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purpose of dropping pitman arm?

B

benulis55

NAXJA Forum User
Location
pottsville, pa
hey guys,

dumb question should be simple answer. I need to replace my pitman arm but i saw that the ZJ arm is already 1" drop. should i pull one of these instead of an XJ. I am in the process of installing an RE 4.5" lift

i dont want to pay $90 for the EXTREME drop pitman arm

is the whole purpose of dropping it for better steering characteristics with the lift?
 
benulis55 said:
hey guys,

dumb question should be simple answer. I need to replace my pitman arm but i saw that the ZJ arm is already 1" drop. should i pull one of these instead of an XJ. I am in the process of installing an RE 4.5" lift

i dont want to pay $90 for the EXTREME drop pitman arm

is the whole purpose of dropping it for better steering characteristics with the lift?
Click to expand...


yes
 
Search "death wobble", or take your jeep out for a ride with uncorrected steering and you'll figure it out pretty quick. The ZJ arm is a start although some will tell you that's not the answer. Essentially, once you lift your heep you're going to need to correct your steering geometry to bring it back to NORMAL, not better. There's TONS of information on that on this site, just search...
 
well how is the steering with the RE 4.5" kit?? i have the adjustable treackbar, i figured it wouldnt be too bad

what else "should" i get?
 
but an exteme angle on the steering arm WILL potentially be a cause of DW however 4.5" shouldn't be too bad.
 
Frank Z said:
A drop pitman arm has nothing to do with death wobble.

Lowering the mounting point of the draglink after installing a lift is done to keep the draglink parallel to the trackbar. If they are not parallel the rig will suffer from bumpsteer.
Click to expand...

X2

I had the RE 4.5 kit on my Jeep for about a 2 years, and I had a drop pitman arm from RE. It drove good, but it drove a lot smoother when I put RE's drop brackets on.
 
yeah, i am at 5-6" with a drop pitman arm and RE HD TB and bracket and my geometry is pretty good.
 
I wouldnt do anything until I had the lift on and see what your angles look like!
 
no matter what lift height you have, if using a drop pitman arm makes your draglink no longer parallel with the trackbar, it's useless. FWIW, I'm running 7" lift with the stock pitman arm and no ill effects. Heh, completely stock steering actually, currently (have currie steering in the garage, but it's way too cold to install it).

I haven't compared a ZJ pitman arm, but I know that the XJ arm is a drop arm compared to a YJ/TJ arm. That's why you have to get an "extreme drop" arm for XJs. I'd measure the arm before I removed your factory one to install it. Might just be wasting time.
 
Waterhammer said:
Search "bump steer", or take your jeep out for a ride with uncorrected steering and you'll figure it out pretty quick.
Click to expand...

fixed it for you. death wobble is a completely differant phenomenon, as has been stated before.

bump steer is what you experience when your steering angles are not paralel, its characterized by a jeep that requires full attention to drive on the high way, (ie, you hit a sloping bump w/ one tire... and it'll pull you towards or away from that bump.... requiring a steering correction) death wobble is more a sign of worn or moving parts, whereas bumpsteer is a sign of a improperly modified front suspension.
 
is there a good place to get the ZJ arm online for cheap?
 
ORDERED!
it comes to 28 bucks shipped, thats damn cheap.
thanks whatevah
 
Last edited:
whatevah said:
$21 from Quadratec. maybe not the cheapest, but it's a start and pretty cheap to begin with. http://www.quadratec.com/products/52449_0995.htm
Click to expand...

Hmmm... funny thing happened here.
I just got my arm in the mail went to go compare and it looks as though I already have the arm installed. the P.O. must have put it on just like the ZJ tie rod and drag link that was on it when i bought it.
Arg.
 
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