I have a 4inch RC lift......came with a front track bar bracket and a dropped pitman arm. I recently purchased a JKS track bar in my quest to start beefing up the front end. I removed the track bar bracket and installed the new track bar and my steering was horrible. "flighty" is how it is commonly described on here. I realized that I needed to get rid of the drop pitman arm and put the stock one back in. After I did that the geometry of the front end was corrected and my ride went back to normal.

My question is........ now I want to upgrade my drag link, with the jks track bar attached to the stock locations, will a flip kit put things out of whack? Is anyone running a aftermarket track bar on the factory brackets and a flip kit? Should I just go with a beefier drag link but not flip it? Dont break whats not broken? I have reviews and it seems some people have had issues when they flip the drag link.

Your advice is appreciated!!

 

I have the RC 3.5" and I put the Terra Flex track bar on. Can you explain why you went back to the stock pittman arm?

 

17th generation Currie. We'll see if these work. and yes, I have a JKS trackbar on the stock mounting locations and a drag link flip.

 

What about the drop Pittman? What does it cause? Flighty?

 

I removed the dropped pitman arm because the when I installed the new track bar I also removed the dropped track bar bracket. when I removed the dropped track bar bracket the the track bar was back in the factory track bar mount which raises the angle of the track bar. The dropped pitman arm put the drag link at a much lower angle than the new track bar. I didnt think it would be a problem until after I drove around. the steering was horrible. I would step on the gas and the wheel would turn, I would step on the brake and the wheel would turn. the bottom line is that the geometry was way off. once I removed the dropped pitman arm and put the stock pitman arm back, my track bar and drag link were in much better alignment. It steers great now that everything is all aligned but I want to get a stronger drag link. Just not sure whether to go flip or reg?

 

OK. I removed my track bar bracket and put in the beefy track bar ,but left the dropped pitman arm. That Must be why my steering is real funny feeling. It seems like it is light, but with a lot of play. Do I need dual stabilizers?

 

Well I think I will put my stock pitman arm back on. First time I have had 35 's, but I know it shouldn't be this rough riding.

 

Everything seems tight. Just doesn't feel right.

 

The trackbar and drag link need to be parallel to each other, and as flat as you can get them. After lifting, they are still parallel, but at steeper angles. (one side of each attached down on the axle, the other up to the frame/steering shaft on the opposite). The 'cheap' way to address the angles is a trackbar bracket and a drop pitman. This lowers the frame side of both bars while keeping them parallel. Removing the trackbar bracket and leaving the drop pitman just F'd up your angles. Remove one, you need to remove the other.


Here is a vid by the guys at Teraflex showing how to check the angles.

http://rides.webshots.com/video/3016...02496289IjoMUo

 

So removing the dropped pitman will fix my problem?