Steering box /pitman arm help.

[Badmunky]

Ok so I have an odd problem.

I have a 2001 XJ with the stock steering box. It still works good, so I'm not replacing it just yet.

My problem is the pitman arm. It has a drop pitman arm on it right now. But I need to change it.

I have a D44 front axle. It came out of a 77 Chevy. (Yes I know, Chevy used a right side drop and Jeeps are left side drop. Its been converted to left side drop.)

Now for the problem, and reason I need to change the pitman arm.
You see the Chevy axle has longer ears where the tie rod connects to the knuckle. So it also has a longer pitman arm.

Now my Jeep is still using a Jeep length pitman arm. So my steering is slower the it should be, and I can not turn my wheels as far as they should. I hit the stops in the box way short of the stops on the axle. So I hit the stops in the box when the tires are only are about 75% of what they could go to.

This sucks! It makes it hard to maneuver in tight situations. And you have to turn the wheel farther to get the same affect at the tire making the steering feel slow.


Now what I need to know is will the pitman arm from a 77 Chevy fit on my stock steering box? I don't know if they made different sized steering box outputs or not. Or if they had different spline counts.

If the Chevy pitman arm will fit I then I can figure out how much drop I need and order one up. If not I'm not sure where to go from here.


Thanks guys!

 

[Johnnie Walker]

IIRC< for extra turning radius people use a slightly modded WJ pitman arm. NOt sure if that is just for stock XJ axle with aftermarket steering or other.
I know XJensen has a 1-ton ish axle of sorts, not sure what he is running for pitman arm.

 

[RoyalXJ]

drop waggy arm. Stock drop for an xj but much longer. I ran it when I was on fullwidths. http://www.bjsoffroad.com/prod-465.htm

 

[ashmanjeepxj]

Since its a chevy D44 it should be a flat top knuckle, have it machined to accept a passenger side high steer arm and custom drill the drag link hole in the arm to the correct throw to match your pittman arm. Relocate the panhard bar higher so it is parallel to the drag link and you will have a nice steering setup.