SOLVED! Panhard Bar, Rear Control Arms

brock6212

Original poster
Member
Nov 8, 2021
3
Nebraska
New to this site. I used to be on Trailvoy, way back in the day. I had Mark Mc's original 2.5" lift on, started a family, went back to stock, now I need a reliable hunting rig, so I've got back to the dark side. When I first lifted my trailblazer I was going the young, dumb, mall cruiser route. Now I'm trying to do it right, and have a reliable rig that can handle some offroading and bouncing through the hills. Just got the lift reinstalled. Put stiffer springs up front, with bilstein HD's. Z71 tahoe/avalanche springs in the back-no block. Got a zone body lift on order to help clear the 285/70/17.

Now to the purpose of the post. I don't have the rear springs in yet, because they haven't been delivered yet. All I've done at the rear is mount the adapters and new wheel/tire setup. When backing out of the drive I noticed a clunk from the rear. My initial thought was adapters/wheels weren't torqued, but I checked, and they are. When I grab ahold of the rear wheels I can rattle the axle. I could see it was actually in the lower attachment of the panhard bar. I know the panhard bar centers the axle when lowering/lifting. Is there a chance the lift from the tires alone are causing the panhard to rattle like this? Would replacing it with a massive adjustable panhard help alleviate this? I planned on purchasing one anyways, just not this soon. In addition to the panhard, how essential would their adjustable control arms be?

Sorry, it was long, but any help is appreciated.
 

Jexnell

Member
Nov 6, 2021
20
Pacific Northwest
Been looking at the same parts. I am going down, not up but same applies to both.
From what I gather, others will correct me if I am wrong here.

The adjustable lower arms corrects the front to back location of the Wheels/axel in the wheel wells. When you raise/lower these it tends to pull the wheels forward anywhere from half an inch to one and a half depending on how hi/low you go.

The adjustable upper arms will correct pinion angle.

The adjustable panhard bar locates the axel left to right. When raising you will need a longer one as the suspension hangs lower.

I don't see how taller tires could cause this rattle you mentioned as the suspension has not been altered.
Possibly as simple as a worn bushing finally let go.
 
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brock6212

Original poster
Member
Nov 8, 2021
3
Nebraska
I was going to install the lift blocks until my z71 springs arrived. I had dropped the panhard bar, but then changed my mind, since it was already 1 in the morning. I think I just need to go back and go beast mode on the bolt. At least that's what I'm going to try.

Yes, you're right about the control arms. I was just wondering if there's any improvements aside from axle position fore and aft.
 

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