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Drop Pitman Arm Taboo

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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 06:25 AM
  #11  
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Great. Thanks for the help.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 10:52 AM
  #12  
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This is an interesting topic and I think it is worth mentioning that people who have hyd. Assisted steering, please mention that in the replies. I think it will also be a factor.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 11:12 AM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by Beau
This is an interesting topic and I think it is worth mentioning that people who have hyd. Assisted steering, please mention that in the replies. I think it will also be a factor.
a fair thing to ask - yes, we do have a psc ram assist and yes, it would make a difference.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 12:16 PM
  #14  
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I had the RC 3.5 kit, but recently moved to a different spring/shock(Still have dropped pitman arm.) I started noticing that early in the morning I would hear/feel a light pop in the steering wheel when exiting my garage. I got a bit concerned and ordered a steering shaft brace from Rock Solid Performance. Pop went away, and there is a lot less play in the steering wheel.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 12:47 PM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by Beau
This is an interesting topic and I think it is worth mentioning that people who have hyd. Assisted steering, please mention that in the replies. I think it will also be a factor.
I think it is in the JK's best interest to run some sort of steering assist once you get to the 37" mark.

Also with whoever's system you go with and if you replace the stock pitman arm with a dropped pitman arm, keep your stock pitman arm just in case.


Last edited by Rancho; Aug 15, 2012 at 12:50 PM.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 01:33 PM
  #16  
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From: Erie, PA
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I can't speak specifically for a JK, but on my old TJ I had a 6" lift and a drop pitman arm with an adjustable front trac bar (no brackets.)
I had horrible bump steer on the road, but it performed fine off road. After about 3 years of dealing with it, I decided it was time to fix it, no cost spared. I did my research, and although I can't find the picture that conveyed it to me the best, I can pretty much explain it. In order to avoid bump steer on the road, you want your trac bar and drag link to be parallel. With my drop pitman arm and adjustable trac bar, I did not achieve this. It is my belief lift kits provide you with a drop pitman arm to keep costs down, because including a new drag link and possibly a tie rod to match (more adjustment, because I don't think the stock drag link can adjust enough once you hit a certain height (IE 6" on a TJ is too much...)) would make the cost significantly higher.

To fix my bumpsteer, I installed a new stock style pitman arm, a different aftermarket trac bar, a new drag link, and a new tie rod. All made by the same company and recommended to be ran together. My trac bar and drag link were parallel, and my bump steer was solved.

In my experience, the drop pitman arm can work just as well as new steering components, as long as you achieve the above.
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Old Aug 15, 2012 | 01:38 PM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by project06tj
I can't speak specifically for a JK, but on my old TJ I had a 6" lift and a drop pitman arm with an adjustable front trac bar (no brackets.)
I had horrible bump steer on the road, but it performed fine off road. After about 3 years of dealing with it, I decided it was time to fix it, no cost spared. I did my research, and although I can't find the picture that conveyed it to me the best, I can pretty much explain it. In order to avoid bump steer on the road, you want your trac bar and drag link to be parallel. With my drop pitman arm and adjustable trac bar, I did not achieve this. It is my belief lift kits provide you with a drop pitman arm to keep costs down, because including a new drag link and possibly a tie rod to match (more adjustment, because I don't think the stock drag link can adjust enough once you hit a certain height (IE 6" on a TJ is too much...)) would make the cost significantly higher.

To fix my bumpsteer, I installed a new stock style pitman arm, a different aftermarket trac bar, a new drag link, and a new tie rod. All made by the same company and recommended to be ran together. My trac bar and drag link were parallel, and my bump steer was solved.

In my experience, the drop pitman arm can work just as well as new steering components, as long as you achieve the above.
on ANY vehicle that uses a track bar and drag link setup, it is REQUIRED that you keep them parallel. you CANNOT install a dropped pitman arm or drag link flip without a track bar relocation bracket at the same time. failure to do so WILL result in bump steer and handling issues.
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