Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

dropped pitman arm????????

10K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  OLANDER400 
#1 ·
Does anyone run the dropped pit man arm on their WJ???? my WJ has 4 1/2 springs with .75 bb everything is good. I am just concerned about the angle on the tie rod end at the stock pit man arm.:confused:
 
#2 ·
Very few people do, it throws off the steering geometry. The track bar and drag link need to be parallel to prevent bump-steer (which then can initiate death wobble). If you drop the pitman arm you have to drop the track bar and those setups tend to have issues with geometry (still) as well as flex and loosening up. The IRO Steering Equalizer looks like the only track bar drop I would trust. Maybe the BDS track bar drop (which has cross-plane mounting points).
 
#5 ·
X3 on the IRO arm, it tightened up the steering for me.
 
#4 ·
I don't run one and I'm at 7" lift, wheel all the time and it's my DD...don't see the point of it.
 
#6 ·
I was curious about this as well, i have to do something about the bumpsteer, which if it hard enough it feels like it wants to start the DW.

But i guess the drop pitman isn't a good idea from the post above.
 
#7 ·
But i guess the drop pitman isn't a good idea from the post above.
Only if you also drop the track bar and do it in a way that doesn't compromise safety or steering geometry. Still, the need for a DPA and DTB is a fringe case. Most people do not need this even at 4"+, the track bar and drag link tend to stay pretty parallel with a lift. You only need the drops if you have some funky geometry now or are exceeding the travel of the drag link ends.

As mentioned above, I think the best way to drop TB and pitman arm is using the IRO Steering Equalizer - it's like an entire subframe devoted to dropping the track bar.
 
#8 ·
So if you do the steering equalizer from iro, you would also want the drop ppitman arm ((do one gotta do both?)).

My angles like the the op look fine to me.
 
#10 ·
Yes, you would want to do both. IRO packages their steering equalizer with a drop pitman arm in the kit. Your other option could be to combo the steering equalizer (TB drop) with raising the axle end TRE on the DL by drilling out the knuckle and welding in some TRE flip inserts from goferit offroad and using a RHD TRE. That would flatten both of the bars out, keep them parallel and let you move your DL and tie rod up out of the rocks.
 
#9 ·
I don't think the IRO arm and bracket change how parallel the two arms are, it's more that it lowers both arms more into a stock location before a lift. I installed one because the bump steer was driving me crazy, it all eliminated it for me.
 
#13 ·
I have the same set up as yyou and what the OP MatthewWJ, i have read a ton of posts about bumpsteer and have thought about. Doing what Stokedwj suggested but that seems a little more difficult then what i would doo in my garage.

Is iro equalizer easy to install, like basic hand tools and or drill?
 
#12 ·
Well i guess i know what i'm doing cause thats the same thing i have
 
#14 ·
If you have bumpsteer, the IRO kit will not cure it, as all the kit does (as mentioned above) is return the trackbar and draglink to a more neutral (i.e. stock) position. It does not alter the angles of parallel of the trackbar and draglink, which is the root of bumpsteer. The IRO kit should help if, however, you have adverse steering feedback from steeper steering angles that mimics what is traditionally known as bumpsteer.

I like what the IRO kit intends to offer, but do not particularly like the overall design for a couple of reasons. One being the huuuge pitman arm drop, which greatly stresses the steering box. Second, the kit lowers roll center by lowering the trackbar mount, which in a lifted WJ, is a bad thing. You may prefer lower roll center and those adverse affects to bumpsteer-like steering feedback. I probably would. The price seems a bit steep for what it is as well. Overall, however, people have reported good feedback with it, so it's deffinately worth considering if all other attempts at solving steering issues fail, and you have no fab skills.

The set-up that StrokedWJ wrote about is similar to my set-up. Max droop, no binding, tons of clearance, stock steering feel.
 
#15 ·
did you get this fixed?

if you did nothing but lift the vehicle without touching the pitman arm or the trackbar mount location, you don't have bump steer. if you altered one or the other then you need to match the drop exactly to what the other one was dropped. I did a drag link flip on my weep. so i installed the IRO drop bracket for the track bar and also needed a 1" drop pitman to make it dandy again. the only reason i did the drag link flip was because of the harsh angle that the TRE's were at. my droop was being limited by the travel of the TRE's. dropped everything down and moved the axle side on top of the steering arm and voila! rides like a dream!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top