Drop Pitman Arm

[jwill22]

so i have a question as far as the pitman arm is concerned. I was planning on buying one and was shopping around ebay. Came across one for a really low price. I asked the seller why it was being sold at that price and he said unlike the others, this one doesn't have clocking tabs. Now i was wondering is that really important. As of right now i think i have a factory steering set up. He said his pitman arm is stronger and bigger than those of superlift and another brand he use to carry. And well obviously as a seller you are going to tell the consumer any and everything to make a sell. I just wanted your guys opinion on this. here is the link the the item being sold if you want to check it out.

JEEP CJ5 CJ7 COMMANDO NEW DROP PITMAN ARM | eBay

 

[CJ]

I would think that not having a wide clocking groove wouldn't be all that important. As long as it is splined all the way around it should fit.

It doesn't look any different then the dropped arms I have seen - but it's hard to tell by a picture. Who is the manufacturer?

BTW - The Jeep Guy has been selling parts through his web page for quite a long time, I have ordered from him several times.

 

[jwill22]

This is what he said

"IT IS A ITEM I BUY FROM CROWN AUTOMOTIVE IT IS BASED OFF THE ORIGINAL JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE ZJ ARM BUT HAS NO CLOCKING TABS SO IT CAN BE MOUNTED ON ANY POWERSTEERING BOX"

 

[Old Dog]

The big question is how far is it from the centerline of the two holes.
Alot of droparms are shorter than stock. This will make you loose some turning radius.
Also without the clocking engagment you better make sure you put it on right.

 

[jwill22]

This is what he said about the length of the pitman arm..

yep they are all shorter i dont know of anyone that offers a drop that isnt a bit short

these are about 5 1/4" compared to a stock cj at 6.5"

thats the problem with a drop arm the only better solution is to do a high steer conversion but that is alot more money

 

[mylittlecj5]

There are a few drop pitman arms that are longer than most.
I had a really wide turn radius on my CJ when i bought it and it took months to figure out (with help from the forum, of course) that my drop pitman was short, reducing the effective swing or something like that...
I ended up comparing it to another CJ I got with a drop arm, and that one was about 1.5 inches longer (CL between the holes). I installed it and my steering has a much tighter radius now. Doesn't feel like I am driving a truck when I make a corner on the trail anymore. I also installed a PSC Variable Ratio steering box, so its like driving a sports car now!

 

[CJ]

Flipping the tie rod and drag link is a great way to use a less dropped arm (or maybe none at all). Check out this post -->> http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f19/tie-rod-flip-3718/

 

[jwill22]

What drop pitman arm did you end up going with?

There are a few drop pitman arms that are longer than most.
I had a really wide turn radius on my CJ when i bought it and it took months to figure out (with help from the forum, of course) that my drop pitman was short, reducing the effective swing or something like that...
I ended up comparing it to another CJ I got with a drop arm, and that one was about 1.5 inches longer (CL between the holes). I installed it and my steering has a much tighter radius now. Doesn't feel like I am driving a truck when I make a corner on the trail anymore. I also installed a PSC Variable Ratio steering box, so its like driving a sports car now!

 

[mylittlecj5]

I used the one that was on my parts Jeep. I don't have any idea where it came from/ who made it, I just know it was a little longer than the one that I had on the CJ.

 

[73CJ]

I would suspect it is made in China. That doesn't mean it's all bad.

The clocking spline missing would be great. I had a 79 Camaro box that was off center. Missing a tooth doesn't make it weaker.

If the center to center is 5-1/4" I'll try one.

 

[jwill22]

After doing a little reading on that tie rod flip, I think I'd want to do something like that on my jeep. What would that then mean for a pitman arm?

 

[CJ]

Measure your current distance from the center of the knuckle (where the tie rod goes through) to the center of the tie rod. The flip will move the rod UP double that distance - that is how much less the drop arm would need to be.