- Location
- Atascadero, CA
ok so i have heard that a dropped pitman arm will reduce death wobble and does it reduce the extreme play in my steering wheel? and if not what will eliminate the play in my wheel or death wobble? thanx
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dropped pitman arm
- Thread starter Shomsky462
- Start date
- Location
- Atascadero, CA
please i know its a stupid question but cmon...
- Location
- Williams AZ
You might wait longer than 15 minutes for a response.
As for DW or play in the wheel...I couldn't say for sure, but I don't see how it would help?
As for DW or play in the wheel...I couldn't say for sure, but I don't see how it would help?
- Location
- Atascadero, CA
yeah i dont either thats why i asked the question and you know how some time things just work out like that. whatever thanx anyways though.
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
Death wobble and a dropped pitman arm have nothing to do with each other. Do a search on DW. Unless you are going to throw money at the problem by replacing every part, you will need to do a bit of troubleshooting.
devildog0
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hunt County Texas
It may help your DW problem but there are so many varibles that could cause this I would take a look at ALL steering and suspension component. I don't think it would cause the steering to tighten that sounds like a steering componet problem which if something is loose then that would casue DW also. If you say it has a lot of play in it I would check ALL the TREs then from there the tracbar then ball joints so on and so forth. Hope this helps.
devildog0
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hunt County Texas
Also don't foreget the simplest thing to do BALANCE ALL OF YOUR TIRES AND MAKE SURE IT IS DONE RIGHT.
GirlScout1
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- WA
What kind of set up arfe you running right now? It's hard to say but I would be looking at other problems first like rod ends, hubs joints, something loose.
- Location
- Atascadero, CA
ok i have a 4.5" rough country lift with 1.5" shackles and spacers (teraflex). i put it on my self with expert help so not really by myself but i like to think that.anyways i just got a new track bar and intalled it right greased it. i got my tires balanced professionally brand new by the way i have about 200 miles on them(they are only 31's though :-( i checked all ends and greased them all and i dont know its not that big of a deal but my mom bitches at me to get it fixed cause she thinks it a big deal but its not. and sometimes its scary cause when im goin along and hit bumps and crap my steering wheel bounces around a bit. do you think that it would help to retighten everything and whatnot like the tie rod and drag links? anything else that i should check?
jonboy
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- beside myself
Did you get it aligned after the lift?
Do the track bar and drag link run parallel or is one at a lot steeper angle than the other?
Post a pic, straight on from the front, where we can see the drag link and track bar angles.
A good alignment shop, not a tire store or pep boys, should be able to diagnose and fix this for you if you don't feel like messing with it.
Do the track bar and drag link run parallel or is one at a lot steeper angle than the other?
Post a pic, straight on from the front, where we can see the drag link and track bar angles.
A good alignment shop, not a tire store or pep boys, should be able to diagnose and fix this for you if you don't feel like messing with it.
- Location
- Atascadero, CA
ohh and by the way a dropped pitman arm does help with death wobble beacuse when you lift the vehicle then the y linkage gets pulled up leaving the axle just as low as it was before and the steering box is raised causing the wheels to toe-in and thats something that has to do with death wobble. As for the play in the wheel i dont have the foggiest idea wheer that comes from does anyone else feel that in their steering wheels?
Dookie
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Shore-town, WA
holy shite your grammar makes my brain hurt...
- Location
- Atascadero, CA
sorry i know in my mind what i mean but i dont know how to say it so it makes sense. im a visual person
George2
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- New Hampshire
The dropped pitman arm will help with steering system angles on lifts over 4", and I'm a convinced user. I have a 4.5" lift (which is actually closr to 6") and the
pitman arm did wonders for smoothing out the steering angles.
DW has many "causes", but from what I've picked up here, it's primary cause is due to losing camber due to the front end being lifted. You can return much of the camber lost back by using adjustable upper and/or lower control arms to get the pinion angle back, but it's a delicate balance between correct front pinion angle, and correct degrees of camber for your alignment.
Many (most?) times it's just a compromise- you have to decide what is more important to you, and how many bad side affects you're willing to live with. I found that when I adjusted my lower control arms to get a really "happy" front pinion angle, I lost all the camber I needed to keep the front end from being so touchy on bumps.
I'm now adjusted just to the other side of a good angle for my pinion and front u-joints, but the steering is rock-steady. You've come to the right place for all the informational resources you need- now spend some time studying what others have said. The search function is your best friend here, and keywords like "angle" "camber" "DW" will take you to posts that you need to read, and direct you to people who can provide some priceless information.
The final outcome, however, is up to you. I don't think ANYONE here will disagree with my statement that "no two XJ's are the same", and each and every XJ/lift combo will need it's own minor adjustments to make it "just right for me". Sorry if that sounds vague- but I had to learn the HARD way, because I didn't do as much reading as I should have, and I didn't go back and ask people with great informative posts questions about what they wrote that I didn't understand. Since then, I've gone back and asked those who had deeply detailed descriptions, and they've been wonderful about re-wording what I didn't get the 1st time, and even sending pictures when I still didn't get it.
Congratulations on your new lift, and your Mom is right- it needs to be fixed. If you can't do it yourself, look for a reputable shop to help you. Go to the lower section of the main
page, and find your local chapters- then ask THOSE guys about reputable shops near where you live. I couldn't believe how many of the LOCAL members volunteered to either come over to my house and help me wrench, load my rig on a flatbed and drive me to a local shop, or meet me at said local shop to help explain my situation to the shop owner.
pitman arm did wonders for smoothing out the steering angles.
