What are they, and what do they do, or where can I find out?

[Ezookiel]

Sites like this are proving invaluable to people like myself who are trying to learn how to do their own work on their vehicles. However, I'm looking for a site that can put into layman's terms not just what a term means, but what purpose the part actually serves.
So could someone tell me what the following things are, and what they do, or perhaps direct me to where I can find out?
Thanks in advance.

For example, what is/are:

Panhard rods,
Trailing Arms
Drag Links
Tie Rods (tie rod ends)
Radius arm
castor bushes/castor correction bushes.

And any others you can think to add. And apologies if I got any of the terms screwed up.

Thanks.

[DamTriton]

Here is a start.



More

Try googling "vehicle suspension terminology" Buckets of info....

[HotFourOk]

Panhard rods stop lateral movement of an axel when parallel links are used You dont need to use a panhard when you triangulate the links

Havin a big chat to Layto last night about links and stuff.. lol.. so much involved


and yeh google is also great for everything

[Ezookiel]

Thanks, I didn't think of the word "terminology" I was trying to search them one item at a time, and just finding thousands of places selling them, etc.

[Ezookiel]

Oh, and the other problem with google was finding sites with explanations like this one:

"A tube or rod used as a connection between the pitman arm and idler
arm, and connected to the inner tie rod assemblies. Normally used on cars and light trucks".

Well, that really cleared THAT definition up for me

But I'll keep on searching. Thanks

[DamTriton]

Another "Googlism" is to use:

define: object

Where object is the name of the part. Try it with "Pitman arm" and "Panhard rod"....

This automatically excludes items for sale etc., and tries to find a definition of the term from sources online, basically a dictionary.

[simkell]

why not by a workshop manual for your car so you can look at the book and then poi9nt it out on your own car.
just a thought.

[Ezookiel]

I have the workshop manual, it just doesn't tell you what the purpose of an item is, just how to replace it, and often has no photos anyway.
And in one instance, the bleed valve on my Diesel, wasnt' anywhere NEAR where the photo implied, I had to search the entire engine bay for something that LOOKED like it (apparently the GQ high roof, is not exactly identical to the GQ's in the manual, which we also found out when we bought an aussie desert cooler radiator for the gq and found it doesn't just bolt in after all, it actually required a lot of modification to make it fit.

[Cossie]

www.howstuffworks.com

[Ezookiel]

Oh wow, that site is FANTASTIC, step by step, simple diagrams, I'm going to be on that site all night. Thanks so much, that is EXACTLY what I'm looking for.

I should have thought about that site myself. I used it once when we started wondering how they get those huge cranes up onto those tiny little scaffold towers. Found out at that site. Should have realised it would also have the mundane everyday things like car systems.

Google has driven me insane tonight, every site with definitions, even wikipedia, kept using terms within the definition that I also needed defined, and found myself going around and around in circles looking up terms that were used in definitions that I'd looked up, when looking up terms that were in definitions that I'd looked up that were in.... you get the idea.

THanks again so much.

[Cossie]

Oh wow, that site is FANTASTIC, step by step, simple diagrams, I'm going to be on that site all night. Thanks so much, that is EXACTLY what I'm looking for.

I should have thought about that site myself. I used it once when we started wondering how they get those huge cranes up onto those tiny little scaffold towers. Found out at that site. Should have realised it would also have the mundane everyday things like car systems.

Google has driven me insane tonight, every site with definitions, even wikipedia, kept using terms within the definition that I also needed defined, and found myself going around and around in circles looking up terms that were used in definitions that I'd looked up, when looking up terms that were in definitions that I'd looked up that were in.... you get the idea.

THanks again so much.

lol. no worries, I also first found that site when trying to find out how those huge cranes erect themselves.