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gq 4 inch lift

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:39 pm
by GOT MUD
Ok ive search and tried to look up bible (its gone) and cant find a staight answer. I was told that when you lift a gq that the diffs end up movig to one side of the truck and that the adjustable panhards help bring it back in line. If this is the case are you able to do it yourself while doing the lift and how do you work it out.
I hope that makes sense :oops:

Another quick Q, ive read that people have put gu springs and shocks in a gq but does it still work ok going the other way gq to gu.I was hoping to the current lift in my gq in to the wifes gu when i get my 4inch lift :twisted:

Cheers

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:28 am
by forefold
i've got a 4 " lift on my LWB maverick and have not worried about the panard rods, i left the stock ones in. the body is about 10mm offset to one side. doesn't affect it, and the price off new adjustables is too much. if you go higher than 4" i would look at getting them. No one notices the body being offset.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:29 am
by sudso
Yes as you said, that is what an adjustable panhard is for. You'll probably need one on the back too.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:45 am
by Suspension Stuff
Your springs will be carrying the weight on one side more than the other which can cause one to sag. Your bushes will be pulled causing premature wear. Inner guard may rub on tyre. Possibly shocks hitting stuff or at least more likely to snap an eye or pin as they are not in the same position they were meant to be. I am not trying to scare you into buying some but just letting you know some of the things you could be up for in the future. You should get a little more flex when they are even and your tyre won't be outside the guard on one side.

If you don't get any you save $400. For now anyway. I normally say you will get away with it on a 3 inch lift.

It also depends on whether it really is a true 4 inch lift.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:38 am
by Jimbo
I was not going to use adjustables on my 4 ich lift but the tail shaft used to hit the fuel tank (aftermarket one).

I picked up new whiteline adjustable panards for $180 each at bursons.

Jimmy

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:39 am
by Jimbo
I was not going to use adjustables on my 4 ich lift but the tail shaft used to hit the fuel tank (aftermarket one).

I picked up new whiteline adjustable panards for $180 each at bursons.

Jimmy

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:57 am
by YankeeDave
i've had a 4" lift on my GQ now for 5 years. Took 4 years for the bushes to wear out (thats after the lift), and i get as much travel as any other 4" lift.

dont worry about adjustable panhard rods. But on the other hand the rear panhard rod is thinner than most cocks, so that should be upgraded as i've seen a lot break in the bush.

either buy an adjustable one or take yours and lengthen in by 9-10mm while putting a sleeve over it to make it stronger. I did this and it cost me about $10 worth of steel.

Front is pretty strong and no need to change.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:00 am
by Roctoy
i wasted money on the adjustable panhards, should have better spent the $$$ on castor correction

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:34 am
by rvh96
do the job right fit adjustable rods and put the diffs back where they should be ,unless you like driving a pig, the standard bars are weak as piss anyway

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:13 am
by bogged
rvh96 wrote:do the job right fit adjustable rods and put the diffs back where they should be ,unless you like driving a pig, the standard bars are weak as piss anyway
x2

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:01 pm
by GQ Bear
I 'got away' without adj p/h for a couple of years, then i threw a set of JT2's on and they kept biting and rubbing on the inner guard RH rear. Then i got sick of straightening the rear OE rod after it would bend after heavy use.

See if you can source some with Nissan rubber bushes in them as GQ's hate that urethene crap. Shortly after putting my Lovell's panhards on i had GQ shimmy probs, swapped bushes with genuines and bewardiful!!

If you lengthen the rear, you must lengthen the front as well or your car will crab along the road causing all sorts of damage.

As for working out lengths:

Front: fit fixed axle end (LHS), jack up RHS of vehicle using hi-lift. Take a measurement with wheels straight from inside of tyre to spring tower. Measure both sides. Raise or lower jack untill measurements are identical both sides. Wind out thread on p/h and attach to RHS chassis mount. tighten locking nut. Job done.

Rear: fit fixed axle end (LHS), attach a tie down strap from RHS chassis to LHS axle, take a measurement from tyre to chassis both sides, tighten or slacken strap untill measurements are the same. Wind out thread on p/h and attach to RHS chassis mount. tighten locking nut. Job done

I'm sure others will have varying ways of doing it, but this is how i've done it on my own to mine twice (4" & 5" lift) and a mate's. It takes about 5mins each end.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:40 pm
by turps
I did the same as Yankeedave. I cut mine in half and sleved with steam pipe. With a couple of puddle welds to give it extra strength. Lasted for ages before it got a slight bend in it. But was still no problem.
This was on a SWB with 2"lift.
The std rear panhard rod is made out of McDonald straws they are crap. Also anyone with a Coil Susp Patrol who is driving slightly hard stuff running std Lower trailing arms is asking for trouble. There made out of the same straws.

