What are the negitives to a drop pitman arm?

[thisfirstlove]

Right now im at about 5.5 in lift w/ 33" LTB's and my draglink is at a terrible angle. i dont have the cash to fix it correctly right now, so im thinking a drop pitman arm will bandaid the situation for now. But im wondering is there will be any side effects to installing one? kinda seems like putting blocks in the rear for a little extra lift. anyways lemme know what you think

 

[afd516]

I got one for $70 on ebay and installed it. I have not had any problems what so ever and it did the trick.

I do not think that it is a quick fix type of deal. A lot of tall lift kits come with them.

For instance, I have a buddy with 28'' lift and 49'' tires on his 99 superduty. You should see the drop arm he has in addition to the rest of his custom steering.

BTW my drop arm is 1.5'' drop if I recall correctly with 4.5'' lift.

 

[RCP Phx]

1-the extra leverage put on the frame.
2-It doesnt do any good without moving the trackbar.

 

[JLane99XJ]

1-the extra leverage put on the frame.
2-It doesnt do any good without moving the trackbar.

on #1 you are absolutely RIGHT
but #2
whu??
the dragL and Trac-bar should be at or as near the same angle to reduce the Possibilities of BUMP-STEER
but why Say It'll do no good unless you more the trac bar, do you even understand the concept or what you typed (regurgitated)

 

[RCP Phx]

Im at 6" and stock steering,still just as parallel as when at 3",4",and 5".They move together during the lift.I think people confuse bumpsteer with Toe-steer,due to the more extreme angles of the inverted y setup.

 

[JLane99XJ]

Im at 6" and stock steering,still just as parallel as when at 3",4",and 5".They move together during the lift.

yeah thats the concept..

they started from the factory at parrallel and its suggest they should remain parrallel
so what you meant was if you don't adjust the trac bar mount the equal amount then you might get some bump-steer, right or wrong?

 

[Ramsey]

on #1 you are absolutely RIGHT
but #2
whu??
the dragL and Trac-bar should be at or as near the same angle to reduce the Possibilities of BUMP-STEER
but why Say It'll do no good unless you more the trac bar, do you even understand the concept or what you typed (regurgitated)

he does have a point, a good one in fact. you drop just the draglink without moving the pitman arm then they are no longer parallel to each other. so without moving the trackbar as well you could get some bumpsteer from them not being inline anymore. i thought he was pretty clear but i see you got the idea up above

 

[afd516]

Yeah what he said.

My steering box reinforced w/ bumper brackets and the collar to the other frame rail. My lift also has an adjustable track bar with the frame rail bracket. The drop pitman lined it up even better.

How much "stress" are we talking a "mild" drop arm would have on the frame, even without the reinforcment that I have added?

Also what about added stress from the new bracket for the track bar on the frame rail?

What is the difference?

Sorry don't mean to hijack

 

[Bent]

1-the extra leverage put on the frame.
2-It doesnt do any good without moving the trackbar.

BINGO!

Now do a search on steering box braces and frame rail cracks/failures. While you're at it hunt up some bump steer while you're at it.

At 5.5 " you should be ok with the drag link angle. Note that I did not say; "fine, happy, ideal, great,wonderful, fantastic or even bitchin". I'm sitting at the same hieght and though the angle is more than I would like, I have had no significant handling issues. If you just have to muck around with something, look into moving things up from the axle instead of down from the steering box.

TIM

Intelectual value: 2 cents

 

[HAPYMUDY]

One of the biggest negatives is *removing* the pitman arm! I had a '98 TJ ... and after working on removing the original for hours to no avail, I decided against installing it, altogether.

 

[Lawn Cher']

One of the biggest negatives is *removing* the pitman arm! I had a '98 TJ ... and after working on removing the original for hours to no avail, I decided against installing it, altogether.

Heat, a puller and a BFH.

 

[afd516]

BINGO!

look into moving things up from the axle instead of down from the steering box.

TIM

Intelectual value: 2 cents

Agreed, I was just asking if a 1'' drop or even 2'' is that much different as far as stress goes. I am not saying put a 7'' drop piman on.

What I am getting at is if you are going to rip one off a 2'' inches you are going to rip a box off with no drop pitman. Thats why they make braces for them.

Pitman arm puller, air, impact wrench, 34mm socket and 10 min. are will be off.