Continuing the theme of 2026—fixing all the little things that have annoyed me for years—it was finally time to install the panhard bar correction kit that's been sitting in a drawer since my original lift.

When I installed the first suspension, I wasn't convinced I'd actually need it. More importantly, it required welding, and at the time I didn't know how to weld... and I definitely didn't feel like paying someone else to do it. So it sat. Fast forward a few years, and after everything I've invested into dialing in this suspension, it felt silly to leave one of the last unfinished pieces untouched. If there was even a small chance it would improve the rear suspension geometry, it deserved to be installed.

There are a few bolt-on correction kits available now, but by the time I looked at the prices and additional tools I would need, I realized I could pay a welder about the same amount and end up with a cleaner solution. I contacted a local mobile welder who turned out to be fantastic. He worked around my schedule, came to the house, charged a fair price, and laid down some seriously nice welds. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Before removing the panhard bar, I wanted to see just how far off things actually were. I zeroed my digital angle gauge on the rear bumper and measured the bar. 6 degrees. Honestly, I expected worse. Looking underneath the truck, it appears much steeper than that, but numbers don't lie.

Once the new brackets were welded on, I hit everything with a few coats of flat black paint and reassembled the suspension. This time it measured 0.2 degrees. That's about as close to horizontal as you're going to get.

The finished kit looks factory, and more importantly, the rear suspension geometry is finally where it should have been from the beginning. Between the new Dobinsons suspension, adjustable control arms, corrected pinion angle, and now the panhard correction, I can finally say the rear suspension is properly sorted.

One installation tip for anyone tackling this kit: getting the panhard bolts back into the new brackets isn't nearly as easy as removing them. I had much better luck by lowering the passenger-side axle after removing the jack stand. That gave me enough room to manipulate both the panhard bar and the brackets without forcing the bolts and risking damaged threads. It still takes a little patience—and maybe a few gentle taps with a hammer—but letting the axle move makes the job dramatically easier.