I have broken both. Was lucky I only did one trailing arm though. As when they both go it breaks alot of expensive stuff.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:01 pm
by sudso
I've heard it's also best to set the panhards back close to horizontal like standard on the front and the back after a lift (or is this a myth?) but I cant see it possible without some serious extension of the mounts where they mount to the chassis.
Even then I dont think you'd get them quite exactly horizontal because of clearance issues so you'd have to find a "happy medium".

Also told that the front panhard should be parallel with the drag link.

cheers

quote

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:19 pm
by embryo
bogged wrote:
rvh96 wrote:do the job right fit adjustable rods and put the diffs back where they should be ,unless you like driving a pig, the standard bars are weak as piss anyway
x2
x3

you know its the right answer

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:39 pm
by YankeeDave
did the back and not the front and the car dosnt crab walk.

I only did it after i saw my mate do it and he's dosnt crab walk.


but yes, agree trailing arms need to be bigger too.

I used 40no black pipe for rear pan hard and trailing arms. Much stronger that before.

And now with drop boxes I reckon it drives pretty close to standard.

save the cash and dont do the front panhard rod

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:47 pm
by embryo
YankeeDave wrote:did the back and not the front and the car dosnt crab walk.
right? :shock: and when you wanna sort out that 'death wobble' youll be putting a front pan hard rod in befor you post up here whats wrong with my car?? wont you?

BTW you will need to extend brake lines

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:10 pm
by rvh96
spend the money and do it right you can buy adjustables for $180 ea. the last 4 inch lift i did on GQ which was 2 weeks ago needed 20mm adjustment to centralize the diffs .the left hand front shock was hard up against the hole in upper mount . with 4 inch you will also need caster plates or you will be chasing the thing all over the road if you dont set it up right it wil drive like a dog

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:22 pm
by YankeeDave
death wobbles fixed with panhard bushes. no shimmy, or wobble what so ever now

and dont forget have had this lift for 5 years, and only got the wobbles a year ago and that was fixed straight away with the bushes.

Re: gq 4 inch lift

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:57 pm
by mickyd555
muduppig wrote:Ok ive search and tried to look up bible (its gone) and cant find a staight answer. I was told that when you lift a gq that the diffs end up movig to one side of the truck and that the adjustable panhards help bring it back in line. If this is the case are you able to do it yourself while doing the lift and how do you work it out.
I hope that makes sense :oops:

Another quick Q, ive read that people have put gu springs and shocks in a gq but does it still work ok going the other way gq to gu.I was hoping to the current lift in my gq in to the wifes gu when i get my 4inch lift :twisted:

Cheers
Callan the GU is slightly heavier in the rear right (or left??) because of the sub tank compared to the GQ, i dont think it shows on all GU's but it can be fixed up with a small spacer anyway.

If you put a 4" lift in you will most likely need the panhards, radius arms/castor plates and brake lines, you may also need to modify the gearbox crossmember slightly so the front drive shaft doesnt hit it at full articulation.

Re: quote

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 7:34 pm
by Madmac
embryo wrote:
bogged wrote:
rvh96 wrote:do the job right fit adjustable rods and put the diffs back where they should be ,unless you like driving a pig, the standard bars are weak as piss anyway
x2
x3

you know its the right answer
X4 my mate had 4 inch coils with standard panhards, it looked crap from in front or behind. adjustable panhards arent that dear, they are heaps stronger than the originals. and can adjusted for any lift should you decide to change springs again in future. they are fairly easy to fit and adjust too

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 9:08 pm
by GOT MUD
whoa :shock: So many good response, but i should of mention in my first post that i will be putting panhards on, i didnt need to much convincing to do it right the first time. But what i was really after was how you get the diffs back in alignment after the lift, which a couple of people have described how to do ;) also doing brake line and going with plates for castor correct.

cheers

ATT: Mick thanks for the heads up on the gu sub tank thing, didnt even cross my mind about it. I think it may have more of a effect now that we have put it on gas and got them to fit a aftermarket 75L petrol tank in place of the sub, so at a guess it will be heavier

cheers