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Waggy 44 pitman arm question

MDMIKE

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Westminster MD
Alright fellas, I just got done reading 5 pages of stuff on PBB about pitman arms for my setup. My eyes are blurry and my question still isn't answered. Background: 7.5" lift, Waggy 44 front, passenger side high steer arm with factory waggy tre taper. I'm running a ZJ pitman arm that was retapered to fit the waggy tre, but the machine shop f'ed up and drilled the taper too deep. Now I'm on a quest for a new pitman arm. I can turn the Jeep lock to lock with the current pitman arm set up, but I'm a little aprehensive about driving it with the tre wiggling around in the pitman arm like it does. So does anyone have a suggestion for a pitman arm I could use that has close to the same drop, length, and tre taper as my current set up? I was thinking about a dropped waggy arm, but I'm not sure of the specific demensions. I'm pretty sure a factory waggy arm will be too long and too flat for my application, but if I'm wrong feel free to tell me so. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.
MIke
 
The Waggy will be too flat.

I'm still using a stock redrilled XJ one, and it barely gets me full turning. I'm having an arm built that has factory drop, but about 3/4" more length.

C&R Motorsports and Wagoner Machine Service both make custom pitman arms with any length, any drop, and any taper you might desire.

CRASH
 
hey Crash, how much does a custom Pitman arm cost? and how did you figure out how much longer it needs to be, or did you just guess?

My friend has a mill, so I'm going to make a crossover arm and place the draglink hole closer to the balljoint than stock, but I'm not too sure how much closer. Right now I have a ZJ arm running the stock Waggy steering on Waggy d44, and don't have full turning.

I think I need to do a little playing in CAD...
 
It's a simple ratio-in-proportion calculation.

Length of Waggy Pitman X
------------------------------- = -----------------------------------
Length of Waggy OEM arms Length of new steering arms

My prblem is, I have to watch for interference with my tie rod, since i don't want it coming up to smack the TRE on the pitman arm. So, once again, there are some compromises.

CRASH
 
I paid $125 for a custom pitman from WMS. The general rule is that the pitman should be the same length or slightly shorter than your steering arm. I made mine 3/4" longer than stock, with stock drop. I have also discovered that some pitman arms come mounted (stock) offset 1 spline to the drivers side. This too will make a big difference in how things work, & was necessary to make my steering work properly.
Paul
 
With my setup, I am running a high steer arm with two holes on the passenger side and a high steer arm with one hole on the drivers side. One hole on the passenger side arm is set up to be the same distance out from the ball joint as stock (6" I think) and then the second hole is far enough out from the first hole to allow a tie rod end to fit without interfering with the first tie rod end (for the drag link). The drivers side high steer arms hole is the same distance from the ball joint as the second hole on the passengers side. I used a TJ pitman arm because it had LESS drop than factory XJ pitman arms because at full stuff of the suspension both sides, the tie rod would contact the tie rod end at the pitman arm when using a factory XJ pitman arm. I reamed the TJ pitman arm hole to fit a Chevy drag link tie rod end. This way, the throw of the pitman arm is stock and the throw of the passengers side high steer arm at the drag link hole is also stock. Therefore, I get full steering (at least as much as stock) while sitting level. I have noticed that during articulation, angles and lengths change such that full lock to lock steering cannot always be achieved. If you are happy with the steering throw using a stock Waggy tie rod location, a passenger side high steer arm with the drag link hole at the correct distance out from the ball joint to match the throw of the ZJ pitman arm, then I would just get another ZJ arm and have it reamed again (being careful of the depth of the ream.) Also, if the ream is too deep for the nut to tighten it up yet there is enough room for the tie rod end rubber boot, you can add a washer to the back side of the drag link. You can also probably get away with adding a washer AND grinding a bit more clearance on the bottom of the pitman arm to allow enough room for the rubber boot as long as you don't grind so much that the pitman arm is significantly weakened. Jeff

Check out www.madxj.com in the technical section for a LONG article on my D44 buildup.
 
Paul S web page?

Paul, it sounds like you've done some major changes to your rig recently. Do you have a web site filled with detailed pics so inquiring minds located very distantly from you can get a good look see? Jeff
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, a few more questions. I know the waggy pitman arm is longer than a factory XJ arm, but does anyone know how much longer? I'm still leaning toward a waggy drop pitman arm. I think you can get a 4 and 6 inch drop arm for the waggy. I'm pretty sure the 4 inch would get the job done. Does anyone know if the waggy arm is indexed the same as an XJ arm? This would affect my decision as well. Also, to clear up some things, I'm running a washer on top of the pitman arm right now where the castle nut bolts to the tre and I have plenty of room for the grease boot on the tre, but when the steering is being worked I can feel the tre "clunking" in the pitman arm. I'm also only running the high steer arm on the pasenger side with the tie rod mounted below, in the stock location on the chevy knuckles. I'm assuming this will keep the tie rod plenty far away from the drag link, even during flex. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Thanks again for the help, I'll get this thing figured out one of these days!
MIke
 
The problem with most dropped PA's is that they shorten the arm considerably. They are a one-size-fots-all solution that often works well on nothing.

You could probably have a vendor measure center to center of a Waggy drop unit and see how it compares tothe XJ arm.

In fact, most 4" dropped pitmans are very close to simply being re-reamed XJ pieces.

CRASH
 
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Re: Paul S web page?

Jeff 98XJ WI said:
Paul, it sounds like you've done some major changes to your rig recently. Do you have a web site filled with detailed pics so inquiring minds located very distantly from you can get a good look see? Jeff

Hi Jeff, I haven't done that much recently. Just the mid arms & continued tinkering with the steering. I've been experimenting with Ackerman angles, pitman arms, indexinging, pumps, boxes, etc., just trying to get a grasp on how it all ties together. I don't have a web site.

MDMike, you can file down the 4 index splines on your pitman to position it where you like. I have done this on all my pitmans. It only takes about 10 minutes with a 3 sided file.
Paul
 
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