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Panhard rod & axle movement
pekwah1 - 16/3/20 at 04:08 PM

Hi Guys,

I have a live axle striker, connected to the chassis with a panhard rod.
At the moment this just has rubber bushes and i have noticed a fair amount of lateral body movement in relation to the axle, so much so that on a particularly hard corner the prop flange has hit the tunnel.

I was just thinking about whether it would be a good idea to polybush or similar, or would this have a detrimental effect?

Any advice welcome and appreicated!

Regards,
Andrew


watsonpj - 16/3/20 at 04:36 PM

When you say rubber i guess you mean metalastic something like this.

https://www.polymax.co.uk/anti-vibration-rubber-mount/rubber-bushes/semi-bonded-bushes.

If so thats standard fit on the sylva,fishers etc. and shouldn't give too much movement.
How much clearance does the prop shaft flange normal have when just standing
Do you have the large (110mmish) or the small (90mmish) ford prop shaft flange fitted.

Pete


pekwah1 - 16/3/20 at 04:48 PM

Hi pete,

Thanks for this, i've just assumed it's rubber but haven't take much of a look at it to be honest.
As for the size, I also don't actually know but will have a check. I thought there was a reasonable amount of clearance, probably at least an inch either side, although i don't know if that's a lot or not a lot!


ian locostzx9rc2 - 16/3/20 at 05:27 PM

I would get a new bush from raw I replaced all the bushes at the rear a year after I bought the car makes a massive difference


watsonpj - 16/3/20 at 06:32 PM

If there is an inch of clearance you shouldn't have it hit as there isn't that much movement in these bushes.


pekwah1 - 16/3/20 at 06:35 PM

Thanks guys, I’ll check the clearance again and maybe order some new bushes as I think these are pretty damn old anyway!


AdamR20 - 16/3/20 at 09:04 PM

Have had a few live axle cars now - 3 with rubber bushes, but for the latest one I made a new panhard rod with rose joints. The difference is night and day, would never use anything 'compliant' in this area ever again.

(Note you do still need compliance in the trailing arms to allow flex during single wheel bumps)

[Edited on 16/3/20 by AdamR20]


steve m - 17/3/20 at 06:48 AM

Andy

I had poly bushed my car, including the panhard rod, and it transformed the handling

On a Locost, it was not an easy job (but worthwhile) as you have to cut a few mm of each side of the rod tube to allow the shoulder of the poly bush to sit flush, also have new metal inners made, as the ones in ay kits will be to short
All of this is not an easy task to explain, but once you have the rods etc in bits it will become clear

If you go ahead with this, do all the rear suspension as well,

steve


Sam_68 - 17/3/20 at 10:19 AM

quote:
Originally posted by steve m
If you go ahead with this, do all the rear suspension as well...


You can Rose joint or polybush the Panhard rod, if you like, but the longitudinal Watts linkage arrangement of leading and trailing arms on a Striker relies on the compliance of rubber bushes to work.


andy188 - 17/3/20 at 04:22 PM

I found mine was flexing in the bar itself, now made in 3mm tubing, rose jointed one end, bushed the other to all some movement.


Angel Acevedo - 18/3/20 at 01:44 AM

Axle will move in an arc when traveling up and down being furthest away from pivot pont at Ride height (If properly designed) and moving towards the chassis (on the Chassis mount side) when going up or down. Provided the Panhard rod is long enough, this movement is usualy a few mm. If you have 12 mm clearance, that should suffice.
If you are running out of clearance then something is bending or you have too much compliance on your bushes.
HTH.


Sam_68 - 18/3/20 at 08:40 AM

quote:
Originally posted by andy188
I found mine was flexing in the bar itself, now made in 3mm tubing, rose jointed one end, bushed the other to all some movement.

That shouldn't happen unless the bushes are binding badly or the rod itself is permanently bent or buckled

A Panhard rod that is free to pivot is under pure tension or compression: to flex, it needs to be in bending, and it shouldn't be, unless something else is wrong.