Clunk after fitting Superpro bushes and lift

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

As the title says I developed a clunk after fitting a 2" ironman lift and a superpro control arm polybush kit. The clunk can be induced if I brake and turn left i.e. like when coming to a stop at a junction where I intend to turn left. Has anyone else had this? Could it be something to do with the panhard rod (which also got new poly bushes)? It definitely sounds like it is coming from under the truck towards the middle/rear somewhere. I have checked all the control arm mounting points and all the holes still seem round.

BTW, I have a 95 series diesel.

[Prado8 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Prado8]

Hi,

my 2001 RV diesel does the same thing (185 000k's) with the lift kit I have... All the rear bushes were recently replaced so have ruled that end out for the moment but have considered the front upper ball joints as likely suspects as it seems to come from that general area on mine. The lift and offroading place a lot more stress on these components and given their age it's about time for some new ones anyway. Haven't replaced them as yet but will post when I do if it fixes the problem. Steering rack bushes are known for wearing on these also so might be worth checking them too...

[fishfinder Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishfinder]

when replaicing the pan hard rod bush check that the bolt that mounts the pan hard rod is not worn in the centre.A few years back I replaced the bushes with neoprene and was not happy after installing as there was still a bit of movement so I replaced the bolts and all was fine.

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

The steering rack bushes have also recently been replaced with Superpro. I have also started wondering about ball joints, even thought it sounds like it is coming from the mid/rear somewhere. But... it does sounds like something connected to the body - a bit like when a rock gets thrown up inside the wheel arch.

I did take the panhard rod off again recently because I wasn't happy with the guys that fitted the bushes and suspension, and this is the state that I found my new (about 1000 miles) superpro bushes in:









I have no idea how they could have gotten like that so quickly, other than the guy that fitted them did most of the damage... Anyway, new bushes arrived yesterday, I just need some time to fit them.

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

I did notice that the rod is slightly too short (maybe 5mm) after the suspension lift. I had to rock the car and get the missus to push the bolt back in when I re-fitted it. I'm tempted to get one of the adjustable rods from the US.

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

A longer panhard rod will throw the suspension geometry out of spec and can, in. some cases, lead to the prop shaft fouling on the spare fuel tank. How big is the lift? If only 2" it wouldn't be worth getting an adjustable panhard rod.

[fridayman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close fridayman]

I wish we had spare fuel tanks here in the UK... we only have the single main tank at the back.

Yes, it is a 2" lift. I'm not sure if 5mm on the panhard rod makes any difference? That is how much longer I would adjust it if I get one, because that is how much the bolt holes don't line up at the moment. At this point I am getting rather tired of the clunk and would happily pay for an adjustable rod if I knew it would fix the clunk.

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

A longer panhard rod will throw the suspension geometry out of spec and can, in. some cases, lead to the prop shaft fouling on the spare fuel tank. How big is the lift? If only 2" it wouldn't be worth getting an adjustable panhard rod.

A longer (adjustable) Panhard rod will actually, centralize the diff, so if he had the sub tank fitted, the tail shaft would be further away from it, (just like std).
If your going to get an adjustable panhard rod, you may as well get adjustable upper and lower control arms at the same time.