About 5 months ago I went from 3" to 4.5". While I was at it, I did a zj tie rod upgrade, bought a new drag link and did new tres. Also I got the re adj track bar with the hemi joint (3.5"-4.5"). Well I've started getting a lot of play in my steering lately and I look down there and my drag link tres are shot- the angles are too steep. So drop pitman arm. Well the trac bar is just a little steeper than the drag link. I'll post pics tomorrow but I don't know what to do. New track bar? New steering set up idk. Thanks.

 

Post up a picture now and I can probably answer your question. I just went through all of this on my XJ. After upgrading the steering and checking all of the bushings, I went ahead and adjusted my power steering box. It seemed to make a fairly big difference, but I am not sure if adjusting your power steering box is the correct fix (also, if you go this route, I HIGHLY recommend doing a ton of research on adjust the box before doing so. It is very important that you do it correctly). Did your steering have anywhere near the same amount of play prior to adding more lift to the truck?

 

Pictures!

 

The drag link and track bar look pretty lined up so that is good. Have some one turn your steering wheel slightly only on the range the play is and watch under the front of your truck for any movement coming from the pitman arm. If your pitman arm moves immediately without any play then your power steering box is fine. If you you can visually see that when the steering wheel stub shaft begins to rotate but your pitman arm shaft does not, then you may need to adjust it. But like I said read up on it in multiple threads. Also one more thing to check is for any roll in your tre's where the play is. I had an issue with my tie rod rolling on me due to my style of steering so I had to put tre pucks instead of boots to keep it from rolling.

 

I haven't looked while someone turned the wheel, but the drag link tre at the axle looks terrible in person. Like the boot is ripped an it just looks like it over rotated if that makes since.

 

Well then the rotation is giving you that play in your steering, I thought you said they were all new. Just replace all ends of the drag and tie rod and be done. Get poly pucks if you feel you need some but I don't have a zj upgrade so I can't tell you if its necessary to run them.

 

Well I do think that the over rotation is the problem and i did replace all tres, but it still over rotate which leads me to believe that I need a drop pitman arm but then I feel like the track bar won't be parallel.

 

Also when I grab my drag link, I can twist it back and forth - definitely play in the ball joints.

 

It doesn't look like you need that much more drop on your pitman arm. I don't know if you are supposed to have that much roll in the drag link due to the y setup but it sounds like a bit much. Are your tre crown nuts all tight?

 

I'll see if I can tighten them any more tomorrow. But maybe the zj pitman arm for a 1" drop?

 

You can try it. Did you get brand new TRE's or used?

 

Brand new. Except the zj tie rod I got out of the jy. But the drag link and other tres are new.

 

The links themselves should be fine. Had you had it aligned yet? I dont know if the drag directly affects the toe in, but go under your front end, loosen your drag link, turn the large part of the drag link making the passenger side tre perfectly aligned with the mount, then (while keeping a hold of the drag link to make sure it doesn't twist) align your other drag link tre with the pitman arm making sure it is flush. Tighten everything down when it's all lines up making sure it doesn't this when you tighten it. Having the drag link misaligned with the tre's and mounts can cause a lot more slack making your steering feel less tight. Try that, and if that doesn't work is go online and buy a single polyurethane puck for the passenger side to get rid of any play it may have.

 

Yeah I got it aligned after I went up to 4.5" and replaced the tres and stuff. I think I'm just going to try and tighten everything down more today and see if that does anything. It's aligned fine, just a lot of play when I'm driving straight down the road.

 

Those angles arent too bad.