DW has many "causes", but from what I've picked up here, it's primary cause is due to losing camber due to the front end being lifted. You can return much of the camber lost back by using adjustable upper and/or lower control arms to get the pinion angle back, but it's a delicate balance between correct front pinion angle, and correct degrees of camber for your alignment.
Many (most?) times it's just a compromise- you have to decide what is more important to you, and how many bad side affects you're willing to live with. I found that when I adjusted my lower control arms to get a really "happy" front pinion angle, I lost all the camber I needed to keep the front end from being so touchy on bumps.
I'm now adjusted just to the other side of a good angle for my pinion and front u-joints, but the steering is rock-steady. You've come to the right place for all the informational resources you need- now spend some time studying what others have said. The search function is your best friend here, and keywords like "angle" "camber" "DW" will take you to posts that you need to read, and direct you to people who can provide some priceless information.
The final outcome, however, is up to you. I don't think ANYONE here will disagree with my statement that "no two XJ's are the same", and each and every XJ/lift combo will need it's own minor adjustments to make it "just right for me". Sorry if that sounds vague- but I had to learn the HARD way, because I didn't do as much reading as I should have, and I didn't go back and ask people with great informative posts questions about what they wrote that I didn't understand. Since then, I've gone back and asked those who had deeply detailed descriptions, and they've been wonderful about re-wording what I didn't get the 1st time, and even sending pictures when I still didn't get it.
Congratulations on your new lift, and your Mom is right- it needs to be fixed. If you can't do it yourself, look for a reputable shop to help you. Go to the lower section of the main
page, and find your local chapters- then ask THOSE guys about reputable shops near where you live. I couldn't believe how many of the LOCAL members volunteered to either come over to my house and help me wrench, load my rig on a flatbed and drive me to a local shop, or meet me at said local shop to help explain my situation to the shop owner.George2 said:The dropped pitman arm will help with steering system angles on lifts over 4", and I'm a convinced user. I have a 4.5" lift (which is actually closr to 6") and the
pitman arm did wonders for smoothing out the steering angles.
DW has many "causes", but from what I've picked up here, it's primary cause is due to losing camber due to the front end being lifted. You can return much of the camber lost back by using adjustable upper and/or lower control arms to get the pinion angle back, but it's a delicate balance between correct front pinion angle, and correct degrees of camber for your alignment.
Many (most?) times it's just a compromise- you have to decide what is more important to you, and how many bad side affects you're willing to live with. I found that when I adjusted my lower control arms to get a really "happy" front pinion angle, I lost all the camber I needed to keep the front end from being so touchy on bumps.
I'm now adjusted just to the other side of a good angle for my pinion and front u-joints, but the steering is rock-steady. You've come to the right place for all the informational resources you need- now spend some time studying what others have said. The search function is your best friend here, and keywords like "angle" "camber" "DW" will take you to posts that you need to read, and direct you to people who can provide some priceless information.
The final outcome, however, is up to you. I don't think ANYONE here will disagree with my statement that "no two XJ's are the same", and each and every XJ/lift combo will need it's own minor adjustments to make it "just right for me". Sorry if that sounds vague- but I had to learn the HARD way, because I didn't do as much reading as I should have, and I didn't go back and ask people with great informative posts questions about what they wrote that I didn't understand. Since then, I've gone back and asked those who had deeply detailed descriptions, and they've been wonderful about re-wording what I didn't get the 1st time, and even sending pictures when I still didn't get it.
Congratulations on your new lift, and your Mom is right- it needs to be fixed. If you can't do it yourself, look for a reputable shop to help you. Go to the lower section of the main
You just got the terms mixed up there as every time you mention 'camber' it should read 'caster'. Then your advice is right.
A drop pitman arm will not fix death woobles and would even introduce bumpsteer unless you are prepared to lower the frame mount bracket for the trackbar the same amount to keep it parallel with the drag link. As for needing it to adjust the toe in, just a spanner and a tape measure will fix that in a few minutes flat. See my site on how to do it. ( www.go.jeep-xj.info )
As for the play in the steering, that is likely the cause of the DW's. Most likely you have play in the tie rods and they all need to be replaced. Get someone the work the steering wheel back and forth while you watch each joint to see where the play is coming from. That or the steering box is worn but not as likely.
first of all you need to determine if you actualy have death wobble or just a bad wobble up front, the true DEATH wobble is when at a certain speed (mine was around 40mph) your vehicle shakes so eratic that you can do nothing but slam on the brakes and stop or until the wobble stops. i thought i had death wobble becuase my front end would shake at certain speeds but when had to lock up my tires from it i knew what real death wobble is.
it could be due to numerous things, you have 8 bushings on your control arms, 1 bushing on your track bar along with a tie rod type end on the other side along with 4 more tie rod ends on your steering and the bushings/steering stabilizer could be bad. theres no one cure for every rig it could be one or all or a combination of any of those bushings.
unless youre experiencing bump steer or you installed a track bar drop bracket then you dont need a drop pitman arm becuase you want your drag link to be paralell to your track bar. when you install a drop bracket it move the pivit point down and you want to move your drag link down to that level. a real fix would be a after market drag link , a flip kit, or hi steer.
it could be due to numerous things, you have 8 bushings on your control arms, 1 bushing on your track bar along with a tie rod type end on the other side along with 4 more tie rod ends on your steering and the bushings/steering stabilizer could be bad. theres no one cure for every rig it could be one or all or a combination of any of those bushings.
unless youre experiencing bump steer or you installed a track bar drop bracket then you dont need a drop pitman arm becuase you want your drag link to be paralell to your track bar. when you install a drop bracket it move the pivit point down and you want to move your drag link down to that level. a real fix would be a after market drag link , a flip kit, or hi steer.
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