Stupid question...

[pyemaster]

...but to bring the axle and body back into alignment after a suspension lift, is it the axle or body which moves, or is it a bit of both?

Reason I ask is I'll need to get my tracking done shortly after getting new springs put in on the back, but I seem to remember they calibrate the fronts from the rears, which might bugger up the alignment of they're thrown off to one side?

Thanks
Owen

[tweak'e]

how much lift?
technically its the rear axle thats shifted due to the panhard bar angle.
depending on lift you can correct it by fitting a panhard bar drop bracket.
with really big lifts you may want an adjustable panhard bar as well.

for small lifts like 2", no need. it only shifts it by about 4mm and easily corrected with wheel alignment.

[NiftyNev]

Body can't move as it bolted to chassis. It's the rear axle that moves out of alignment with the chassis. I always say to correct any misalignment because it affects the rear control arm bushes. Not everyone agrees with me though.

tweak'e. How do you correct rear axle alignment with a wheel alignment and why alter the front and not fix the rear to start with?

Nev.

[tweak'e]

..I always say to correct any misalignment because it affects the rear control arm bushes. ......

tweak'e. How do you correct rear axle alignment with a wheel alignment and why alter the front and not fix the rear to start with?

Nev.

afaik if the rear wheels are still pointing straight ahead theres basically nothing to fix. however because its pushing on the arms a bit it can throw it out a tiny fraction. don't forget the rear axle gets pushed sideways as the surf bounces up and down. its made to move around a bit. its simply not a big issue until you get to the bigger lifts.
then you run into issues with the control arms and panhad angles.

[NiftyNev]

I suppose I am a bit fussy. When I did my springs (40mm lift which actually measured at 65mm because of original sagged springs) mine was out about 10mm, so I went adjustable panhard. Seen much worse though on bigger lifts and most don't know, till I point it out.

Nev.

[pyemaster]

Right okay, basically along with the Pedders shocks, I'll be putting in 2" rear springs and cranking the torsion bars up by a similar amount on the front. My understanding is this then means you will need tracking, etc, done on the fronts as the angles will have changed and I'll start getting uneven tyre wear. To correct this I'm happy to get the panhard bracket dropped to bring the rear axle back across as it was, but I was wondering whether I should get this done before splashing out for a full laser alignment, etc, on the front, or whether it would matter if I did it after.

Owen

[POPEYE]

Agree with Nev, what happens with a rear lift is the panhard rod will pull the axel sideways (the more the lift the further it will pull out of alignment) when I did mine I fitted land cruiser springs (about 3in lift ish) I cut through the rod which is hollow tube and fitted a solid steel bar in both ends, refitted the rod and let the truck down on it's wheels, the rod had about 10-15mm of bar showing between the cut ends, I tack welded both cut ends to the bar and then removed the rod and welded the joint all round, there is an adjustable one on sale I think or the drop bracket (Vince use to do)
as for the fronts, I fitted 2in lift blocks, this does put the tracking, camber and castor out and will knock out tyres quick ( I wore out a pair of BFG's before I got round to setting up the alignment, it's possible to get a dam near perfect alignment your self as I couldn't find a tyre shop that'd touch it, been done well over 6 years now and no problems,

and don't forget (assuming the rear brake load compensator unit is the same as the 2.4) that you will need to make a bracket to lift the unit to it's old position as near a dam it,
I didn't touch my torsion bars as I have heard storys of the bolts snapping when wound up to much

[tweak'e]

Right okay, basically along with the Pedders shocks, I'll be putting in 2" rear springs and cranking the torsion bars up by a similar amount on the front. My understanding is this then means you will need tracking, etc, done on the fronts as the angles will have changed and I'll start getting uneven tyre wear. To correct this I'm happy to get the panhard bracket dropped to bring the rear axle back across as it was, but I was wondering whether I should get this done before splashing out for a full laser alignment, etc, on the front, or whether it would matter if I did it after.

Owen

don't bother with the panhard bracket. your spring lift is not big enough.
if you fitted the usual panhad bracket your axle will still be out by the same amount, just in the opposite direction. the smallest bracket you can get is for a 3" lift.

raising the front will change angles slightly so always a good ide to get alignment done.
using ball joint lift will change angles a lot more than winding up torsion bars due to the ball lift changing the angle of only one arm.

don't forget the brake LSV bracket.