I've been running my Rough Country 3.5 Series 2 Lift for well over a year and 20k miles now and it's quite honestly a very good lift kit. I've wheeled more than a dozen times during that time.

Lately, I've been debating with a few of my fellow Jeepers about drop pitman arms. The Series 2 lift kit comes with one and I've honestly had zero issues with it (I don't wheel crazy but I do attempt challenging stuff like rock gardens and rock shelf climbs). There seems to be a lot of taboo about using a drop pitman. I personally don't quite believe it becuase of... well... over a year and 20k miles of usage, for me personally.

I wanted to get some feedback from guys who have used drop pitmans or are currently using one. What are your experiences, good or bad? Trying to come up with some educated concensus instead of just heresay.

If you do not own or previously own a drop pitman, DON'T POST! Not looking for guesses or regurgitation of someone else's accounts. Just first hand experience.

 

30 000km on a yj with drop Pitman arm, no issue
50 000km on a xj with a rc kit and drop pitman arm and no issue

I'm getting the rc 3.5 serie 2 for my jku 08 in a month.

 

Subscribed. Have also been running a drop pitman arm, no problems. I've heard the same thing, that u shouldn't use them and to get a drag link flip kit. I have a 4" skyjacker lift with a front adjustable track bar.

 

a drag link flip is a better solution but, a dropped pitman arm is a good alternative and we still run one on our big white jk.

 

Thanks Eddie. Your white JK is a beast. If it's still running a drop pitman then I'm not worried.

 

I imagine that if the geometry is solid it should work with either.

 

That's good to hear. What are the advantages to the draglink flip kit over the drop pitman?

 

a flip kit will allow you to run the factory pitman arm and that will put less leverage on your sector shaft. you will also be able to keep your drag link up higher and this will help clear the differental as well - something that's important with a lot of aftermarket covers. pretty much all the dropped pitman arms out there are made by the same manufacturer and a lot of the ones i've installed have sloppy splines allowing for movement on the sector shaft even after being properly installed. this causes handling issues. a drag link flip kit like the kind that evo makes comes with a well made axle side track bar relocation bracket. i have seen a lot of frame side brackets cause the factory mount to tear off - this has happend to me as well.

 

That's good info. Would the flip kit help fix flightyness at highway speeds or is that basically controll arms?

 

flightyness is a characterist caused by lack of positive caster. the more you have, the more solid your jeep will feel at highway speeds. unfortunately, the more you have will also negative effect your drive shaft angle. in the end, you are stuck trying to come to a balance between the two.