Pitman arm recommendations?

[ljc61801]

I'm working on a project Jeep... 1976 CJ 7 with power steering... bought as a project... pretty obviously has been touched by more than one set of hands, and seems like they were sometimes confused about what they were doing.

It has a lift kit and the axles are flipped--enough clearance for the 36" tires that are currently on it. It needs a longer pittman arm but I don't know that I've found one long enough? Any recommendations? Right now I just want to fix the problem with minimal expense--while still fixing it "right." Aside from cost savings I'm not really sure yet what my goals are so if I can get something to make it comfortable for riding around a few blocks at a time and the yard, that'd be great.

 

[Torxhead]

Dropped pitman arms do tend to mess up the steering geometry. I have one out of a Ford truck in my rig. There are sometimes a few ways around it also. Could you post a pic, like a front view so we can see what you are working with?

 

[tarry99]

I'm working on a project Jeep... 1976 CJ 7 with power steering... bought as a project... pretty obviously has been touched by more than one set of hands, and seems like they were sometimes confused about what they were doing.

It has a lift kit and the axles are flipped--enough clearance for the 36" tires that are currently on it. It needs a longer pittman arm but I don't know that I've found one long enough? Any recommendations? Right now I just want to fix the problem with minimal expense--while still fixing it "right." Aside from cost savings I'm not really sure yet what my goals are so if I can get something to make it comfortable for riding around a few blocks at a time and the yard, that'd be great.

I assume when you say axles are flipped you mean it now is a spring over the axle?
Most times that either requires a dropped Pittman Arm or Hi-steer knuckles , meaning they steer off the top.........or both. Dropped Pittman arms are fine as long as they are installed correctly. When doing so , One must pay attention to and correct if necessary the basic geometry of the steering system that may be effected.

As Torx mentioned...........Pictures would be nice!

And sorry this is not the Minimal Expense page!

 

[Petescj]

I'm willing to bet that whoever did the spring over was also trying to do it using minimal expenses. That's your true problem. A lot of people think it's a cheap way to lift the Jeep. Not when it's done correctly. I bet your tie rod and drag link aren't anywhere near parallel. A drop pitman arm isn't a cure in itself. Your gonna have to get the geometry straightened out as well.

 

[caveman]

If you do decide that you need a dropped pitman arm, Usualy one off a grand cherokee out of a junk yard is cheaper than buying a new one.

 

[jonboy1919]

I'm right in the middle of fixing the same problem on my '79 CJ7. It has a 4" SOA drop pitman arm and a turn radius larger than my motorhome. The fix is to install high steer. There are many posts addressing this matter in these forums. Thanks to all you gear heads for the info.


"Round Jeep is Good Jeep"