that is called the panhard or track bar. it is what provides the side to side location of the axle. there are two trailing arms that provide front to back, and of course the coil springs the up to down location. leaf springs didn't need one, they can provide location in all three. basically it is a 3 link suspension.Happy birthday btw. Mine was a few days ago too. High five
Yeah I saw Nickp’s detective skills ?
As for the bar I’m still not sure how thats going to work. Will it help a lift of get in the way and what exactly is it doing other then making things a little more stable?
however as the axle cycles, it will move in different directions than just up and down. for this setup, if the axle cycles up (hits a bump), it will move slightly back, and towards the passenger side. if it goes down, it will do the opposite. the front to back motion is desirable, the side to side not so much, but the only way to prevent that is to go to a triangulated 4-link, or a different type of 3 link that is very similiar to the triangulated 4 link.
As for lifts, all these jacked up F-250s you see since 2003 have this same setup in the front. You preferably need to lower the panhard/track as well to reduce the power steer. honestly though I won't be surprised if many of the aftermarket lift kits of at least 4" have an option to change to the more prefferable type of 3-link or even triang 4-links if there is room.
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