Idea on steering

Idea on steering
bdunnam

bdunnam

Jeeper
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Location
New Albany Ms
Vehicle(s)
'86 CJ7 Laredo Black 4.2l i6
Ok so i have a 4in. suspension lift, and I was thinking about ways to get some of my turning radius back for those extra tight spaces. Well what I was thinking about doin was taking the drag link and putting it on top of the knuckle instead of it being on the bottom to get it more parallel to the ground. I believe it would work, i did it on a 79 ford with 44in ground hawgs and it seems to do fine, but i dont know about doing the tie rod, i guess it could be done if it had to but i dont think it really matters that it is flipped. Any info, thoughts, or better ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
When I fliped mine I was able to go with the stock pitman arm, so no steering loose.
 
The turning radius depends on the wheelbase and the angle of the front steering knuckle. The steering knuckle has a bolt that acts as the stop for the steering. Since I assume you haven't messed with the stop and I know you didn't mess with the wheelbase I don't think your turning radius hasn't changed. Raising the steering linkage shouldn't make any difference either.

Now raising the drag link will help bump steer and that's a plus.
 
Dave, I'm assuming he has a droped pitman arm now. The problem comes from SOME drop arms being shorter than the stock arm. With the arm being shorter you loose some turning radius.
 
Old Dog said:
Dave, I'm assuming he has a droped pitman arm now. The problem comes from SOME drop arms being shorter than the stock arm. With the arm being shorter you loose some turning radius.
Click to expand...
Ahh yes. If that's the problem then raising the drag link will help a little.
Maybe Bdunnam could verify. When you turn as far as you can is the stop in the knuckle stopping the steering?
Even then raising the drag link might not help much. If the pitman arm is shorter than stock it just might not be able to turn as far as stock.
 
Old Dog said:
Dave, I'm assuming he has a droped pitman arm now. The problem comes from SOME drop arms being shorter than the stock arm. With the arm being shorter you loose some turning radius.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what I was going to say. There are dropped pitman arms that are shorter than the stock one just from the way they are made.
I replaced the dropped PA on my Jeep with another one that is about an inch longer. It added a bunch of radius to my CJ that was missing when I bought it.
 
Old Dog said:
When I fliped mine I was able to go with the stock pitman arm, so no steering loose.
Click to expand...
Old Dog was correct right from the start.
Flip you drag link to the top and put the OEM pitman arm back on
 
gert said:
when you flipped them did you go with the 1/2ton ball joints?
Click to expand...

I flipped mine with the reamer and insert. I used stock cj ends. If I start breaking them I can always redrill and go bigger.:D After bending 2 stock rods in the stock pos. I haven't bent this one yet. Amaziing what a few inches can do.
 
I flipped both my tie rod and my steering linkage...mostly as a clearance thing. I got tired of bending up tierods. It also flattened out my steering geometry allowing me to use a stock pitman again.

The stock arm surprisingly offers much more turn radii then a dropped arm which is shorter from eye to eye. Even 1/4 of an inch at the pitman (side travel) equates to a lot of extra movement out at the tires.
 
well thanks for the info guys, i believe im off to find a reamer now, i do have a drop pitman arm, and im sure that it is shorter, it came with a cheap lift (rough country) so im sure that it is shorter, i just hope that i can find my old pitman arm now, its been over a yr since i put on the lift and so much stuff has moved in my dads shop theres no telling where it is, im hoping to get this done over my christmas break but ill definitely let yall know how it goes.
 
A dropped pitman arm adds more stress to the shaft of the gearbox. They try to reduce the stress by shortening the length of the pitman. If you ask me that just adds another problem with wider turning radius. Yes, I realize having a full length pitman AND having it dropped would really add stress.
The best option is to raise the drag link at the steering knuckle. That way you don't need the dropped pitman and you will still have the drag link somewhat level. A level drag link means no bump steer. A full length drag link means tight turning radius.

When you turn, If you don't press against the stop in the steering knuckle then you don't have the turning radius that the factory intended.
 
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well thank you BusaDave9 youve been a lot of help. but one other thing do you know what the taper on the drag link end is?
 
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