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draglink and steering box hitting each other

PierCed_3

PierCed_3

I drive Frankenstein!!
Location
Brigham
I was up in the mountains messing around and kept hearing a pop noise. To my concern I got out and looked around, it sounded like it was coming from the front end.

I started looking at hubs, u joints, u bolts, and suspension. I didn't find anything so I kept on moving. I heard it again so I stopped and looked again. That is when I noticed that my drag link was nice and shiney in one spot. I noticed that it was hitting the end of the drop pitman arm that attaches to the steering box. I have a high steer on my YJ and a D44. The long bar that attaches to the knuckles (I assume it is the Drag link) is hitting the pitman arm. The high steer plates on the knuckles are drilled out at the end of the plates.

My question:

Do I get them redrilled closer to the axle so the bar doesn't hit the box? It only needs to clear by 1/2 an inch. Is there any alternative? Anyone had problems like this before?

Andrew
 
DToy

DToy

Registered User
Location
Lehi
Sounds like your tie rod (The long bar that attaches to the knuckles) is hitting the Pitman Arm. You might be able to re-drill the holes in your high steer arms, but maybe a better alternative might be a shorter Pitman Arm. If you're only lacking 1/2" then getting a 3/4" to 1" shorter Pitman Arm might be a good option, and shouldn't affect the steering that much.
 
PierCed_3

PierCed_3

I drive Frankenstein!!
Location
Brigham
DToy said:
Sounds like your tie rod (The long bar that attaches to the knuckles) is hitting the Pitman Arm. You might be able to re-drill the holes in your high steer arms, but maybe a better alternative might be a shorter Pitman Arm. If you're only lacking 1/2" then getting a 3/4" to 1" shorter Pitman Arm might be a good option, and shouldn't affect the steering that much.
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How do I go about finding one of these shorter pitman arms? I know these are keyed to fit on the steering box so what applications are there that will swap? I am a knucklehead and thought the steering box was what was doing the hitting when it was indeed the pitman arm. Will a shorter pitman arm make it more responsive or less responsive?
 
DToy

DToy

Registered User
Location
Lehi
PierCed_3 said:
How do I go about finding one of these shorter pitman arms? I know these are keyed to fit on the steering box so what applications are there that will swap? I am a knucklehead and thought the steering box was what was doing the hitting when it was indeed the pitman arm. Will a shorter pitman arm make it more responsive or less responsive?
Click to expand...

What year is your jeep? I'm more familiar with Toyotas, but I'm sure a call to a few shops around would get you the info you need. The manufacturer of your crossover steering might be able to help also. A shorter pitman arm will make your steering slightly less-responsive, in that it will take more turns of the steering wheel from lock to lock, but losing an inch of length on the Pitman Arm shouldn't be that noticeable. I got the shorter Pitman Arm for my 'Yota from OTT Industries http://www.ottindustries.com, but I'm not sure if they have any for jeep applications.
 
PierCed_3

PierCed_3

I drive Frankenstein!!
Location
Brigham
DToy said:
What year is your jeep? I'm more familiar with Toyotas, but I'm sure a call to a few shops around would get you the info you need. The manufacturer of your crossover steering might be able to help also. A shorter pitman arm will make your steering slightly less-responsive, in that it will take more turns of the steering wheel from lock to lock, but losing an inch of length on the Pitman Arm shouldn't be that noticeable. I got the shorter Pitman Arm for my 'Yota from OTT Industries http://www.ottindustries.com, but I'm not sure if they have any for jeep applications.
Click to expand...


My jeep is a 91 YJ. One question, does anyone know if the manual and the power steering box have different pitman arms. My old manual steering box still has it on it but it is buried.
 
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