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!

SeriousOffroad

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gener...reference.html

Badmunky

Thank you!
I think I have it figured out now.

I just need to figure out how much drop I need and then I can order up a new pitman arm.

I bought this Jeep like this and am trying to fix all the stuff the last owner screwed up on it. This is just one of many things I have to deal with.

andrewmp6

Look at your track bar angle your steering upper link needs to match that angle.Take some pictures so we can see what your dealing with.

Badmunky

Steering and track bar angles currently match. So I need a new pitman arm with the same amount of drop, just longer.

It already has crossover steering as well.

I'll get some pics up as soon as I can.
It's raining here right now, and I have to work today. So might not be today.