[Mike57]

I am in the process of replacing by standard panhard rods with the stronger adjustable type. I am using the ones from ODA as they can be adjusted on the vehicle. I fitted the rear one a while ago and it was fine. Today i have just realised that for the Jimny the front panhard rod for the right hand drive vehicles are different to the ones for the left hand drive models. The right hand dive one is straight but the left hand drive ones are bent.

The ones sold by ODA are the left hand drive ones with the bend. Tough Dog have a note on their web site that the ones they sell are not suitable for the left hand drive models so obviously the straight ones don't fit the LHD models. What I would like to know is whether the front panhard rod which is bent will fit the RHD vehicles OK and if so which way round should it be installed, i.e the bend on the right or left side of the vehicle.

Has anyone installed one the the ODA rods? Obviously they do work because ODA have sold quite a few but just wondering if there are any pitfalls. My front one has not arrived yet.

Thanks

Mike

[squibby]

I spent ages modifying a bracket so I could fit a Left Hand Drive Steering damper to a Right Hand drive. Was really pleased with myself until I realised that the Sway bar was smacking my modified mount. In short you can probably give your bendy Panhard a go, it's probably ok, but best to take it for a drive very gingerly the first time and inspect it well afterwards.

[SierraDan]

By the sounds of it, don't run a dampner and it'll work!

[Fatzook]

Are the ODA panhard ADR approved?

[zukenutter]

Hi Mike,
Ya need to check your inbox
My panhard has proven itself to be plenty strong and has been in use for about three years. I don't think that LHD or RHD would make any difference and I'm pretty sure that the ODA rods are RHD anyway. I have a steering dampener fitted and it isn't an issue.

Anyway below is my response from earlier today.

Mike57 wrote:

I have ordered the front and rear adjustable panhard rods from Tim for my 2009 model Jimny. I have fitted the rear and still waiting for the front one to arrive. I have just discovered that the front panhard rod for the LHD vehicle has a bend in it and the RHD rod is straight. The straight rod from the RHD will not fit the LHD but Tim says he has sold plenty of his bent LHD rod in Australia. The front rods Tim sells are all the bent ones designed for the LHD vehicles.

Can you tell me when you fitted your front rod which way round it was installed. Was the bent section on the RHS or LHS of the vehicle? Were there any problems with the rod clashing with any steering components or was it an easy fit?

I assume that the rod that you removed was a straight one just like mine.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Cheers

Yes the rod I removed was straight but the adjustable is designed to allow for lift and to better clear the axle and diff in particular due to the thicker diameter of the pan hard rod.

The long bent rod goes to the left side of the car and attaches to the axle, while the short straight one is on the right side of the car and attaches to the chassis






I hope that helps. Make sure the adjuster is screwed into each part of the rod equally so you can adjust the length while it's fitted and make sure you tighten both lock nuts tightly.

[Mike57]

Zukenutter

Thanks. The PM was just sitting in my outbox and did not appear in the sent mail so I thought I had done something wrong and decided to post it up. Thanks for the detailed response.

Mike

[monley]

Why not just make them straight like the tough dog ones?

[Mike57]

Not sure but when I it arrives and I have fitted it I will let you know. I think as Zukenutter says it provides more clearance from the diff as they are significantly larger diameter than the originals.

[zooky08]

The td ones are larger I think, mine hits my diff pumpkin all the time

[zukenutter]

zooky08 wrote:

The td ones are larger I think, mine hits my diff pumpkin all the time

I think there's the answer to why it's got a bend

[monley]

zukenutter wrote:

zooky08 wrote:

The td ones are larger I think, mine hits my diff pumpkin all the time

I think there's the answer to why it's got a bend

Or you could just flip the panhard around

[Mike57]

Flipping a straight one around won't acheive anything will it? Anyway it's all starting to make sense to me now. The bend give a little more clearance from the diff which is as Zukenutter stated and seems to be backed up by Zooky08. Thanks fellas for all the inputs. Hopefully I will have mine installed in a few weeks and then I will post up my analysis and photos. By the way the TD one also has a bend in it from what I can see on their web page. It is bent differently to the ODA ones though.

[zooky08]

Flipping the rod will put the bigger end around the other way so it will Clear the pumpkin
Mine on rubs on the diff after hard impact, not really worrying me at all

[Mike57]

Just to revisit this old thread. I see that Jimnybits now sell both left hand drive and right hand drive adjustable panhard rods. The left hand drive rods are bent and the right hand drive rods are straight.