mechanical attention - i drive a 350 mile round trip from glasgow to aberdeen each week for work. also do a lot of mountain sports - which the pocket rocket is not ideal for.

appreciate that the offroad adventures are going to take more out of it than the tarmac. just had most of the steering replaced - ball joints, track rods, steering idler etc. dont think the general service parts had been that well maintained before i picked her up.

[Apache]

No no no!!!

Flippin 'eck, sick of saying it!

Get under your truck and look at your panhard rod. Then work out how much the end will move upwards with a 2" lift, then use trig to work out how much that will move the body to the left. Its millimetres for a two inch lift!

These trucks aren't built with any kind of precision. It wont affect the ride or handling. Its only worth doing if you're doing a big lift. There's people who will tell you you need a £200 adjustable bar. They're the people who bought one before checking.

Best of luck with the rest of your lift. Its easy, and doesn't cost anything like as much as the parts suppliers would like you to spend.

[wishbone]

thanks boys - music to my ears. yes, have the saggy ass and will pass on the note to uncoil those lines.

You're doing a suspension lift so don't need to tweak the hard brake lines above the chassis - that's for a bodylift.

[stewcowie]

only prob at the mo is that i wouldnt know my panard rod from my fishing rod! luckily my mech will. wish i did, but i dont. just wanted to know what was actually required and will pass on the info to him. he's a landy man, but knows what he's doing.

thanks for the knowledge,

stew

[jeff.fn02jwa]

i got my front diff spacer from tonyn 4x4 toys if get that before you do your run to Aberdeen it is a #### case to fit just undo the bolt jack up the diff slid the spacer in put the new longer bolt on do it up and the job is dun stand back in have a beer o and if you dint there will lots of told you so and
yourself

[stewcowie]

i got my front diff spacer from tonyn 4x4 toys if get that before you do your run to Aberdeen it is a #### case to fit just undo the bolt jack up the diff slid the spacer in put the new longer bolt on do it up and the job is dun stand back in have a beer o and if you dint there will lots of told you so and
yourself

jeff man, i've had a few beers watching the footie & your lack of full stops and high emotion at the end has my head spinning

you telling me that if i dont fit this spacer along with the lift kit, my return motorway journeys to aberdeen are going to be a long running nightmare? if so, please explain...

stew

[TonyN]

I like the adjustable bar, its the ideal solution. But you don't acutally 'need' it

I cut and sleeve and reweld them normally for LC springs, which give you slightly over 2".

+2" lift springs and its not so bad, especially after 6 months and they've settled in.

You'll notice the back of the truck flexes from side to side a little, instead of going straight up and down over speed humps when the Panhard rod is left stock.

[Apache]

If you dont wind your torsion bars too much, it'll be fine. If you do, you'll suffer excess CV joint / boot wear.

A more sensible option is manual hubs. Means you keep your diff nice and high, but stop your front shafts turning when up and down the motorway. Bingo - best of both worlds.