Dr.McNinja

Apparently the weakest link in my steering is my Pitman Arm. I was making a slightly legal U-turn when I hit the curb with my right front. Pretty hard jolt. Then I noticed I had to steer left to keep it going straight. ESP going nuts rest of way home. Get home, and my drop pitman from my 4" RC lift was pointing left. I've got steering back to center by adjusting the drag link, but obviously this isn't a permanent fix. I've had some decent play in my steering for awhile as well, before this. My question is, is it now time to redo the steering box too? Or should I just brace the sector shaft and get a new pitman? I'm at 50K miles.

Anybody have any recommendations for beefier pitman arms? We don't get to play in rocks much here in south Texas, but if I'm replacing, I want overkill. I'll probably replace the drag link as well, since it has seen better days.

mjones

The drop pitman arm puts more strain on your steering box/sector shaft due to the added leverage..Check it for damage. My suggestion replace your drop pitman arm with the stock arm. Why do you run an adjustable track bar with a drop pitman? Also poor camber may have been your cause for steering play. Your camber should be between 4-6 You can find many threads like yours. If you had bad bump steer you aren't adjusted correctly and along with your drop pitman, it should be bad.

Good luck.

ronjenx

...Caster?...

Dr.McNinja

Caster is at 5.5 due to my lower control arms. Adjustable track bar was to recenter axle.
I've never had bump steer, and still don't. I was simply asking if, since I'm going to be pulling the damaged pitman off soon, should I go ahead and get a sector shaft brace?

Pictures to show the bent arm.

JnT

Extra bracing is never a bad idea so it's up to you if you want to spend the extra cash.

The question regarding the pittman arm was simply because if you're running an adjustable track bar it's best to leave the stock pittman arm instead of installing the drop one that come with the lift kits. The drop arm with an adjustable track bar puts increased strain on your steering system and unfortunately the lift kit instructions don't address it either. If it was me I would check the steering for any additional damage and once that's alright I'd just put the stock pittman arm back on and re-center the axle again.

Dr.McNinja

Back in 2008, when I put the lift on, the going logic (according to Wayoflife) was to put the trackbar relocation bracket and the dropped pitman, so the steering geometry stays parallel. So that's what I did.

Since I'm unlikely to take off the trackbar relocation bracket, I'm going to stay with the dropped pitman. Also, I don't have my original pitman arm, as we had to cut the damn thing off to begin with.
So does anyone know of a stronger pitman than what I had? The streets here aren't going to get less potholes, trust me.

JnT

Ya the bracket and the drop arm are still the way to go if you're keeping the stock track bar but with an adjustable it's better to leave those items off when lifting.

I'm not sure where you could source a better pittman arm. I've still got the drop one from my RC lift but it's for 3.5" so I don't know if it would work for you, plus shipping it might cost a small fortune given how heavy it is lol. Have you tried contacting RC? Maybe they would send a replacement one?

isolated1523

Keep the trackbar bracket, go to a stock pitman arm, and get a draglink flip kit! Lol

isolated1523

Seriously tho, if you do decide to stay with the drop pitman, i just found my rough country one that i took off about a month ago. Yours if you want it.

-Adam

Dr.McNinja

The more I think about it (ie, the more people post about it), the more likely I am to use the flip kit idea. The less the angle on the pitman, the less force on it. Of course, this means I need to take my trackbar bracket.
I appreciate everyone who was willing to ship me the drop arm (including the PMs).I'm going to price all the options and see where I come out.