NO


If the nut came loose I'm going to say it was the install work, though that's a tuff call without actually seeing the pitman arm going on. At 185 ft. lbs of torque there is no way the nut should have ever come loose.

What ever you do, do not follow this advise! Unless you want the sector shaft to snap like a twig.

 

Well I took it in to my mechanics...at work(I'm a truck driver)we removed the pitman arm and made sure the teeth or splines were ok and reinstalled. It mounted the same way as the pic in my OP which leads me to believe either Rancho miss packaged the part or has crap quality control. The teeth only go into the pitman arm about 1/8 inch. It seems like the inside diameter of the opening is just a hair too small. I forgot the thread but I saw that WOL had a similar issue and went through 3-5 pitman arms before finding a good one. I'm kinda thinking since I need a new pitman, to just get the stock back on and do a drag link flip in an attempt to not add stress to the steering box that a drop pitman could cause. I found out from my mechanic that there is some shifting in the steering box shaft when I turn the wheel back and forth.

 

i too have been experiencing a similar issue

i think the cause is expansion.
as the arm is on there and all the forces of turning are applied to it it stretches out the hole a micro amount

as you keep tightening it it will eventually work its way up to the top of the shaft until the nut bottoms out.

and it wont stop there

im also thinking of the flip kit and putting the stock arm back on

 

Well, I gave David at Northridge a buzz and got some advise. I was informed that almost all aftermarket pitman arms are manufactured from the same place with crap quality control. So, the delima is that it is hit or miss to get one that will fit right and that this is a very common issue. I think what I am going to do is get the stock pitman back on and install an AEV high steer kit. That kit I think will work out well, it allows me to run a stock pitman arm which I believe will be less stress on the sector shaft than a drop pitman. The other bonus is that I can toss my frame side TB bracket, the AEV is a axle side bracket. Ever since I installed the frame side bracket I have been nervious about that thing.

 

Keep us posted on the AEV kit ... It's on my future mod list ...

I wonder if the vendors are painting the splines on the drop pitmans and that is what is screwing up the tolerance and fit. The Factory one is not painted. I'll have to look at the one that I took off and see.

 

I was thinking the same thing about the paint. It seems like it's just a hair off.

 

I have read in a thread on here that you want the frame side track-bar bracket, not the axle side. Evidently the axle side is more prone to breaking off. I don't remember if this was speaking specifically about the front or rear axle.

This is the one I was thinking of:
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...=1#post1927504

There is a comment further down recommending he get that rear axle bracket welded.

And from the Modified Suspension FAQ:

Q: Do I need an adjustable rear track bar?
A: No. You will be just fine installing a track bar relocation bracket to reenter your rear axle. However, I would highly recommend that you install one that drops from the frame mount and NOT one that attaches to the axle mount. Axle mount brackets have been known to break the factory mount.

 

I had the frame drop bracket ... and it only bolts to the factory frame mount so it causes additional leverage and stress.

The Axle brackets actually bolt to several places on the axle so it ends up making the axle side bracket more durable ....

 

On some, but u-joints that hold the bracket and having braces on both sides of the stock mount is the way to go if bolted on. Otherwise it should be welded and reinforced.

Edit: sorry, put my answer to first statement in your quote.

 

Well I have to choose between the AEV high steer or the Tera draglink flip. One is axle side TB bracket the other is frame side. I know there has been alot of debate on here on which is better. It seems this choice is 6 one way and half dozen the other. I'm leaning towards Tera's kit since I have c gussets installed and the AEV would have to be trimmed to fit. I'm just wondering if one is better than the other AEV or Teraflex