steering help

[spork40]

i just swapped out my axles and i am having one heck of a time getting my steering even. how do you figure out where the middle of your steering is? i have taken my steering arm off my drop pitman arm more times than i care to think, but every time i think i have the middle found i hook it all up and i turn really far one direction and only a little the other. i have not had issues in the past with CJ's and YJ's but the steering linkage is a lot different on the XJ. what help can you guys give? or do i just need to take it in for an alignment and have them straighten it all out?

this jeep does not see a lot of road travel so i was hoping to get it close for now without having to fork out a hundred bucks to get it aligned.

 

[RockChucker]

this might sound stupid, but is your axle centered under the jeep? if it is off to one side, it would prevent it from steering all the way one way b/c the box doesn't have enough travel. hope this helps.

 

[DaveB]

You may need a longer pitman arm. On my son's MJ we swapped an F250 HP 44 with chevy outers in and the length of the steering arm on the knuckles changed the geometry in such a way that a longer pitman was required. We ended up using a drop waggy pitman. Also if your drag link is at a steep angle you won't get full stop to stop steering. If it is too steep its time for high steer.

 

[thenag]

post # 108 has some info
http://www.rme4x4.com/showthread.php?t=83436&page=8

yeah if you put a non jeep axle under you won't get full lock to lock.

on my xj everything is keyed, steering wheel, pitman arm, etc so I can't really change the center of anything. The only center adjustment is the drag link.

I had so many damn issues with that and I do drive it on the road and want it centered while going down the road. The only way I did it was driving it around stopping adjusting the drag link,

nathan
-99 xj

 

[spork40]

let me clarify some. i swapped the LP D30 for a HP D30. it is a lot harder getting things to realign up because of the XJ's y steering linkage(stock).

 

[I Lean]

on my xj everything is keyed, steering wheel, pitman arm, etc so I can't really change the center of anything. The only center adjustment is the drag link.

It's pretty easy to get rid of the keyed splines on the pitman arm, if you still need to--and very common when swapping different pitmans/boxes. Some have the keys in different spots....

Either cut the keyed spline into two normal-size ones, or completely grind them out so there are 4 missing sections of spline rather than 4 larger-than-life splines. The first option goes pretty quick by slicing a bit with a sawzall, then finishing with a triangular file.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...Either cut the keyed spline into two normal-size ones, or completely grind them out so there are 4 missing sections of spline rather than 4 larger-than-life splines. The first option goes pretty quick by slicing a bit with a sawzall, then finishing with a triangular file.

x2, very common with the different LC power steering conversions. Never going to be an issue.

 

[Badger]

If you are going from a LP to a HP 30 there shouldn't be any difference with the throw of the pitman arm in relation to the knuckles arm. Have you tired putting a piece of tape on the steer wheel and counting the amount of rations in each direction to be sure the box is centered? I mean really there shouldn't have been any need to take the drag link from the box in the first place. All you should have done is undone the drive line, tie rod ends, and suspension links. Swapped axles and gone in reverse order and been done.